[Progress in the application of alveolar organoids in common lung diseases].

Organoids are tissue cultures formed by culturing cells in three-dimensional environments that simulate the physiological or pathological conditions of the human body. The cultivation of organoids is used to study the temporal and spatial transformation of cells during the development of tissues or organs, to investigate changes in cellular functions and inter-communications caused by various risk factors, and to discover potential therapeutic targets. This article provided an overview of the cultivation and identification methods of alveolar organoids, as well as the research progress in their application to common respiratory diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, viral pneumonia, and so on. The limitations and future applications of alveolar organoids are also analyzed and discussed.

Prevalence and trend of gonorrhea in female sex workers and men having sex with men in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review was conducted to estimate the respective prevalence of gonorrhea among two high-risk populations in China and determine the epidemiological features of gonorrhea in them. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang databases were searched to identify studies published between January 1, 1990, and October 31, 2022, with gonorrhea prevalence tested by polymerase chain reaction among female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to investigate potential factors of heterogeneity across studies. Trend analysis of prevalence was conducted by the Jonckheere-Terpstra method. RESULTS: We identified 88 prevalence data points from 49 studies in China, with 30,853 participants of FSWs and 5523 participants of MSM. Pooled prevalence of gonorrhea among FSWs and MSM were 6.9% (95% confidence interval: 4.6-9.7%) and 2.5% (95% confidence interval: 1.5-3.7%), respectively. The subgroup analyses showed there were period, regional, and specimen collection methods diversities among FSWs, and diversities of the regions and specimen collection anatomical sites were found among MSM, in which the prevalence of rectum and pharynx was significantly higher than the urethra. A decreasing trend in the prevalence of gonorrhea was seen among FSWs (z = -4.03) from 1999 to 2021, not found for MSM in China. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of gonorrhea is high in two high-risk groups in China, with extragenital infections requiring particular attention. The findings of this study will provide evidence to formulate national policy and guidance for gonorrhea prevention and control.

Néel Spin Currents in Antiferromagnets.

Ferromagnets are known to support spin-polarized currents that control various spin-dependent transport phenomena useful for spintronics. On the contrary, fully compensated antiferromagnets are expected to support only globally spin-neutral currents. Here, we demonstrate that these globally spin-neutral currents can represent the Néel spin currents, i.e., staggered spin currents flowing through different magnetic sublattices. The Néel spin currents emerge in antiferromagnets with strong intrasublattice coupling (hopping) and drive the spin-dependent transport phenomena such as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) and spin-transfer torque (STT) in antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AFMTJs). Using RuO_{2} and Fe_{4}GeTe_{2} as representative antiferromagnets, we predict that the Néel spin currents with a strong staggered spin polarization produce a sizable fieldlike STT capable of the deterministic switching of the Néel vector in the associated AFMTJs. Our work uncovers the previously unexplored potential of fully compensated antiferromagnets and paves a new route to realize the efficient writing and reading of information for antiferromagnetic spintronics.

[Safety and efficacy of dual guiding catheter kissing technique in the treatment of stent partially dislodgement in coronary artery].

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of dual guiding catheter kissing technique (DCK) in the treatment of stent partly dislodgement in coronary artery. Methods: The study retrospectively involved 6 hospitalized patients with coronary artery stent partly dislodgement during PCI at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2016 to June 2019, DCK was used in these patients. We observe the success rate of stent retrieval, success rate of PCI, incidence of complications and major adverse cardiovascular events in 1 year follow up. Results: 6 patients were involved, of which 3 are male, ages range 49 to 68 years old, 4 patients are diagnosed with unstable angina, the other two are stable angina. All the partially disloged stents in the 6 patients were successfully removed from coronary artery. Except for 1 patient who refused coronary artery stenting again, the other 5 patients were successfully implanted coronary artery stenting. No serious complications occurred, no patients died and no major adverse cardiovascular events happened during 1 year follow up. Conclusions: DCK is safe and effective to remove partially dislodged stent in coronary artery.

Efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant Folfirinox and Gemcitabine plus Nab-Paclitaxel for borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Multi-agent regimens such as Folfirinox and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel have shown significant improvements compared with single-agent gemcitabine as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. However, the efficacy and safety of Folfirinox and GNP as NAC for BRPC and LAPC is still controversial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The eligible studies including prospective, retrospective, and randomized controlled trial related to Folfirinox and GNP as NAC for patients with BRPC or LAPC up to March 2022 were searched and assessed. Pooled analysis for chemotherapy response rate, resection rate, R0 resection rate, progress free survival, overall survival, and grade 3/4 events of toxicity were performed in the study. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in this meta-analysis. Compared with GNP, Folfirinox had higher resection rate (HR=0.82; 95% CI 0.59-1.14) and R0 resection rate (HR=0.77; 95% CI 0.60-0.97), better PFS (HR=0.78; 95% CI 0.55-1.12) and OS (HR=0.68; 95% CI 0.46-0.99), and without increasing severe toxicity rate (HR=0.95; 95% CI 0.71-1.28). There are no differences in rate of stable disease (HR=1.06; 95% CI 0.92-1.22) and partial/complete regression (HR=0.85; 95% CI 0.59-1.23) between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Higher resection and R0 resection rate and better PFS and OS results were obtained in Folfirinox group compared with GNP group for patients with BRPC and LAPC. There was no increased severe toxicity rate for Folfirinox compared with GNP.

RADIOMICS BASED ON TWO-DIMENSIONAL AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND FOR EXTRATHYROIDAL EXTENSION FEATURE PREDICTION IN PAPILLARY THYROID CARCINOMA.

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of radiomics features of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) in predicting extrathyroidal extension (ETE) status in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Patients and Methods: 2D and 3D thyroid ultrasound images of 72 PTC patients confirmed by pathology were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were assigned to ETE and non-ETE. The regions of interest (ROIs) were obtained manually. From these images, a larger number of radiomic features were automatically extracted. Lastly, the diagnostic abilities of the radiomics models and a radiologist were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. We extracted 1693 texture features firstly. Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the radiologist was 0.65. For 2D US, the mean AUC of the three classifiers separately were: 0.744 for logistic regression (LR), 0.694 for multilayer perceptron (MLP), 0.733 for support vector machines (SVM). For 3D US they were 0.876 for LR, 0.825 for MLP, 0.867 for SVM. The diagnostic efficiency of the radiomics was better than radiologist. The LR model had favorable discriminate performance with higher area under the curve. Conclusion: Radiomics based on US image had the potential to preoperatively predict ETE. Radiomics based on 3D US images presented more advantages over radiomics based on 2D US images and radiologist.

[The correlation between post-allo-HSCT CMV infection and the difference affinity of donor HLA-type recognition of CMV antigen peptide in children].

Objective: To explore the correlation between the affinity while donor's HLA type recognizing different cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen peptide and the occurrence of CMV infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in children. Methods: To investigate the relationship between CMV reactivation, CMV infection or CMV related tissue/organ diseases and the different HLA-type recognition antigen peptide of the donors, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 146 children with CMV infection for 6 months since from the time they underwent transplantation in Wuhan Children's Hospital. Results: Among 146 patients, the HLA type of 82 (56.16%) cases had high affinity with PP65 alone, and 34 cases of CMV infection occurred after transplantation (41.46%) . None of 5 cases that had a high affinity with IE-1 alone got CMV infection. None of 2 cases with no clear high-affinity peptide had CMV infection. Three of 5 cases that had a high affinity with PP65 and PP50 had CMV infection. Thirteen of 52 cases that had a high affinity with PP65 and IE-1 had CMV infection (25.00%) . HLA with exclusive PP50 high affinity was not encountered. Donors with a high-affinity HLA locus associated with IE-1 showed a lower incidence of CMV infection after HSCT compared to those carrying only the PP65 high-affinity allele (22.81% vs 41.46%, P=0.029) . Conclusion: HLA type with PP65 and IE-1 high-affinity covers approximately 99.8% of the donors. Stem cells generated from HLA donors with high affinity with the CMV antigen peptide IE-1 can reduce the risk of post-transplantation CMV-activated infection in children.

Genome editing efficiency of four Drosophila suzukii endogenous U6 promoters.

The invasive spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) has caused serious economic losses to the fruit industry. The conventional control methods have many limitations and genetic engineering technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene drive are promising approaches. In the CRISPR/Cas9 system, the transcriptional regulatory elements play an important role in the activities of gRNA. Thus, in order to improve the genome editing efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in D. suzukii, we cloned and tested four endogenous U6 promoters to drive mutagenesis of the white gene. Our results showed that all the four promoters could be used with variable efficiency. The promoter DsU6-3 had the highest genome editing efficiency among the four DsU6 promoters. Compared with the DsU6-3 promoter, the DmU6:3 promoter showed lower efficiency to drive mutagenesis in D. suzukii. These findings expand the range of promoters available to express gRNAs in D. suzukii, facilitating the basic and applied research on this important pest.

Temperature-Induced Lifshitz Transition and Possible Excitonic Instability in ZrSiSe.

The nodal-line semimetals have attracted immense interest due to the unique electronic structures such as the linear dispersion and the vanishing density of states as the Fermi energy approaching the nodes. Here, we report temperature-dependent transport and scanning tunneling microscopy (spectroscopy) [STM(S)] measurements on nodal-line semimetal ZrSiSe. Our experimental results and theoretical analyses consistently demonstrate that the temperature induces Lifshitz transitions at 80 and 106 K in ZrSiSe, which results in the transport anomalies at the same temperatures. More strikingly, we observe a V-shaped dip structure around Fermi energy from the STS spectrum at low temperature, which can be attributed to co-effect of the spin-orbit coupling and excitonic instability. Our observations indicate the correlation interaction may play an important role in ZrSiSe, which owns the quasi-two-dimensional electronic structures.

The effect of Casitas b-lineage lymphoma b on regulating T follicular helper in lupus nephritis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Casitas b-lineage lymphoma b (Cblb) on the regulation of T follicular helper (Tfh) in the development of lupus nephritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Tfh (CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+) cells in peripheral blood were analyzed by flow cytometry. Forty mice were divided into 4 groups (10/group), WT, lpr, Cblb-/- and lpr.Cblb-/-. Urine protein, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), dsDNA, and antinuclear antibody (ANA) titer of mice were monitored once every four weeks. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from mice were collected to assess circulating Tfh. The expressions of Cblb in Tfh cells were regulated by transfecting siRNA and overexpression plasmid approach in vitro. RESULTS: The patients with lupus nephritis (LN) had abnormal renal clinical manifestations compared with healthy volunteers. The peripheral Tfh cells were increased and the expression of Cblb were downregulated in patients with LN (p<0.05). Both lpr mice and lpr.Cblb-/- mice had LN symptoms. LN symptoms were more serious in lpr.Cblb-/- mice compared with that in lpr mice (p<0.05). The number of Tfh cells in peripheral blood from lpr.Cblb-/- mice was significantly higher than that from lpr mice (p<0.05). Overexpression of Cblb in Tfh cells led to reduction of IgG expression, while the knockdown of Cblb in Tfh cells was accompanied by increased expression of immunoglobulin (IgG) (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cblb showed a negative regulatory effect on Tfh. The deletion of Cblb may be a key factor in progression of renal injury.

The giant planar Hall effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance in Dirac node arcs semimetal PtSn4.

Topological semimetals (TSMs) present intriguing quantum states and have attracted much attention in recent years because of exhibiting various anomalous magneto-transport phenomena. Theoretical prediction shows that some novel phenomena, such as negative magnetoresistance (MR) and the planar Hall effect (PHE), originate from the chiral anomaly in TSMs. In this work, high-field (33 T) Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations are obtained to reveal the topology of PtSn4. Giant PHE and anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) are observed in Dirac node arcs of semimetal PtSn4. First, a non-zero transverse voltage can be acquired while tilting the in-plane magnetic field. Moreover, the amplitude of PHE sharply increases at T * ∼ 50 K with decreasing temperature, which is suggested to be related to the Fermi surface reconstruction observed in PtSn4. Subsequently, the field-dependent amplitudes of the PHE show an abnormal behavior around 50 K, which is thought to stem from the complex correlation between the chiral charge and electric one in PtSn4 driving the system into different coupling states due to the complicated band structure. On the other hand, the relative AMR is negative and up to -98% at 8.5 T. Our work proves that the PHE measurements are a convincing transport fingerprint feature to confirm the chiral anomaly in TSMs.

[Outcomes of patients treated with drug-coated balloons for de novo large coronary vessels].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of drug-coated balloons (DCB) for de novo large coronary vessels. Methods: One hundred and two patients were retrospectively enrolled in this study, there were 104 lesions with the reference lumen diameter of target vessel more than 2.8 mm and patients were treated with DCB in de novo lesions during May 2015 and July 2017 in our center. Coronary artery angiography and quantitative coronary angiography were performed in 82 (80.4%) patients at follow up period ((8.1±1.7) months post procedure). The endpoints were late lumen loss (LLL) at follow up,and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR) and stent or target lesion thrombosis at 12 months post procedure. Results: Ninety-eight lesions were treated with DCB only, 6 (5.9%) bailout drug-eluting stent (DES) were used because of severe coronary dissection, 2 patients (2.0%) received revascularization driven by acute ischemic events during hospitalization. Cutting balloons and NSE balloons were used in 65.4% (68/104) and 26.0% (27/104) lesions. The lesion length was (12.57±3.58) mm and the DCB length was (19.87±4.55) mm. The late lumen loss was (0.01±0.52) mm during angiographic follow up. The TLR rate and overall MACE rate was 3.9% (4/102) and 3.9% (4/102) and there was no death,MI and target lesion thrombosis at 12 months follow up. Conclusion: DCB treatment for de novo large coronary vessels is effective and safe.

[A comparative study of two chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mouse models established by different methods].

Objective: To compare chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mouse models established by two different methods-cigarette smoke (CS) exposure alone and CS exposure combined with airway instillation of bacterial LPS. Methods: Male C57 mice were randomly divided into control group(CTL group), CS exposure group (CS group) and intra-tracheal LPS instillation combined with CS exposure group (LPS+CS group) according to the random number table, with 8 rats in each group. After the models were established, we measured the lung function and collected the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) to detect the number of inflammatory cells and the expression of mucin and inflammatory mediators. HE and PAS staining were performed to observe the pathological changes in airway and lung tissue and to detect the goblet cells in airway, respectively. Results: Total lung capacity (TLC), functional residual capacity (FRC) and airway resistance (RI) of the CS and LPS+CS groups were higher than those of the CTL group, while the FEV(50)/FVC of these 2 groups was lower (P<0.05). Moreover, both RI and FEV(50)/FVC in the LPS+CS group were higher compared with the CS group (P<0.05). HE staining of lung tissue showed that the average alveolar intercept and thickness of small airway wall in the CS and LPS+CS groups were higher compared to the CTL group. In addition, the average alveolar intercept in the LPS+CS group was lower than that in the CS group [(47.86±2.82) µm and (61.94±7.68) µm respectively, P<0.05], but the area of bronchial inflammation of LPS+CS group was higher. The number of total white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages and the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in BALF of CS and LPS+CS groups were higher than those of CTL group (all P<0.05). Furthermore, the number of neutrophils and IL-6 level in BALF of LPS+CS group were higher in comparison with CS group, while the number of macrophages in BALF of LPS+CS group was lower (P<0.05). PAS staining of lung tissue indicated that the number of goblet cells in large airways of CS and LPS+CS groups increased more significantly compared to the CTL group, and the number of goblet cells in the LPS+CS group was higher than that in the CS group [(0.16±0.02) and (0.09±0.02) respectively, P<0.05]. The expression levels of Muc5ac and Muc5b in BALF of LPS+CS and CS groups were also higher than those of CTL group (P<0.05), and the level of Muc5ac in BALF of LPS+CS group was higher compared with CS group[(2.69±0.72) and (2.19±0.29) respectively, P<0.05]. Conclusions: Combined exposure of LPS and CS for establishing a COPD mouse model could better simulate the pathological characteristics of human COPD during the acute exacerbation period. The COPD mouse model established by CS exposure alone was able to better imitate the basic features of human COPD in the stable period. Researchers could choose a more appropriate modeling method according to different purposes.

[The effects of Xuebijing injection on apoptosis and expression of regulatory factors TNF-α、NF-κB and Caspase-3 expression in the lung tissues of acute paraquat-induced rats].

Objective: To explore the mechanism of Xuebijing injection in the treatment of acute paraquat poisoning by means of studying the expression of TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B, Caspase-3 and the changes of cell apoptosis rate detected by TUNEL in the lung tissue of acute paraquat-induced rats. Methods: On the base of random number table, 126 Wister rats weighing 220 g to 270 g were divided into 3 groups: (1) Control group: 42 rats, (2) Poisoned group: 42 rats, (3) Treatment group: 42 rats. On 1(st)、3(rd)、7(th)、14(th)、21(st)、28(th)、and 35(th) day, six rats from each group were anaesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of chloral hydrate. To cut the chest and take the lung tissue samples. The expression levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Nuclear Factor-kappa B and Caspase-3 protein in lung tissue were detected by immunohistochemical staining, as well as apoptotic cell rate was detected by TUNEL staining. Results: The expression levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Nuclear Factor-kappa B, Caspase-3 protein and TUNEL staining in the lung tissue of the poisoned group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) . Compared with the poisoned group, the expression of TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B, Caspase-3 and TUNEL in treatment group decreased significantly (P<0.05) , but they were still higher than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant compared with the control group (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Apoptosis and TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B and Caspase-3 play an important role in lung injury of paraquat-induced rats. Xuebijing injection can inhibit the expression of TNF-alpha, NF-kappa B, Caspase-3 in lung tissue, reduce the apoptosis rate and alleviate the damage of lung tissue in paraquat-poisoning rats.

[Establishment and evaluation of a new method for determining hemodynamics of pulmonary hypertension rats].

Objective: By evaluating the hemodynamic parameters such as cardiac output (CO), right ventricular pressure (RVP), pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and total pulmonary resistance index (TPRI) in pulmonary hypertension rat model, we established a more comprehensive hemodynamic evaluation system, which objectively evaluated the severity of disease and exercise tolerance in rats with pulmonary hypertension. Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into a control group and a model group with 5 rats in each group. The model group was intraperitoneally injected with SU5416 (20 mg/kg) and placed in an oxygen chamber at a 10% oxygen concentration for 21 days and then placed in a normoxic environment for 14 days. After modeling, rats were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. The operator cut the skin along the right paraxial line, detached and ligated the intercostal artery, and then cut off the 3 and 4 ribs, exposing the heart and freeing aortic root about 0.2 cm. The flowmeter probe was set in the dissected aortic segment, and real-time recording time, blood flow waveforms, cardiac output were calculated accordingly. Then the needle attached to the baroreceptor was inserted into the right ventricle and the system acquired the right ventricular time-pressure waveform. After the waveform stabilized for about 30 seconds, the end of the cannula was sent to the pulmonary artery trunk through the entrance of the pulmonary artery to record the time-pressure curve of the pulmonary artery. Results: RVSP, PASP, PADP and mPAP in the model group were significantly higher than those of the control group [ RVSP(23.4±5.4) mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa vs (56.4±13.0) mmHg, PASP (22.8±4.4) mmHg vs (58.5±14.9) mmHg, PADP (9.7±1.9) mmHg vs (30.3±7.0) mmHg, mPAP (14.1±2.7) mmHg vs (41.9±8.0) mmHg, all P<0.05 ]. Compared with the control group, the cardiac index in the model group was significantly lower [ CI (0.54±0.08) ml·min(-1)·g(-1) vs (0.40±0.09) ml·min(-1)·g(-1,) P=0.02 ]. Furthermore, compared with the control group, pulmonary vascular resistance index was significantly increased in the model group[PVRI (0.27±0.03) mmHg·ml(-1)·min(-1)·kg(-1) vs (0.06±0.01) mmHg·ml(-1)·min(-1)·kg(-1,) P<0.05]. The pathological results also showed that the middle part of pulmonary arterioles in the model group had muscular hypertrophy and muscular pulmonary arterioles, and even plexiform lesions. Conclusion: In this study, we established a new method that simultaneously determined several hemodynamic parameters such as RVSP, PASP, PADP, CO, CI and PVRI, which provided a more comprehensive assessment of hemodynamic changes in pulmonary hypertension rat models.

Inversion symmetry breaking induced triply degenerate points in orderly arranged PtSeTe family materials.

k paths exactly with [Formula: see text] symmetry allow to find triply degenerate points (TDPs) in band structures. The paths that host the type-II Dirac points in PtSe2 family materials also have the [Formula: see text] spatial symmetry. However, due to Kramers degeneracy (the systems have both inversion symmetry and time reversal symmetry), the crossing points in them are Dirac ones. In this work, based on symmetry analysis, first-principles calculations, and [Formula: see text] method, we predict that PtSe2 family materials should undergo topological transitions if the inversion symmetry is broken, i.e. the Dirac fermions in PtSe2 family materials split into TDPs in PtSeTe family materials (PtSSe, PtSeTe, and PdSeTe) with orderly arranged S/Se (Se/Te). It is different from the case in high-energy physics that breaking inversion symmetry I leads to the splitting of Dirac fermion into Weyl fermions. We also address a possible method to achieve the orderly arranged in PtSeTe family materials in experiments. Our study provides a real example that Dirac points transform into TDPs, and is helpful to investigate the topological transition between Dirac fermions and TDP fermions.

[Method for recording tension changes of small pulmonary artery and vein using the isolated vessel tension measurement system].

Objective: To establish a standardized method for isolated pulmonary artery and vein rings with different diameter, pressure and length, which could provide a more scientific method for in vitro study of pulmonary vessel diseases. Methods: Male SD rats were anesthetized, and the right ventricular systolic pressure were measured. Small pulmonary artery and vein rings with 200-400 µm in diameter and 2 mm in length were prepared by dissecting pulmonary arteries and veins. The pulmonary vessel rings were mounted in the organ bath by 2 stainless steel wires with diameter of 40 µm. Then the internal circumference of the vessel rings was increased gradually with 100 µm per step. At the same time the vascular tension was recorded by the Myograph System and Acknowledgement data acquisition system, and subsequently the passive length-tension exponential curve was made. The initial tension of the rings was set, equilibrated for another 30 min, and then stimulated with 60 mmol/L KCl 3 times, and the best contractile reactivity was achieved. The contractile reactivity of pulmonary artery rings and endothelial integrity were detected by exposure to 1 µmol/L phenylephrine(PE) and 10 µmol/L acetylcholine(Ach), while the contractile reactivity of pulmonary vein rings was detected by exposure to 1 µmol/L U46619 and 10 µmol/L papaverine. Results: The contraction and relaxation effects of the pulmonary artery rings reached 0.39 mg and 92% when they were stimulated by 1 µmol/L PE and 10 µmol/L Ach. The contraction and relaxation effects of pulmonary vein rings were up to 0.13 mg and 84% when they were exposed to 1 µmol/L U46619 and 10 µmol/L papaverine, respectively. Conclusion: Pulmonary artery and vein rings with appropriate basal tension and optimal vasodilator activity were prepared, and a standardized method of tension experiment for isolated pulmonary artery and vein rings established.

Large Positive Thermal Expansion and Small Band Gap in Double-ReO3-Type Compound NaSbF6.

Double-ReO3-type structure compound NaSbF6 undergoes a low-temperature rhombohedral to high-temperature cubic phase between 303 and 323 K, as revealed by temperature-dependent X-ray diffractions. Although many double-ReO3-type fluorides exhibit either low thermal expansion or negative thermal expansion (NTE), NaSbF6 exhibits positive thermal expansion (PTE) with a large volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion, αv = 62 ppm/K, in its cubic phase. Raman spectroscopy reveals that the low-frequency transverse vibration of fluorine atoms is stiffened in NaSbF6, compared with the typical NTE compound CaZrF6 with the same structure. The related weak contraction associated with the polyhedral rocking would be overcome by the notable elongation of the Na-F bond length on heating, thus leading to the large volumetric PTE. Unlike ScF3 and CaZrF6 which are insulators with a wide band gap, a relative small band gap of 3.76 eV was observed in NaSbF6. The small band gap can be attributed to the hybridization between the Sb 5s and F 2p orbitals.