Validation of the 2011 and 2016 American college of rheumatology diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia in a Chinese population.

PURPOSE: To provide a foundation for clinical diagnosis, epidemiological investigation and intervention trials, we examined the reliability and validity of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2011 and 2016 survey diagnostic criteria among Chinese patients based on the fibromyalgia severity (FS) scale. METHODS: In this study, 200 fibromyalgia patients diagnosed according to the 1990 criteria (1990c) were matched with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients based on age and gender. The FS scale score and its subscales were examined to determine their correlations with the revised fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQR). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed, and test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity were examined. RESULTS: The area under the curve (AUC) for the ACR 2011c and 2016c was 0.870 and 0.845, respectively, and the sensitivity and specificity were 78.0% and 96.0% for the 2011c and 70.5% and 98.5% for the 2016c, respectively. The FS scale and its subscales were confirmed to exhibit good internal consistency, and they were significantly correlated with the FIQR, thereby indicating adequate construct validity. Using a lower cutoff value 11 points for the FS scale score based on the generalized pain requirement might be a more effective approach in the Chinese population; this approach yielded an AUC of 0.923 and a sensitivity of 87.0% and specificity of 97.5%. CONCLUSION: The 2011c and 2016c are reliable instruments for diagnosing fibromyalgia patients in China. The FS scale could be a valid tool to assist in fibromyalgia diagnosis, and a cutoff value 11 points is more suitable in Chinese patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03381131.

The Chinese version of the ACR 2011c and 2016c are valid tools for fibromyalgia diagnosis; and a cutoff value 11 points for FS might be more suitable to assist in fibromyalgia diagnosis in Chinese population. The Chinese 2011c and 2016c for fibromyalgia diagnosis can be found as an appendix to this article.

A detection method of typical toxic mixed red tide algae in Qinhuangdao based on three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy.

Red tides occur every year in the Qinhuangdao sea area of China, including a variety of toxic algae and non-toxic algae. Toxic red tide algae have caused great damage to the marine aquaculture industry in China and seriously endangered human health, but most of non-toxic algae are important bait for marine plankton. Therefore, it is very important to identify the type of mixed red tide algae in Qinhuangdao sea area. In this paper, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy and chemometrics were applied to the identification of typical toxic mixed red tide algae in Qinhuangdao. Firstly, the three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum data of typical mixed red tide algae in Qinhuangdao sea area were measured by f-7000 fluorescence spectrometer, and the contour map of algae samples was obtained. Secondly, the contour spectrum analysis is carried out to find the excitation wavelength of the peak position of the three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum and form the new three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum data selected by the feature interval. Then, the new three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum data are extracted by principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, the feature extraction data and the data without feature extraction are used as the input of the genetic optimization support vector machine (GA-SVM) and particle swarm optimization support vector machine (PSO-SVM) classification models, respectively, to obtain the classification model of mixed red tide algae, and the two feature extraction analysis methods and two classification algorithms are compared. The results show that the classification accuracy of the test set using the principal component feature extraction and GA-SVM classification method is 92.97 %, when the excitation wavelengths are 420 nm, 440 nm, 480 nm, 500 nm and 580 nm, and the emission wavelengths are 650-750 nm. Therefore, it is feasible and effective to apply the three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum characteristics and genetic optimization support vector machine classification method to the identification of toxic mixed red tide algae in Qinhuangdao sea area.

A Chinese version of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire: A validation study.

OBJECTIVE: The revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) was developed to measure the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia in randomized controlled trials and routine care. The purpose of this study was to translate and adapt the FIQR from English to Chinese, and to examine the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the FIQR (CFIQR). METHODS: Following the translation of the FIQR, fibromyalgia patients from 6 centers were recruited and completed the CFIQR, the validated Chinese version of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In this study, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, test-retest reliability and item total correlation were used for evaluating external and internal reliability; and criterion and structural validity were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 200 fibromyalgia patients completed the study. The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's alpha .90, .88, .88 and .93 for function, overall impact, symptoms scales and total score, respectively; item-total correlations from .25 to .83.) Test-retest reliability levels of the CFIQR total and subscale scores were strong correlation (intraclass correlation coefficient >0.75). Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the 3 subscale and the total score of the CFIQR and the SF-36, as well as the CFIQR and the BDI, by criterion validity (P < .01). Confirmatory factor analysis gave an acceptable value for structural validity according to the 3-factor structures of function, overall impact and symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The CFIQR is a valid and reliable instrument for both clinical practice and research purposes with Chinese speakers globally. [ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03381131].

Strengthening container shipping network connectivity during COVID-19: A graph theory approach.

A container shipping network connects coastal countries with each other and facilitates most of the world merchandise trade. Reliable maritime connectivity ensures the availability of commodities and economic growth. The global spread of COVID-19 has led to port failures and service cancellations, resulting in decreased connectivity level of container ports. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, a graph theory approach is proposed to strength the container shipping network connectivity by considering topology and the possibility of opening new shipping links between ports. It is designed to maximize network connectivity with limited addable routes. The network connectivity is measured by algebraic connectivity, and the possibility of opening new shipping links is estimated by an extended gravity model. A heuristic algorithm based on Fiedler vector is introduced to obtain the optimal solutions. The performance of the proposed model and algorithm are verified by testing on a real-world container shipping network based on the Alphaliner database. Experimental results illustrate that the presented model is efficient and effective for strengthening the connectivity. Policy makers can refer to the suggested optimal shipping links to facilitate better shipping network connectivity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initial respiratory support modality and outcome in preterm infants with less than 32 weeks of gestation in China: A multicentre retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: For initial respiratory management, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is increasingly used for preterm infants, especially for gestational age less than 32 weeks. However, neonatologists are concerned about the potential risks of CPAP support failure. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between different initial respiratory support modalities and the outcomes of preterm infants at <32 weeks of gestation across multiple neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in China. METHODS: This study was carried out over a period of 12 months in 2018. Unadjusted relative risks (RR) for demographic and clinical characteristics were calculated for CPAP failure and CPAP success in the total cohort using log-linear model based on generalised estimating equations for clustered observations. RESULTS: Among 1560 preterm infants delivered at <32 weeks, the incidence of CPAP failure was 10.3%. After adjustment for demographic and clinical factors, the relative risk of mortality (RR 7.54, 95% CI 5.56, 10.44), pneumothorax (RR 9.85, 95% CI 2.89, 61.53), pulmonary haemorrhage (RR 7.78, 95% CI 4.51, 14.64) and BPD (RR 3.65, 95% CI 3.65, 4.51) were considerably higher for infants in the CPAP failure group than those in the CPAP-S group. However, the risk of poor outcomes in CPAP failure infants was similar to that of those in the initial mechanical ventilation (MV) group. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous positive airway pressure failure was associated with an increased risk of mortality and major morbidities, including BPD, pulmonary haemorrhage and pneumothorax, and was comparable to the risk associated with initial MV.

Aloin promotes cell apoptosis by targeting HMGB1-TLR4-ERK axis in human melanoma cells.

Aloin (ALO) is the major anthraquinone glycoside purified from the Aloe species. It is well known for its anti-tumor effects. However, the protective effects of ALO in melanoma cancer and underlying molecular mechanism remain unclear. High-mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) is an intracellular protein, which has closely association with cell survival, proliferation and metastasis in various cancers. In this study, we explored the effect of ALO on cell survival and apoptosis by targeting HMGB1 signal pathway. We confirmed that ALO exerts a strong effect on promoting cell apoptosis of melanoma cells in vitro. Furthermore, HMGB1 release was significantly inhibited in melanoma cancer cells treated with ALO. Knockdown of HMGB1 could enhance melanoma cell death that is induced by ALO treatment. Moreover, HMGB1 facilitated ALO mediated melanoma cell apoptosis by binding to its receptor, Toll-like receptor 4 and activating extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signal pathway. Altogether, our study demonstrated that ALO plays an important role in promoting apoptosis of melanoma cells by inhibiting HMGB1 release and activation of downstream ERK signal pathway.

[Characteristics of seawater nutrients during the occurrence of brown tide in the coastal area of Qinhuangdao, China]. / ç§¦çš‡å²›æµ·åŸŸè¤æ½®ç”Ÿæ¶ˆè¿‡ç¨‹ä¸­è¥å »ç›ç‰¹å¾.

Brown tide that occurred in Qinhuangdao coastal waters from 2009 to 2015 caused huge losses of local marine aquaculture and coastal tourism, with devastating effects on marine ecosystems. Nutrients are important biogenic elements for algal growth. It is of great significance to examine the fluctuation characteristics of nutrients in the process of brown tide to understand the nutritional mechanism of brown tide. Based on the survey data of 30 stations located in Qinhuangdao coastal area from April to June 2014, we analyzed nutrient characteristics during the occurrence of brown tide and its relationship with the population dynamics of Aureococcus anophagefferens. The results showed that the concentration of dissolved nitrogen (DN) in April, May and June 2014 was 265.65, 355.36 and 323.71 µg·L-1 respectively, and the concentration of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was 196.98, 242.88 and 177.69 µg·L-1, accounting for 74.2%, 68.3% and 54.9% of DN, respectively. The concentration of dissolved phosphorus (DP) in April, May and June was 15.95, 11.39 and 11.14 µg·L-1 respectively. In April and May, PO43--P accounted for a large proportion of the DP, 74.8% and 80.9% respectively. In June, the proportion of PO43--P in DP fell to 33.8%, and the proportion of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) in DP rose to 66.2%. The concentration of SiO32--Si in April, May and June was 70.95, 181.13 and 120.68 µg·L-1, respectively. Except for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in May and DON, the distribution of other nutrients had clear characteristics that it decreased gradually from inshore to the offshore, with the relatively high concentrations in river mouth. Through R-factor analysis and nutrient structure analysis, it was found that in April, brown tide was at the development stage, and DOP might be the main driving factor for the growth of A. anophagefferens. In May, brown tide was at the maintenance stage, and water temperature became the main controlling factor. When water temperature was higher than 12 ℃, brown tide could occur. In June, brown tide began to decay, and PO43--P had greater effects on the community structure of phytoplankton. DON was the important factor causing the outbreak of brown tide, with a concentration threshold of 150 µg·L-1 and the ratio DON/DIN being greater than 1.

[Therapeutic effect of total triterpenoids of Chaenomeles speciosa combined with omeprazole on gastric ulcer induced by indomethacin in rats].

The aim of this paper was to observe the combination therapy with total triterpenoids of Chaenomeles speciosa and omeprazole on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in rats, and explore its possible mechanism. Rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, omeprazole monotherapy(3.6 mg·kg~(-1)) group, total triterpenoids of C. speciosa monotherapy(100 mg·kg~(-1)) group, total triterpenoids of C. speciosa and omeprazole combination therapy(100 mg·kg~(-1)+3.6 mg·kg~(-1)) group. Except for the normal group, the other groups were given indomethacin(20 mg·kg~(-1)) by oral once a day for 7 consecutive days. Then the treated groups were given corresponding drugs by gavage, once a day for 14 consecutive days. The next day after the last administration, half of the rats in each group were measured the gastric mucosal blood flow, gastric juice volume and serum TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-4 and IL-10. After the remaining rats in each group were underwent pyloric ligation 4 hours after the last administration, the gastric endocrine volume, pH value and total acidity of gastric secretion were measured, then histological analysis was performed, MPO activity, cAMP content and histomorphological analysis were conducted. Real-time PCR was applied to detect the mRNA expressions of gastric tissue TNF-α,IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-4, IL-10, VEGFA, A_(2A)R; the protein expressions of VEGFA, A_(2A)R, PKA, p-PKA, CREB, p-CREB, EGF, EGFR, p-EGFR, MUC6, TFF2 in gastric tissue were detected by Western blot. The results indicated that total triterpenoids of C. speciosa and omeprazole combination therapy might significantly increase gastric mucosal blood flow, gastric mucus volume, reduce gastric endocrine volume, secretion acidity and mucosal damage, decrease the levels of TNF-α,IL-1ß and IL-6, increase the levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in blood and gastric tissue, inhibit the activity of MPO, increase the content of cAMP in gastric tissue, up-regulate the mRNA expressions of VEGFA, A_(2A)R and protein expressions of VEGFA, A_(2A)R, PKA, p-PKA, CREB, p-CREB, EGF, EGFR, p-EGFR, MUC6, TFF2 in gastric tissue, elevate p-PKA/PKA, p-CREB/CREB and p-EFGR/EFGR. Moreover, the combination therapy with total triterpenoids of C. speciosa and omeprazole was more obvious than those of two monotherapies. These aforementioned findings suggested that the combination therapy with total triterpenoids of C. speciosa and omeprazole on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer have significant therapeutic effect on indomethacin induced gastric ulcer in rats, its mechanism might be related to regulating A_(2A)R/AKT/CREB, A_(2A)R/VEGFA, EGF/EGFR and MUC6/TFF2 signaling pathways, inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors, increasing gastric mucosal blood flow, up-regulating mucosal cell proliferation factors and promoting mucosal protective factors.

A rare case of meningoencephalitis by Listeria monocytogenes in systemic lupus erythematosus: case report and review.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a high risk of infection. Central nervous system infection and neuropsychiatric SLE are both major causes of death. It is vital to distinguish between these two conditions to improve prognosis due to the treatment paradigms required for each condition. Here, we report one case of meningoencephalitis by Listeria monocytogenes (LM) in a patient with SLE who presented with fever and developed headache and altered in consciousness in the hospital. The cerebrospinal fluid culture was positive for LM, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were suggestive of ependymitis and periventricular white matter lesions. Amoxicillin/sulbactam, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and rifampicin were administered for 8 weeks. The patient had a relative good recovery without serious neurological sequelae after a follow-up of nearly 2 years. MRI abnormalities also had obvious resolution.

Successful treatment of granulomatosis with polyangiitis with hydropneumothorax using corticosteroids and immunosuppressant.

Pneumothorax and pleural effusion is a rare and serious complication of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). The present study reported a case with a history of sinusitis for 20 years, dry cough for three years and exacerbated purulent nasal discharge and recurrent skin ulcers for two years. The patient experienced sudden difficulty in breathing two months prior to presentation. Lung computed tomography (CT) showed multiple bilateral lung nodules and cavitary nodules as well as right hydropneumothorax. Paranasal sinus CT showed soft tissue infiltration. The cytoplasmic pattern of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (c-ANCA) was positive and anti-proteinase 3 (PR3) antibodies, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were elevated. After pleural drainage and methylprednisolone pulse treatment, followed by cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine, the patient's symptoms were ameliorated, lungs were re-expanded, and c-ANCA, PR3 and inflammatory markers returned to normal levels.

An isolated cellulolytic Escherichia coli from bovine rumen produces ethanol and hydrogen from corn straw.

BACKGROUND: Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant resource on earth. Lignocellulose is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. The special construction of three kinds of constituents led to the prevention of effective degradation. The goal of this work was to investigate the great potentials of bovine rumen for novel cellulolytic bacterial isolation, which may be used for chemicals and biofuel production from lignocellulose. RESULTS: A cellulolytic strain, ZH-4, was isolated from Inner Mongolia bovine rumen. This strain was identified as Escherichia coli by morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The extracellular enzyme activity analysis showed that this strain produces extracellular cellulases with an exoglucanase activity of 9.13 IU, an endoglucanase activity of 5.31 IU, and a ß-glucosidase activity of 7.27 IU at the pH 6.8. This strain was found to produce 0.36 g/L ethanol and 4.71 mL/g hydrogen from corn straw with cellulose degradation ratio of 14.30% and hemicellulose degradation ratio of 11.39%. CONCLUSIONS: It is the first time that a cellulolytic E. coli was isolated and characterized form the bovine rumen. This provided a great opportunity for researchers to investigate the evolution mechanisms of the microorganisms in the rumen and provided great chance to produce biofuels and chemicals directly from engineered E. coli using consolidated bioprocess.

Neuroprotective effect of the Chinese medicine Tiantai No. 1 and its molecular mechanism in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8.

Tiantai No. 1, a Chinese medicine predominantly composed of powdered Rhizoma Gastrodiae, Radix Ginseng, and Ginkgo leaf at a ratio of 2:1:2 and dissolved in pure water, is neuroprotective in animal models of various cognitive disorders, but its molecular mechanism remains unclear. We administered Tiantai No. 1 intragastrically to senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice (a model of Alzheimer's disease) at doses of 50, 100 or 150 mg/kg per day for 8 weeks and evaluated their behavior in the Morris water maze and expression of Alzheimer's disease-related proteins in the brain. Tiantai No. 1 shortened the escape latency in the water maze training trials, and increased swimming time in the target quadrant during the spatial probe test, indicating that Tiantai No. 1 improved learning and memory in SAMP8 mice. Immunohistochemistry revealed that Tiantai No. 1 restored the proliferation potential of Ki67-positive cells in the hippocampus. In addition, mice that had received Tiantai No. 1 had fewer astrocytes, and less accumulation of amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau. These results suggest that Tiantai No. 1 is neuroprotective in the SAMP8 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and acts by restoring neuronal number and proliferation potential in the hippocampus, decreasing astrocyte infiltration, and reducing the accumulation of amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau.

Transcriptomic profiling of taproot growth and sucrose accumulation in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) at different developmental stages.

In sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), taproot weight and sucrose content are the important determinants of yield and quality. However, high yield and low sucrose content are two tightly bound agronomic traits. The advances in next-generation sequencing technology and the publication of sugar beet genome have provided a method for the study of molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of these two agronomic traits. In this work, we performed comparative transcriptomic analyses in the high taproot yield cultivar SD13829 and the high sucrose content cultivar BS02 at five developmental stages. More than 50,000,000 pair-end clean reads for each library were generated. When taproot turned into the rapid growth stage at the growth stage of 82 days after emergence (DAE), eighteen enriched gene ontology (GO) terms, including cell wall, cytoskeleton, and enzyme linked receptor protein signaling pathway, occurred in both cultivars. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of paired comparison in both cultivars were enriched in the cell wall GO term. For pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs that were respectively generated at 82 DAE compared to 59 DAE (the earlier developmental stage before taproot turning into the rapid growth stage), plant hormone signal transduction pathway was enriched. At 82 DAE, the rapid enlarging stage of taproot, several transcription factor family members were up-regulated in both cultivars. An antagonistic expression of brassinosteroid- and auxin-related genes was also detected. In SD13829, the growth strategy was relatively focused on cell enlargement promoted by brassinosteroid signaling, whereas in BS02, it was relatively focused on secondarily cambial cell division regulated by cytokinin, auxin and brassinosteroid signaling. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the weight and sucrose content of taproot rely on its growth strategy, which is controlled by brassinosteroid, auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin.

A Novel Consensus-Based Particle Swarm Optimization-Assisted Trust-Tech Methodology for Large-Scale Global Optimization.

A novel three-stage methodology, termed the "consensus-based particle swarm optimization (PSO)-assisted Trust-Tech methodology," to find global optimal solutions for nonlinear optimization problems is presented. It is composed of Trust-Tech methods, consensus-based PSO, and local optimization methods that are integrated to compute a set of high-quality local optimal solutions that can contain the global optimal solution. The proposed methodology compares very favorably with several recently developed PSO algorithms based on a set of small-dimension benchmark optimization problems and 20 large-dimension test functions from the CEC 2010 competition. The analytical basis for the proposed methodology is also provided. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methodology can rapidly obtain high-quality optimal solutions that can contain the global optimal solution. The scalability of the proposed methodology is promising.

A portable microcolumn based on silver nanoparticle functionalized glass fibers and its SERS application.

We presented a facile method for the preparation of a portable detection column integrated with silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) functionalized glass fibers for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Ag NPs were immobilized onto the surface of fibers through a two-step self-assembly process, and the cycling of the assembly process was repeated to optimize the SERS activity. The optimized fibers coated with homogeneous and dense Ag NPs were combined with a glass column, displaying good reproducibility. This combination could construct more "hot spots" and the spatial intra-channel structure for high mass transfer, and provide more sufficient interactions between the probing laser and metallic nanoparticles. The capability of the prepared column to have high sensitivity to dyes was demonstrated by the measurements of rhodamine 6G, alizarin red and methyl orange, with low concentrations of 28 pM, 64 pM and 0.36 nM, respectively. The SERS-active column fabricated by a facile, low-cost and high-yield approach is expected to be an effective and practical means for on-site application when rapid separation and detection of analytes in the liquid sample is needed.

[Diagnostic value and influencing factors for amplitude-integrated EEG in brain injury in preterm infants].

OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnostic value and influencing factors for amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) in brain injury in preterm infants. METHODS: One hundred and sixteen preterm infants with a gestational age (GA) between 27 weeks and 36(+6) weeks were enrolled as subjects. The aEEG scores of all preterm infants were obtained within 6 hours after birth. According to the diagnostic results, the 116 preterm infants were divided into two groups: brain injury (n=63) and non-brain injury (n=53). The risk factors for brain injury were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. According to the aEEG results, the 116 preterm infants were divided into two groups: normal aEEG (n=58) and abnormal aEEG (n=58). The influencing factors for aEEG results in preterm infants were determined using univariate analysis. RESULTS: The brain injury group had a significantly higher rate of abnormal aEEG than the non-brain injury group (83% vs 11%; P<0.05). The infants in the brain injury group from two different GA subgroups (27-33(+6) weeks and 34-36(+6) weeks) had significantly lower aEEG scores than the non-brain injury group from corresponding GA subgroups (P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that low GA (<32 weeks), low birth weight (<1 500 g), abnormal placenta, fetal membranes, and umbilical cord, and hypertension during pregnancy were high-risk factors for brain injury (P<0.05). There were significant differences in GA, birth weight, abnormal placenta, fetal membranes, and umbilical cord, and hypertension during pregnancy between the normal and abnormal aEEG groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors for brain injury are consistent with the influencing factors for aEEG results in preterm infants, suggesting that aEEG contributes to the early diagnosis of brain injury.

Facile fabrication of a silver dendrite-integrated chip for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

A facile approach to fabricating a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active chip by integrating silver dendrites with copper substrate through a one-step process was explored. The structures of dendrites were synthesized and controlled by an AgNO3/PVP aqueous system, and the fabrication parameters amount of AgNO3/PVP and reaction time were systematically investigated. The optimized silver dendrites, closely aggregated on the surface of the copper chip, exhibited high SERS activity for detecting rhodamine 6G at a concentration as low as 3.2 × 10(-11) M. Meanwhile, the prepared SERS-active chip displayed a high thermal stability and good reproducibility. Moreover, the potential application for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was demonstrated by detection of fluoranthene at a low concentration of 4.5 × 10(-10) M. This SERS-active chip prepared by the convenient and high-yield method would be a promising means for rapid detection under field conditions.

Screening of differentially expressed microRNA in ulcerative colitis related colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential expression of microRNA (miRNA) in colon between ulcerative colitis (UC) and ulcerative colitis related colorectal cancer (UCRCC). METHODS: An UC mouse model was built by dextran sodium sulfate, and an UCRCC mouse model by dextran sodium sulfate and 1,2-diformylhydrazine. RNAs were extracted from the colon, purified and hybridized with fluorescence-labeled miRNA oligonucleotide gene chip. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to verify the expression variation of miRNA. SAM was employed for the data analysis. RESULTS: The up-regulated miRNAs in colon cancer included has-miR-194, has-miR-215, has-miR-93, has-miR-192, has-miR-92a, has-miR-29b, and has-miR-20a (median false discovery rate<5%), while the down-regulated miRNAs were has-miR-1231, has-miR-195, has-miR-143, and has-miR-145 (median false discovery rate<5%). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differential expression of miRNA was found between the UC mouse and UCRCC mouse, which may be related to the onset, erosion and transfer of colorectal cancer.

Production of novel microbial flocculants by Klebsiella sp. TG-1 using waste residue from the food industry and its use in defecating the trona suspension.

A microbial-flocculants-producing (MBF-producing) bacterium, named TG-1, was isolated from waste water of a starch factory, and identified as Klebsiella sp. TG-1. The microbial flocculants (MBF) produced by TG-1, named as MBF-TG-1, was applied to defecating the strong basic trona suspension in the trona industry. After optimizing medium and culturing conditions with single-factor and orthogonal designs, the highest flocculation rate of 86.9% was achieved. Chemical analysis showed that the purified microbial flocculants (MBF-TG-1) was mainly composed of polysaccharides (84.6%), with a small amount of protein or amino acid (11.1%). Bridging mechanism was supposed as the main flocculation mechanism by analyzing the flocculation process and the biochemistry properties of MBF-TG-1. The high flocculation rate (84%) was also achieved with a low-cost medium (the solid residue of tofu production from food industry).

An evaluation of a 10-gauge vacuum-assisted system for ultrasound-guided excision of clinically benign breast lesions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a 10-gauge vacuum-assisted system for the excision of clinically benign breast lesions. The minimal excision of 245 lesions in 162 patients was performed with VACORA vacuum-assisted system under the guidance of ultrasound between July 2007 and April 2008. The lesions were category 3 lesions as determined by ultrasound imaging according to Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) (n=208) or had been confirmed as benign by a previous core-needle biopsy (n=37). As many as 244 lesions were demonstrated to be benign and one case was demonstrated to be malignant by pathology after resection. In the 244 benign lesions, 220 lesions were excised completely as demonstrated by the follow-up ultrasound examination. The malignant lesion was managed with surgical excision. The 10-gauge vacuum-assisted system is highly successful for the excision of benign breast lesions; it is an alternative tool for minimal treatment of benign breast lesions.