Assessing sialic acid content in food by hydrophilic chromatography-high performance liquid chromatography

We have established a novel hydrophilic chromatography (HILIC)-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to assess sialic acid content in food products. Single-factor and response surface methodologies (RSM) were used to systematically optimize the hydrolysis conditions of the food samples to extract the maximum amount of sialic acid. Chromatographic conditions were also adjusted. In foods containing sialic acid, we observed a strong linear relationship between sialic acid and peak area, ranging from 5 to 100 μg/mL (R² = 0.9998). The lowest detectable sialic acid concentration (RSN = 3) was 0.2 μg mL⁻¹, and the method detection limit was 0.02mg kg⁻¹. Sample recovery ranged from 95.85% to 99.78%, with an RSD of 1.46% (n = 6). Thus, the described method can be applied to the study of sialic acid content in foods.     

Highly accelerated,real‐time phase‐contrast MRI using radial k‐space sampling and GROG‐GRASP reconstruction: a feasibility study in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease

Retrospective electrocardiogram‐gated, 2D phase‐contrast (PC) flow MRI is routinely used in clinical evaluation of valvular/vascular disease in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). In patients not requiring general anesthesia, clinical standard PC is conducted with free breathing for several minutes per slice with averaging. In younger patients under general anesthesia, clinical standard PC is conducted with breath‐holding. One approach to overcome this limitation is using either navigator gating or self‐navigation of respiratory motion, at the expense of lengthening scan times. An alternative approach is using highly accelerated, free‐breathing, real‐time PC (rt‐PC) MRI, which to date has not been evaluated in CHD patients. The purpose of this study was to develop a 38.4‐fold accelerated 2D rt‐PC pulse sequence using radial k‐space sampling and compressed sensing with 1.5 × 1.5 × 6.0 mm³ nominal spatial resolution and 40 ms nominal temporal resolution, and evaluate whether it is capable of accurately measuring flow in 17 pediatric patients (aortic valve, pulmonary valve, right and left pulmonary arteries) compared with clinical standard 2D PC (either breath‐hold or free breathing). For clinical translation, we implemented an integrated reconstruction pipeline capable of producing DICOMs of the order of 2 min per time series (46 frames). In terms of association, forward volume, backward volume, regurgitant fraction, and peak velocity at peak systole measured with standard PC and rt‐PC were strongly correlated (R² > 0.76; P < 0.001). Compared with clinical standard PC, in terms of agreement, forward volume (mean difference = 1.4% (3.0% of mean)) and regurgitant fraction (mean difference = ?2.5%) were in good agreement, whereas backward volume (mean difference = ?1.1 mL (28.2% of mean)) and peak‐velocity at peak systole (mean difference = ?21.3 cm/s (17.2% of mean)) were underestimated by rt‐PC. This study demonstrates that the proposed rt‐PC with the said spatial resolution and temporal resolution produces relatively accurate forward volumes and regurgitant fractions but underestimates backward volumes and peak velocities at peak systole in pediatric patients with CHD.     

四川某师范女生4种艾滋病防控生活技能现状及影响因素研究

目的 了解师范女生4种艾滋病防控生活技能现状及其影响因素,为有效预防艾滋病在大学生中流行提供依据。方法 采用分层整群抽样方法抽取某师范学院4 064名女生进行艾滋病防控生活技能调查,采用一般描述性分析、 χ²检验、多因素非条件logistic回归分析探讨师范女生艾滋病防控生活技能影响因素。 结果 师范女生艾滋病防控风险识别、拒绝、寻求帮助和协商四种技能具备率分别为79.72%(3 240/4 064)、60.88%(2 474/4 064)、58.56%(2 380/4 064)、19.83%(806/4 064)。多因素非条件logistic回归分析结果显示异性恋(OR=1.47,95%CI: 1.21~1.79)、愿意进行HIV检测(OR=2.04,95%CI:1.65~2.51)是风险识别技能具备率的促进因素;出生于城市(OR=1.48,95%CI:1.16~1.89)、独生女(OR=1.36,95%CI:1.14~1.61)、正在恋爱(OR=1.50,95%CI:1.24~1.81)、愿意进行HIV检测(OR=1.64,95%CI:1.25~2.16)是协商技能具备率的促进因素;独生女(OR=1.48,95%CI:1.29~1.70)、愿意进行HIV检测(OR=1.28,95%CI:1.06~1.55)是拒绝技能具备率的促进因素;出生于城市(OR=1.48,95%CI:1.19~1.85)或城镇(OR=1.35,95%CI:1.15~1.59)、二年级(OR=1.40,95%CI:1.20~1.64)或三年级(OR=1.34,95%CI:1.13~1.58)、独生女(OR=1.34,95%CI:1.15~1.55)、异性恋(OR=1.26,95%CI:1.07~1.50)、愿意进行HIV检测(OR=1.61,95%CI:1.33~1.96)是寻求帮助技能具备率的促进因素。 结论 师范女生艾滋病防控协商技能具备率较低,应加强对非独生女、非异性恋、来自农村、一年级、从未恋爱过的师范女生开展相应艾滋病防控生活技能的培养;同时加强HIV检测方面的健康教育,提高大学生HIV检测意愿,以促进师范女生艾滋病防控生活技能的发展。     

Microtubule-targeting agents in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer: insights on new combination strategies and investigational compounds

Introduction: The management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been substantially improved in the last few years; it has been revolutionized by a patient-tailored approach, especially in the oncogene addicted disease, and by novel combinations containing immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, chemotherapy still represents a mainstay that persists over the decades with limited novelties. Tubulin inhibitors belong to different sub-classes of drugs that share the capability to interfere with mitosis by a direct action on the microtubule system. Among them, taxanes and vinca alkaloids still have a prominent role in clinical practice.

Areas covered: This review summarizes the mechanisms of action, current role and future directions of microtubule targeting agents; we focus on investigational agents in phase I and II clinical trials.

Expert opinion: Chemotherapy maintains a pivotal role in the treatment of NSCLC. New generation agents that have the potential to overcome the mechanisms of resistance to the available drugs may provide new therapeutic opportunities. Predictive biomarkers derived from combination strategies and phase III studies are necessary going forward.     

Superhydrophobic Porous PLLA Sponges with Hierarchical Micro‐/Nano‐Structures for High‐Efficiency Self‐Cleaning

Porous poly (l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) sponges have received rapid development in the materials science and energy fields due to their good biocompatibility and degradability. Herein, hierarchical micro‐/nano‐structures of PLLA sponges are successfully prepared by the microphase separation method to investigate the influence of non‐solvents on PLLA microtopography. The interaction ability between PLLA and various alcohol non‐solvents is precisely calculated by using the Flory–Huggins equation. SEM results show that the porosity of PLLA surfaces increases with increasing non‐solvent solubility parameters at a certain range. When the solubility parameters of alcohol non‐solvents are much higher than that of PLLA, PLLA bulks accumulate on the surfaces, mainly caused by its insolubility. DSC curves disclose that the crystallinity has a positive relationship with contents and solubility parameters of alcohol non‐solvents. Furthermore, these porous PLLA surfaces show strong water repellency and self‐cleaning ability so that the contaminant can be quickly cleared away from the PLLA surfaces. This study provides a new insight into understanding the formation process of PLLA porous materials and the wetting variation for high‐efficiency self‐cleaning.     

Cytokine-induced endogenous production of prostaglandin D2 is essential for human group 2 innate lymphoid cell activation

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Distribution of the Epstein-Barr virus in the normal stomach and gastric lesions in Thai population

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the infectious agents found in stomach tissue. Recently, EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) was classified as a new subtype of gastric carcinoma. To date, there is a lack of knowledge about the distribution and prevalence of EBV infection in both the normal stomach and various gastric lesions, including EBVaGC, in the Thai population. In this study, we detected EBV in the normal stomach (NS; n = 19), chronic gastritis (CG; n = 36), intestinal metaplasia (IM; n = 40), gastric dysplasia (GD; n = 15), and gastric adenocarcinoma (GC; n = 33) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the latent membrane protein (LMP1) gene of EBV. EBV-PCR amplification was positive in 42.1%, 36.1%, 22.5%, 13.3%, and 33.3% of NS, CG, IM, GD, and GC, respectively. For further clarification in EBVaGC, we performed EBV-encoded small RNA in situ hybridization (EBER-ISH) in PCR-positive cases of GD and GC. Four GC cases were EBER-ISH positive (12.1%), while both GD cases were EBER-ISH negative. In addition, we determined the distribution of the EBV strain (type A or B) based on EBNA3C sequence and EBV variants based on LMP1 variation (wild-type and 30-bp deletion variants; wt-LMP1 or del-LMP1). The results showed that type A and wt-LMP1 were the most prevalent in all lesions. In conclusion, EBV is common in both the NS and gastric lesions, and the frequency of EBVaGC was 12.1% in Thai patients.