Reentrance of interface superconductivity in a high-Tc cuprate heterostructure.

Increasing the carrier density in a Mott insulator by chemical doping gives rise to a generic superconducting dome in high temperature superconductors. An intriguing question is whether a second superconducting dome may exist at higher dopings. Here we heavily overdope La2-xSrxCuO4 (0.45 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) and discover an unprecedented reentrance of interface superconductivity in La2-xSrxCuO4 /La2CuO4 heterostructures. As x increases, the superconductivity is weakened and completely fades away at x = 0.8; but it revives at higher doping and fully recovers at x = 1.0. This is shown to be correlated with the suppression of the interfacial charge transfer around x = 0.8 and the weak-to-strong localization crossover in the La2-xSrxCuO4 layer. We further construct a theoretical model to account for the sophisticated relation between charge localization and interfacial charge transfer. Our work advances both the search for and control of new superconducting heterostructures.

[Analysis of clinical effect and influencing factors of history-indicated cerclage or ultrasound-indicated cerclage in singleton pregnancy].

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect and the influencing factors of ultrasound-indicated cerclage and history-indicated cerclage in singleton gestation. Methods: The clinical data of 272 singleton pregnant women with cervical incompetence who underwent McDonald cervical cerclage due to medical history indication (history-indicated group) or ultrasound indication (ultrasound-indicated group) in Peking University First Hospital from January 2010 to February 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The general clinical data and maternal and fetal outcomes were compared between the history-indicated group (141 cases) and ultrasound-indicated group (131 cases). According to the gestational age at delivery, 272 pregnant women who underwent cervical cerclage were further divided into ≥34 weeks group (225 cases) and <34 weeks group (47 cases), and the influencing factors of preterm birth before 34 weeks of gestation were analyzed. Results: (1) The median gestational age at cerclage was 16.6 weeks in the history-indicated group and 23.4 weeks in the ultrasound-indicated group, and the median gestational age extension at delivery was 21.4 weeks and 14.7 weeks, respectively, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (all P<0.05). (2) The full-term birth rate was 76.6% (108/141) in the history-indicated group and 71.0% (93/131) in the ultrasound-indicated group, the live birth rate was 97.2% (137/141) and 97.7% (128/131), and the median birth weight of live birth was 3 155 g and 3 055 g, respectively. The differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). Among 272 pregnant women with cervical cerclage, 265 neonates survived (97.4%, 265/272). The gestational age of 7 pregnant women who did not have live birth was ≤25 weeks of gestation (range: 19+1-25 weeks), and they were all clinically infected or confirmed chorioamnionitis or pathogenic microorganisms carrying during pregnancy, and their families gave up. The minimum birth weight of the surviving neonate was 850 g (gestational week of delivery was 26+6 weeks). (3) Univariate analysis showed that compared with ≥34 weeks group, the body mass index (BMI) of pregnant women in <34 weeks group was higher at 6-7 weeks of gestation (median: 24.5 vs 25.4 kg/m2), shorter cervical length (CL) at 1-2 weeks after surgery [(31.1±8.4) vs (26.1±11.0) mm], shorter CL at 26-28 weeks of gestation after surgery (median: 26.3 vs 16.0 mm), and higher incidence of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) before and after surgery and before delivery. The differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that preterm birth before 34 weeks was negatively associated with CL at 26-28 weeks of gestation after cerclage (OR=0.902, 95%CI: 0.858-0.947; P<0.001), and was positively correlated with elevated CRP before delivery (OR=3.492, 95%CI: 1.652-7.381; P=0.001). There were no significant correlations between preterm birth and preoperative or postoperative CRP elevation, CL at 1-2 weeks after surgery, and BMI at 6-7 weeks of gestation (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Cervical cerclage for singleton pregnant women with cervical incompetence indicated by history or ultrasound both have good clinical efficacy, and there is no significant difference in maternal and fetal outcomes between the two groups. CL at 26-28 weeks of gestation and CRP before delivery are risk factors for preterm birth before 34 weeks of gestation after cervical cerclage.

[The beginnings and evolution of a pancreatic surgeon: a technical morphological analysis in first 5 years].

Objective: To explore the development of the pancreatic surgeon technique in a high-volume center. Methods: A total of 284 cases receiving pancreatic surgery by a single surgeon from June 2015 to December 2020 were retrospectively included in this study. The clinical characteristics and perioperative medical history were extracted from the medical record system of Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University. Among these patients,there were 140 males and 144 females with an age (M (IQR)) of 61.0 (16.8) years(range: 15 to 85 years). The "back-to-back" pancreatic- jejunal anastomosis procedure was used to anastomose the end of the pancreas stump and the jejunal wall. Thirty days after discharge,the patients were followed by outpatient follow-up or telephone interviews. The difference between categorical variables was analyzed by the Chi-square test or the CMH chi-square test. The statistical differences for the quantitative data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis H test and further analyzed using the LSD test or the Nemenyi test,respectively. Results: Intraoperative blood loss in pancreaticoduodenectomy between 2015 and 2020 were 300,100(100),100(100),100(0),100(200) and 150 (200) ml,respectively. Intraoperative blood loss in distal pancreatectomy was 250 (375),100 (50),50 (65), 50 (80),50 (50),and 50 (100) ml,respectively. Intraoperative blood loss did not show statistical differences in the same operative procedure between each year. The operative time for pancreaticoduodenectomy was respectively 4.5,5.0(2.0),5.5(0.8),5.0(1.3),5.0(3.3) and 5.0(1.0) hours in each year from 2015 to 2020,no statistical differences were found between each group. The operating time of the distal pancreatectomy was 3.8 (0.9),3.0 (1.5),3.0 (1.8),2.0 (1.1),2.0 (1.5) and 3.0(2.0) hours in each year,the operating time was obviously shorter in 2018 compared to 2015 (P=0.026) and 2020 (P=0.041). The median hospital stay in 2020 for distal pancreatectomy was 3 days shorter than that in 2019. The overall incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula gradually decreased,with a incident rate of 50.0%,36.8%,31.0%,25.9%,21.1% and 14.8% in each year. During this period,in a total of 3,6,4,2,0 and 20 cases received laparoscopic operations in each year. The incidence of clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (grade B and C) gradually decreased,the incident rates were 0,4.8%,7.1%,3.4%,4.3% and 1.4%,respectively. Two cases had postoperative abdominal bleeding and received unscheduled reoperation. The overall rate of unscheduled reoperation was 0.7%. A patient died within 30 days after the operation and the overall perioperative mortality was 0.4%. Conclusion: The surgical training of a high-volume center can ensure a high starting point in the initial stage and steady progress of pancreatic surgeons,to ensure the safety of pancreatic surgery.

Effects of interchange ratio on sludge reduction and microbial community structures in an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process with combined anaerobic side-stream reactor.

Oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA) process is effective in minimizing sludge production, by inserting an anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) in the recycling bypass. Interchange ratio (IR), the quantity ratio of sludge entering the ASSR to the sludge in the main stream reactors, is one of the most important parameters for OSA process. In the present study, a laboratory-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2/O) process combined with an ASSR (A2/O-ASSR) was operated for 366 days in parallel with a conventional A2/O process to investigate the effects of IR on sludge reduction. IR was assigned values of 5%, 8%, 10%, and 15%, and the A2/O-ASSR process achieved 14.0%, 16.0%, 24.1%, and 13.7% of sludge reduction, respectively. At the optimum IR of 10%, high through-put sequencing analysis showed that the microbes responsible for pollutant removal and ubiquitous in wastewater treatment remained predominant in the two systems, and slow-growing microbes related to hydrolysis, nitrogen and phosphorus removal increased in the A2/O-ASSR process, which probably played a key role in sludge reduction. 40.6-58.6% of sludge reduction was caused by sludge decay in the ASSR. The tiny amount of extracellular polymeric substance released in the A2/O-ASSR process was subthreshold to cause remarkable sludge reduction.

Ral GTPase Activation by Downregulation of RalGAP Enhances Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression.

Ral small GTPases, consisting of RalA and RalB, are members of the Ras family. Their activity is upregulated by RalGEFs. Since several RalGEFs are downstream effectors of Ras, Ral is activated by the oncogenic mutant Ras. Ral is negatively regulated by RalGAP complexes that consist of a catalytic α1 or α2 subunit and its common partner ß subunit and similarly regulate the activity of RalA as well as RalB in vitro. Ral plays an important role in the formation and progression of pancreatic and lung cancers. However, the involvement of Ral in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is unclear. In this study, we investigated OSCC by focusing on Ral. OSCC cell lines with high Ral activation exhibited higher motility. We showed that knockdown of RalGAPß increased the activation level of RalA and promoted the migration and invasion of HSC-2 OSCC cells in vitro. In contrast, overexpression of wild-type RalGAPα2 in TSU OSCC cells attenuated the activation level of RalA and inhibited cell migration and invasion. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of samples from patients with OSCC showed that RalGAPα2 was downregulated in oral cancer tissues as compared with normal epithelia. Among patients with OSCC, those with a lower expression of RalGAPα2 showed a worse overall survival rate. A comparison of DNA methylation and histone modifications of the RalGAPα2 gene in OSCC cell lines suggested that crosstalk among DNA methylation, histone H4Ac, and H3K27me2 was involved in the downregulation of RalGAPα2. Thus, activation of Ral GTPase by downregulation of RalGAP expression via a potential epigenetic mechanism may enhance OSCC progression.

[Risk-factor analysis of poor graft function after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for severe aplastic anemia].

Objective: To investigate the risk factors of poor graft function (PGF) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for severe aplastic anemia (SAA) . Methods: Clinical data from 111 SAA patients who received allo-HSCT were analyzed retrospectively. Factors including age, gender, interval to transplantation, the level of serum ferritin before transplantation were analyzed by Cox multivariate regression analysis. Results: Among the 111 patients who underwent allo-HSCT, 16 developed PGF (14.4%) . Multivariate analysis showed donor type (HR=2.656, 95%CI 1.204-5.858, P= 0.016) and the level of serum ferritin before tansplantation (HR=3.170, 95%CI 1.400-7.180, P=0.006) were significant risk factors for PGF. Conclusion: Unrelated donor transplantation and the high level of serum ferritin before transplantation are risk factors for PGF.

[Clinical phenotypes of hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 homeobox b-associated disease].

Objective: Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 homeobox b (HNF1B) -associated disease is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder with a variable, multi-systemic phenotype. In China, five adult probands and one child proband with HNF1B-associated disease had been reported, whereas few fetuses are described. The aims of this retrospective study were to understand about the clinical manifestations of HNF1B-associated disease and to further improve the recognition of this disorder. Method: Four patients (3 males, 1 female) and three fetuses with HNF1B mutations were included in this study. They were admitted to our hospital from January 2013 to March 2017. HNF1B mutations were detected using targeted next generation sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR or Sanger sequencing. HNF1B heterozygous deletion of exons 1-9 was found in 4 patients and 2 fetuses, and HNF1B heterozygous missense mutation in 1 fetus. These two mutations had been reported. Two patients and 1 fetus had de novo mutations. Results of renal ultrasonography with or without magnetic resonance imaging, biochemical investigations, urine routine examination and other necessary investigations in 7 cases were analyzed. Result: Three patients were Han Chinese ethnicity, and one patient was Mongolian. In patients 1 and 4, abnormal fetal kidneys were discovered by routine ultrasonography, and the age at first feature identified in Patients 2 and 3 were 13 years and 28 years. Patient 3 had normal renal function and the remainder had reduced glomerular filtration rate. In addition, patient 4 presented with nephrotic syndrome and glycosuria, patient 2 with early onset hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy, and patient 3 with diabetes mellitus. All the 4 patients had renal structural abnormalities including bilateral multiple renal cysts, dysplasia and hyperechogenic kidneys. Only patient 3 had a positive family history of renal diseases, the remainder had a negative family history of renal diseases. In 3 fetuses, prenatal ultrasound anomalies were detected during the second trimester. These 3 fetuses had hyperechogenic kidneys with or without renal cysts. Polyhydramnios was detected in only one of the 3 fetuses. Two of the 3 fetuses had a positive family history of renal diseases. Conclusion: Clinical phenotypes of HNF1B-related disease are heterogeneous, renal malformations clearly appear to be the most common manifestation, multiple renal cysts are characteristic, and patients can progress to impaired kidney function during childhood; HNF1B mutation is a differential diagnosis of fetal hyperechogenic kidneys or multiple renal cysts.

[A clinical analysis of 10 cases with cardiac lymphoma].

Objective: To analyze the morbidity, clinical characteristics, therapeutic outcomes and prognosis of cardiac lymphoma. Methods: Individual patient data were obtained from pathology defined 10 cases of cardiac lymphoma from Jan 2000 to Jun 2016. The patient's general information, clinical manifestation, pathological diagnosis, laboratory examination, cardiac involvement feature, cardiac complications, treatment, therapeutic effect and prognosis were analyzed. Results: Of 3 918 cases of lymphoma patients, 10 cases of cardiac involvement were identified, including primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) in 1 case, secondary cardiac lymphoma (SCL) in 9 cases. Of the 10 patients in our analysis, the male-to-female ratio was 3∶2, with a median age of 55 (19-88) years old. The most presenting complaints were dyspnea in 7 cases, followed by chest pain in 5 cases, fatigue in 2 patients and edema in 2 cases. Pathological types included diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in 7 cases, T cell lymphoma (T-LBL) in 1 case, Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in 1 case, and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) in 1 case. The sites of the heart affected by lymphoma in the PCL patient were right and left atriums with multiple nodules; and for SCL, the sites were mainly pericardium associated with a pericardial effusion in 5 cases, a pericardial mass in 2 cases. Congestive heart failure affects 7 patients and cardiac arrhythmias were identified in 4 cases mainly sinus tachycardia, atrial fibrillation and atrioventricular block. Except one untreated because of old age and poor performance, the rest of 9 patients were treated by either chemotherapy in 4 cases or chemotherapy combined radiotherapy (including the extracardiac sites) in 5 patients. With the median follow-up of 9 months, the one PCL patient achieved partial response (PR) , progress free survival (PFS) for 6 months and the overall survival (OS) for 21 months; in the cohort of 6 SCL patients cardiac involved at diagnosis, complete response (CR) was achieved in 1 case (16.7%) , PR in 3 cases, progressing disease (PD) in 2 cases, with the median PFS for 5 months and the median OS for 19 months; and for the other 3 SCL patients cardiac involved at progression, PR was achieved in 2 case and death in 1 case, with the median PFS for 4 months and the median OS unavailable because of censored data. Conclusion: Cardiac lymphoma represents a rare subset of lymphoma, the most common type is DLBCL, and the main clinical manifestations are dyspnea and chest pain, always combined by arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. The main therapeutic regimen for cardiac lymphoma includes combined chemotherapy and the prognosis for patients with either PCL or SCL is usually poor.

Isolation, identification and pathogenicity of Vibrio harveyi, the causal agent of skin ulcer disease in juvenile hybrid groupers Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × Epinephelus lanceolatus.

The hybrid grouper, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (♀) × Epinephelus lanceolatus (♂), is a newly bred cultivated marine fish species of high economic value. However, a skin ulcer disease with high mortality has occurred, and the responsible pathogen remains unknown. In this study, we summarized the epidemic status and external signs of this disease. We screened potential pathogens and finally isolated one bacterial strain ML01 from affected fish. We subjected healthy juvenile hybrid groupers to bacterial challenge tests with the isolate by immersion, immersion after dermal abrasion and intraperitoneal injection, respectively. Within 14 days post-infection, the isolate ML01 caused mass mortality of juveniles infected via immersion after dermal abrasion or intraperitoneal injection. Diseased juveniles displayed obvious signs of skin ulcers. The median lethal dose of ML01 by intraperitoneal injection was 1.10 × 105 colony-forming units. ML01 was identified as Vibrio harveyi by bacterial morphology, analytical profile index identification, 16S rDNA sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis. Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that ML01 was sensitive to ceftriaxone, doxycycline and minocycline. The results of this study suggest that V. harveyi is the causal agent of skin ulcer disease in juvenile hybrid groupers, thus providing a basis for effective control and prevention of this disease.

Bone characteristics, histopathology, and chondrocyte apoptosis in femoral head necrosis induced by glucocorticoid in broilers.

Femoral head necrosis (FHN) is a common disorder in fast-growing broilers in the poultry industry, but the pathogenesis of FHN has not been clarified completely. In the present study, glucocorticoid (GC) administration was used to induce FHN in broilers. Compared with normal birds, histopathology showed that the length of the articular cartilage of GC-induced FHN broilers was thicker while the proliferative zone and prehypertrophic zone were obviously thinner. Moreover, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining showed the apoptotic chondrocyte in the growth plate of the femoral head in FHN-affected birds. Bone parameters also decreased significantly in GC-induced FHN broilers. In addition, as for the mRNA expression, GC-induced FHN broilers had an apparent reduction in Col-II, Col-X, and Bcl-2 but a significant promotion of Caspase-3, Caspase-9, ASK-1, and JNK-1 when compared with the normal birds. It showed glucocorticoid induced FHN in broilers by affecting the proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of chondrocytes accompanying the retarding of bone growth.

Recent advances in inorganic materials for LDI-MS analysis of small molecules.

In this review, various inorganic materials were summarized for the analysis of small molecules by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). Due to its tremendous advantages, such as simplicity, high speed, high throughput, small analyte volumes and tolerance towards salts, LDI-MS has been widely used in various analytes. During the ionization process, a suitable agent is required to assist the ionization, such as an appropriate matrix for matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). However, it is normally difficult to analyze small molecules with the MALDI technique because conventional organic matrices may produce matrix-related peaks in the low molecular-weight region, which limits the detection of small molecules (m/z < 700 Da). Therefore, more and more inorganic materials, including carbon-based materials, silicon-based materials and metal-based materials, have been developed to assist the ionization of small molecules. These inorganic materials can transfer energy and improve the ionization efficiency of analytes. In addition, functionalized inorganic materials can act as both an adsorbent and an agent in the enrichment and ionization of small molecules. In this review, we mainly focus on present advances in inorganic materials for the LDI-MS analysis of small molecules in the last five years, which contains the synthetic protocols of novel inorganic materials and the detailed results achieved by inorganic materials. On the other hand, this review also summarizes the application of inorganic materials as adsorbents in the selective enrichment of small molecules, which provides a new field for the application of inorganic materials.

[Analysis of clinical effect of McDonald cervical cerclage and the related risk factors].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of McDonald cervical cerclage and the affecting factors. METHODS: Between January 2002 to December 2013 in Peking University First Hospital we performed McDonald cervical cerclage for 116 single pregnant women. They were defined as the successful group who deliveried the live babies after 28 weeks after the cerclage and the failure group who deliveried in the second trimester. According to the surgical indications they were divided into preventive cerclage group and therapeutic cerclage group. Then we analyzed the curative effect and the affecting factors in the groups. RESULTS: (1) In the 116 cases, 12 cases (10.3%) failed, and 104 cases (89.7%) succeeded. In the successful group, 37 cases (35.6%,37/104) deliveried pretermly and 67 cases (64.4%) deliveried termly. And there were 56 cases of vaginal delivery (53.8%), and 48 cases (46.2%) of cesarean section. (2) Among the 116 cases, 48 cases (41.4%) were included in prophylactic cerclage group, the gestational age was (16.3± 2.2) weeks, 68 (58.6%) cases were included in therapeutic group, the gestational age was (24.0±2.2) weeks. The operation time was (22±9) minutes in preventive group and (24±13) minutes in therapeutic group, there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Live-birth rate between preventive cerclage group and therapeutic cerclage group was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). The term birth rate (72.9%, 35/48) in preventive group was higher than that in therapeutic group (47.1%, 32/68), the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Neonatal hospitalization rate was lower in preventive group (14.6%, 7/48) than therapeutic group (36.8%, 25/68) , the difference was statistically significant (P< 0.01). (3) In the failure group placental pathology was examed in 7 cases. The placental tissue showed a large number of neutrophils infiltrating in 6 cases (6/7). In the successful group, 27 pregnant women deliveried between 28 to 33(+6) weeks (26.0%,27/104), 10 pregnant women deliveried between 34 to 36(+6) weeks 10 cases (9.6%, 10/104), 67 cases deliveried after 37 weeks (64.4%, 67/104). A lot of factors including maternal age, the previous cervix operation history, perioperative application of progesterone, operation time and preoperative invasive procedure were compared between the successful group and the failure group. Only maternal age and preoperative invasive proedcure were statistically significant (P<0.05) and the others had no statistical significance (P>0.05). (4) There were 68 cases in the therapeutic group, 7 cases failed, and 61 cases succeeded; the preoperative cervical os in failure group [(21 ± 20) mm] was wider than that in successful group [(14±5) mm], the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); and preoperative vaginal ultrasound measurement of cervical canal length were (18 ± 8) mm versus (19 ± 10) mm, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The McDonald cervical cerclage for cervical incompetence is a simple, safe and high successful rate of intervention measures. The term labor rate of prophylactic cervical cerclage was higher than that of the therapeutic cerclage. Older maternal age and preoperative invasive procedure may be the risk factors for cerclage. The infection may play an important factor leading to the failure of McDonald cervical cerclage.

Suppression of Inflammatory Responses by Dihydromyricetin, a Flavonoid from Ampelopsis grossedentata, via Inhibiting the Activation of NF-κB and MAPK Signaling Pathways.

Ampelopsis grossedentata, an indigenous plant in southern China, has been used for treating pharyngitis in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. In this study, we explored the anti-inflammatory activity of dihydromyricetin (1), its major bioactive component, and the underlying mechanism of this action. We demonstrated that 1 suppressed the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as increased the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice. Moreover, 1 was found to markedly inhibit the production of nitric oxide (NO) and the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6, whereas it increased the level of IL-10 in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Compound 1 also reduced the protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TNF-α, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in macrophage cells. Furthermore, 1 suppressed the phosphorylation of NF-kappa B (NF-κB) and IκBα as well as the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK but not ERK1/2 in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Taken together, the present results suggest that 1 exerts its topical anti-inflammatory action through suppressing the activation of NF-κB and the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK. Thus, 1 may be a potentially useful therapeutic agent for inflammatory-related diseases.

Downregulation of basic fibroblast growth factor is associated with femoral head necrosis in broilers.

Femoral head necrosis (FHN) is a metabolic cartilage disease of rapidly growing broilers. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the apoptotic processes associated with FHN. Broilers were selected and categorized based on clinical examination in 3 groups: healthy, femoral head separation, or femoral head separation with growth plate lacerations. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed fewer chondrocytes in the resting zone of the growth plates when FHN occurred. Moreover, the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay revealed a significant increase in chondrocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, immunohistochemical assays and real-time quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated a decline in bFGF expression. In addition, reduced Bcl-2 mRNA expression was observed along with a corresponding increase in Bax and caspase-3 mRNA expression in FHN samples. There was a correlation between bFGF protein expression and the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells and a correlation between bFGF mRNA expression and expression of Bax, and caspase-3. The results of the study suggested that the expression of bFGF was reduced in the process of chondrocyte apoptosis, which could play an important role in the pathogenesis of FHN in chickens.

Changes in physicochemical properties of egg white and yolk proteins from duck shell eggs due to hydrostatic pressure treatment.

The shell of the duck egg did not crack after pressure treatments (300 to 500 MPa; 25 degrees C; 10 min) in this study; therefore, the changes of physicochemical properties of egg white and yolk proteins from the intact shell egg by pressure treatment were first investigated and compared with those of pressurized hen liquid eggs. Although the proximate compositions of duck eggs and hen eggs were similar, the moisture and protein contents of hen whole eggs were higher than those of duck whole eggs. The protein contents of duck egg white and yolk were slightly lower than those of hen eggs, and the moisture content of duck egg white was equal to that of hen egg white, whereas that of duck egg yolk was lower than that of hen egg yolk. After pressure treatment at 500 MPa, the results of solubility, sulfhydryl content, surface hydrophobicity, and residual denaturation enthalpy showed that egg white proteins underwent slight but significant unfolding and aggregation, whereas pressure treatments below 500 MPa induced insignificant changes in the physicochemical properties. On the other hand, pressure treatments at 400 and 500 MPa significantly reduced the solubility and residual denaturation enthalpy of egg yolk proteins. However, the native PAGE result showed that pressure treatment up to 500 MPa did not affect the protein components of egg white and yolk. The results showed that the application of pressure treatment on duck shell egg may induce reversible denaturation of both egg white and yolk proteins. The egg white and yolk proteins may be prevented from denaturation after pressure treatment in the presence of the eggshell compared with the absence of the eggshell. As reported in the literature, pressure treatments at 300 to 500 MPa and 25 degrees C would be efficient for decontamination of duck shell eggs. Therefore, based on the consideration for food safety and functional properties, pressure processing can be a good preservation technique for duck shell eggs.

SAF values for internal photon emitters calculated for the RPI-P pregnant-female models using Monte Carlo methods.

Estimates of radiation absorbed doses from radionuclides internally deposited in a pregnant woman and her fetus are very important due to elevated fetal radiosensitivity. This paper reports a set of specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for use with the dosimetry schema developed by the Society of Nuclear Medicine's Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) Committee. The calculations were based on three newly constructed pregnant female anatomic models, called RPI-P3, RPI-P6, and RPI-P9, that represent adult females at 3-, 6-, and 9-month gestational periods, respectively. Advanced Boundary REPresentation (BREP) surface-geometry modeling methods were used to create anatomically realistic geometries and organ volumes that were carefully adjusted to agree with the latest ICRP reference values. A Monte Carlo user code, EGS4-VLSI, was used to simulate internal photon emitters ranging from 10 keV to 4 MeV. SAF values were calculated and compared with previous data derived from stylized models of simplified geometries and with a model of a 7.5-month pregnant female developed previously from partial-body CT images. The results show considerable differences between these models for low energy photons, but generally good agreement at higher energies. These differences are caused mainly by different organ shapes and positions. Other factors, such as the organ mass, the source-to-target-organ centroid distance, and the Monte Carlo code used in each study, played lesser roles in the observed differences in these. Since the SAF values reported in this study are based on models that are anatomically more realistic than previous models, these data are recommended for future applications as standard reference values in internal dosimetry involving pregnant females.

A single-step multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection of white spot syndrome virus and infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus in penaeid shrimp.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) are the major viral pathogens of penaeid shrimp worldwide (Lightner & Redman 1998). Litopenaeus vannamei was introduced into China from the Americas, and quickly became widely cultured. Following its introduction, both IHHNV and WSSV have become important pathogens of cultured penaeid shrimp and have had a huge impact on the culture industry in China in recent years.

Specific absorbed fractions for internal photon emitters calculated for a tomographic model of a pregnant woman.

Specific absorbed fractions are essential for calculation of radiation dose from internal emitters. Existing specific absorbed fractions for pregnant women were calculated using the stylized models; in this work, a partial-body tomographic model for a pregnant woman was constructed from a rare set of CT images. Based on this tomographic model, the Monte Carlo code, EGS4-VLSI, was used to derive specific absorbed fractions. Monoenergetic, isotropic photon emitters from 15 keV to 4 MeV were distributed in different source organs, and doses were calculated to many target regions in the body. Even though the results showed general agreement with previous studies for higher energies, significant differences were also found, especially for lower energies. The main reasons for the differences are due to the variation of mass, geometry, and organ distances, and they demonstrate the influence of more realistic body models on dose calculations.

Use of the VIP-Man model to calculate energy imparted and effective dose for x-ray examinations.

A male human tomographic model was used to calculate values of energy imparted (epsilon) and effective dose (E) for monoenergetic photons (30-150 keV) in radiographic examinations. Energy deposition in the organs and tissues of the human phantom were obtained using Monte Carlo simulations. Values of E/epsilon were obtained for three common projections [anterior-posterior (AP), posterior-anterior (PA), and lateral (LAT)] of the head, cervical spine, chest, and abdomen, respectively. For head radiographs, all three projections yielded similar E/epsilon values. At 30 keV, the value of E/epsilon was approximately 1.6 mSv J(-1), which is increased to approximately 7 mSv J(-1) for 150 keV photons. The AP cervical spine was the only projection investigated where the value of E/epsilon decreased with increasing photon energy. Above 70 keV, cervical spine E/epsilon values showed little energy dependence and ranged between approximately 8.5 mSv J(-1) for PA projections and approximately 17 mSv J(-1) for AP projections. The values of E/epsilon for AP chest examinations showed very little variation with photon energy, and had values of approximately 23 mSv J(-1). Values of E/epsilon for PA and LAT chest projections were substantially lower than the AP projections and increased with increasing photon energy. For abdominal radiographs, differences between the PA and LAT projections were very small. All abdomen projections showed an increase in the E/epsilon ratio with increasing photon energy, and reached a maximum value of approximately 13.5 mSv J(-1) for AP projections, and approximately 9.5 mSv J(-1) for PA/lateral projections. These monoenergetic E/epsilon values can generate values of E/epsilon for any x-ray spectrum, and can be used to convert values of energy imparted into effective dose for patients undergoing common head and body radiological examinations.

Colorectal carcinoma among ethnic Chinese in Singapore: trends in incidence rate by anatomic subsite from 1968 to 1992.

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiologic studies have suggested that the anatomic distribution of colorectal carcinoma may have undergone a distal to proximal shift over several decades, which has been attributed variously to environmental and genetic factors as well as preventive intervention. METHODS: Trends in subsite distribution and the incidence rate of colorectal carcinoma among Chinese in Singapore between 1968 and 1992 were explored using data from the Singapore Cancer Registry (n = 10,489). Age-standardized incidence rates were computed and compared further using age-period-cohort models by subsite and gender. RESULTS: The proportion of lesions in the distal colon was found to have increased from 23.2% to 24.4% whereas that for the proximal colon and rectum were fairly consistent over the past 25 years. Our results also showed that age-standardized rates have doubled in proximal lesions (2-3% annually) and more than doubled in distal lesions (3-4% annually) whereas rates in rectal carcinoma have shown a slight increase or stability over time. The patterns of change in all subsite tumors could be attributed to a significant birth cohort effect. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study suggest that incidence rates have increased rapidly with no distal to proximal shift observed among ethnic Chinese in Singapore over the past 25 years. The pattern of change differs from findings reported in high incidence countries such as the U. S. and parts of Europe, suggesting that the preventive intervention and early diagnostic capabilities that may have played an important role in these countries have had less effect in Asia. The rapid overall increase in the incidence rate of colon carcinoma supports the role of dietary and other environmental factors as possible risk factors.