非小细胞肺癌术后并发乳糜胸对患者生活质量影响的研究

目的:探讨非小细胞肺癌术后并发乳糜胸对患者生活质量的影响。方法:采用生活质量测定量表(QLQ-C30)回顾性分析第四军医大学唐都医院胸外科自2013年至2016年中收治的1015例肺癌手术患者的生活质量,发生乳糜胸组记为A组,未发生乳糜胸组记为B组。对比术前和术后1、3、6和12个月的生活质量有无统计学差异。结果:(1)术后1月时,除了社会功能、便秘、腹泻以外,两组生活质量指标评分均显著低于术前,且B组均显著低于A组,有统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。在手术后3月及以后逐渐恢复,至12月时,各组指标与术前基本相同(表3,P0.05);(2)两组术后生活质量相比较,术后1、3月,除社会功能、便秘、腹泻以外,其余生活质量功能指标B组均显著优于A组,有统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。在手术后6月及以后,B组所有指标与A组无统计学差异(表3,P0.05)。结论:肺癌根治术后发生乳糜胸患者生活质量显著低于未发生乳糜胸患者,因此应合理选择手术方式,注意术中操作,降低乳糜胸发生率,提高肺癌患者术后的生活质量。     

Exposure of Gambian children to Anopheles gambiae malaria vectors in an irrigated rice production area

Abstract. Variation in exposure of children to malaria vectors of the Anopheles gambiae complex was recorded in a Gambian village situated near an irrigated area of rice cultivation. Observations were made in 1987 and 1988 during two dry seasons, when pumped water was used to grow rice, and two rainy seasons, when rice was produced using a combination of irrigated and rainfed paddies. Routine collections of mosquitoes were made from under bednets. Most of these specimens were assumed to have fed on the occupants of the net and thus represented a crude measure of exposure to malaria. Most nets in the village were in good condition, but even these were a poor defence against blood-seeking mosquitoes. Two annual peaks in the numbers of An. gambiae s.l. corresponded with the irrigation of rice paddies in the dry and wet seasons. When there were few vectors in the village the frequency distribution of mosquitoes caught under nets was described best by a Poisson process. When high numbers were present the daily distributions were over-dispersed and fitted a negative binomial model. The spatial distribution of mosquitoes varied between dry and wet seasons and was related to the predominant wind direction at night, suggesting that wind assisted the dispersal of mosquitoes from their breeding sites. For individual children in the rainy season, increased exposure to malaria vectors was associated with living adjacent to a mosquito breeding site, being resident in larger compounds, having open eaves in the house, a store-room adjacent to the bedroom, the absence of a ceiling in the bedroom, the absence of wood smoke indoors and leaving the bednet untucked at night. In the dry season a high level of exposure was associated with living close to a mosquito breeding site, having an unfenced compound, sleeping in a room without a ceiling and using insecticide aerosols. These observations demonstrate that within a village there are systematic and persistent differences in the level of exposure to malaria parasites experienced by individual children.     

Contemporary parasite stress curvilinearly correlates with outgroup trust: Cross-country evidence from 2005 to 2014

General trust is trust extended to people from outside one's immediate social network. Two studies have tested a parasite stress explanation of general trust using cross-cultural data, showing a linear negative correlation between parasite stress and trust in “most people.” However, recent studies suggest that 1) trust in most people as a measure of general trust confounds ingroup trust and outgroup trust in cross-cultural surveys and 2) parasite stress can curvilinearly correlate with variables of ingroup embeddedness and outgroup avoidance. Using data from the World Value Survey (WVS) Waves 5 and 6 (N?=?117,370 from 80 countries and geopolitical regions), we found no evidence that parasite stress—measured either as contemporary non-sexually-transmitted-disease (non-STD) stress or as historical pathogen prevalence—curvilinearly correlated with ingroup trust. However, parasite stress significantly curvilinearly correlated with outgroup trust, and the two-line test confirmed that the correlation was U-shaped. This research extends previous work on parasite stress and trust, informs the recent debate on whether parasite stress relates to outgroup avoidance, and suggests directions for developing the parasite stress theory of values and sociality.     

Deposition of BaSO4 in the tight junctions of amphibian epithelia causes their opening; apical Ca2+ reverses this effect

Selective deposition of BaSO₄ in the tight junctions (TJs) of frog skins led to profound and reversible functional alterations of these structures, as revealed by changes of tissue conductance (G), clamping current (I), and fluxes of extracellular markers (sulfate (J^SO ₄) and sucrose (J^SUC)). Experiments were performed with nominally Ca²⁺ -free simple salt solutions on the apical side (usually KCl) and Na₂SO₄-Ringer on the inner side of skins. The deposition of BaSO₄ in the TJs was obtained by diffusion and/or migration through the paracellular path of Ba²⁺ from the apical solution and SO ₄ ^2– from the inner solution. A brief presence (2 to 6 min) of apical Ba²⁺ (Ba²⁺ pulse) is followed (i.e., when Ba²⁺ is removed from the apical fluid) by a large increase of G, I, J^SO ₄ and J^SUC, above pre-Ba²⁺ levels. These attain a steady state within 15 to 30 min (overshoot phase), characterizing a conspicuous increase of the paracellular permeability. During the overshoot phase, a second Ba²⁺ pulse blocks the paracellular route while apical Ba²⁺ is present, leading to a new and larger overshoot when the Ba²⁺ pulse is terminated. Addition of apical Ca²⁺ triggers the resealing of the TJs, resulting in a full recovery of G, I, J^SO ₄ and J^SUC. This Ca²⁺ -induced recovery persists when apical Ca²⁺ is removed. The presence of a normal Ca²⁺ concentration in the inner bathing Ringer does not induce the recovery process. Tissues remain viable after being submitted to the Ba²⁺ treatment and the subsequent overshoot. Experiments performed in the urinary bladder of Rana catesbeiana and skins and urinary bladders of Bufo marinus indicate that Ba²⁺ effect can also be elicited in these tissues. The above results seem to report general properties of the TJs. Incidentally, they warn about the use of Ba²⁺ as an ion channel blocker in epithelial membranes in association with SO ₄ ^2– -containing solutions on the contralateral side.This project was supported by grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (91/0293-7 to F.L.V., and 90/1788-1 to A.S.), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (410068/90-0 and 303633-85/BF to F.L.V.). J.A.C. received a doctoral fellowship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior/Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande. We thank Dr. Alice T. Ferreira for help in the measurements of free Ca²⁺ concentration.     

Detecting early-warning signals for influenza A pandemic based on protein dynamical network biomarkers

The outbreak of influenza A comes from a relatively stable state is a critical phenomenon on epidemic. In this paper, influenza A varying from different states is studied in the method of dynamical network biomarkers (DNB). Through studying DNB of influenza A virus protein, we can detect the warning signals of outbreak for influenza A and obtain a composite index. The composite index varies along with the state of pandemic influenza, which gives a clue showing the turn point of outbreak. The low value (<1) steady state of the composite index means influenza A is normally in the relatively steady stage. Meanwhile, if the composite index of a certain year increases by more than 0.8 relative to the previous year and it is less than 1 and it increases sharply and reaches a peak being larger than 1 in next year, it means the year is normal in the critical state before outbreak and the next year is normally in the outbreak state. Therefore, we can predict the outbreak of influenza A and identify the critical state before influenza A outbreak or outbreak state by observing the variation of index value.     

Comparison of label-free and GFP multiphoton imaging of hair follicle-associated pluripotent (HAP) stem cells in mouse whiskers

Hair-follicle-associated pluripotent (HAP) stem cells can differentiate into many cell types, including neurons and heart muscle cells, and have been shown to repair peripheral nerves and the spinal cord in mice. HAP stem cells can be obtained from each individual patient for regenerative medicine which overcomes problems with immune rejection. Previously, we have demonstrated that genetically-encoded protein markers such as GFP in transgenic mice can be used to visualize HAP stem cells in vivo by multiphoton tomography. Detection and visualization of stem cells in vivo without exogenous labels such as GFP would be important for human application. In the present report, we demonstrate label-free visualization of hair follicle stem cells in mouse whiskers by multiphoton tomography due to the intrinsic fluorophores such as NAD(P)H/flavins. We compared multiphoton tomography of GFP-labeled HAP stem cells and unlabeled stem cells in isolated mouse whiskers. We show that observation of HAP stem cells by label-free multiphoton tomography is comparable to detection using GFP-labeled stem cells. The results described here have important implications for detection and isolation of human HAP stem cells for regenerative medicine.     

Insulin-releasing and cytotoxic properties of the frog skin peptide,tigerinin-1R: a structure–activity study

The frog skin host-defense peptide tigerinin-1R (RVCSAIPLPICH.NH₂) is insulinotropic both in vitro and in vivo. This study investigates the effects on insulin release and cytotoxicity of changes in cationicity and hydrophobicity produced by selected substitutions of amino acids by l-arginine, l-lysine and l-tryptophan. The [A5W], [L8W] and [I10W] analogs produced a significant (P < 0.01) increase in the rate of insulin release from BRIN-BD11 rat clonal β cells at concentration of 0.01 nM compared with 0.1 nM for tigerinin-1R. The increase in the rate of insulin release produced by a 3 μM concentration of the [S4R], [H12K], and [I10W] analogs from both BRIN-BD11 cells and mouse islets was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than that produced by tigerinin-1R. No peptide stimulated the release of lactate dehydrogenase at concentrations up to 3 μM indicating that plasma membrane integrity had been preserved. [A5W] tigerinin-1R was the only analog tested that showed cytotoxic activity against human erythrocytes (LC₅₀ = 265 ± 16 μM) and inhibited growth of Escherichia coli (MIC = 500 μM) and Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 250 μM). The circular dichroism spectra of tigerinin-1R and [A5W] tigerinin-1R indicate that the peptides adopt a mixture of β-sheet, random coil and reverse β-turn conformations in 50% trifluoroethanol/water and methanol/water. Administration of [S4R] tigerinin-1R (75 nmol/kg body weight) to high-fat fed mice with insulin resistance significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced insulin release and improved glucose tolerance over a 60 min period following an intraperitoneal glucose load. The study supports the claim that tigerinin-1R shows potential for development into novel therapeutic agents for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.     

Village trial of bednets impregnated with wash-resistant permethrin compared with other pyrethroid formulations

Abstract. A village-scale field trial of pyrethroid-impregnated mosquito nets was undertaken in The Gambia, West Africa, in the Mandinka village of Saruja (13^o13'N, 14^o55'W) during July-November 1989. Nearly all the villagers possessed and used their own bednets. Anopheles gambiae is the main vector of human malaria in the area.
An experimental wash-resistant formulation of permethrin was compared with standard emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulations of permethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin, versus placebo-treated bednets. Target concentrations of pyrethroids on bednets were permethrin 500mg/m² and lambda-cyhalothrin 25 mg/m². The experimental design involved random allocation of a treatment to one net per family. Whereas 68% of people questioned said they washed their nets fortnightly, observations during the 16-week trial period showed that only 4/130 (3%) of nets involved in the trial had been washed as frequently as once per month.
Early morning searches for mosquitoes under bednets (1 day/week for 16 weeks) found significantly more mosquitoes (60% An. gambiae ) in placebo-treated nets than in pyrethroid-treated nets. The numbers found with each of the three pyrethroid treatments did not differ significantly from each other. Insecticidal efficacy of the treatments was tested by bioassays using wild-caught unfed mosquitoes exposed to netting for 3min. Linear regression analysis of bioassay mortality against number of times that a net had been washed by villagers showed that nets impregnated with the wash-resistant permethrin retained their insecticidal properties better than nets impregnated with lambda-cyhalothrin or with the standard permethrin formulation.     

A Parameter-Elimination Method for Nonlinear Regression with Linear Parameters and Autocorrelated Errors

In this study, we are interested in the problem of estimating the parameters in a nonlinear regression model when the error terms are correlated. Throughout this work, we restrict ourselves to the special case when the error terms follow a pth order stationary autoregressive model (AR(p)). Following the idea of LAWTON and SYLVESTRE (1971) and GALLANT and GOEBEL (1976), a parameter-elimination method is proposed, which has the advantages that it is not sensitive to the initial values and convergence of the procedure may be more stable because of the reduced dimension of the problem. The parameter-elimination method is compared with the methods by GALLANT and GOEBEL (1976) and GLASBEY (1980) by Monte Carlo Simulation, and the results of applying the first two methods to the real data obtained from the Environmental Protection Administration of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China are presented.     

Roles of external and cellular Cl− ions on the activation of an apical electrodiffusional Cl− pathway in toad skin

Summary This study is concerned with the short-circuit current,I _sc, responses of the Cl^–-transporting cells of toad skin submitted to sudden changes of the external Cl^– concentration. [Cl]₀. Sudden changes of [Cl]₀, carried out under apical membrane depolarization, allowed comparison of the roles of [Cl]₀ and [Cl]_cell on the activation of the apical Cl^– pathways. Equilibration of shortcircuited skins symmetrically in K-Ringer's solutions of different Cl^– concentrations permitted adjustment of [Cl]_cell to different levels. For a given Cl^– concentration (in the range of 11.7 to 117mm) on both sides of a depolarized apical membrane, this structure exhibits a high Cl^– permeability,P _(Cl)apical. On the other hand, for the same range of [Cl]_cell but with [Cl]₀=0,P _(Cl)apical is reduced to negligible values. These observations indicate that when the apical membrane is depolarizedP _(Cl)apical is modulated by [Cl]₀; in the absence of external Cl^– ions, intracellular Cl^– is not sufficient to activateP _(Cl)apical. Computer simulation shows that the fast Cl^– currents induced across the apical membrane by sudden shifts of [Cl]₀ from a control equilibrium value strictly follow the laws of electrodiffusion. For each experimental group, the computer-generatedI _sc versus ([Cl]_cell–[Cl]₀) curve which best fits the experimental data can only be obtained by a unique pair ofP _(Cl)apical andR _b (resistance of the basolateral membrane), thus allowing the calculation of these parameters. The electrodiffusional behavior of the net Cl^– flux across the apical membrane supports the channel nature of the apical Cl^– pathways in the Cl^–-transporting cell. Cl^– ions contribute significantly to the overall conductance of the basolateral membrane even in the presence of a high K concentration in the internal solution.