Tumor microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Implications in immunotherapy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers. Surgical resection is the only curable treatment option, but it is available for only a small fraction of patients at the time of diagnosis. With current therapeutic regimens, the average 5-year survival rate is less than 10% in pancreatic cancer patients. Immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most promising treatment options for multiple solid tumors of advanced stage. However, its clinical efficacy is suboptimal in most clinical trials on pancreatic cancer. Current studies have suggested that the tumor microenvironment is likely the underlying barrier affecting immunotherapy drug efficacy in pancreatic cancer. In this review, we discuss the role of the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer and the latest advances in immunotherapy on pancreatic cancer

Development and Application Value Assessment of a Method for Measuring the Quality of Volume Calibration Syringes

BackgroundPulmonary examination is a measurement technique in medicine, and the quality of examination equipment is a key factor associated with the accuracy of examination results. Guidelines for mechanical lung function measurements have proposed that the spirometer should be calibrated each time it is used by the calibration cylinder for quality control, so the accuracy of the calibration cylinder will directly associate with that of the spirometer. However, there are no reports on the accuracy, and eligible standards, as well as calibration procedure regarding spirometer calibration cylinders measured by relevant research institutions (including calibration cylinder manufacturers) .ObjectiveTo develop a method, and use it to measure the performance of volume calibration cylinders commonly applied in China to assess its application value.MethodsAccording to the standards for 3 L calibration syringe proposed in the Standardization of Spirometry 2019 Update issued by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) /European Respiratory Society (ERS) , the 1180 cylinder verifier (produced by Hans Rudolph, inc.) was used in the leak test and volume accuracy test for measuring the performance of five brands of imported/domestic calibration cylinders (Two were produced by Germany's CareFusion, and Vyaire, respectively, one by MGC Diagnostics, USA, and the other two by China's Zhejiang U-Breath, and Ningbo Wendi Medical Instrument CO, LTD, respectively) .ResultsOf the five brands of calibration cylinders, 4/5 had less than 1 ml/min in the pressure attenuation leakage test, 4/5 had a volume error of less than 0.5% of the target volume, with an error range of less than 0.05% of the target volume, 3/5 passed both tests.ConclusionIn this study, the method of directly measuring the change of gas volume of volume calibration cylinder is used for quality detection. The method is simple and feasible. It is recommended that the calibration cylinder should be regularly checked for assuring the accuracy

Case report: Prenatal diagnosis in the fetus of a couple with both thalassemia and deafness genes

Background: Prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling play an important role in preventing and controlling birth defects. No reports were found of prenatal diagnosis of couples carrying both the thalassemia and deafness genes. In this study, we presented the prenatal screening and diagnosis of a couple with both thalassemia and deafness genes, contributing to better genetic counseling.Case Report: A couple visited our hospital for a routine prenatal examination. As required by the policy in our region, they underwent screening and genetic diagnosis for thalassemia. Meanwhile, they did not accept the recommendation to test for spinal muscular atrophy and deafness genes. The female was confirmed to be a Hb Quong Sze (Hb QS) carrier (αQSα/αα, βN/βN), and the male had Hb H disease combined with β-thalassemia (--SEA/αCSα, βCDs41-42 (-TTCT)/βN). A prenatal diagnosis of the fetus revealed a Hb CS heterozygote. Subsequent complementary testing showed that the male was a double heterozygote of the GJB2 gene c.299_300delAT combined with c.109G>A, and Sanger sequencing confirmed that the female was a carrier of c.508_511dup in the GJB2. Fortunately, the chorionic villi results indicated that the fetus was only a carrier of deafness.Conclusion: Since both partners carried thalassemia and deafness genes, the couple required prenatal diagnosis for the respective mutations. Expanded carrier screening (ECS) is a more advanced technology that can detect multiple disease genes simultaneously

795-6 Comparison Between Three-Dimensional Reconstruction and Two-Dimensional Imaging for Evaluating Regurgitant Jets: An In Vitro Study

The aim of our study was to investigate the applicability of the 3D reconstruction for evaluating color Doppler regurgitant jet imaging compared to conventional 20 color Doppler flow mapping.MethodsSteady flows (20–80cc/sec) were driven through a rectangular orifice (24mm2, length=8×width) using a steady flow pump. The regurgitant jets were imaged using 3 different Nyquist velocities (35, 52 and 78cm/sec)with an Interspec ultrasound system and analyzed using 3D reconstruction with a Tomtec computer. An oblique “birds eye” view from above the orifice plane gave a side view of the flattened jet. Volumes of 3D regurgitant jets were measured and were compared to the conventional color Doppler 2D maximal jet area.ResultsThe 3D reconstructions showed characteristically elongated and flaring jet propagation for all flow conditions (Figure). Jet areas sliced parallel to the orifice plane provided the most quantifiable jet propagation pattern. A linear relationship between flow rates and 3D jet volumes was obtained (r=0.91, P<0.001) whereas conventional 20 maximal jet areas showed a less well defined relationship with actual flow rates (r=0.87, p<0.01). The consistency of the relationship between flow rates and jet area in 3D volume over the various Nyquist units was also better for 3D volumes.ConclusionOur study suggests that three-dimensional jet volume methods should provide more accurate approaches for quantifying regurgitant jets than the conventional 2D jet area measurement

How do tree species with different successional stages affect soil organic nitrogen transformations?

Organic nitrogen (N) is the most important N component of soil organic matter.However, knowledge on how tree species with different successional stages affect its transformations in soils remains limited. To address this issue, we sampled mineral soils (0−10 cm) in monocultures composed by tree species of different successional stages, including early (black alder and silver birch), early to mid (sycamore and European ash), and late (sweet chestnut, pedunculate oak and European beech), and measured the potential protease activity, the microbial uptake and respiration of 14C-labeled organic N (L-alanine and L-trialanine), and the mineralization of L-alanine N. The activities of alanine aminopeptidase and leucine aminopeptidase (153.8−341.9 and 91.6−147.9 nmol/g/h, respectively), the half-life of the uptake of alanine and trialanine (26.7−39.6 and 60.8−78.6 min, respectively), the half-life of the mineraliztion of alanine and trialanine (1.98−2.45 and 2.98−4.13 h, respectively) by soil microbes were altered by tree species of different successional stages, systematically changing the transformation chain of soil organic N. From trees of early successional stage to that of late, the turnover rates of soil organic N appeared to decrease and the half-life appeared to increase significantly. The (carbon) C:N ratio of soil microbial biomass was positively related to the half-life of 14Clabeled alanine and trialanine mineralization, and was negatively related to the C use efficiency of alanine, suggesting that microbial demand for C could partially drive the assimilation of soil organic N. Our results suggest that the successional stage of tree species play an important role in regulating the soil organic N turnover. An improved understanding of how tree species with different successional stages influence microbial function and soil organic N cycling is beneficial to future afforestation and forest management, alleviating the impacts of global change on the ecosystem

N configuration control of N-doped carbon for stabilizing Cu nanoparticles: The synergistic effects on oxy-carbonylation of methanol

Abstract(#br)N-doped carbons (NCs) have attracted considerable attention for their outstanding physicochemical properties, including tunable porosity, electronic features and modified surface. Here, we report the preparation of hierarchically porous NCs derived from the direct pyrolysis of ZIFs (ZIF-7 and ZIF-8) and poly– m –phenylenediamine-covered carbon black (P m PDA-C) for the stabilization of Cu nanoparticles (NPs). The configuration of N species can be effectively regulated by changing the ligand of ZIFs and pyrolysis atmosphere. A remarkable N configuration synergistic effect is observed in the oxy-carbonylation of methanol to dimethyl carbonate with molecular oxygen. The results indicate that the Cu NPs on pristine carbon have a turn over frequency (TOF) of 4.4 h −1 for the reaction, while those on NCs from ZIF-8 and ZIF-7 present TOF values as high as 17.9 h −1 and 28.5 h −1 , respectively. The extensive characterizations reveal that NCs with a nitrogen content of 2–5 wt% and a pyrrolic-/pyridinic-N molar ratio of 2–3 are vital for the performance enhancement of Cu NPs. This work shows that the stabilization and enhanced performance of active Cu NPs on NCs are realized by the rational design of precursors to generate the proper N configurations

Iurnal Variability of Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Asthma Patients

BackgroundThere are daytime variability in pulmonary function indexes such as peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) in asthma patients. Studies evaluating the effects of drug therapy on lung function and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in asthma patients all required patients to perform spirometry and bronchial challenge test in the same time point of the days. However, whether there is a daily diurnal AHR variability is still not clear.ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics and diurnal variability of AHR in asthma patients.MethodsThe data of 202 patients with asthma who consulted in respiratory department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from January 2018 to September 2020 were included for statistical analysis. All patients completed the methacholine bronchial provocation tests, they were divided into the morning detection group (morning group) with 81 cases and the afternoon detection group (afternoon group) with 121 cases; according to the disease course, 98 cases were divided into the initial diagnosis group if the disease course was ≤6 months, and 104 cases were divided into the follow-up group if the disease course was >6 months. The initial diagnosis group and the follow-up group were divided into the initial diagnosis morning group, the initial diagnosis afternoon group, the follow-up morning group, and the follow-up afternoon group according to the detection time; according to the AHR, the patients were divided into very mild, mild, moderate and severe groups. The characteristics of AHR and the main pulmonary function indexes including FVC%pred, FEV1%pred, PEF%pred, MMEF%pred, MEF50%pred, MEF25%pred, PD20-FEV1, PD20-PEF, PD20-MMEF, PD20-MEF25%, PD20-MEF50% of these groups were analyzed and compared.ResultsThere were no significant differences of the math pulmonary function indexes and PD20 between morning and afternoon groups (P<0.05) . FEV1%pred and PD20-PEF were significantly higher in initial diagnosed group than follow-up group (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference in FVC%pred, PEF%pred, MMEF%pred, MEF50%pred, MEF25%pred, PD20-FEV1, PD20-MMEF, PD20-MEF25%, and PD20-MEF50% between the initial visit group and the follow-up visit group (P>0.05) . In follow-up group, MMEF%pred and MEF50%pred were higher in afternoon than in morning (P<0.05) . There were no differences of lung function and AHR between morning and afternoon in initial diagnosed group (P<0.05) . No obvious correlations were found between disease history and PD20. There were no significant differences of PD20-FEV1 between the morning and afternoon, initial diagnosed and follow-up (P>0.05) .ConclusionThe longer the duration of asthma, more serious impairment of lung function found in asthma, while the AHR had no significant difference between morning and afternoon

Satisfaction with care quality and anxiety among family members during nursing home visiting restrictions: The chain mediating effect of emotional regulation and perceived stress

IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate the psychological well-being (perceived stress and anxiety) of Chinese family members during nursing home visiting restrictions and to elucidate the relationships among satisfaction with care quality, emotion regulation, perceived stress, and anxiety.MethodsAn online survey was conducted with a cross-sectional study design. From 18 to 29 January 2022, a total of 571 family members of nursing home residents completed online questionnaires comprising socio-demographic characteristics, satisfaction with care quality, emotion regulation, perceived stress, and anxiety. Mediation analyses were performed to estimate the direct and indirect effects of satisfaction with care quality on anxiety using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.ResultsThe results showed that approximately one-quarter of Chinese family members had anxiety symptoms during nursing home visiting restrictions. Satisfaction with care quality affected anxiety via three mediating paths: (a) through cognitive reappraisal (effect = 0.028); (b) through cognitive reappraisal and perceived stress sequentially (effect = −0.057); and (c) through perceived stress (effect = −0.212). The chain mediating effect (path b) accounted for 23.7% of the total effect.ConclusionsThese findings corroborated our hypothesis that cognitive reappraisal (a kind of emotion regulation strategy) and perceived stress mediated the relationship between satisfaction with care quality and anxiety during nursing home visiting restrictions. Efforts to address family members’ psychological well-being by focusing on cognitive reappraisal should be considered