[Effect of Water Components on Aggregation and Sedimentation of Polystyrene Nanoplastics].

The aggregation and sedimentation of micro/nano-plastics significantly affect their migration and distribution in the environment. This study investigated the effects of Na+ and natural organic matter （NOM） on the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nano-plastics （PS-NPs） in the aqueous phase. Six types of water， such as seawater， lake water， and domestic sewage， were used to evaluate the above effects and other potential influencing factors. The results indicated that Na+ could facilitate the sedimentation of PS-NPs when it was less than 80 mmol·L-1， whereas it could promote the aggregation and suspension of PS-NPs when the concentration was greater than 80 mmol·L-1. NOM molecules affected the aggregation and sedimentation of PS-NPs by changing the ζ potential and relative density of particles via forming a multilayer adsorption structure with Na+ on the particle surface. It was observed that NOM greater than 10 mg·L-1 enhanced the dispersion and suspension of PS-NPs， which might have been attributed to the decrease in relative density of the particles as a large amount of NOM was absorbed onto the surface. Compared with synthetic waters， environmental waters enhanced the aggregation of PS-NPs， which may have been related to the amino acid， protein， and other organic macro-molecules in the water.

Pre-treatment drug resistance of newly reported HIV-1 infected individuals in Wenzhou / 预防医学

Objective@#To know the pre-treatment drug resistance ( PDR ) status of newly reported human immunodeficiency virus type 1 ( HIV-1 ) infected individuals in Wenzhou, so as to provide guidance for antiretroviral therapy ( ART ). @*Methods@# Totally 232 plasma samples of newly reported HIV-1 infected individuals who had not received ART were collected in Wenzhou in 2019. Virus ( HIV-1 ) RNA was extracted, followed by reverse transcription PCR and nested PCR to amplify the pol region and sequence. Resistance mutations and resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ( NNRTIs ), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ( NRTIs ) and protease inhibitors ( PIs ) was analyzed.@*Results@#The pol region sequences from 199 infected patients were obtained and the incidence of PDR was 8.04% ( 16/199 ). Eight genotypes were detected, including circulating recombinant forms ( CRFs ) CRF07_BC ( 47.24%, 94/199 ) and CRF01_AE ( 29.15%, 58/199 ) which were the dominant types. Two unique recombinant forms ( URFs ) were detected, namely URF( CRF01_AE/BC ) and URF( B/C ) . Thirty-one cases ( 15.58% 31/199 ) had drug-resistant mutations. For NNRTIs, NRTIs and PIs, 20 cases ( 64.52% ) , 2 cases ( 6.45% ) and 9 cases ( 29.03% ) with drug resistance mutations were detected, respectively. The resistance mutations to NNRTIs included K101E, K103N/R, V106I, E138K, V179D/E/T, Y181C, G190A and H221Y. Four cases each had two resistance mutations to NNRTIs. The resistance mutations to NRTIs were V75M and M184V. The resistance mutations to PIs were M46I, L33F and Q58E. For the newly released NNRTI drug Doravirine ( DOR ), two cases were found to have mutations of resistance. @*Conclusions@#The incidence of PDR among newly reported HIV-1 patients in Wenzhou is 8.04%, mainly caused by NNRTIs drug-resistant mutation. Resistance to the new drug DOR has emerged. The surveillance of drug resistance should continue to be strengthened.

Intramedullary nailing combined with cannulated screw in treating femoral condyles fractures / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical effects of retrograde intramedullary nailing and cannulated screws in the treatment of femoral condylar fracture.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From June 2009 to June 2015, 13 patients with femoral condyles fracture were treated by retrograde intramedullary nailing and cannulated screws including 6 males and 7 females with an average age of 46.1 years old ranging from 16 to 76 years old. There were 10 cases of closed fractures, 3 cases of open fraetures. According to AO classification criteriam, 4 cases were type C1, 7 cases were type C2, 2 cases were type C3. Postoperative reduction of fracture and the knee joint function recovery were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All patients were followed up for 12 to 36 months with a mean of 24 months. X-ray examination showed that the union time of fracture was 18 to 24 weeks, 21 weeks on average. There were no cases of loosening, breakage of internal fixators and re-fracture. Hospital for Special Surgery(HSS) knee score was 90.07±4.99 at 1 year after the operation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The clinical efficacy for retrograde intramedullary nailing and cannulated screw for the treatment of femoral condyles fracture was excellent. It can improve the anatomical reattachment rate and reduce the complications and promote the knee functional recovery.</p>

A TET2 rs3733609 C/T genotype is associated with predisposition to the myeloproliferative neoplasms harboring JAK2(V617F) and confers a proliferative potential on erythroid lineages.

Common germline single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at JAK2 locus have been associated with Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). And, the germline sequence variant rs2736100 C in TERT is related to risk of MPN, suggesting a complex association between SNPs and the pathogenesis of MPN. Our previous study (unpublished data) showed that there was a high frequency distribution in rs3733609 C/T genotype at Ten-Eleven Translocation 2 (TET2) locus in one Chinese familial primary myelofibrosis. In the present study, we evaluate the role and clinical significance of rs3733609 C/T genotype in JAK2V617F-positive sporadic MPN (n = 181). TET2 rs3733609 C/T genotype had a higher incidence (13.81%; 25/181) in JAK2V617F-positive sporadic MPN patients than that in normal controls (n = 236) (6.35%; 15/236), which was predisposing to MPN (odds ratio(OR) = 2.361; P = 0.01). MPN patients with rs3733609 C/T genotype had increased leukocyte and platelets counts, elevated hemoglobin concentration in comparison with T/T genotype. Thrombotic events were more common in MPN patients with rs3733609 C/T than those with T/T genotype (P < 0.01). We confirmed that rs3733609 C/T genotype downregulated TET2 mRNA transcription, and the mechanism may be involved in a disruption of the interaction between CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPA) and TET2 rs3733609 C/T locus.TET2 rs3733609 C/T genotype stimulated the erythroid hematopoiesis in MPN patients. Altogether, we found a novel hereditary susceptible factor-TET2 rs3733609 C/T variant for the development of MPN, suggesting the variant may be partially responsible for the pathogenesis and accumulation of MPN.

Analysis of clinical and laboratory characteristics in 42 patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura from a single center in China.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life-threatening disease characterized by microvascular platelet deposition and thrombus formation with resulting microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. Deficiency of the von Willebrand factor cleavage protease, also known as ADAMTS 13, has been implicated as an important etiological factor in TTP. Little studies were obtained on Chinese patients with TTP until now. Our aim was to analyze the clinical features, outcome and laboratory characteristics of Chinese TTP patients, and determine whether plasma ADAMTS 13 activity is decreased in TTP and its diagnostic value for TTP. Forty-two TTP patients (29 females; 13 males) admitted to our hospital from 1998 to 2010 were analyzed. There were 34 patients (81%) with the triad of TTP, including hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and neurologic abnormalities; 7 (16.7%) had the classical pentad of TTP. Major etiologic factors were acquired autoimmunological abnormalities (31%); no familial TTP was identified in this series. The schistocytes of peripheral blood smears were present in all cases with a mean frequency of 4.6% (range from 0.3% to 13.4%). Plasma ADAMTS 13 activity was determined in 22 patients with the FRET-vWF86 assay. Only 4 idiopathic TTP patients (18.2%) had severe ADAMTS 13 deficiency (activity<10%); 9 (40.9%) had moderate decrease of ADAMTS 13 activity (activity: 10-40%); another 9 (40.91%) had normal ADAMTS 13 activity (>40%). T lymphocyte subpopulation was measured in 23 TTP patients with FACS Calibur; 14 of the 23 (60.9%) had significantly decreased CD4 cells count and CD4/CD8 ratio, suggesting cellular immune dysfunction may be involved in the pathogenesis of TTP. In the studies, plasmapheresis is the main therapeutic method. 26 of 31 patients (83.9%) accepting plasmapheresis achieved complete remission; those patients who only underwent plasma infusion had low remission rate (18.2%) and high mortality (9/11; 81.8%). Four patients with packed RBC infusion manifested transient exacerbation of neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. In conclusion, the diagnosis of TTP in China is still based on clinical features including evidence of microangiopathic hemolysis. Severe ADAMTS 13 activity deficiency might be a valuable indicator for idiopathic TTP diagnosis. Further studies are needed to determine the real value of ADAMTS 13 activity for TTP diagnosis and whether T lymphocytes subset dysregulation plays important role in TTP pathogenesis.

[Energy levels of hydrogenic impurities in InAs quantum ring].

The distribution of energy levels of the ground state and the low-lying excited states of hydrogenic impurities in InAs quantum ring was investigated by applying the effective mass approximation and the perturbation method. In 2D polar coordinates, the exact solution to the Schrödinger equation was used to calculate the perturbation integral in a parabolic confinement potential. The numerical results show that the energy levels of electron are sensitively dependent on the radius of the quantum ring and a minimum exists on account of the parabolic confinement potential. With decreasing the radius, the energy spacing between energy levels increases. The degenerate energy levels of the first excited state for hydrogenic impurities are not relieved, and when the degenerate energy levels are split and the energy spacing will increase with the increase in the radius. The energy spacing between energy levels of electron is also sensitively dependent on the angular frequency and will increase with the increases in it. The degenerate energy levels of the first excited state are not relieved. The degenerate energy levels of the second excited state are relieved partially. The change in angular frequency will have a profound effect upon the calculation of the energy levels of the ground state and the low-lying excited states of hydrogenic impurities in InAs quantum ring. The conclusions of this paper will provide important guidance to investigating the optical transitions and spectral structures in quantum ring.

Use of all-trans retinoic acid in combination with arsenic trioxide for remission induction in patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia and for consolidation/maintenance in CR patients.

In the present study, 90 patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) were studied for all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) combination treatment in remission induction and postremission therapy. In addition, 20 APL patients who had achieved complete remission (CR) with an ATRA-based regimen received ATRA/As(2)O(3) combination for consolidation and maintenance were also enrolled. The results showed that ATRA/As(2)O(3) combination therapy yielded a high CR rate of 93.3% and a significantly shorter time to enter CR (median: 31 days; range: 18-59 days) compared to the ATRA-based regimen (n = 72; median: 39 days; range: 25-62 days). With the ATRA/As(2)O(3) combination for CR maintaining, regardless of the way by which CR was attained, the relapse-free survival was significantly better than with an ATRA plus cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen (92.9 +/- 3.2% vs. 72.4 +/- 7.6%, for the 3-year Kaplan-Meier estimate of relapse-free survival). The drug toxicity profile showed that with the use of As(2)O(3), the incidence of hepatotoxicity was obviously high during remission induction but decreased significantly during postremission treatment. We conclude that APL patients may benefit from the early use of the combination of ATRA and As(2)O(3), in either remission induction or consolidation/maintenance.

Fms-like tyrosine kinase (FLT) 3 and FLT3 internal tandem duplication in different types of adult leukemia: analysis of 147 patients.

AIM: To assess the expression level of fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3), the incidence of FLT3/internal tandem duplications (ITD) mutation, and prognostic value of FLT3 changes in different types of adult leukemia. METHODS: Bone marrow mononuclear cells were isolated from 147 adult patients with leukemia. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to screen FLT3/ITD mutation and quantitative PCR was performed to evaluate the expression of the FLT3 transcript. Flow cytometry was used for detection of FLT3 receptor protein expression on bone marrow mononuclear cells. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to estimate the significance of FLT3. RESULTS: FLT3 expression was higher in acute myeloid leukemia and B-acute lymphoid leukemia than in T-acute lymphoid leukemia (P=0.006, P=0.001) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (P<0.001). In chronic myelogenous leukemia, FLT3 expression in blast transformation phase was higher than in acceleration phase (P=0.023). Surface expression of FLT3 protein was correlated with high percentage of bone marrow blasts and with FLT3 mRNA expression (r=0.366, P<0.001) in acute leukemia. FLT3/ITDs in the juxtamembrane domain were found in 25% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and 7% of patients with acute lymphoid leukemia. FLT3/ITD positive sequences had 36, 42, and 57 nucleotides. FLT3/ITD mutation was associated with a higher white blood cell count, higher marrow blast percentage, and elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (P=0.045, P=0.014, P<0.001, respectively) and not associated with a higher FLT3 mRNA and FLT3 protein expression, and lower complete remission (P=0.091, P=0.060, P=0.270, respectively). CONCLUSION: FLT3 expression levels differed in different types of adult leukemia. Overexpression of FLT3 and presence of a positive FLT3/ITD mutation in acute leukemia were associated with unfavorable clinical characteristics and poor prognosis.

Arsenic trioxide, thalidomide and retinoid acid combination therapy in higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of arsenic trioxide, retinoic acid and thalidomide combination therapy in higher risk MDS. METHODS: Twenty-one patients diagnosed with higher risk MDS were administered 10mg/day arsenic trioxide intravenously for 10 days, 40mg/day retinoic acid orally for 2 weeks and 100mg/day thalidomide orally for 4 weeks per cycle. RESULTS: After at least two treatment cycles, 10 patients showed hematologic responses. One achieved CR, one achieved PR, three patients achieved major hematological improvements. The efficacy rate was 24% (5/21), and the response rate was 48% (10/21). The schedule was tolerated well by all patients and toxicities were moderate and reversible. CONCLUSION: The combination of arsenic trioxide, retinoic acid and thalidomide could have therapeutic benefit in higher risk MDS with safety.

[Quantitative microarray-based DNA methylation analysis of E-cadherin gene promoter in acute leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively detect the methylation of E-cadherin gene 5'-CpG islands in acute leukemia by microarray-based DNA analysis and to briefly discuss the role of microarry for detection of methylation in tumors. METHODS: Bisulfite-modified DNA was used as a template for PCR amplification, resulting in conversion of unmethylated cytosine, but not methylated cytosine, into thymine within CpG islands of interest. Five sets of oligonucleotide probes were designed to fabricate a DNA microarray to detect the methylation changes of E-cadherin gene CpG islands in acute leukemia. By drawing a standard curve to assess the levels of changes in methylation detected in the examined samples. RESULTS: Microarray assay was successfully used to quantitatively detect methylation changes of E-cadherin gene in 5 acute leukemia samples. Varying degree of methylation was detected in five regions and the hypermethylation region was the same. The result was validated by gene sequencing. CONCLUSION: Microarray assay may be applied as an useful tool for mapping methylation changes in multiple CpG loci and for leukemia research. It is more time-saving and labor-saving than gene sequencing and can be used to quantitatively detect changes in methylation with high throughput.

Study on the efficacy and safety of high dose thymopentin combined with trans-artery chemoembolization for primary liver cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy and safety of high doses of thymopentin (10 mg/d) combined with transartery chemoembolization for primary liver cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty primary liver cancer patients were randomly divided into two groups: therapeutic and control group, and all were treated with transfemoral artery chemoembolization (TACE) with oxaliplatin 150 mg, pharmorubicin 50 mg, 5-Fu 750 mg, CF 300 mg and lipiodol 20 ml. Therapeutic group (25) were added 10 mg thymopentin daily after TACE: i.v. on dl - d5, and im on D6 - D21.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was a significant difference in adverse effect and toxicity such as naupathia,fever, swirl, asthenia observed between two groups (P < 0.05). No difference in either pre- or post-chemotherapy peripheral blood examination and biochemical assay was found between two groups (P > 0.05). In control group, CD4+ cell was 37.92% +/- 8.71% in pre-treatment, which decreased to 29.16% +/- 8.21% in post-treatment with a significant difference (P < 0.01), whereas there was no evident difference in CD4+ cell between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the treatment group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Transartery chemoembolization combined with high dose of thymopentin in the treatment for primary liver cancer is effective and safe, and can significantly improve the immune function and the chemotherapy tolerance.</p>

[Clinical analysis of histocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the clinical features and histopathology of histocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (HNL) so as to better recognize the disease. METHODS: The clinical features, histopathology, and diagnosis of 10 patients admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical features of these 10 cases included: young females were the majority; lymphadenopathy and fever were the most common clinical manifestations; some cases were accompanied by connective tissue diseases. Histopathologic examination showed distinctive necrosis and around the necrotic foci, variable proliferations of histocytes but generally without infiltration of neutrophils. CONCLUSION: HNL has some typical histopathological alterations and relatively fine prognosis,but it tends to be misdiagnosed as lymphoma or lymphoid tuberculosis and may be accompanied by other diseases.

[Identification of FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion, and expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 in hypereosinophilic syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion exists in hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) patients, explore the relationship between FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion and clinical phenotypes, and observe and reveal the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT(5)) in granulocytes of HES and the biological significance thereof. METHODS: Specimens of peripheral blood were collected from 4 HES patients diagnosed based on the criteria of Chusid et al. Total RNA was extracted from granulocytes and cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcription. Nested-PCR was used to amplify the target fusion gene and the positive PCR fragments were sequenced directly. Total protein of the peripheral granulocytes was extracted. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of STAT(5) protein in the granulocyte lysates. RESULTS: FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion genes were found in 3 of the 4 HES patients. The break points in PDGFRA were all located at exon 12, while in FIP1L1 the break points were highly variable, located at exon 8a, intron 8a, and exon 8 respectively. The patients with FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion were susceptible to cardiac involvement. The expression of STAT(5) protein was upregulated in FIP1L1-PDGFRA positive HES patients, while STAT(5) protein expression was negative in HES patients without FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion. CONCLUSION: FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion has a universal significance for HES. The identification of FIP1L1-PDGFRA rearrangement is a useful molecular mark for HES diagnosis and works as the therapeutic target of imatinib. Furthermore, the activation of STAT(5), a downstream signal of the FIP1L1-PDGFRA fusion, indicates that HES is a malignant clonal disease of the hematopoietic tissue.