不同中枢神经系统感染患儿血清和脑脊液炎症标记物及MMP-9水平及临床意义

摘要 目的：探讨不同中枢神经系统感染患儿血清和脑脊液中炎症标记物及基质金属蛋白酶9（Matrix metallo protein 9,MMP-9）的水平及临床意义。方法：选取本院2017年8月至2018年6月收治的198例脑膜炎儿童患者分为感染组,根据不同患病原因分成化脓性脑膜炎（Purulent Meningitis, PM=107例）和病毒性脑膜炎（Viral Meningitis, VM=91例）,另选取同期58例体检健康儿童作为对照组（Normal Control, NC=58例）。采用双抗夹心免疫荧光发光法检测患者血清和脑脊液（Cerebrospinal fluid,CF）中降钙素原（Prcoalcitonin,PCT）水平;采用免疫荧光分析仪检测患者血清和脑脊液内C反应蛋白（C-reactionprotein,CRP）水平;酶联免疫吸附实验（ELISA）检测三组患儿治疗前后血清和脑脊肿瘤坏死因子-α(Tumor necrosis factor-α, TNF-α)及MMP-9表达水平;电化学发光全自动免疫分析仪分析血清白蛋白和脑脊液白蛋白含量,并计算白蛋白指数。结果：与对照组相比,化脑组和病脑组患儿血清和脑脊液中CRP、PCT、TNF-α及MMP-9水平均明显增高（P<0.05）,化脑组患儿血清和脑脊液中CRP、PCT、TNF-α及MMP-9水平显著高于病脑组（P<0.05）。与对照组相比,化脑组患儿治疗前、治疗72小时和治疗1周后血清和脑脊液PCT水平降低（P<0.05）,与对照组相比,病脑组患儿治疗前后血清和脑脊液PCT水平表达差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）;化脑组和病脑组患儿脑脊液中CRP、PCT、TNF-α及MMP-9水平与患儿白蛋白指数均呈正相关。结论：血清和脑脊液炎症标记物及MMP-9变化可对化脓性脑膜炎和病毒性脑膜炎进行初步的鉴别。     

不同病情手足口病患儿血清肿瘤坏死因子-α、C-反应蛋白、降钙素原的变化及其对预后不良的预测价值研究

摘要 目的：探讨不同病情手足口病（HFMD）患儿血清肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、C-反应蛋白（CRP）、降钙素原（PCT）的变化,并分析三者联合检测对预后不良的预测价值。方法：选取2019年1月～2022年1月我院儿科收治的117例HFMD患儿（HFMD组）,根据不同病情分为普通组32例、重症组45例、危重症组40例,根据治疗后预后情况分为预后不良组32例和预后良好组85例,另选取同期50例体检健康儿童作为对照组。收集HFMD患儿基本资料,检测所有研究对象血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平。采用多因素Logistic回归分析HFMD患儿预后不良的影响因素,受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平对HFMD患儿预后不良的预测价值。结果：HFMD组血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平高于对照组（P均＜0.05）。普通组、重症组、危重症组血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平依次升高（P均＜0.05）。单因素分析结果显示：预后不良组发热≥39℃、发热持续时间≥3 d比例和病情分级为危重症、中性粒细胞比例、TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平高于预后良好组,淋巴细胞比例、心输出量、氧合指数低于预后良好组（P均＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,发热持续时间≥3 d、病情分级为危重症和TNF-α、CRP、PCT升高为HFMD患儿预后不良的独立危险因素,心输出量和氧合指数增加为独立保护因素（P均＜0.05）。ROC曲线分析显示,血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT单独与联合预测HFMD患儿预后不良的曲线下面积分别为0.769、0.793、0.799、0.947,血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT联合预测的曲线下面积大于各指标单独预测。结论：血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平升高与HFMD患儿病情加重和预后不良有关,联合检测血清TNF-α、CRP、PCT水平对HFMD患儿预后不良的预测价值较高。     

早产儿血清炎性因子与生长发育指标的关系及对新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征的预测研究

摘要 目的：分析早产儿血清炎性因子与生长发育指标的关系及对新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征（RDS）的预测效能。方法：选择2018年1月至2020年10月在我院出生的98例早产儿作为研究对象,根据是否并发RDS,分为RDS组（58例）和非RDS组（40例）。检测两组血清白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、IL-6、IL-8、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、降钙素原（PCT）水平,记录生长发育指标,通过Pearson相关性分析早产儿血清炎性因子与生长发育指标的关系,使用受试者工作特征曲线（ROC）分析血清炎性因子对新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征的预测效能。结果：RDS组血清IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α、PCT水平均高于非RDS组（P＜0.05）;RDS组胎龄、出生体重均小于非RDS组（P＜0.05）;经Pearson相关性分析,早产儿血清IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α、PCT水平均与胎龄、出生体重呈负相关（P＜0.05）;经多因素Logistic回归分析,IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α、PCT均是早产儿并发新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征的独立危险因素（P＜0.05）;经ROC曲线分析,IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α联合PCT预测早产儿并发新生儿呼吸窘迫综合征的AUC为0.910。结论：早产儿血清IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α均与胎龄及出生体重密切相关,这些炎性因子联合预测RDS发生的效能较好,值得临床予以重视应用。     

肺炎支原体肺炎患儿血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5水平与炎症因子和预后不良的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨肺炎支原体肺炎（MPP）患儿血清表面活性蛋白D（SP-D）、半乳糖凝集素-3（Gal-3）、C-C基序趋化因子配体5（CCL5）水平与炎症因子和预后不良的关系。方法：选取2020年1月～2021年1月我院收治的165例MPP患儿为MPP组,另选取54例健康儿童为对照组。采用ELISA法检测血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、IL-8水平,放射免疫法检测血清肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平。采用Pearson/Spearman相关系数分析MPP患儿血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5水平与IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α水平的相关性。通过多因素Logistic回归分析MPP患儿预后不良的影响因素。采用接受者操作特征（ROC）曲线分析血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5水平对MPP患儿预后不良的预测价值。结果：与对照组比较,MPP组患儿的血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5以及IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α水平升高（P＜0.05）。MPP患儿的血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5水平与IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α水平均呈正相关（P＜0.05）。血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5、IL-6、TNF-α水平较高、病变类型为大片状阴影、热程较长是MPP患儿预后不良的危险因素（P＜0.05）。血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5三项联合预测MPP患儿预后不良的曲线下面积（AUC）为0.926,明显大于三项指标单独预测的0.842、0.794、0.771。结论：MPP患儿血清SP-D、Gal-3、CCL5水平升高,与炎症因子和预后不良密切相关,可作为MPP患儿预后不良的预测指标。     

血清miR-34b-5p、miR-155表达与早产儿急性呼吸窘迫综合征炎症因子和预后的关系分析

摘要 目的：探讨血清微小核糖核酸（miR）-34b-5p、miR-155表达与早产儿急性呼吸窘迫综合征（ARDS）炎症因子和预后的关系。方法：选择2019年2月至2021年3月我院收治的92例ARDS早产儿,根据ARDS病情严重程度将其分为轻度组（31例）、中度组（43例）和重度组（18例）,追踪患儿临床结局,根据院内死亡情况将其分为存活组（51例）和死亡组（41例）。检测所有患儿的血清miR-34b-5p、miR-155表达水平以及白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）水平,比较各组间上述指标差异,分析ARDS早产儿血清miR-34b-5p、miR-155表达与炎症因子的相关性以及miR-34b-5p、miR-155预测ARDS早产儿预后的价值。结果：重度组miR-155表达水平及IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6水平均高于中度组和轻度组,且中度组高于轻度组（P＜0.05）,重度组miR-34b-5p表达水平低于中度组和轻度组,且中度组低于轻度组（P＜0.05）。死亡组miR-155表达水平及IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6水平高于存活组（P＜0.05）,死亡组miR-34b-5p表达水平低于存活组（P＜0.05）。ARDS早产儿miR-155表达水平与IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6水平均呈正相关,而miR-34b-5p表达水平与IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6水平均呈负相关（P＜0.05）。联合miR-34b-5p、miR-155预测ARDS早产儿死亡的曲线下面积（AUC）为0.853,高于两指标单独预测的0.688、0.649。结论：ARDS早产儿血清miR-34b-5p、miR-155表达水平与患儿血清炎症因子水平以及预后有关,可作为ARDS早产儿病情评估以及预后预测的潜在指标。     

脓毒症患儿血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平与预后的关系及其诊断价值分析

摘要 目的：探讨脓毒症患儿血清淀粉样蛋白A（SAA）、降钙素原（PCT）、C反应蛋白（CRP）与预后的关系,并分析三者对脓毒症的诊断价值。方法：纳入我院于2016年8月～2020年6月期间收治的脓毒症患儿60例开展回顾性研究,作为脓毒症组,选取同期于我院进行体检的健康儿童40例作为对照组,比较两组血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平。根据脓毒症患儿1个月内的生存、死亡情况,分成生存组（n=42）、死亡组（n=18）,比较两组临床资料及血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平,经COX回归模型分析脓毒症患儿死亡的危险因素。绘制受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析血清SAA、PCT、CRP对脓毒症的诊断价值。结果：脓毒症组血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平显著高于对照组（P＜0.05）。死亡组器官障碍数量＞2个、脓毒性休克患儿占比分别为55.56%、44.44%,显著高于生存组的19.05%、9.52%（P＜0.05）;死亡组入院后1 h内使用抗菌治疗患儿占比为38.89%,显著低于生存组的69.05%（P＜0.05）;死亡组血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平高于生存组（P＜0.05）。COX多因素分析结果显示,器官障碍数量＞2、脓毒性休克及血清SAA、PCT、CRP水平升高是脓毒症患儿死亡的危险因素（P＜0.05）,而入院后1 h内使用抗菌治疗是脓毒症患儿死亡风险的保护性因素（P＜0.05）。血清SAA、PCT、CRP单独及三者联合诊断脓毒症的曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.808、0.780、0.761、0.912。结论：脓毒症患儿血清SAA、PCT、CRP明显升高,三者升高均为脓毒症患儿死亡的危险因素,且对脓毒症具有一定诊断价值。     

炎症因子表达水平与重症急性胰腺炎预后及肠道屏障损伤的相关性

摘要 目的：探讨白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、降钙素原（PCT）、C反应蛋白（CRP）相关炎症因子表达水平对重症急性胰腺炎（SAP）预后的预测价值,并分析不同炎症因子表达与肠道屏障损伤的相关性。方法：选取我院2019年8月到2022年8月收治的60例SAP患者为研究对象,对所有患者进行28 d随访,将28 d内死亡的20例患者分为死亡组,将其余40例患者分为存活组,对比两组患者临床一般情况与IL-6、PCT、CRP相关炎症因子表达水平,并分析SAP预后影响的独立危险因素。随后将所有患者依照肠道屏障损伤情况进行分组,分为肠道屏障损伤组（n=42）与非肠道损伤组（n=18）,对比两组患者IL-6、PCT、CRP表达水平,分析炎症因子表达水平与肠道屏障损伤的相关性,并绘制各指标诊断SAP肠道屏障损伤的ROC曲线,分析其预测肠道屏障损伤的灵敏度与特异度。结果：存活组与死亡组患者胰腺坏死、APACHEⅡ评分、发生器官衰竭情况与IL-6、PCT、CRP表达水平对比差异显著（P＜0.05）;PCT、CRP、APACHEⅡ评分为重症胰腺炎患者的预后不良影响因素（P＜0.05）;肠道屏障损伤组患者IL-6、PCT、CRP表达水平明显高于非肠道屏障损伤组（P＜0.05）;Spearman相关分析结果显示：IL-6、PCT、CRP与肠道屏障损伤呈正相关（P＜0.05）;ROC曲线分析显示：曲线下面积（AUC）从低到高依次为IL-6 (0.631)、CRP（0.667）、PCT（0.671）、联合诊断（0.852）。血清IL-6、PCT、CRP的联合诊断的灵敏度与特异度明显高于血清IL-6、PCT、CRP单一诊断（P＜0.05）。结论：IL-6、PCT、CRP相关炎症因子表达水平可预测SAP患者预后情况,IL-6、PCT、CRP与SAP肠道屏障损伤呈正相关,且三者联合对SAP肠道屏障损伤的诊断具有重要价值。     

小儿危重病例评分联合脑脊液降钙素原、白细胞介素-6对重症病毒性脑炎患儿预后不良发生风险预测作用的初步研究

摘要 目的：探讨小儿危重病例评分（PCIS）联合脑脊液降钙素原（PCT）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）对重症病毒性脑炎（SVE）患儿预后不良的预测价值。方法：回顾性分析2020年1月至2021年12月我院收治的104例SVE患儿的临床病历资料,根据儿童格拉斯哥预后量表（CGOS）将患儿分为预后不良组（CGOS评级1~4级,n=39）和预后良好组（CGOS评级5级,n=65）。采用PCIS对患儿病情严重程度进行评估,采用酶联免疫吸附法检测患儿脑脊液PCT和IL-6水平。采用多因素logistic回归分析SVE患儿预后不良的影响因素,绘制受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评估PCIS联合脑脊液PCT及IL-6对预后不良的预测价值。结果：预后不良组意识障碍、惊厥、合并脏器损伤发生率、脑脊液白细胞计数、PCT、IL-6水平高于预后良好组（P<0.05）,视频脑电图（VEEG）重度异常构成比大于预后良好组（P<0.05）,预后不良组PCIS评分低于预后良好组（P<0.05）。多因素logistic回归分析结果显示：合并脏器损伤、VEEG重度异常、脑脊液白细胞计数（较高）、PCT（较高）和IL-6水平（较高）是SVE患儿预后不良的危险因素（OR=1.449、3.732、1.355、1.483、1.388,P<0.05）,PCIS评分（较高）是SVE患儿预后不良的保护因素（OR=0.769,P<0.05）。PCIS评分、脑脊液PCT和IL-6预测预后不良的曲线下面积（AUC）为0.869,灵敏度、特异性分别为0.85、0.78,均高于单一指标检测。结论：PCIS、脑脊液PCT及IL-6均是SVE患儿预后的影响因素,联合检测有助于预测患儿预后不良发生风险,从而指导临床制定针对性诊疗方案以改善患儿预后。     

乙酰半胱氨酸联合万古霉素治疗小儿肺炎效果及对患儿康复指标、潮气呼吸指标的影响

摘要 目的：探讨乙酰半胱氨酸联合万古霉素治疗小儿肺炎的效果以及对患儿康复指标、潮气呼吸指标的影响。方法：选入我院2020年5月~2023年5月收治的肺炎患儿110例,根据治疗方法不同分为对照组和观察组,各55例,分别采用万古霉素治疗和联合使用乙酰半胱氨酸治疗。对比两组的临床疗效、主要症状（发热、咳嗽、肺啰音）消失时间、胸腔炎症吸收时间、潮气呼吸指标[潮气量（VT）、达峰时间比（TPTEF/TE）、达峰容积比（VPEF/VE）和呼吸频率（RR）]、血清炎症因子[C反应蛋白（CRP）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、降钙素原（PCT）]和不良反应等。结果：观察组主要症状消失时间、胸腔炎症吸收时间较对照组少（P<0.05）。两组患儿治疗后VT、TPTEF/TE、VPEF/VE显著升高,RR及血清CRP、TNF-α、IL-6、PCT水平显著下降（P<0.05）。观察组患儿治疗后VT、TPTEF/TE、VPEF/VE较对照组高,RR及血清CRP、TNF-α、IL-6、PCT水平较对照组低（P<0.05）。观察组患儿愈显率显著高于对照组（94.55% vs. 78.18%,P＜0.05）,总有效率（100.00% vs. 96.36%）和不良反应发生率（10.91% vs. 9.09%）与对照组无显著差异（P＞0.05）。结论：乙酰半胱氨酸联合万古霉素治疗小儿肺炎具有较高疗效,可改善患儿潮气呼吸指标、减轻机体炎症反应,加快症状体征缓解,且安全性良好。     

NLR、25-（OH）D3、IL-6、PCT与重症肺炎支原体肺炎患儿免疫功能和预后不良的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）、25-羟维生素D3 [25-（OH）D3]、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、降钙素原（PCT）与重症肺炎支原体肺炎（MMP）患儿免疫功能和预后不良的关系。方法：选取2019年2月至2021年12月我院收治的106例重症MMP患儿作为重症组,同期收治的101例轻症MMP患儿（轻症组）作为对照。检测外周血中性粒细胞计数、淋巴细胞计数、T淋巴细胞亚群以及血清25-（OH）D3、IL-6、PCT水平,计算NLR。分析NLR、25-（OH）D3、IL-6、PCT与T淋巴细胞亚群的相关性。重症MMP患儿治疗后随访半年,根据重症MMP患儿的预后情况分为预后良好组（75例）和预后不良组（31例）,多因素Logistic回归分析影响重症MMP患儿预后的因素。结果：重症组NLR、IL-6、PCT水平,CD8⁺高于轻症组（P＜0.05）,25-（OH）D3水平、CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/CD8⁺低于轻症组（P＜0.05）。NLR、IL-6、PCT水平与CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/CD8⁺呈负相关（P＜0.05）,与CD8⁺呈正相关（P＜0.05）;25-（OH）D3与CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/CD8⁺呈正相关（P＜0.05）,与CD8⁺呈负相关（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示：肺大片实变影、NLR（较高）、IL-6（较高）、PCT（较高）是重症MPP患儿预后不良的危险因素（P＜0.05）,25-（OH）D3（较高）是保护因素（P＜0.05）。结论：重症MMP患儿NLR、IL-6、PCT水平升高,25-（OH）D3水平降低,且与细胞免疫功能低下以及预后不良有关,检测NLR、IL-6、PCT、25-（OH）D3有助于评估重症MMP患儿的预后。     

Frequency of Discrimination,Harassment, and Violence in Lesbian,Gay Men,and Bisexual in Italy

Background

This cross-sectional study assessed the frequency of discrimination, harassment, and violence and the associated factors among a random sample of 1000 lesbian, gay men, and bisexual women and men recruited from randomly selected public venues in Italy.

Methods

A face-to-face interview sought information about: socio-demographics, frequency of discrimination, verbal harassment, and physical and sexual violence because of their sexual orientation, and their fear of suffering each types of victimization.

Results

In the whole sample, 28.3% and 11.9% self-reported at least one episode of victimization because of the sexual orientation in their lifetime and in the last year. Those unmarried, compared to the others, and with a college degree or higher, compared to less educated respondents, were more likely to have experienced an episode of victimization in their lifetime. Lesbians, compared to bisexual, had almost twice the odds of experiencing an episode of victimization. The most commonly reported experiences across the lifetime were verbal harassment, discrimination, and physical or sexual violence. Among those who had experienced one episode of victimization in their lifetime, 42.1% self-reported one episode in the last year. Perceived fear of suffering violence because of their sexual orientation, measured on a 10-point Likert scale with a higher score indicative of greater fear, ranges from 5.7 for verbal harassment to 6.4 for discrimination. Participants were more likely to have fear of suffering victimization because of their sexual orientation if they were female (compared to male), lesbian and gay men (compared to bisexual women and men), unmarried (compared to the others), and if they have already suffered an episode of victimization (compared to those who have not suffered an episode).

Conclusions

The study provides important insights into the violence experiences of lesbian, gay men, and bisexual women and men and the results may serve for improving policy initiatives to reduce such episodes.     

Levels of iron, zinc, and copper in aqueous humor, lens, and serum in nondiabetic and diabetic patients

The purpose of this study was to investigate iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) levels of aqueous humor, lens, and serum in nondiabetics and diabetics and to determine the effects of diabetes on Fe, Zn, and Cu contents in the lens. Fe, Zn, and Cu contents of aqueous humor, lens, and serum samples of 19 patients (9 nondiabetic patients with a mean age of 62.3±5.4 yr, and 10 diabetic patients with a mean age of 59.5±5.9 yr) were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry using a prospective study design. The lens levels of Cu in diabetic patients were significantly higher compared with nondiabetic patients (p=0.02); however; there was no difference in the other elements (Zn, Fe; p=0.28, p=0.74, respectively). The levels of Fe, Zn, and Cu in the aqueous humor and serum of diabetic patients were not found to be statistically significant when compared to nondiabetics (p=0.46, p=0.11, p=0.18, and p=0.22, p=0.43, p=0.72, respectively). These results demonstrate that increased Cu content of the lens presumably has a greater association with the development of lens opacification in diabetics than Zn and Fe content.     

Sequence variation in ITS spacers and 5.8S rDNA and relationship of E, St, P, Ns, Xm, and H genomes in the genera of Agropyron, Elytrigia, Leymus, Pascopyrum, Psathyrostachys, and Hordeum

Understanding species evolution and improvement requires information of their genome origin and differentiation. Among the species in the family Gramineae, genome identities of Agropyron-Elytrigia-Leymus group are still ambiguous. In order to delineate the genome relationship, nucleotide sequence analysis in the rDNA ITS regions was carried out among the species in the genera Elytrigia, Agropyron, Psathyrostachys, Leymus, and Psacopyrum containing E, St, P, Ns, and Xm genomes. The ITS-1 and ITS-2 showed a narrow range of variation in length except for the presence of a pentanucleotide, TGGGG, in/del in some haplotypes, whereas higher numbers of nucleotide substitutions were observed in most genera. There were 187 variable sites in the ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 regions, in which a few genome specific mutations were observed. While the level of variation was similar between ITS-1 and ITS-2, the rate of transition mutation versus transversion mutations was different among the ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 segments. GC contents of the ITS regions ranged between 55–65% between genomes and the haplotypes of P and H genomes were slightly higher than others. In phylogenetic analysis, the ITS haplotypes were classified into two groups; one containing H, Ns, NsXm genomes, and another containing P, St, and E genomes, which are congruous to the genome affinities from other studies. Among the four genomes in Pascopyrum smithii (2n=8x=56, StStNsNsHHXmXm), the haplotypes of H and St genomes were identified with the reference diploid species, but the haplotypes having Ns and Xm genomes were not found in the present analysis.     

Occurrence of heavy metals,sodium, calcium,and potassium in human hair,teeth, and nails

Heavy metals in biological samples: nails, teeth, and hair were examined during 1991–1993. Investigations of biological samples (hairn=249 samples, teethn=145, nailsn=80 samples) were provided for inhabitants of selected towns in Beskid Śląski. The towns are small mountain towns in southern Poland: Wista, Szczyrk, Istebna, Koniaków, and Jaworzynka. The analysis of ANOVA and MANOVA variances were used for biological samples in the context of age, sex, and type of samples for 12 elements (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni, Co, Ca, Na, and K). The matrix correlation and cluster analysis were applied to explain the behavior of metals in human hair, teeth, and nails.     

Pollen,ovules, and pollination in pea: Success,failure, and resilience in heat

Field pea (Pisum sativum), a major grain legume crop, is autogamous and adapted to temperate climates. The objectives of this study were to investigate effects of high temperature stress on stamen chemical composition, anther dehiscence, pollen viability, pollen interactions with pistil and ovules, and ovule growth and viability. Two cultivars (“CDC Golden” and “CDC Sage”) were exposed to 24/18°C (day/night) continually or to 35/18°C for 4 or 7 days. Heat stress altered stamen chemical composition, with lipid composition of “CDC Sage” being more stable compared with “CDC Golden.” Heat stress reduced pollen viability and the proportion of ovules that received a pollen tube. After 4 days at 35°C, pollen viability in flower buds decreased in “CDC Golden,” but not in “CDC Sage.” After 7 days, partial to full failure of anthers to dehisce resulted in subnormal pollen loads on stigmas. Although growth (ovule size) of fertilized ovules was stimulated by 35°C, heat stress tended to decrease ovule viability. Pollen appears susceptible to stress, but not many grains are needed for successful fertilization. Ovule fertilization and embryos are less susceptible to heat, but further research is warranted to link the exact degree of resilience to stress intensity.     

Dispensable,Redundant, Complementary,and Cooperative Roles of Dopamine,Octopamine, and Serotonin in Drosophila melanogaster

To investigate the regulation of Drosophila melanogaster behavior by biogenic amines, we have exploited the broad requirement of the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) for the vesicular storage and exocytotic release of all monoamine neurotransmitters. We used the Drosophila VMAT (dVMAT) null mutant to globally ablate exocytotic amine release and then restored DVMAT activity in either individual or multiple aminergic systems, using transgenic rescue techniques. We find that larval survival, larval locomotion, and female fertility rely predominantly on octopaminergic circuits with little apparent input from the vesicular release of serotonin or dopamine. In contrast, male courtship and fertility can be rescued by expressing DVMAT in octopaminergic or dopaminergic neurons, suggesting potentially redundant circuits. Rescue of major aspects of adult locomotion and startle behavior required octopamine, but a complementary role was observed for serotonin. Interestingly, adult circadian behavior could not be rescued by expression of DVMAT in a single subtype of aminergic neurons, but required at least two systems, suggesting the possibility of unexpected cooperative interactions. Further experiments using this model will help determine how multiple aminergic systems may contribute to the regulation of other behaviors. Our data also highlight potential differences between behaviors regulated by standard exocytotic release and those regulated by other mechanisms.     

Distribution of Arsenic,Antimony, and Thallium in Soil in Kavadarci and its Surroundings,Republic of Macedonia

The aim of this study is to present a spatial distribution of As, Sb, and Tl in topsoil and subsoil in the Kavadarci region, Republic of Macedonia. In total, 344 soil samples were collected from 172 locations (0–5 cm and 20–30 cm) in an area of 360 km². ICP-MS was applied for the determination of the invesgated elements. It was found that the highest contents of As, Sb, and Tl were on Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka, where average concentrations exceeded the average of the total investigated area by two times for As, three for Tl, and more than five times for Sb. The enrichment of the Holocene alluvium of the river Crna Reka is supposed to be a consequence of natural erosion from Allchar mine deposits on Ko?uf Mountain and also from mining activities in the past.     

Clusters of Toxoplasmosis in Ganghwa-gun,Cheorwon-gun,and Goseong-gun,Korea

We find out the clusters with high toxoplasmosis risk to discuss the geographical pattern in Gyodong-myeon and Samsan-myeon of Ganghwa-gun, Cheorwon-gun, and Goseong-gun, Korea. Seroepidemiological data of toxoplasmosis surveyed using rapid diagnostic tests for the residents in the areas in 2019 were analyzed to detect clusters of the infection. The cluster was investigated using the SaTScan program which is based on Kulldorff’s scan statistic. The clusters were found with P-values in each region analyzed in the program, and the risk and patient incidence of specific areas can be examined by the values such as relative risk and log likelihood ratio. Jiseok-ri and Insa-ri were found to be a cluster in Gyodong-myeon and Seokmo-ri was the cluster in Samsan-myeon. Yangji-ri and Igil-ri were found to be a cluster in Cheorwon-gun and Madal-ri and Baebong-ri were the cluster in Goseong-gun. This findings can be used to monitor and prevent toxoplasmosis infections occurring in vulnerable areas.