Determining indoor air quality and identifying the origin of odour episodes in indoor environments

A methodology for identifying volatile organic compounds （VOCs） and determining air quality of indoor air has been developed. The air samples are collected using pump samplers by the inhabitants when they perceive odorous and/or discomfort episodes. Glass multi-sorbent tubes are connected to the pump samplers for the retention of VOC. The analysis is performed by automatic thermal desorption （ATD） coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC/MS）. This methodology can be applied in cases of sick building syndrome （SBS） evaluation, in which building occupants experience a series of varied symptoms that appear to be linked to time spent in the building. Chemical pollutants concentrations （e.g., VOC） have been described to contribute to SBS. To exemplify the methodology, a qualitative determination and an evaluation of existing VOC were performed in a dwelling where the occupants experienced the SBS symptoms. Higher total VOC （TVOC） levels were detected during episodes in indoor air （1.33 ±1.53 mg/m^3） compared to outdoor air （0.71± 0.46 mg/m^3）. The concentrations of individual VOCs, such as ethanol, acetone, isopropanol, 1-butanol, acetic acid, acetonitrile and 1-methoxy-2-propanol, were also higher than the expected for a standard dwelling. The external source of VOC was found to be an undeclared activity of storage and manipulation of solvents located at the bottom of a contiguous building.

The role of C-type natriuretic peptide in rat testes during spermatogenesis

C-type natriuretic peptide （CNP） is a 22-amino acid peptide and act as a local paracrine or autocrine regulator. There is growing evidence that ChIP is involved in male reproductive processes. To investigate the role of CNPduring spermatogenesis, we measured the mRNA expression of CNPand its specific membrane-bound natriuretic peptide receptor-B （NPR-B） using real-time RT-PCR in the testes of normal rats on different postnatal days. After that spermatogenesis dysfunction model induced by ornidazole was established with the aim to study the correlation of CNPwith spermatogenic dysfunction. Then, Sertoli cells from 18- to 22-day-old healthy male rats were cultured in the presence of different CNPconcentrations （1 ×10-6, 1×10-7 and1×10-8 mol l-1）, and the mRNA expression levels of androgen.binding protein, inhibin B and transferrin were examined at 0 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h. During the postnatal development of rat testes, the highest mRNA expression levels of CNPand NPR-B were found at postnatal Do, and the levels then declined gradually, with a second ChIPpeak at postnatal D35. In the ornidazole-induced infertile rat testes, CIVPgene expression was lower than in the uninduced rats （P〈0.05）, while IVPR-Bgene expression was greater （P〈0.05）. In cultured Sertoli cells, supplementation with CNP stimulated the gene expression of androgen-binding pmteirginhibin B/transferrin, particularly at 12 h, and 1× 10-7 mol l-1 CNP had the highest upregulation effect. The gene expression levels of CNPIIVPR-B in rat testes at different postnatal stages and in infertile rat testes indicated that CNP may participate in the physiology and/or pathology related to spermatogenesis. Moreover, ChIP regulated endocrine function in Sertoli cells. Taken together, these results showed that CNP is closely tied to spermatogenesis.

Class A scavenger receptor activation inhibits endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced autophagy in macrophage

Macrophage death in advanced atherosclerosis promotes plaque necrosis and destabilization.Involvement of autophagy in bulk degradation of cellular components has been recognized recently as an important mechanism for cell survival under endoplasmic reticulum（ER） stress.We previously found that the engagement of class A scavenger receptor（SR-A） triggered JNK-dependent apoptosis in ER-stressed macrophages.However,pro-apoptotic mechanisms mediated by SR-A are not fully understood.Therefore,we sought to see if SR-A mediated apoptosis was associated with autophagy in macrophages.Here,we showed that fucoidan inhibited microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-phospholipid conjugates（LC3-Ⅱ） formation as well as the number of autophagosomes under ER stress.The inhibition of LC3-Ⅱ formation was paralleled by the activation of the mTOR pathway,and the inhibition of mTOR allowed LC3-Ⅱ induction in macrophages treated with thapsigargin plus fucoidan.Furthermore,apoptosis induced by fucoidan was prevented under ER stress by the mTOR inhibitor.We propose that fucoidan,a SR-A agonist,may contribute to macrophage apoptosis during ER stress by inhibiting autophagy.

循环肿瘤细胞的检测方法

在原发上皮肿瘤形成和生长的早期，肿瘤细胞便可以通过血流播散到远处器官。这些循环肿瘤细胞（circulating tumor cells，CTCs）可以通过不同技术进行富集和检测，其分析被认为是对癌症患者的实时“液体活检”。这种活检能对CTCs特异性亚群进行表征，且有可能为癌症的检测和控制带来革命性的转变。本篇作者将着重讨论当前用于CTCs富集和检测的策略。

Indoor and outdoor BTX levels in Barcelona City metropolitan area and Catalan rural areas

Five aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, and three isomeric xylenes) were monitored in indoor and outdoor air of 7 public buildings and 54 private homes, located in Barcelona City metropolitan area and in several rural areas of Catalonia. The sampling was carried out over four periods: spring-summer and winter of 2000, and summer and winter of 2001. Passive ORSA 5 Dra¨ger samplers were used for benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) adsorption. BTX were extracted with carbon disulphide and analysed using ...

Oxidized phospholipids and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A_2 as important determinants of Lp(a) functionality and pathophysiological role

Lipoprotein（a） [Lp（a）] is composed of a low density lipoprotein（LDL）-like particle to which apolipoprotein（a）[apo（a）] is linked by a single disulfide bridge. Lp（a） is considered a causal risk factor for ischemic cardiovascular disease（CVD） and calcific aortic valve stenosis（CAVS）. The evidence for a causal role of Lp（a） in CVD and CAVS is based on data from large epidemiological databases, mendelian randomization studies, and genome-wide association studies. Despite the well-established role of Lp（a） as a causal risk factor for CVD and CAVS, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. A key role in the Lp（a） functionality may be played by its oxidized phospholipids（OxPL） content. Importantly, most of circulating OxPL are associated with Lp（a）; however, the underlying mechanisms leading to this preferential sequestration of OxPL on Lp（a） over the other lipoproteins,are mostly unknown. Several studies support the hypothesis that the risk of Lp（a） is primarily driven by its OxPL content.An important role in Lp（a） functionality may be played by the lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A_2（Lp-PLA_2）,an enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of OxPL and is bound to plasma lipoproteins including Lp（a）. The present review article discusses new data on the pathophysiological role of Lp（a） and particularly focuses on the functional role of OxPL and Lp-PLA_2 associated with Lp（a）.

Expression of Pigment Epithelium-derived Factor in Bladder Tumour Is Correlated with Interleukin-8 yet Not with Interleukin-1α

Pigment epithelium-derived factor （PEDF） is an antiangiogenic factor which is effective in tumour inhibition in a variety of tumours and has not yet been studied in bladder tumour before. In this study the expression of PEDF, interleukin-1α （IL-1α） and -8 （IL-8） in bladder tumours was investigated. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 64 bladder tumour and 23 normal uroepithelium samples. Expression change of the factors was compared with clinicopathological parameters. Correlations between PEDF, IL-1α and IL-8 were analyzed. None of the factors was in relation to gender, tumour occurrence, and size or onset pattern. PEDF （P=0.014） and IL-1α （P=0.049） expression was down-regulated with grade progression. PEDF expression was lower in normal uroepithelium than in papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential （PUNLMP） （P=0.000） and carcinoma （P=0.009） whilst IL-1α （P=0.000 and P=0.000 respectively） and IL-8 （P=0.000 and P=0.023 respectively） expression was higher in the same grouping. PEDF expression had a negative correlation with IL-8 in PUNLMP （P=0.049, r=-0.578） as well as in tumour grouping （P=0.033, r=-0.276）. Deranged expressional change of PEDF, IL-1α and IL-8 could be in relation to loss of differentiation from normal uroepithelium to papillary lesion and eventually to carcinoma.

Pneumocystis jirovecii and Legionella pneumophila coinfection in a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma:A case report

BACKGROUND Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)is a common non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.R-CHOP is a protocol for long-term chemotherapy for DLBCL patients.Longterm chemotherapy can lead to low immunity and increase the risk of opportunistic pathogen infections in immunocompromised patients.CASE SUMMARY We report a case of coinfection with Pneumocystis jirovecii(P.jirovecii)and Legionella pneumophila(L.pneumophila)in a patient with DLBCL.The patient was a 40-year-old female who was diagnosed with DLBCL and was admitted due to pulmonary infection.P.jirovecii and L.pneumophila were detected in her bronchoalveolar lavage fluid by hexamine silver staining,isothermal amplification and metagenomic sequencing.CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge,this is the first case of P.jirovecii and L.pneumophila coinfection found in a DLBCL patient.Clinicians should be aware of the risk of complicated infection in patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy.

Chronic consumption of thermally processed palm oil or canola oil modified gut microflora of rats

Dietary oils have critical influences on human health,and thermally cooking or frying modify the components and nutritional functions of oils.Palm oil was the most widely used oil in food processing industry,but its health effects remain debatable.In the current study,we aimed to compare the effects of thermally oxidized palm oil and canola oil on gut microbiota.Palm oil or canola oil were heated at 180°C for 10 h to prepare high-fat diets.Rats were fed high-fat diets for 3 months,and hematological properties,gut microflora composition and intestinal gene expression were examined.The results indicated that heated canola oil consumption elevated plasma total cholesterol and LDL-c levels compared with unheated canola oil,but heated palm oil do not had these effects;and consumption of heated palm oil significantly elevated the relative abundance of Lactobacillucs and Roseburia in gut,compared with non-heated palm oil or two canola oil groups.Moreover,intestinal expression of IL-22 was increased in heated palm oil fed animal,though ZO-1 and GPR41 were reduced.In conclusion,heating process may enhance the effects of palm oil on proliferation of probiotics Lactobacillucs,and weaken the effects of canola oil on cholesterol transport and metabolism.

Failure of interferon-γ pre-treated mesenchymal stem cell treatment in a patient with crohn's disease

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSC) are cells of stromal origin which exhibit unlimited self-renewal capacity and pluripotency in vitro.It has recently been observed that MSC may also exert a profound immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effect both in vitro and in vivo with consequent potential use in autoimmune disorders.We present the case of a patient suffering from childhood-onset, multidrug resistant and steroiddependent Crohn's disease who underwent systemic infusions of MSC, which led to a temporary reduction in CCR4, CCR7 and CXCR4 expression by T-cells, and a temporary decrease in switched memory B-cells, In addition, following MSC infusion, lower doses of steroids were needed to inhibit proliferation of the patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells.Despite these changes, no significant clinical benefit was observed, and the patient required rescue therapy with infliximab and subsequent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.The results of biological and in vitro observations after MSC use and the clinical effects of infusion are discussed, and a brief description is provided of previous data on MSC-based therapy in autoimmune disorders.

ACE2 downregulation promotes thrombosis and cardiac injury in COVID-19 patients

The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)caused by SARS-CoV-2 severely challenges the economic stability of countries around the globe.Immune responses induced by active infection and vaccination have resulted in severe complications like thrombosis and cardiac injury in a measurable number of COVID-19 cases.Hence,knowledge of dissemination of these events is of clinical importance.

肺癌循环肿瘤源性生物标志物

美国国立卫生研究院生物标志物定义工作组将生物标志物定义为“一种具有能客观测量同时可用于评价一般生物过程、发病过程或医疗干预相关药物反应的指示物”[1]。大量正在进行的肺癌相关研究致力于探讨用于早期诊断和高风险预测的气道上皮细胞、痰液、呼气、尿液和血液中的生物标志物。在此，着重评述肺癌的循环生物标志物，尤其是循环肿瘤细胞（circulating tumor cells，CTCs）与循环核酸（circulating nucleic acids，CNAs）。

Forest management for optimizing soil protection:a landscape-level approach

Background:Soil erosion is still identified as the main cause of land degradation worldwide,threatening soil functions and driving several research and policy efforts to reverse it.Trees are commonly associated to some of the most successful land-use systems to achieve soil protection goals,but the extent to which forest ecosystems reduce erosion risks can largely depend on management decisions and associated silvicultural practices.Optimization tools can assist foresters in solving the complex planning problem they face,concerning the demand for different,and often conflicting,ecosystem services.A resource capability model(RCM),based on a linear programming approach,was built and solved for a forest landscape management problem in Northwest Portugal,over a 90-years planning horizon,divided in 10-years periods.Results:Timber provision and soil erosion were found to be in trade-off.The management alternatives included in the model were proven to be sufficiently flexible to obtain the desired level of timber yield,both in volume and even distribution along the planning horizon,while ensuring lower levels of soil loss estimates(below 35 Mg·ha^(−1)·year^(−1)).However,under climate change conditions,compatible with an increasing greenhouse gases emission scenario,potential landscape soil erosion may be enhanced up to 46 Mg·ha^(−1)·year^(−1) in critical periods.Conclusions:Soil conservation concerns in landscape-level forest management planning can be addressed by LPbased optimization methods.Besides providing an optimal management solution at landscape level,this approach enables a comprehensive analysis of the RCM,possible trade-offs and potential changes towards uncertainties.

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to frank diabetes: Dietary manipulations in WNIN/GR-Ob rats

Background: Several rodent models are available to study obesity and obesity associated diabetic problems. We developed an obese mutant rat model viz., WNIN/GR-Ob from our existing WNIN (Inbred Wistar) stock of rats, which exhibit hyperglycemia on challenge with oral glucose. Since such impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a fore runner to frank diabetes status, we carried out a study to challenge the animals with different purified carbohydrate sources (glucose, sucrose, starch) and see the outcome. Methods: 48 obese rats of both genders and equal number of lean littermates of 35 days of age were taken for the study and were divided in to four groups, A, B, C, and D. A group received purified glucose based diet, B, received purified sucrose, C, received purified starch and the D, served as the control, receiving standard laboratory rat chow developed at our centre, containing roasted bengal gram as the source of carbohydrate. All diets were isocaloric in nature and contained 56 % carbohydrate in principle. Animals were fed for 8 weeks and parameters like food intake, body weights, and plasma glucose and insulin levels were measured in experimental and control rats at initial, 4 weeks and 8 weeks. Results: As expected, food intake, body weight and feed efficiency ratio were significantly higher in obese rats of all groups as compared to their lean littermate controls and also higher in stock diet, compared to purified diets. Both lean and obese animals showed higher values of glucose and insulin on purified diets compared to control diet. But amongst lean and obese animals, the latter showed sexual dimorphism in their response, the situation being worse in starch fed (C) group. Amongst the obese animals, the males seem to suffer more, compared to females, in starch fed group, followed by glucose and sucrose fed in that order. Conclusions: WNIN/ GR-Ob rats thus seem to be a useful animal model, vulnerable to diet manipulations, especially to carbohydrates. This has the potential to be used as a diabetic model, more akin to human systems, where diet is the major trigger for precipitating diabetes.

Synthesis of Amphiphilic Starch Derivatives Using One-pot Synthesis Procedure

Amphiphilic starch derivatives with high content of functional groups were prepared from potato starch using a one-pot synthesis method with a single reaction medium for the entire procedure. Potato starch was benzylated, followed by the introduction of hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium(HPMA) moieties without the purification of intermediates. The synthesis was performed under heterogeneous conditions, leading to the formation of benzyl 2-hydroxypropyltri methylammonium starch chloride(BnHPMAS) with a total degree of substitution(DS) of up to 1.4. This process improved the efficiency of the preparation of amphiphilic starch derivatives and reduced the time and resources consumed by avoiding a separation process and purification of the intermediate compounds.The DS of BnHPMAS was in the range of 0.36 to 1.4, which could be tuned by varying the molar ratio of the reagents to repeating unit or by changing the reaction temperature, time, and medium. The structure of the amphiphilic starches was characterized using elemental analysis, size exclusion chromatography,fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy. Moreover, the surface tension and turbidity of the solutions of the products were measured for their potential application in the removal of dissolved and colloidal substances in paper cycling water.

Explanation for the Mpemba Effect

Water molecules are oriented dipoles joined by hydrogen bonds. When water is heated, this structure collapses (i.e., the entropy increases). When water is re-cooled to a lower temperature, the previous structure is not re-formed immediately. Sometimes, when the re-cooling is performed within a freezer, there is not enough time for the structure to re-form because of the high cooling rate. The entropy reduction curve as a function of the temperature, S = f(T), shows retardation (a lag) relative to the entropy growth curve. Water that has been heated and re-cooled to the initial temperature shows greater entropy than that before it was heated. This means that, while its molecules now have the same kinetic energy, their thermal motion after heating is less oriented with respect to the structure mentioned above. After re-cooling, random collisions are more likely, owing to this the temperature decreases more quickly.

Structural biology oriented predicative analysis of immunogenic epitopes on SARS-CoV-2 viral sequence by variable algorithms

Epitopes are small segmented antigenic peptides that are able to elicit the immune response by recognizing B and T-cells.In the present scenario,knowledge of immunogenic epitopes specific to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus(SARS-CoV-2)becomes highly essential for understanding the disease pathogenesis,etiology,disease screening and also for the development of suitable viral vaccine candidates.

Base editors:development and applications in biomedicine

Base editor(BE)is a gene-editing tool developed by combining the CRISPR/Cas system with an individual deaminase,enabling precise single-base substitution in DNA or RNA without generating a DNA double-strand break(DSB)or requiring donor DNA templates in living cells.Base editors offer more precise and secure genome-editing effects than other conventional artificial nuclease systems,such as CRISPR/Cas9,as the DSB induced by Cas9 will cause severe damage to the genome.Thus,base editors have important applications in the field of biomedicine,including gene function investigation,directed protein evolution,genetic lineage tracing,disease modeling,and gene therapy.Since the development of the two main base editors,cytosine base editors(CBEs)and adenine base editors(ABEs),scientists have developed more than 100 optimized base editors with improved editing efficiency,precision,specificity,targeting scope,and capacity to be delivered in vivo,greatly enhancing their application potential in biomedicine.Here,we review the recent development of base editors,summarize their applications in the biomedical field,and discuss future perspectives and challenges for therapeutic applications.

Coulometric Response of H-Selective Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes and Its Application in Flexible Sensors+

The analytical performance of H+-selective solid-contact ion-selective electrodes(SCISEs)based on solid contact polyaniline doped with chloride(PANI(Cl))and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)doped with poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT(PSS))was characterized by a developed coulometric signal transduction method.PEDOT(PSS)solid contact is covered by PVC based H+-selective membrane.The obtained coulometric signal demonstrates that the cumulated charge can be amplified by increasing the capacitance of solid contact.SCISEs covered with spin-coated membrane behave faster amperometric response than electrodes with drop-cast mem-brane.In contrast to earlier works,the amperometric response and impedance spectrum demonstrates H+transfer through SCISEs is independent from the thickness of membrane.The exceptional behavior of PANI(Cl)H+-SCISEs shows that the capacitance estimated from impedance spectrum at low frequency 10 mHz and coulometric signal of PANI(Cl)based SCISEs is influenced by the applied po-tentials,whereas PEDOT(PSS)solid contact is independent from the chosen applied potentials.Furthermore,preliminary investiga-tions of coulometric signal transduction on flexible pH sensor implies its potential applications in wearable sensors for sweat ion concentration detection.

Exosome-guided bone targeted delivery of Antagomir-188 as an anabolic therapy for bone loss

The differentiation shift from osteogenesis to adipogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)characterizes many pathological bone loss conditions.Stromal cell-derived factor-1(SDF1)is highly enriched in the bone marrow for C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4(CXCR4)-positive hematopoietic stem cell(HSC)homing and tumor bone metastasis.In this study,we displayed CXCR4 on the surface of exosomes derived from genetically engineered NIH-3T3 cells.CXCR4+exosomes selectively accumulated in the bone marrow.Then,we fused CXCR4+exosomes with liposomes carrying antagomir-188 to produce hybrid nanoparticles(NPs).The hybrid NPs specifically gathered in the bone marrow and released antagomir-188,which promoted osteogenesis and inhibited adipogenesis of BMSCs and thereby reversed age-related trabecular bone loss and decreased cortical bone porosity in mice.Taken together,this study presents a novel way to obtain bone-targeted exosomes via surface display of CXCR4 and a promising anabolic therapeutic approach for age-related bone loss.