Understanding the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC) fractions to altitudinal gradient variation is important for understanding changes in the carbon balance of forest ecosystems.In our study the SOC and its fracti...Understanding the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC) fractions to altitudinal gradient variation is important for understanding changes in the carbon balance of forest ecosystems.In our study the SOC and its fractions of readily oxidizable carbon(ROC),water-soluble carbon(WSC) and microbial biomass carbon(MBC) in the soil organic and mineral horizons were investigated for four typical forest types,including mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest(MCB),dark coniferous spruce-fir forest(DCSF),dark coniferous spruce forest(DCS),and Ermans birch forest(EB),along an altitudinal gradient in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Northeast China.The results showed that there was no obvious altitudinal pattern in the SOC.Similar variation trends of SOC with altitude were observed between the organic and mineral horizons.Significant differences in the contents of SOC,WSC,MBC and ROC were found among the four forest types and between horizons.The contents of ROC in the mineral horizon,WSC in the organic horizon and MBC in both horizons in the MCB and EB forests were significantly greater than those in either DCSF or DCS forest.The proportion of soil WSC to SOC was the lowest among the three main fractions.The contents of WSC,MBC and ROC were significantly correlated(P < 0.05) with SOC content.It can be concluded that vegetation types and climate were crucial factors in regulating the distribution of soil organic carbon fractions in Changbai Mountain.展开更多
Background： Nowadays, social media tools such as short message service, Twitter, video, and web-based systems are more and more used in clinical follow-up, making clinical follow-up much more time- and cost-effective...Background： Nowadays, social media tools such as short message service, Twitter, video, and web-based systems are more and more used in clinical follow-up, making clinical follow-up much more time- and cost-effective than ever before. However, as the most popular social media in China, little is known about the utility of smartphone WeChat application in follow-up. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility and superiority of WeChat application in clinical follow-up. Methods： A total of 108 patients diagnosed with head and neck tumor were randomized to WeChat follow-up （WFU） group or telephone follow-up （TFU） group for 6-month follow-up. The follow-ups were delivered by WeChat or telephone at 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, and 6 months to the patients after being discharged. The study measurements were time consumption for follow-up delivery, total economic cost, lost-to-follow-up rate, and overall satisfaction for the follow-up method. Results： Time consumption in WFU group for each patient （23.36 ± 6.16 min） was significantly shorter than that in TFU group （42.89 ± 7.15 min） （P 〈 0.001 ）; total economic cost in WFU group （RMB 90 Yuan） was much lower than that in TFU group （RMB 196 Yuan）. Lost-to-follow-up rate in the WFU group was 7.02% （4/57） compared with TFU group, 9.80% （5/51 ）, while no significance was observed （95% confidence interval [CI]： 0.176-2.740; P = 0.732）. The overall satisfaction rate in WFU group was 94.34% （50/53） compared with 80.43% （37/46） in TFU group （95% CI： 0.057-0.067; P = 0.034）. Conclusions： The smartphone WeChat application was found to be a viable option for follow-up in discharged patients with head and neck tumors. WFU was time-effective, cost-effective, and convenient in communication. This doctor-led follow-up model has the potential to establish a good physician-patient relationship by enhancing dynamic communications and providing individual health instructions.展开更多
Background:A therapeutic strategy involving combined treatment with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab(LEP)has demonstrated a relatively high antitumor response in several solid tumors;however,the efficacy and safety of LE...Background:A therapeutic strategy involving combined treatment with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab(LEP)has demonstrated a relatively high antitumor response in several solid tumors;however,the efficacy and safety of LEP in patients with refractory bile tract carcinoma(BTC)remains unknown.Methods:This is a single-arm study for a preliminary assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of LEP in patients who experienced progression from prior systemic treatments.Pre-treatment tumor tissues were collected to retrospectively evaluate the expression status of PDL1.Results:Thirty-two patients received second-line and above treatment with LEP.Overall,the objective response rate(ORR)was 25%,the disease control rate(DCR)was 78.1%,and the clinical benefit rate(CBR)was 40.5%.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 4.9 months(95%CI:4.7–5.2 months),and the median overall survival(OS)was 11.0 months(95%CI:9.6–12.3 months).For tolerability,no grade 5 serious adverse events(AEs)were reported.All patients had any-grade AEs,and 59.3%of the patients experienced grade 3 AEs,while only 1 patient experienced a grade 4 AE of stomach bleeding.Fatigue was the most common AE,followed by hypertension and elevated aminotransferase levels.Retrospective analysis for PDL1 expression revealed that PDL1 positive tumor cells were associated with improved clinical benefits and survival outcomes.Conclusions:LEP is a promising alternative as a non-first-line therapeutic regimen for patients with refractory BTC.Furthermore,well-designed prospective clinical trials with a control arm are still needed to obtain more evidences to confirm the efficacy and safety of this particular regimen as well as the role of PDL1 expression.展开更多
Salvianolic acid A （SAA） is a water-soluble component from the root of Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases for centuries. The pr...Salvianolic acid A （SAA） is a water-soluble component from the root of Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases for centuries. The present study aimed to determine the brain protective effects of SAA against cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats, and to figure out whether SAA could protect the blood brain barrier （BBB） through matrix metallopeptidase 9 （MMP-9） inhibition. A focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion model was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion （MCAO） for 1.5-h followed by 24-h reperfusion. SAA was administered intravenously at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg.kg-l. SAA significantly reduced the infarct volumes and neurological deficit scores. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that SAA treatments could also improve the morphology of neurons in hippocampus CA1 and CA3 regions and increase the number of neurons. Western blotting analyses showed that SAA downregulated the levels of MMP-9 and upregulated the levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 （TIMP-1） to attenuate BBB injury. SAA treatment significantly prevented MMP-9-induced degradation of ZO-1, claudin-5 and occludin proteins. SAA also prevented cerebral NF-κB p65 activation and reduced inflammation response. Our results suggested that SAA could be a promising agent to attenuate cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury through MMP-9 inhibition and anti-inflammation activities.展开更多
AIM:To investigate the effect and mechanism of oridonin on the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 in vitro.METHODS:The inhibitory effect of oridonin on HGC-27 cells was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-...AIM:To investigate the effect and mechanism of oridonin on the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 in vitro.METHODS:The inhibitory effect of oridonin on HGC-27 cells was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.After treatment with 10 μg/mL oridonin for 24 h and 48 h,the cells were stained with acridine orange/ethidium bromide.The morphologic changes were observed under an inverted fluorescence microscope.DNA fragmen-tation(a hallmark of apoptosis) and lactate dehydrogenase activity were examined using DNA ladder assay and lactate dehydrogenase-release assay.After treated with oridonin(0,1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL),HGC-27 cells were collected for anexin V-phycoerythrin and 7-amino-actinomycin D double staining and tested by flow cytometric analysis,and oridonin-induced apoptosis in HGC-27 cells was detected.After treatment with oridonin for 24 h,the effects of oridonin on expression of Apaf-1,Bcl-2,Bax,caspase-3 and cytochrome c were also analyzed using reverse-transcript polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blotting.RESULTS:Oridonin significantly inhibited the proliferation of HGC-27 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner.The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with four different concentrations of oridonin for 24 h(1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL) were 1.78% ± 0.36%,4.96% ± 1.59%,10.35% ± 2.76% and 41.6% ± 4.29%,respectively,which showed a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin at the four concentrations for 48 h were 14.77% ± 4.21%,21.57% ± 3.75%,30.31% ± 4.91% and 61.19% ± 5.81%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin for 72 h at the four concentrations were 25.77% ± 4.85%,31.86% ± 3.86%,48.30% ± 4.16% and 81.80% ± 6.72%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).Cells treated with oridonin showed typical apoptotic features with acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining.After treatment with oridonin,the cells became round,shrank,and developed small buds aroun展开更多
Coronary artery disease （CAD） is a multifactorial disease in which inflammation plays a central role. This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte rat...Coronary artery disease （CAD） is a multifactorial disease in which inflammation plays a central role. This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio （NLR）, the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events （GRACE） score with in-hospital mortality of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction （AMI） in an attempt to explore the prognostic value of these indices for elderly AMI patients. One thousand consecutive CAD patients were divided into two groups based on age 60. The laboratory and clinical characteristics were assessed retrospectively by reviewing the medical records. The NLR and GRACE score were calculated. In the elderly （〉60 years）, patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction （NSTEMI） and ST-elevation myocardial infarction （STEMI） had significantly higher NLR than did those with unstable angina （UA） and stable angina pectoris （SAP） （P〈0.01）. The NLR was considerably elevated in older AMI patients compared with their younger counterparts （〈60 years） （P〈0.05）. In elderly AMI patients, the NLR was considerably higher in the high-risk group than in both the low-risk and mediumrisk groups based on the GRACE score （P〈0.05 and P〈0.01, respectively）, and the NLR was positively correlated with the GRACE score （r=0.322, P〈0.001）. Either the NLR level or the GRACE score was significantly higher in the death group than in the surviving group （P〈0.05）. By curve receiver operator characteristic curve （ROC） analysis, the optimal cut-off levels of 9.41 for NLR and 174 for GRACE score predicted in-hospital death [ROC area under the curve （AUC） 0.771 and 0.787, respectively, P〈0.001]. It was concluded that an elevated NLR is a potential predictor of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with AMI.展开更多
A 3D finite element model for the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,the first triple-tower long-span suspension bridge in China,is established based on the nonlinear finite element software ABAQUS,and the dynamic character...A 3D finite element model for the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,the first triple-tower long-span suspension bridge in China,is established based on the nonlinear finite element software ABAQUS,and the dynamic characteristics of the bridge are analyzed using the LANCZOS eigenvalue solution method. The study focuses on the effects of the vertical,lateral and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder,the rigid central buckle and the elastic restraints connecting the towers and the steel box girder on the dynamic characteristics of the triple-tower suspension bridge. Our results show that,in general,the dynamic characteristics of the triple-tower suspension bridge are similar to those of two-tower suspension bridges. The vertical,lateral and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder have different effects on the dynamic characteristics of triple-tower suspension bridges. The elastic re-straints have a more significant effect on the dynamic characteristics than the central buckle,and decreasing the stiffness of the elastic restraints results in the appearance of a longitudinal floating vibration mode of the bridge. Also,rigid central buckles have a greater influence on the dynamic characteristics of triple-tower suspension bridges than on those of two-tower suspension bridges. The results obtained could serve as a valuable numerical reference for analyzing and designing super-long-span triple-tower suspension bridges.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China (No.2011CB403204)the Youth Fund for Creative Research Groups,Institute of Applied Ecology,Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Understanding the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC) fractions to altitudinal gradient variation is important for understanding changes in the carbon balance of forest ecosystems.In our study the SOC and its fractions of readily oxidizable carbon(ROC),water-soluble carbon(WSC) and microbial biomass carbon(MBC) in the soil organic and mineral horizons were investigated for four typical forest types,including mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest(MCB),dark coniferous spruce-fir forest(DCSF),dark coniferous spruce forest(DCS),and Ermans birch forest(EB),along an altitudinal gradient in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Northeast China.The results showed that there was no obvious altitudinal pattern in the SOC.Similar variation trends of SOC with altitude were observed between the organic and mineral horizons.Significant differences in the contents of SOC,WSC,MBC and ROC were found among the four forest types and between horizons.The contents of ROC in the mineral horizon,WSC in the organic horizon and MBC in both horizons in the MCB and EB forests were significantly greater than those in either DCSF or DCS forest.The proportion of soil WSC to SOC was the lowest among the three main fractions.The contents of WSC,MBC and ROC were significantly correlated(P < 0.05) with SOC content.It can be concluded that vegetation types and climate were crucial factors in regulating the distribution of soil organic carbon fractions in Changbai Mountain.
基金This work was partially supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 81072224）.
文摘Background： Nowadays, social media tools such as short message service, Twitter, video, and web-based systems are more and more used in clinical follow-up, making clinical follow-up much more time- and cost-effective than ever before. However, as the most popular social media in China, little is known about the utility of smartphone WeChat application in follow-up. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility and superiority of WeChat application in clinical follow-up. Methods： A total of 108 patients diagnosed with head and neck tumor were randomized to WeChat follow-up （WFU） group or telephone follow-up （TFU） group for 6-month follow-up. The follow-ups were delivered by WeChat or telephone at 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, and 6 months to the patients after being discharged. The study measurements were time consumption for follow-up delivery, total economic cost, lost-to-follow-up rate, and overall satisfaction for the follow-up method. Results： Time consumption in WFU group for each patient （23.36 ± 6.16 min） was significantly shorter than that in TFU group （42.89 ± 7.15 min） （P 〈 0.001 ）; total economic cost in WFU group （RMB 90 Yuan） was much lower than that in TFU group （RMB 196 Yuan）. Lost-to-follow-up rate in the WFU group was 7.02% （4/57） compared with TFU group, 9.80% （5/51 ）, while no significance was observed （95% confidence interval [CI]： 0.176-2.740; P = 0.732）. The overall satisfaction rate in WFU group was 94.34% （50/53） compared with 80.43% （37/46） in TFU group （95% CI： 0.057-0.067; P = 0.034）. Conclusions： The smartphone WeChat application was found to be a viable option for follow-up in discharged patients with head and neck tumors. WFU was time-effective, cost-effective, and convenient in communication. This doctor-led follow-up model has the potential to establish a good physician-patient relationship by enhancing dynamic communications and providing individual health instructions.
基金This work was supported by grants from the International Science and Technology Cooperation Projects(2016YFE0107100 and 2015DFA30650)CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science(CIFMS)(2017-I2M-4-003)+1 种基金Beijing Natural Science Foundation(L172055)National Ten-thousand Talent Program,Beijing Science and Technology Cooperation Special Award Subsidy Project and CAMS Initiative for Innovative Medicine(CAMS-2018-I2M-3-001)
文摘Background:A therapeutic strategy involving combined treatment with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab(LEP)has demonstrated a relatively high antitumor response in several solid tumors;however,the efficacy and safety of LEP in patients with refractory bile tract carcinoma(BTC)remains unknown.Methods:This is a single-arm study for a preliminary assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of LEP in patients who experienced progression from prior systemic treatments.Pre-treatment tumor tissues were collected to retrospectively evaluate the expression status of PDL1.Results:Thirty-two patients received second-line and above treatment with LEP.Overall,the objective response rate(ORR)was 25%,the disease control rate(DCR)was 78.1%,and the clinical benefit rate(CBR)was 40.5%.The median progression-free survival(PFS)was 4.9 months(95%CI:4.7–5.2 months),and the median overall survival(OS)was 11.0 months(95%CI:9.6–12.3 months).For tolerability,no grade 5 serious adverse events(AEs)were reported.All patients had any-grade AEs,and 59.3%of the patients experienced grade 3 AEs,while only 1 patient experienced a grade 4 AE of stomach bleeding.Fatigue was the most common AE,followed by hypertension and elevated aminotransferase levels.Retrospective analysis for PDL1 expression revealed that PDL1 positive tumor cells were associated with improved clinical benefits and survival outcomes.Conclusions:LEP is a promising alternative as a non-first-line therapeutic regimen for patients with refractory BTC.Furthermore,well-designed prospective clinical trials with a control arm are still needed to obtain more evidences to confirm the efficacy and safety of this particular regimen as well as the role of PDL1 expression.
基金supported by the National Science and Technology Major Projects for"Major New Drugs Innovation and Development"(2013ZX09508104 and 2013ZX09402203)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81603100)+1 种基金the open project of State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures(TMC201510)the graduate student innovation fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College(No.2015-1007-07)
文摘Salvianolic acid A （SAA） is a water-soluble component from the root of Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been used for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases for centuries. The present study aimed to determine the brain protective effects of SAA against cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats, and to figure out whether SAA could protect the blood brain barrier （BBB） through matrix metallopeptidase 9 （MMP-9） inhibition. A focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion model was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion （MCAO） for 1.5-h followed by 24-h reperfusion. SAA was administered intravenously at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg.kg-l. SAA significantly reduced the infarct volumes and neurological deficit scores. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that SAA treatments could also improve the morphology of neurons in hippocampus CA1 and CA3 regions and increase the number of neurons. Western blotting analyses showed that SAA downregulated the levels of MMP-9 and upregulated the levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 （TIMP-1） to attenuate BBB injury. SAA treatment significantly prevented MMP-9-induced degradation of ZO-1, claudin-5 and occludin proteins. SAA also prevented cerebral NF-κB p65 activation and reduced inflammation response. Our results suggested that SAA could be a promising agent to attenuate cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury through MMP-9 inhibition and anti-inflammation activities.
基金Supported by Medical and Health Research Foundation of Zhejiang Province,No. 2009B019
文摘AIM:To investigate the effect and mechanism of oridonin on the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 in vitro.METHODS:The inhibitory effect of oridonin on HGC-27 cells was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.After treatment with 10 μg/mL oridonin for 24 h and 48 h,the cells were stained with acridine orange/ethidium bromide.The morphologic changes were observed under an inverted fluorescence microscope.DNA fragmen-tation(a hallmark of apoptosis) and lactate dehydrogenase activity were examined using DNA ladder assay and lactate dehydrogenase-release assay.After treated with oridonin(0,1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL),HGC-27 cells were collected for anexin V-phycoerythrin and 7-amino-actinomycin D double staining and tested by flow cytometric analysis,and oridonin-induced apoptosis in HGC-27 cells was detected.After treatment with oridonin for 24 h,the effects of oridonin on expression of Apaf-1,Bcl-2,Bax,caspase-3 and cytochrome c were also analyzed using reverse-transcript polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blotting.RESULTS:Oridonin significantly inhibited the proliferation of HGC-27 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner.The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with four different concentrations of oridonin for 24 h(1.25,2.5,5 and 10 μg/mL) were 1.78% ± 0.36%,4.96% ± 1.59%,10.35% ± 2.76% and 41.6% ± 4.29%,respectively,which showed a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin at the four concentrations for 48 h were 14.77% ± 4.21%,21.57% ± 3.75%,30.31% ± 4.91% and 61.19% ± 5.81%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).The inhibition rates of HGC-27 treated with oridonin for 72 h at the four concentrations were 25.77% ± 4.85%,31.86% ± 3.86%,48.30% ± 4.16% and 81.80% ± 6.72%,with a significant difference(P < 0.05).Cells treated with oridonin showed typical apoptotic features with acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining.After treatment with oridonin,the cells became round,shrank,and developed small buds aroun
基金This project was supported by a grant from Hubei Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 2013CKB011）.
文摘Coronary artery disease （CAD） is a multifactorial disease in which inflammation plays a central role. This study aimed to investigate the association of inflammatory markers such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio （NLR）, the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events （GRACE） score with in-hospital mortality of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction （AMI） in an attempt to explore the prognostic value of these indices for elderly AMI patients. One thousand consecutive CAD patients were divided into two groups based on age 60. The laboratory and clinical characteristics were assessed retrospectively by reviewing the medical records. The NLR and GRACE score were calculated. In the elderly （〉60 years）, patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction （NSTEMI） and ST-elevation myocardial infarction （STEMI） had significantly higher NLR than did those with unstable angina （UA） and stable angina pectoris （SAP） （P〈0.01）. The NLR was considerably elevated in older AMI patients compared with their younger counterparts （〈60 years） （P〈0.05）. In elderly AMI patients, the NLR was considerably higher in the high-risk group than in both the low-risk and mediumrisk groups based on the GRACE score （P〈0.05 and P〈0.01, respectively）, and the NLR was positively correlated with the GRACE score （r=0.322, P〈0.001）. Either the NLR level or the GRACE score was significantly higher in the death group than in the surviving group （P〈0.05）. By curve receiver operator characteristic curve （ROC） analysis, the optimal cut-off levels of 9.41 for NLR and 174 for GRACE score predicted in-hospital death [ROC area under the curve （AUC） 0.771 and 0.787, respectively, P〈0.001]. It was concluded that an elevated NLR is a potential predictor of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with AMI.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 50978056)the NSFC for Young Scholars (No. 50908046)the PhD Programs Foundation of MOE of China (No. 200802861012)
文摘A 3D finite element model for the Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge,the first triple-tower long-span suspension bridge in China,is established based on the nonlinear finite element software ABAQUS,and the dynamic characteristics of the bridge are analyzed using the LANCZOS eigenvalue solution method. The study focuses on the effects of the vertical,lateral and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder,the rigid central buckle and the elastic restraints connecting the towers and the steel box girder on the dynamic characteristics of the triple-tower suspension bridge. Our results show that,in general,the dynamic characteristics of the triple-tower suspension bridge are similar to those of two-tower suspension bridges. The vertical,lateral and torsional stiffness of the steel box girder have different effects on the dynamic characteristics of triple-tower suspension bridges. The elastic re-straints have a more significant effect on the dynamic characteristics than the central buckle,and decreasing the stiffness of the elastic restraints results in the appearance of a longitudinal floating vibration mode of the bridge. Also,rigid central buckles have a greater influence on the dynamic characteristics of triple-tower suspension bridges than on those of two-tower suspension bridges. The results obtained could serve as a valuable numerical reference for analyzing and designing super-long-span triple-tower suspension bridges.
