Baseline determination, susceptibility monitoring and risk assessment to triflumezopyrim in Nilaparvata lugens (Stål).

Triflumezopyrim, a novel mesoionic chemical insecticide, is promoted as a powerful tool for control of susceptible and resistant hopper species in rice throughout Asia. For a newly commercialized insecticide it is important to establish susceptibility baseline, conduct susceptibility monitoring, and assess the risk of resistance via artificial selection to provide foundational information on designing resistance management strategy. The susceptibility baseline of triflumezopyrim was established for three rice planthopper species, Nilarpavata lugens (Stål), Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) and Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén). The LD50 of triflumezopyrim was 0.026, 0.032 and 0.094 ng/individual for the adults of the susceptible strains of S. furcifera, L. striatellus and N. lugens, respectively, determined by a topical application method. Using a rice stem (seedling) dipping method, the LC50 was determined as 0.042, 0.024 and 0.150 mg/L for the nymphs (3rd instar) of the three hopper species, respectively. In the meanwhile, the LC50 of Pyraxalt™ (triflumezopyrim 10% SC) was 0.064 mg/L for the N. lugens susceptible strain. Furthermore, the susceptibility of triflumezopyrim and other five neonicotinoid insecticides were monitored for N. lugens field populations collected from major rice production areas in China in 2015-2019. All monitored populations were susceptible to triflumezopyrim (0.5 to 3.9-fold resistance ratio), and showed no cross-resistance to the other five neonicotinoids. These results suggested that triflumezopyrim is a good option to control resistant N. lugens. In addition, a field-collected population of N. lugens was artificially selected with triflumezopyrim for 20 generations and resulted in 3.5-fold increase in LC50 from F0 and 6.0-fold increase from that of the susceptible strain. The realized heritability (h2) of resistance was estimated as 0.0451 by using threshold trait analysis. With this h2 value, the projected triflumezopyrim resistance development (a 10-fold increase in LC50) would be expected after 30.3 or 24.0 generations if 80% or 90% of the population was killed at each generation.

Discovery and development of DNA polymerase IIIC inhibitors to treat Gram-positive infections.

Despite the growing global crisis caused by antimicrobial drug resistance among pathogenic bacteria, the number of new antibiotics, especially new chemical class of antibiotics under development is insufficient to tackle the problem. Our review focuses on an emerging class of antibacterial therapeutic agents that holds a completely novel mechanism of action, namely, inhibition of bacterial DNA polymerase IIIC. The recent entry of this new class into human trials may herald the introduction of novel drugs whose novel molecular target precludes cross-resistance with existing antibiotic classes. This review therefore examines the evolution of DNA pol IIIC inhibitors from the discovery of 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)uracil (HPUra) in the 1960s to the development of current first-in-class N7-substituted guanine drug candidate ACX-362E, now under clinical development for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection.

Suppression of Chlorantraniliprole Sorption on Biochar in Soil-Biochar Systems.

The sorption behavior of chlorantraniliprole (CAP) by biochar and effect of soil extracts on sorptivity in soil-biochar systems were examined. The results showed that biochar amendment could enhance the sorption of CAP in soils. The values of K F increased significantly when the soils were amended with 0.5 % BC850, which were from 1.54 to 196.5. The indigenous sorptivity of biochar was suppressed after it was applied to the soils. The degree of biochar sorptivity attenuation in different soil-biochar systems varied with the properties of soil water soluble matters. Sorption of CAP by biochar from the five soil extracts was found to be lower than that from a CaCl2 solution. The calculated K d values at C w of 0.01 mg kg(-1) for biochar sorption of CAP from CaCl2 solution were 21.4-26.6 times of that from soil extracts. Aging of biochar in soil extract reduced CAP sorption by up to 85 %.

[Screw versus Kirschner wire fixation for lateral humeral condyle fractures in children:a meta analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To compare screw versus Kirschner wire fixation in the treatment of lateral humeral condyle fractures in children. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Internet(CNKI), Wanfang Datebase from in ception to February 2022. Studies comparing screws and Kirschner wire fixation in the treatment of lateral humeral condyle fractures in children were included. Outcome measures included and excluded by a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluated for their quality, their excellent and good rate of fracture healing, malunion, delayed union or nonunion, infection, limitation of elbow flexion or extension(>10°) were extracted and analyzed using software Rev Man 5.3. RESULTS: A total of 9 retrospective studies involving 647 patients were included, with 255 patients in the screw fixation group(including screw combined with Kirschner wire) and 392 patients in the Kirschner wire fixation group. Meta analysis showed the following:infection rate in the screw group was significantly lower than that in the Kirschner wire group[OR=0.22, 95%CI(0.09, 0.56), P=0.001]. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in excellent and good rate of fracture healing, malunion rate(P>0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that infection rate in the screw-only group was significantly lower than that in the Kirschner wire group[OR=0.18, 95%CI(0.05, 0.65), P=0.009]. CONCLUSION: For lateral humeral condyle fractures, Screw fixation alone had a lower infection rate than kirschner wire fixation and screw combined with Kirschner wire fixation. There were no significant differences in the excellent and good rate of fracture healing, malunion. In terms of postoperative efficacy and safety of internal fixation, orthopaedic surgeons are more likely to recommend screws for fixation of lateral humeral condyle fractures in children.

Novel insights into dimethylsulfoniopropionate cleavage by deep subseafloor fungi.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a key organic sulfur compound in marine and subseafloor sediments, is degraded by phytoplankton and bacteria, resulting in the release of the climate-active volatile gas dimethylsulfide (DMS). However, it remains unclear if dominant eukaryotic fungi in subseafloor sediments possess specific abilities and metabolic mechanisms for DMSP degradation and DMS formation. Our study provides the first evidence that fungi from coal-bearing sediments ∼2 km below the seafloor, such as Aspergillus spp., Chaetomium globosum, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and Penicillium funiculosum, can degrade DMSP and produce DMS. In Aspergillus sydowii 29R-4-F02, which exhibited the highest DMSP-dependent DMS production rate (16.95 pmol/µg protein/min), two DMSP lyase genes, dddP and dddW, were identified. Remarkably, the dddW gene, previously observed only in bacteria, was found to be crucial for fungal DMSP cleavage. These findings not only extend the list of fungi capable of degrading DMSP, but also enhance our understanding of DMSP lyase diversity and the role of fungi in DMSP decomposition in subseafloor sedimentary ecosystems.

The potential role of subseafloor fungi in driving the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen under anaerobic conditions.

Fungi represent the dominant eukaryotic group of organisms in anoxic marine sedimentary ecosystems, ranging from a few centimeters to ~ 2.5 km below seafloor. However, little is known about how fungi can colonize anaerobic subseafloor environments for tens of millions of years and whether they play a role in elemental biogeochemical cycles. Based on metabolite detection, isotope tracer and gene analysis, we examined the anaerobic nitrogen conversion pathways of 19 fungal species (40 strains) isolated from1.3 to 2.5 km coal-bearing sediments below seafloor. Our results show for the first time that almost all fungi possess anaerobic denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and nitrification pathways, but not anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). Moreover, the distribution of fungi with different nitrogen-conversion abilities in subseafloor sediments was mainly determined by in situ temperature, CaCO3, and inorganic carbon contents. These findings suggest that fungi have multiple nitrogen transformation processes to cope with their requirements for a variety of nitrogen sources in nutrient deficient anaerobic subseafloor sedimentary environments.

[Determination and Traceability Analysis of Phthalic Acid Esters in Garlic (Allium stivum L.) from Jiangsu Province, China].

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants and are recognized as a threat to the environment and agricultural product safety across the world. In order to investigate the level of PAEs in garlic, soils, and agricultural films from Pizhou City, Jiangsu province, China, 11 garlic samples, 106 soil samples, and 4 agricultural film samples were collected and analyzed using GC-MS. In addition, the uptake and transport characteristics of six PAEs compounds classified as priority pollutants by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the garlic cultivar Daqingke were investigated under hydroponic conditions. The results indicated that dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the dominant PAEs species in garlic cloves of the different garlic varieties from Pizhou City. The average contents of DBP and DEHP in garlic cloves were 0.611 mg·kg-1 and 0.167 mg·kg-1, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the commercial varieties of garlic. The concentrations of DBP and DEHP differed in three tissues of garlic bulbs, ordered as the skin of garlic bulb>skin of garlic clove>garlic clove. Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), DBP, and DEHP were the main PAEs species and were detected in all the surface soils collected from Pizhou City. Compared with the soil allowable concentrations of the six PAEs in the United States, the DMP and DBP concentrations in approximately 100% and 63.2% of soil samples exceeded the recommended allowable concentrations set by the EPA. However, the levels of DEP, DIBP, and DEHP in the soils were below the maximum allowable concentrations set by the EPA. Nevertheless, the average content of DEHP in soils was 486 µg·kg-1 and was found to be much higher than that in the other four PAEs. Six PAEs, including DMP, DEP, DIBP, DBP, butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and DEHP, were detected in all the agricultural film samples. Among them, the contents of DBP and DEHP in the agricultural films were the highest, accounting for 53.7%-63.2% of the total PAEs. The amount of PAEs present in the residual film was significantly lower than that in the new film, and all six PAEs were detected in garlic or soil samples, suggesting that agricultural film can be an important source of PAEs in garlic farming soils and garlic. Furthermore, the garlic plants absorbed DMP and DEP efficiently from the substrate and showed higher translocation factors (TFs) for DMP and DEP than those for DBP, BBP, DEHP, and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP), resulting in a higher accumulation of DMP and DEP in the over-ground parts of garlic. In contrast, DBP and BBP in roots of garlic displayed higher bioconcentration factors (57.4 and 81.5, respectively) compared to those of the other four PAEs, whereas the TFs of DBP and BBP were lower; this may have contributed to the high accumulation of DBP in garlic bulbs. The BCFs and TFs of DEHP and DnOP in garlic were relatively lower, but the DEHP had been detected in all garlic cloves, which may be a result of the higher DEHP contents in soils.

Dissipation of chlorpyrifos and residue analysis in rice, soil and water under paddy field conditions.

The analytical method for the residues of chlorpyrifos in rice plants, water and soil was developed and dissipation of chlorpyrifos under field conditions was studied. The limit of detection (LOD) of chlorpyrifos was 0.006 mg kg(-1) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was found to be 0.04 mg kg(-1) in rice plant (water) and 0.02 mg kg(-1) in the other substrates, respectively. The results showed that the initial residues of chlorpyrifos in Nanjing and Guangxi were 4.99 and 6.05 mg kg(-1) (rice plant), 1.35 and 1.58 mg kg(-1) (water) and 0.51 and 0.63 mg kg(-1) (soil), respectively. The half-lives of chlorpyrifos in rice plant, water and soil from Nanjing were 4.28, 0.58 and 1.35 day, respectively, and the half-lives of those from Guangxi were 3.86, 0.52 and 1.21 day, respectively. The husked rice, rice hull and straw samples were found to contain chlorpyrifos well below the maximum residue limit (MRL) following the recommended dosage, the residues of chlorpyrifos in soil were undetectable under all application levels and frequencies after 28 day of applications.

Effect of biochar amendment on the bioavailability of pesticide chlorantraniliprole in soil to earthworm.

To evaluate the effect of biochar amendment on the bioavailability of chlorantraniliprole (CAP) in soils with different physico-chemical properties, the uptake of CAP from various soils by earthworms was studied. It was observed that the biochar amendment of the soils affected the sorption of CAP, but the magnitude of the sorption enhancement by biochar amendment among the soils was varied, presumably due to the attenuation of the sorptivity of the biochar when amended in the soil. The amendment with biochars leads to a decrease in the bioavailability of CAP in the soils to earthworms, and more prominent for biochar BC850 amendment. In the soil with a CAP concentration of 10 mg kg(-1), the residue of CAP in the earthworm tissues was found to be 9.65 mg kg(-1), in comparison with that the CAP residue was 4.05 mg kg(-1) in BC450 amended soil and 0.59 mg kg(-1) in BC850, respectively. The degree of bioavailability reduction by same level of biochar amendment was different among soils with different properties. The results demonstrate that the properties of soils are important to performance of biochar in soil.

[High-precision wavelength calibration of wide-band monochromator].

Usually the monochromator is used to output monochromatic light to calibrate the space remote sensing spectrometer. In the present paper, the confidence of space remote sensing spectrometer is used as a standard to evaluate the precision of wide-band monochromator wavelength calibration. Through analysis of the accuracy of the instrument, the monochromator wavelength repeatability error and deviations was obtained respectively. And the intrinsic spectrum of the high pressure mercury lamp and the grating diffraction was used as calibration lines to avoid the error caused by replacing the light source. Through the special method of wavelength calibration to shorten the scan time, the Gaussian fitting was used to look for peaks of wavelength to reduce error. Finally, the relationship derived from polynomial fitting to measure the exact wavelengths' accuracy of the monochromator and calculate the calibration confidence of the space remote sensing spectrometer. Using this method, we can make wavelength accuracy of the 1.5 M monochromator with wavelength band from 200 to 840 nm to reach to +/- 0.016 nm, then the confidence of the space remote sensing spectrometer can reach to 99.82%.

Biodegradation of dibutyl phthalate by a novel endophytic Bacillus subtilis strain HB-T2 under in-vitro and in-vivo conditions.

The environmental prevalence and potential toxicity of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) motivate the attempt to develop feasible strategies to deal with DBP contamination. In this study, a strain of endphytic bacteria HB-T2 was isolated from sorrel roots and identified as Bacillus sp. by analysing its morphology, physiology, biochemistry and 16S rDNA sequence. The degradation efficiency of DBP by HB-T2 was almost identical under the temperature of 30∼40°C, but was significantly enhanced as the culture pH and inoculum size increases from 6.0 to 8.0, and 1% to 5% respectively. The degradation kinetics of DBP could be well described by the first-order kinetic model, with the degradation half-life ranging from 1.59 to 7.61 h when the initial concentrations of DBP were in the range of 5-20 mg/L. LC-MS analysis of the culture samples taken at varying intervals revealed monobutyl phthalate, phthalic acid and protocatechuic acid as the major metabolic intermediates during the degradation process. HB-T2 exhibited an excellent capability to degrade a wide range of phthalate esters (PAEs), especially butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dipentyl phthalate (DPP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). Inoculation of HB-T2 into Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) growing in DBP-contaminated soils could significantly reduce the DBP levels in plant tissues and relieve the phytotoxic effects of DBP. Results of this study highlighted the great potential of this novel endophytic Bacillus subtilis strain HB-T2 for bioremediation of PAEs contamination and improvement of agricultural product safety by reducing PAEs accumulation in edible crops.

Association and prognostic significance of alpha-L-fucosidase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-L-fucosidase-1 (FUCA1) has been demonstrated to play opposing regulatory roles in adenocarcinoma and non-adenocarcinoma. Moreover, recent studies reported that FUCA1 could decrease the invasion capability by downregulating matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) expression. However, the potential role and prognostic significance of FUCA1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not yet been explored. AIM: To evaluate the status, association, and prognostic value of FUCA1 and MMP-9 expression in ESCC. METHODS: Patients who underwent esophagectomy for ESCC between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014 at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center were enrolled. The expression status of FUCA1 and MMP-9 in cancerous tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry. In addition, the expression profiles of the FUCA1 and MMP-9 genes in non-metastatic ESCC were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. RESULTS: High expression of FUCA1 and MMP-9 was found in 90 patients (75.6%) and 62 patients (52.1%), respectively. In the high FUCA1 expression group, the constituent ratios of patients with stage III disease (61.1% vs 37.9%, P = 0.029), lymphatic invasion (62.2% vs 31.0%, P = 0.003), and high MMP-9 expression (60.0% vs 27.6%, P = 0.002) were significantly higher than those in the low FUCA1 expression group. In Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis, advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage (III, P = 0.001), positive regional lymph node metastasis (N+, P = 0.002), high FUCA1 expression (P = 0.001), and high MMP-9 expression (P = 0.002) were potential predictors of shorter overall survival (OS), which was similar to the results analyzed based on the TCGA database. Further Cox multivariate regression analyses still demonstrated that FUCA1 and MMP-9 expression levels were independent prognostic factors of OS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.484, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.239-0.979; P = 0.044; and HR: 0.591, 95%CI: 0.359-0.973, P = 0.039, respectively]. CONCLUSION: FUCA1 cooperation with MMP-9 may have a major role in affecting the ESCC invasion and metastatic capability, and serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker in ESCC.

Log odds of positive lymph nodes is a better prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma than N stage.

BACKGROUND: Signet ring cell carcinoma is a rare type of oesophageal cancer, and we hypothesized that log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) is a better prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma. AIM: To explore a novel prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma by comparing two lymph node-related prognostic factors, log odds of positive LODDS and N stage. METHODS: A total of 259 cases of oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma after oesopha-gectomy were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database between 2006 and 2016. The prognostic value of LODDS and N stage for oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. The Akaike information criterion and Harrell's C-index were used to assess the value of two prediction models based on lymph nodes. External validation was performed to further confirm the conclusion. RESULTS: The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of all the cases were 41.3% and 27.0%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier method showed that LODDS had a higher score of log rank chi-squared (OS: 46.162, CSS: 41.178) than N stage (OS: 36.215, CSS: 31.583). Univariate analyses showed that insurance, race, T stage, M stage, TNM stage, radiation therapy, N stage, and LODDS were potential prognostic factors for OS (P < 0.1). The multivariate Cox regression model showed that LODDS was an significant independent prognostic factor for oesophageal signet ring carcinoma patients after surgical resection (P < 0.05), while N stage was not considered to be a significant prognostic factor (P = 0.122). Model 2 (LODDS) had a higher degree of discrimination and fit than Model 1 (N stage) (LODDS vs N stage, Harell's C-index 0.673 vs 0.656, P < 0.001; Akaike information criterion 1688.824 vs 1697.519, P < 0.001). The results of external validation were consistent with those in the study cohort. CONCLUSION: LODDS is a superior prognostic factor to N stage for patients with oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma after oesophagectomy.

Nomogram for predicting the overall survival of the patients with oesophageal signet ring cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore the prognostic factors of oesophageal signet ring cell (SRC) carcinoma and to construct a nomogram for predicting the outcome of SRC carcinoma of oesophagus. METHODS: A total of 968 cases of oesophageal SRC carcinoma were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2004 and 2016. Cases were divided into training cohort and validation cohort. Univariate and multivariable Cox analyses was performed to select the predictors of overall survival (OS for the nomogram. The performance of nomogram was validated with Harrell's concordance index (C-index), calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: The 1- and 5-year OS in the training cohort were 0.446 and 0.146, respectively, and the 1- and 5-year OS in the validation cohort were 0.459 and 0.138. The independent prognostic factors for establishing the nomogram were marital status, invasion of the surrounding tissue, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, surgery and chemotherapy. The Harrell's c-index value of the training cohort and validation cohort were 0.723 and 0.708. In the calibration curves, the predicted survival probability and the actual survival probability have a considerable consistency. DCA indicated the favourable potential clinical utility of the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram to predict the OS of patients with oesophageal SRC carcinoma was established. The validation of the nomogram fully demonstrates its great performance.

Coherent and ultrafast manipulation of entanglement sudden death and recurrence.

We investigate the entanglement dynamics of the bipartite system, consisting of two interacting two-level atoms in QED, which are driven additionally by coherent double ultrashort laser pulses characterized by various phase differences. Results show that the relative phase difference can exert significant influence on the entanglement evolution, such as delaying or accelerating entanglement sudden death and recurrence (ESD and ESR). Furthermore, with the increase of detuning, ESD and ESR disappear, irrespective of various phase differences. Our analysis is helpful in manipulating entanglement.

Decay of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in aerobic and anoxic groundwater.

Biodegradation and adsorption of selected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), namely oestrogens (E2 and EE2) and phenolic compounds (BPA, 4-t-OP and 4-n-NP), in aquifer materials was investigated in the laboratory in order to understand the behaviour and fate of these chemicals associated with reclaimed water during managed aquifer recharge. Biodegradation experiments were conducted in microcosms with aquifer material and groundwater mixture, or with aquifer material and effluent mixture in the presence of glucose under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. All five selected compounds were degraded by microorganisms in both types of aquifer material-water mixtures under aerobic and anoxic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, EE2 was found to degrade faster in the aquifer material supplemented with effluent with a half-life of 15 days compared with that of 26 days in the aquifer material and groundwater microcosm. No significant difference between the two aquifer material-water mixtures was found for the other four compounds with half-lives ranging between 0.2 and 4.1 days. Under anoxic conditions, however, little biodegradation was observed for the selected EDCs except for E2, which degraded in the aquifer material in the presence of both water types.

The role of plasma miRNAs in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to assess the clinical utility of detection of plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with pulmonary nodules who had undergone surgery were enrolled in our study from July 2016 to July 2017 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. We measured the expression levels of 12 miRNAs (miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -155, -221, -205, -126, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210) in plasma samples of 57 patients, including 15 benign pulmonary nodules patients and 42 malignant pulmonary nodules patients. The levels of these miRNAs were detected by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the diagnostic performance of plasma miRNAs for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). RESULTS: The expression levels of plasma miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -155, -221, -205, -126, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210 are not associated with gender, age, pTNM stage, differentiation grade. The levels of miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -221, -205, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210 in NSCLC patients are significantly higher than those in benign pulmonary nodules patients (P<0.05). However, there are no significant differences for the expression levels of miRNA-155 and miRNA-126. For diagnosing NSCLC, the sensitivity and specificity was 66.7% and 80.0% for miRNA-17, 54.8% and 86.7% for miRNA-146a, 64.3% and 86.7% for miRNA-200b, 83.3% and 73.3% for miRNA-182, 54.8% and 80.0% for miRNA-221, 73.8% and 80.0% for miRNA-205, 78.6% and 73.3% for miRNA-7, 78.6% and 60.0% for miRNA-21, 78.6% and 73.3% for miRNA-145, 76.2% and 73.3% for miRNA-210. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma miRNAs (miRNA-17, -146a, -200b, -182, -221, -205, -7, -21, -145, and miRNA-210) have relatively high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of NSCLC. These plasma miRNAs may be the potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung cancer.

Correlation and prognostic significance of PD-L1 and P53 expression in resected primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and protein 53 (P53) has been observed in various malignancies, and recently, the mechanism of PD-L1 regulation by P53 has been elucidated. We aimed to explore possible correlations between PD-L1 and P53 expression and the prognosis of patients with resected pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC). METHODS: A total of 67 consecutive patients with primary pulmonary LELC who underwent radical resection from January 2003 to December 2014 were enrolled in our study. Membranous PD-L1 and nuclear P53 expression were detected by immunohistochemical staining (IHC). RESULTS: Positive expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells (TCs), PD-L1 in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and P53 was investigated in 44 patients (65.7%), 37 patients (55.2%), and 34 patients (50.7%), respectively. Using univariate and multivariable analysis, both PD-L1 (+) in TCs and P53 (+) were observed to be significantly independent prognostic factors associated with longer disease-free survival (DFS, P=0.037 and 0.039, respectively), along with early stage LELC (P=0.037), but had no association with overall survival (OS) (P>0.05). In the P53 (+) group, the rate of patients with PD-L1 (+) in TCs was significantly higher than in the P53 (-) group (85.3% vs. 45.5%, P=0.001). In addition, among the 45 patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy, DFS was significantly longer in patients with either PD-L1 (+) in TCs or P53 (+) (P=0.036 and 0.044, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: PD-L1 and P53 may be potential therapeutic targets for primary pulmonary LELC. PD-L1 (+) in TCs and P53 (+) were reliable predictors for longer DFS and benefits from adjuvant therapy in resected cases. Routine detection of these two indices in lung LELC may be warranted.

Biological degradation of triclocarban and triclosan in a soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and comparison with environmental fate modelling.

Triclocarban and triclosan are two antimicrobial agents widely used in many personal care products. Their biodegradation behaviour in soil was investigated by laboratory degradation experiments and environmental fate modelling. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses showed that triclocarban and triclosan had a tendency to partition into soil or sediment in the environment. Fate modelling suggests that either triclocarban or triclosan "does not degrade fast" with its primary biodegradation half-life of "weeks" and ultimate biodegradation half-life of "months". Laboratory experiments showed that triclocarban and triclosan were degraded in the aerobic soil with half-life of 108 days and 18 days, respectively. No negative effect of these two antimicrobial agents on soil microbial activity was observed in the aerobic soil samples during the experiments. But these two compounds persisted in the anaerobic soil within 70 days of the experimental period.

Development and evaluation of immunoassay for zeranol in bovine urine.

A high affinity polyclonal antibody-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the quantification of zeranol in bovine urine. On the basis of urine matrix studies, the optimized dilution factors producing insignificant matrix interference were selected as 1:5 in pretreatment. In the improved ELISA, the linear response range was between 0.02 and 1 microg/ml, and the detection limit was 0.02 microg/ml for the assay. The overall recoveries and the coefficients of variation (CVs) were in the range of 82% to approximately 127% and 3.5% to approximately 8.8%, respectively. Thirty-six bovine urine samples spiked with zeranol (ranging from 0.2 to 10 microg/ml) were detected by the ELISA and liquid chromatography (LC) method, and good correlations were obtained between the two methods (R(2)=0.9643). We conclude that this improved ELISA is suitable tool for a mass zeranol screening and can be an alternative for the conventional LC method for zeranol in bovine urine.