江西省山丘型血吸虫病传播控制地区野生动物血吸虫感染调查

目的　掌握江西省山丘型血吸虫病传播控制地区野生动物血吸虫感染情况，为实施精准防控措施及实现血吸虫病传播阻断和消除目标提供科学依据。方法　选择江西省血吸虫病疫情较重的山丘型流行区瑞昌市和彭泽县的5个流行村作为调查村。在调查村有螺环境捕捉野鼠等野生动物，收集来自调查村的野生动物肝脏，检查其血吸虫感染情况。在调查村采用间接血凝试验（IHA）筛查、粪便尼龙绢袋集卵孵化法和改良加藤厚涂片法检测人群血吸虫感染，采用粪便塑料杯顶管孵化法检测家畜血吸虫感染；采用系统抽样结合环境抽查法调查钉螺分布，采用环介导等温扩增技术（LAMP）检测钉螺血吸虫感染。结果　在调查村捕获、收购野鼠、黄鼠狼、野猪、麂子和野兔等野生动物或肝脏样本240只（份），其中捕获野鼠172只，血吸虫感染率为2.91%，其他野生动物未发现血吸虫感染；野鼠、麂子和野猪肝毛细线虫感染率分别为12.21%、1.96%和12.50%。调查村人群和家畜中均未发现血吸虫感染；各村平均钉螺密度在0.13～0.80只/0.1 m2，在1个村发现2只检测管钉螺有血吸虫阳性。结论　江西省山丘型传播控制地区野生动物在血吸虫病传播中的作用和潜在风险仍不可忽视；应继续加强监测，并采取有针对性防治措施，以巩固血吸虫病防治成果。     

应用高效液相色谱检测慢性肾炎肾功能不全患者尿纤维蛋白肽A及其临床意义

应用高效液相色谱法（ＨＰＬＣ）检测４２例正常人，２４例肾功能正常之慢性肾炎，１２例慢性肾炎肾功能不全氮质血症期患者及２１例尿毒症期患者尿ＦＰＡ水平，其均值分别为：２５．４０±１０．３０ｎｇ／ｍｇＣｒ、２６．９９±５．７７ｎｇ／ｍｇＣｒ、３８．８１±６．２８ｎｇ／ｍｇＣｒ、７９．７４±１８．７６ｎｇ／ｍｇＣｒ。结果显示：氮质血症期组尿ＦＰＡ水平明高于正常对照及肾功能正常之慢性肾炎组（Ｐ＜０．０１），尿毒症期组尿ＦＰＡ显著高于氮质血症期组（Ｐ＜０．０１）。监测尿ＦＰＡ水平与血浆肌酐浓度显示二者呈正相关性（ｒ＝０．９１２０，Ｐ＜０．０１）。揭示，慢性肾炎肾功能不全患者循环血液处于异常高凝状态，其严重程度与疾病的发生、发展密切相关，监测其尿ＦＰＡ水平能较敏感地反映肾功能状态。     

脾虚患者胃粘膜超氧化物歧化酶与前列腺素的关系

目的 观察脾虚患者胃粘膜超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性与前列腺素(PG)的关系。 方法 72例慢性胃病住院患者,按中医辨证分成脾虚组和肝气犯胃组,分别测出胃粘膜SOD活性,以及前列腺素和血栓素A_2的代谢产物6-酮-PGF_(1a)和血栓素B_2(TXB_2)的含量,分析SOD与6-酮-PGF_(1a)和TXB_2的相关性。 结果 脾虚组患者胃粘膜SOD活性为2.7±1.1 U/mg湿重,明显低于肝气犯胃组的4.2±1.7 U/mg湿重(P<0.01);脾虚组胃粘膜6-酮-PGF_(1a)含量为115.7±60.7 pg/mg湿重,亦明显低于肝气犯胃组的289.6±154.2 pg/mg湿重(P<0.01)。SOD活性与6-酮-PGF_(1a)含量呈线性正相关(P<0.05)。 结论 脾虚证患者胃粘膜内自由基代谢紊乱,表现为SOD活性及抗氧化能力低下,并且与胃粘膜PG代谢的改变存在着一定的关系。     

Evidence-based recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis: systematic literature search of the 3E Initiative in Rheumatology involving a broad panel of experts and practising rheumatologists

Objective. Recommendations and/or guidelines represent a popularway of integrating evidence-based medicine into clinical practice.The 3E Initiatives is a multi-national effort to develop recommendationsfor the management of rheumatic diseases, which involves a largenumber of experts combined with practising rheumatologists addressingspecific questions relevant to clinical practice. Methods. Ten countries participated in three rounds of discussionsand votes concerning the management of AS. A set of nine questionswas formulated in the domains of diagnosis, monitoring and treatment,after a Delphi procedure. A literature search in MedLine wasconducted. Predefined outcome parameters for the domains ofdiagnosis, monitoring and treatment were assessed. The evidenceto support each proposition was evaluated and scored. Afterdiscussion and votes, the final recommendations were presentedusing brief statements by each national group, following whichthe final international recommendations were formulated. Results. A total of 2699 papers were found and 467 were selectedfor analysis. Twelve key recommendations were developed: threein the domain of diagnosis addressing general diagnostic considerations,early AS diagnosis and general practitioners’ referralrecommendations; three concerning monitoring of AS disease activity,severity and prognosis; six concerning pharmacological treatment(except biologics): non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs/COX-IIinhibitors, bisphosphonates and treatment of enthesitis. Thecompiled agreement among experts ranged from 72% to 93%. Conclusion. Recommendations for the management of AS were developedusing an evidence-based approach followed by expert/physicianconsensus with high level of agreement. Involvement of a largerand more representative group of rheumatologists may improvetheir dissemination and implementation in daily clinical practice. KEY WORDS: Ankylosing spondylitis, Systemic literature search, Recommendations, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, COX-II inhibitors, Monitoring, Diagnosis, Treatment     

茶树籽对钉螺生殖腺和肝脏的影响

目的 :了解钉螺组织经茶树籽处理的影响。方法 :应用电镜技术观察处理后的钉螺肝脏及生殖腺组织的超微结构。结果 :钉螺在茶树籽作用 2 4 h后 ,肝内细胞受损。雄性生殖细胞有凝固性及溶解性变化 ;成熟精子细胞膜肿胀与内部结构分离 ,线粒体鞘呈现凝集型 ,支持细胞可见凝固性改变 ,且彼此断裂并与生殖细胞分离。雌性钉螺生殖腺可见卵细胞肿胀 ,严重时滤泡细胞有破裂 ,卵细胞膜则可丧失完整性。结论 :茶树籽能损伤钉螺的生殖腺和肝脏。     

Vapor condensation with daytime radiative cooling

A radiative vapor condenser sheds heat in the form of infrared radiation and cools itself to below the ambient air temperature to produce liquid water from vapor. This effect has been known for centuries, and is exploited by some insects to survive in dry deserts. Humans have also been using radiative condensation for dew collection. However, all existing radiative vapor condensers must operate during the nighttime. Here, we develop daytime radiative condensers that continue to operate 24 h a day. These daytime radiative condensers can produce water from vapor under direct sunlight, without active consumption of energy. Combined with traditional passive cooling via convection and conduction, radiative cooling can substantially increase the performance of passive vapor condensation, which can be used for passive water extraction and purification technologies.

Energy and clean water are global challenges that are intertwined in an unfavorable way: even in areas where water is abundant, energy may not be available to purify it for human use (1, 2). There has been strong interest in developing passive technologies to purify or harvest water without using fuel or electricity. In this context, passive vapor condensation becomes particularly important because many passive water technologies go through the vapor phase of water in their harvesting or purification processes.Traditional vapor condensation technique is based on convective and conductive heat exchange with ambient environments. This technique is widely used in systems with hot vapors (3–6). However, with ever-increasing emphasis on passive systems, there are many situations in which warm- or even room-temperature vapor needs to be effectively condensed, such as extracting water from atmosphere (7–9) and warm vapor generated from high-efficiency solar evaporation (10). For vapor at such temperatures, most traditional condensers fail. For this reason, there is a clear need for a condensation technique to complement traditional condensers.A different technique is based on radiative vapor condensation. Darkling beetles in the Namib desert (11) use this technique to collect water. Their bodies function as a cooling surface by shedding thermal energy through midinfrared (mid-IR) radiation toward a clear nighttime sky, generating dew from humid air. This mechanism is also used by commercial radiative dew condensers (7–9). However, neither Namib beetle nor existing dew condensers can operate in the daytime (7). Those nighttime radiative condensers are incompatible with many emerging water technologies that require 24 h operation or direct access to sunlight.Recently, Fan et al. showed that passive radiative cooling to subambient temperatures can be realized even during the daytime, by integrating a high-efficiency solar reflector with a high-emissivity thermal emitter in the mid-IR atmospheric transparency window (12). Using this work as a basis, here we demonstrate a daytime radiative condenser. Compared to existing radiative vapor condensers (7–9), our condenser can function even in the presence of sunlight, which is essential for integration into passive water-harvesting systems that mainly operate during daytime.     

Anti-CS1 humanized monoclonal antibody HuLuc63 inhibits myeloma cell adhesion and induces antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in the bone marrow milieu

Currently, no approved monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies exist for human multiple myeloma (MM). Here we characterized cell surface CS1 as a novel MM antigen and further investigated the potential therapeutic utility of HuLuc63, a humanized anti-CS1 mAb, for treating human MM. CS1 mRNA and protein was highly expressed in CD138-purified primary tumor cells from the majority of MM patients (more than 97%) with low levels of circulating CS1 detectable in MM patient sera, but not in healthy donors. CS1 was expressed at adhesion-promoting uropod membranes of polarized MM cells, and short interfering RNA (siRNA) targeted to CS1 inhibited MM cell adhesion to bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). HuLuc63 inhibited MM cell binding to BMSCs and induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against MM cells in dose-dependent and CS1-specific manners. HuLuc63 triggered autologous ADCC against primary MM cells resistant to conventional or novel therapies, including bortezomib and HSP90 inhibitor; and pretreatment with conventional or novel anti-MM drugs markedly enhanced HuLuc63-induced MM cell lysis. Administration of HuLuc63 significantly induces tumor regression in multiple xenograft models of human MM. These results thus define the functional significance of CS1 in MM and provide the preclinical rationale for testing HuLuc63 in clinical trials, either alone or in combination.     

Stem water cryogenic extraction biases estimation in deuterium isotope composition of plant source water

The hydrogen isotope ratio of water cryogenically extracted from plant stem samples (δ²H_{stem_CVD}) is routinely used to aid isotope applications that span hydrological, ecological, and paleoclimatological research. However, an increasing number of studies have shown that a key assumption of these applications—that δ²H_{stem_CVD} is equal to the δ²H of plant source water (δ²H_source)—is not necessarily met in plants from various habitats. To examine this assumption, we purposedly designed an experimental system to allow independent measurements of δ²H_{stem_CVD}, δ²H_source, and δ²H of water transported in xylem conduits (δ²H_xylem) under controlled conditions. Our measurements performed on nine woody plant species from diverse habitats revealed a consistent and significant depletion in δ²H_{stem_CVD} compared with both δ²H_source and δ²H_xylem. Meanwhile, no significant discrepancy was observed between δ²H_source and δ²H_xylem in any of the plants investigated. These results cast significant doubt on the long-standing view that deuterium fractionation occurs during root water uptake and, alternatively, suggest that measurement bias inherent in the cryogenic extraction method is the root cause of δ²H_{stem_CVD} depletion. We used a rehydration experiment to show that the stem water cryogenic extraction error could originate from a dynamic exchange between organically bound deuterium and liquid water during water extraction. In light of our finding, we suggest caution when partitioning plant water sources and reconstructing past climates using hydrogen isotopes, and carefully propose that the paradigm-shifting phenomenon of ecohydrological separation (“two water worlds”) is underpinned by an extraction artifact.

The analysis of the stable isotope ratios of plant source water (δ_source) is a powerful tool enabling the elucidation of a range of plant physiological, ecological, and hydrological processes from scales ranging from individual plants to the planet. δ_source provides a foundation on which to form isotope signals of transpired water vapor and plant-derived biomarkers (i.e., cellulose and lipids) and thus is of high relevance to studies of terrestrial water fluxes (1, 2) and paleoclimate reconstructions (3, 4). δ_source also contains information on the spatial and temporal origins of water used by plants and so is commonly used for investigating plant water uptake patterns under natural conditions (5, 6). Moreover, dual-isotope (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) analysis of δ_source was critical in formulating the paradigm-shifting “two water worlds” (TWW) hypothesis, whereby ecohydrological separation exists between plant-accessible soil water pools and those recharging streams and groundwater (7, 8).Elucidation of the foregoing processes rest on the assumption that water extracted from plant stems is isotopically identical to water taken up by plant roots. Plant stem water is typically extracted with the cryogenic-vacuum distillation technique; δ generated with this method is hereinafter referred as δ_{stem_CVD} (9). For δ_{stem_CVD} to be an accurate indicator of δ_source (i.e., δ_{stem_CVD} = δ_source), two prerequisites must be met: 1) isotope change does not occur during root uptake and/or xylem transport of the source water (prerequisite I) and 2) stem water cryogenic extraction is a robust approach toward isotope recovery of xylem water (prerequisite II). The “δ_{stem_CVD} = δ_source” assumption is generally valid for oxygen isotopes of water, but numerous studies have used hydrogen isotopes to assess source water, and here this assumption has faced scrutiny, as multiple studies have reported significant depletion in δ²H_{stem_CVD} compared with δ²H_source in plants from various habitats (10–18).A frequently invoked explanation for the observed δ²H_{stem_CVD} depletion is a violation of prerequisite I, as it is believed that symplastic uptake of source water into the root xylem can give rise to hydrogen isotope fractionation (10, 11, 13, 19). The available evidence (10, 11) in support of such an explanation is largely peripheral, because direct, unambiguous confirmation of water uptake/transport-related fractionation would require a comparison of deuterium in source water and water transported within xylem conduits (δ²H_xylem). However, this type of comparison is difficult owing to the technical challenges in obtaining targeted measurements of δ²H_xylem in most plants. Intriguingly, in a field-grown riparian tree species (Populus euphratica) in which δ²H_xylem measurement was made possible with the aid of a syringe-aided xylem sap bleeding technique, no significant difference was observed between δ²H_xylem and δ²H_source (12). This led to the suggestion that, at least for the investigated species, δ²H_{stem_CVD} depletion arises not from a violation of prerequisite I, but rather from a violation of prerequisite II. The violation of prerequisite II has been deemed possible (12, 17) based on the argument that hydrogen isotope heterogeneity could be present within the bulk stem water (i.e., the outside xylem water may carry a metabolism-induced, more-depleted δ²H signature compared with the xylem water), potentially causing the stem water extraction technique to artifactually underestimate δ²H_xylem.Given the controvertible state of knowledge regarding the mechanism driving δ²H_{stem_CVD} depletion, it is imperative for us to build a better and more comprehensive understanding of the isotopic relationships among cryogenic extracted bulk stem water, source water, and xylem water in different plants, so as to put the application of the stem water cryogenic extraction technique in diverse fields on firmer ground. In this context, it should be pointed out that the xylem water direct sampling technique (12) is applicable only to a few riparian tree species. Recently, a new method relying on laser-enabled isotope measurement of water vapor in equilibrium with xylem water has demonstrated potential for in situ continuous monitoring of xylem isotope signatures in trees (20, 21); however, the method needs further development before it becomes broadly applicable to different plant types. Thus, a more generally applicable method is needed for determining xylem water signature across diverse plant types.Toward this goal, and capitalizing on the well-recognized mass balance-dictated principle that the isotopic composition of steady-state (SS) plant transpiration is identical to that of the xylem water supplying the plant canopy, we custom-designed a measurement system to enable independent quantification of xylem water isotope composition through isotope measurement of SS plant transpiration. This measurement system conferred the ability to compare values of δ_{stem_CVD}, δ_source, and δ_xylem across a number of plant species of varying native habitats. The data allowed us to confirm the common presence of δ²H_{stem_CVD} depletion across all plant types measured, and also to demonstrate that this phenomenon is caused by cryogenic extraction-associated artifact and not by water uptake/transport-related fractionation. We also performed a rehydration experiment to illustrate that the extraction artifact is unrelated to within-stem isotope heterogeneity as has been recently suggested, but rather is more likely linked to a deuterium-exchange process that occurs dynamically during cryogenic extraction. Using the TWW hypothesis as an example, we further discuss the ramifications for ecological/hydrological queries that rely on accurate isotopic information on plant source/xylem water.