Therapeutic Lung Lavage with Diluted Surfactant in Neonates with Severe Meconium Aspiration Syndrome

Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) may result in considerable morbidity and mortality in newborn infants. The current standard treatment is still in need of improvement for the most severe patients. We report 3 cases with devastating MAS that was successfully treated with therapeutic lung lavage. These cases were all delivered in local obstetrics clinics or hospitals with meconium-stained amniotic fluid and non-vigorous appearance at birth. However, no endotracheal suction was performed when they were born. All of them suffered from severe hypoxia and unstable vital signs despite there being high ventilatory settings when they were transferred to the tertiary medical center. Therapeutic lung lavage with diluted surfactant (Survanta, 5 mg/mL, 30 mL/kg in 2 aliquots) was performed within 24 hours of age. Bloody fluid (about 40–50% of total lavage amount) was recovered in all 3 cases. Although brief desaturation and bradycardia were observed during the procedures, 2 of them tolerated the procedures well and improved soon after lavage. The other patient received lung lavage in a relatively unstable condition and needed chest tapping to relieve bilateral pleural effusion. Their respiratory condition improved after the procedures, and they were all discharged within 1 month without major respiratory complications. These successful experiences are compatible with previous animal studies and other case reports with different lavage protocols. We conclude that therapeutic lung lavage may improve the outcome in newborn infants with severe MAS, and there were no significant adverse side effects observed. Before performing lung lavage, stabilization and optimal support may prevent unexpected results during and after lavage

Initialization of Nanowire or Cluster Growth Critically Controlled by the Effective V/III Ratio at the Early Nucleation Stage

For self-catalyzed nanowires (NWs), reports on how the catalytic droplet initiates successful NW growth are still lacking, making it difficult to control the yield and often accompanying a high density of clusters. Here, we have performed a systematic study on this issue, which reveals that the effective V/III ratio at the initial growth stage is a critical factor that governs the NW growth yield. To initiate NW growth, the ratio should be high enough to allow the nucleation to extend to the entire contact area between the droplet and substrate, which can elevate the droplet off of the substrate, but it should not be too high in order to keep the droplet. This study also reveals that the cluster growth between NWs is also initiated from large droplets. This study provides a new angle from the growth condition to explain the cluster formation mechanism, which can guide high-yield NW growth

Topological Photonics

Topology is revolutionizing photonics, bringing with it new theoretical discoveries and a wealth of potential applications. This field was inspired by the discovery of topological insulators, in which interfacial electrons transport without dissipation even in the presence of impurities. Similarly, new optical mirrors of different wave-vector space topologies have been constructed to support new states of light propagating at their interfaces. These novel waveguides allow light to flow around large imperfections without back-reflection. The present review explains the underlying principles and highlights the major findings in photonic crystals, coupled resonators, metamaterials and quasicrystals.Comment: progress and review of an emerging field, 12 pages, 6 figures and 1 tabl

Decitabine impact on the endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers RFC1 and FOLR1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 in human tumors.

BackgroundIn 31 solid tumor patients treated with the demethylating agent decitabine, we performed tumor biopsies before and after the first cycle of decitabine and used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to assess whether decitabine increased expression of various membrane transporters. Resistance to chemotherapy may arise due to promoter methylation/downregulation of expression of transporters required for drug uptake, and decitabine can reverse resistance in vitro. The endocytosis regulator RhoA, the folate carriers FOLR1 and RFC1, and the glucose transporter GLUT4 were assessed.ResultsPre-decitabine RhoA was higher in patients who had received their last therapy >3 months previously than in patients with more recent prior therapy (P = 0.02), and varied inversely with global DNA methylation as assessed by LINE1 methylation (r = -0.58, P = 0.006). Tumor RhoA scores increased with decitabine (P = 0.03), and RFC1 also increased in patients with pre-decitabine scores ≤150 (P = 0.004). Change in LINE1 methylation with decitabine did not correlate significantly with change in IHC scores for any transporter assessed. We also assessed methylation of the RFC1 gene (alias SLC19A1). SLC19A1 methylation correlated with tumor LINE1 methylation (r = 0.45, P = 0.02). There was a small (statistically insignificant) decrease in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine, and there was a trend towards change in SLC19A1 methylation with decitabine correlating with change in LINE1 methylation (r = 0.47, P <0.15). While SLC19A1 methylation did not correlate with RFC1 scores, there was a trend towards an inverse correlation between change in SLC19A1 methylation and change in RFC1 expression (r = -0.45, P = 0.19).ConclusionsIn conclusion, after decitabine administration, there was increased expression of some (but not other) transporters that may play a role in chemotherapy uptake. Larger patient numbers will be needed to define the extent to which this increased expression is associated with changes in DNA methylation

Antimetastatic Effects of Norcantharidin on Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Transcriptional Inhibition of MMP-9 through Modulation of NF-kB Activity

The rate of morbidity and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Taiwan has not lessened because of difficulty in treating tumor metastasis. Norcantharidin (NCTD) is currently used as an anticancer drug for hepatoma, breast cancer, and colorectal adenocarcinoma. NCTD possesses various biological anticancer activities, including apoptosis. However, detailed effects and molecular mechanisms of NCTD on metastasis are unclear. Thus, HCC cells were subjected to treatment with NCTD and then analyzed to determine the effects of NCTD on cell metastasis.Modified Boyden chamber assays revealed that NCTD treatment inhibited cell migration and invasion capacities of HCC cells substantially. Results of zymography and western blotting showed that activities and protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) were inhibited by NCTD. Western blot analysis showed that NCTD inhibits phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Testing of mRNA level, quantitative real-time PCR, and promoter assays evaluated the inhibitory effects of NCTD on MMP-9 and u-PA expression in HCC cells. The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay for analyzing the genomic DNA sequences bound to these proteins was reactive to the transcription protein nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, which was inhibited by NCTD. The expression of NF-kappa B was measured by western blot analysis, which revealed decreased nuclear-factor DNA-binding activity after NCTD treatment.NCTD inhibited MMP-9 and u-PA expression through the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and NF-kappaB signaling pathway which serves as a powerful chemopreventive agent in HCC cell metastasis

Tissue Microenvironments Define and Get Reinforced by Macrophage Phenotypes in Homeostasis or during Inflammation, Repair and Fibrosis

Current macrophage phenotype classifications are based on distinct in vitro culture conditions that do not adequately mirror complex tissue environments. In vivo monocyte progenitors populate all tissues for immune surveillance which supports the maintenance of homeostasis as well as regaining homeostasis after injury. Here we propose to classify macrophage phenotypes according to prototypical tissue environments, e.g. as they occur during homeostasis as well as during the different phases of (dermal) wound healing. In tissue necrosis and/or infection, damage- and/or pathogen-associated molecular patterns induce proinflammatory macrophages by Toll-like receptors or inflammasomes. Such classically activated macrophages contribute to further tissue inflammation and damage. Apoptotic cells and antiinflammatory cytokines dominate in postinflammatory tissues which induce macrophages to produce more antiinflammatory mediators. Similarly, tumor-associated macrophages also confer immunosuppression in tumor stroma. Insufficient parenchymal healing despite abundant growth factors pushes macrophages to gain a profibrotic phenotype and promote fibrocyte recruitment which both enforce tissue scarring. Ischemic scars are largely devoid of cytokines and growth factors so that fibrolytic macrophages that predominantly secrete proteases digest the excess extracellular matrix. Together, macrophages stabilize their surrounding tissue microenvironments by adapting different phenotypes as feed-forward mechanisms to maintain tissue homeostasis or regain it following injury. Furthermore, macrophage heterogeneity in healthy or injured tissues mirrors spatial and temporal differences in microenvironments during the various stages of tissue injury and repair. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Potential Tumor Suppressor NESG1 as an Unfavorable Prognosis Factor in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

BACKGROUND:Recently we identified nasopharyngeal epithelium specific protein 1 (NESG1) as a potential tumor suppressor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purpose of this study is to investigate the involvement of NESG1 in tumor progression and prognosis of human NPC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:NESG1 protein expression in NPC was examined. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method. The effect of NESG1 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were also investigated. RESULTS:NESG1 expression was downregulated in atypical hyperplasia and NPC samples compared to normal and squamous nasopharynx tissues. Reduced protein expression was negatively associated with the status of NPC progression. Patients with lower NESG1 expression had a shorter overall survival and disease-free time than did patients with higher NESG1 expression. Multivariate analysis suggested NESG1 expression as an independent prognostic indicator for NPC patient survival. Proliferation, migration, and invasion ability were significantly increased in cell lines following lentiviral-mediated shRNA suppression of NESG1 expression. Microarray analysis indicated that NESG1 participated in multiple pathways, including MAPK signaling and cell cycle regulation. Finally, DNA methylation microarray examination revealed a lack of hypermethylation at the NESG1 promoter, suggesting other mechanisms are involved in suppressing NESG1 expression in NPC. CONCLUSION:Our studies are the first to demonstrate that decreased NESG1 expression is an unfavorable prognostic factor for NPC

Associations between genetic variations in the FURIN gene and hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypertension is a complex disease influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors. The Kazakh ethnic group is characterized by a relatively high prevalence of hypertension. Previous research indicates that the FURIN gene may play a pivotal role in the renin-angiotensin system and maintaining the sodium-electrolyte balance. Because these systems influence blood pressure regulation, we considered FURIN as a candidate gene for hypertension. The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate the association between genetic variations in the FURIN gene and essential hypertension in a Xinjiang Kazakh population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We sequenced all exons and the promoter regions of the FURIN gene in 94 hypertensive individuals to identify genetic variations associated with the disorder. Genotyping was performed using the TaqMan polymerase chain reaction method for four representative common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, -7315C > T, 1970C > G, 5604C > G, 6262C > T) in 934 Kazakh Chinese people. One SNP (1970C > G) was replicated in 1,219 Uygur Chinese people.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nine novel and seven known single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in the FURIN gene. The results suggest that 1970C > G was associated with a hypertension phenotype in Kazakh Chinese (additive model, <it>P </it>= 0.091; dominant model, <it>P = </it>0.031, allele model, <it>P </it>= 0.030), and after adjustment with logistic regression analysis, ORs were 1.451 (95%CI 1.106-1.905, <it>P </it>= 0.008) and 1.496 (95% 1.103-2.028, <it>P </it>= 0.01) in additive and dominant models, respectively. In addition, the association between 1970C > G and hypertension was replicated in Uygur subjects (additive model, <it>P </it>= 0.042; dominant model, <it>P </it>= 0.102; allele model, <it>P </it>= 0.027) after adjustment in additive and dominant models, ORs were 1.327 (95% 1.07-1.646), <it>P </it>= 0.01 and 1.307 (95%CI 1.015-1.681, <it>P </it>= 0.038), respectively. G allele carriers exhibited significant lower urinary Na⁺excretion rate than non-carriers in the Kazakh Chinese population (152.45 ± 76.04 uM/min vs 173.33 ± 90.02 uM/min, <it>P </it>= 0.007).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the FURIN gene may be a candidate gene involved in human hypertension, and that the G allele of 1970C > G may be a modest risk factor for hypertension in Xinjiang Kazakh and Uygur populations.</p

Decadal soil carbon accumulation across Tibetan permafrost regions

Acknowledgements We thank the members of Peking University Sampling Teams (2001–2004) and IBCAS Sampling Teams (2013–2014) for assistance in field data collection. We also thank the Forestry Bureau of Qinghai Province and the Forestry Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region for their permission and assistance during the sampling process. This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31670482 and 31322011), National Basic Research Program of China on Global Change (2014CB954001 and 2015CB954201), Chinese Academy of Sciences-Peking University Pioneer Cooperation Team, and the Thousand Young Talents Program.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin