DIP-microhaplotypes: new markers for detection of unbalanced DNA mixtures

International Journal of Legal Medicine - The identification of a suspect in a degraded and unbalanced DNA mixture has been a challenge for the standard short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STR)...     

Deletions and duplications of 42 Y chromosomal short tandem repeats in Chinese Han population

International Journal of Legal Medicine - Genotypes of 42 Y chromosome STR (Y-STR) loci were analyzed for a sample of 1420 unrelated males and 1160 father-son pairs from a Chinese Han population....     

不同强度光刺激对大脑头皮电位的影响研究

目的:研究不同强度光刺激人眼对大脑头皮电位的影响。方法:脑电信号分析对脑科学研究意义重大。大脑头皮电位是反映脑活动情况的一个重要物理量。用相同的光源,以不同的光入射角度照射测试者的眼睛,同时用脑立方移动版(NeuroSky Mindwave Mobile)设备检测其大脑头皮电位的变化情况,并记录脑电压信号。最后将脑电压信号数据进行处理,画出脑电压随角度变化趋势图。结果:用相同频率但不同亮度的光照射人眼睛,大脑头皮电压变化是不一样的:光亮度越强,大脑头皮电压绝对值的均值就越大,反之就越小。结论:根据人眼感光细胞对入射光线的光电转换作用,以及外电信号刺激下皮层神经元的等效电流偶极子理论,对实验结果进行机理探讨,为人们更好研究脑神经元光刺激效应提供有意义的实验和理论依据。     

Bioremediation of cadmium-contaminated paddy soil using an autotrophic and heterotrophic mixture

Cadmium (Cd) pollution poses a serious risk to human health and ecological security. Bioremediation can be a promising and effective remediation technology for treating Cd contaminated soils. In this study, seven heterotrophic strains were isolated from Cd contaminated soil and 7 autotrophic strains were isolated from acid mine drainage. Cd removal efficiencies were compared after leaching with autotrophic bacteria (Att-sys), heterotrophic isolates (Htt-sys) and cooperative leaching systems (Co-sys) in laboratory agitating reactors. The results indicated that Cd removal efficiency of Co-sys (32.09%) was significantly higher than that of Att-sys (23.24%) and Htt-sys (0.74%). By analyzing the soil microbial community in different bioleaching systems, we found that the addition of heterotrophic isolates significantly promoted the growth of some heavy metal resistant inhabitants (Massilia, Alicyclobacillus, Micromonospora, etc.), and Co-sys had a minor effect on the growth of soil indigenous microbes. In Co-sys, the content of the four Cd fractions all decreased compared with other leaching systems. The analysis of soil physicochemical parameters during the leaching process showed that pH and ORP (oxidation reduction potential) were not the only determinants for Cd removal efficiency in Co-sys, synergistic metabolic activities of autotrophic and heterotrophic strains may be other determinants. This study demonstrated that cooperative bioremediation may prove to be a safe and efficient technique for field application in heavy metal soil pollution.

Bioremediation can be a promising and effective remediation technology for treating Cd contaminated soils. Cooperative bioremediation using heterotrophic and autotrophic mixtures proved to be an efficient, short-term bioremediation strategy for heavy metal contaminated soil.     

Simple weak-acid derivatives of paclitaxel for remote loading into liposomes and improved therapeutic effects

Liposomes are among the most successful nanocarriers; several products have been marketed, all of which were prepared by active loading methods. However, poorly water-soluble drugs without ionizable groups are usually incorporated into the lipid bi-layer of liposomes by passive loading methods, with serious drug leakage during blood circulation. Furthermore, there have been few improvements in their anti-cancer activity and safety. Herein, we designed and synthesized three weak-acid modified paclitaxel (PTX) derivatives with a one-step reaction for the remote loading of liposomal formulations. By comparison, PTX-succinic acid liposomes (PTX-SA LPs) exhibited the highest encapsulation efficiency (97.2 ± 1.8%) and drug loading (8.84 ± 0.16%); meanwhile, there was almost no change in their particle size or zeta potential within one month. Furthermore, compared with Taxol®, the PTX-SA LPs showed a 4.35-fold prolonged half-time, enhanced tumor accumulation, and an increased maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of more than 30 mg kg⁻¹. As a result, the PTX-SA LPs displayed significantly improved in vivo anti-cancer efficacy in comparison with Taxol®. Therefore, weak-acid modification is proved to be a simple and effective method to achieve remote loading and high encapsulation efficiency of poorly soluble drugs, showing great potential for clinical application.

A remote loading liposomal formulation of weak-acid paclitaxel derivative with high encapsulation efficiency and high drug loading, improved therapeutic efficiency and negligible toxicity.     

Enhanced light emission of quantum dot films by scattering of poly(zinc methacrylate) coating CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots and high refractive index BaTiO3 nanoparticles

Quantum dots (QDs) have received considerable attention in information displays owing to their high quantum yield, high colour purity and low-cost fabrication. However, light emission for ultra-thin QD films with low mass percentage of QDs still need to be improved because the blue light can directly transmit the films, leading to insufficient energy to excite the QDs. In this study, we report QD films based on a poly(zinc methacrylate) coating with alloyed green-emitting CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs@PZnMA) together with high refractive-index BaTiO₃ nanoparticles to enhance the scattering coefficient of the QD films. Results demonstrate a 7.5-fold increase in the absorption coefficient, 11.3-fold increase in the scattering coefficient, 8.5-fold increase in the optical density (OD) and 8.6-fold increase in the green-light emission of QD films, compared with films that have the same mass percentage of pristine QDs. This approach provides a promising strategy for developing QD optical films with high scattering and enhanced light emission for flexible displays.

We report QD films based on a poly(zinc methacrylate) coating with alloyed green-emitting CdZnSeS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs@PZnMA) together with high refractive-index BaTiO₃ nanoparticles to enhance the scattering coefficient of the QD films.     

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis complicated with tuberculosis: A case report

BACKGROUNDPulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung disease characterized by the accumulation of phospholipoproteinaceous material in the alveoli. Cases of PAP complicated with tuberculosis are much more complex and have rarely been well recorded. CASE SUMMARYWe describe a 21-year-old Han Chinese patient with suspicious lung infection associated with mild restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and diffusion reduction. High resolution computed tomography revealed a “crazy-paving” appearance and multiple pulmonary miliary nodules around the bronchi. Bronchoalveolar lavage demonstrated a small amount of periodic acid-Schiff positive proteinaceous materials. A serological test for the presence of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibody and an interferon-gamma release assay were both positive. The patient received a standard course of first-line anti-tuberculosis treatment after diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage. To date, clinical remission has been achieved and maintained for five years. CONCLUSIONIn summary, the diagnosis of PAP complicated with tuberculosis was supported by a combination of clinical manifestations, imaging, pulmonary function, laboratory examinations, bronchoalveolar lavage, etc. This case highlighted that diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage in combination with anti-tuberculosis treatment is a safe and effective option for mild PAP patients with tuberculosis.     

脉搏指示连续心输出量测定指导脓毒症休克治疗的Meta分析

目的采用Meta分析系统评价脉搏指示连续心输出量测定（PiCCO）指导脓毒症休克治疗的价值。 方法系统检索PubMed、中国知网和万方等数据库,检索时间为2011年1月至2020年3月。由2人按照设定的纳入与排除标准进行筛选文献,查找相关文献,并采用Rev Man 5.3软件进行数据分析、汇总。 结果共纳入21篇文献和1572例患者。与常规中心静脉压（CVP）指导的脓毒症休克治疗相比,PiCCO指导的脓毒症休克治疗组28 d病死率下降（OR=0.55,95%CI：0.43~0.70,P＜0.001）,机械通气时间缩短（SD=-1.77,95%CI：-2.36~-1.19,P＜0.001）。 结论对于脓毒症休克患者,PiCCO指导下的治疗优于传统CVP指导下的治疗。