Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) generally has a favorable outcome. Thyroid disease, treatments, stress, and comorbidity can compromise health-related quality of life (QoL) and indirectly weigh upon the outcome. From 2004 to 2008, we evaluated QoL longitudinally in 128 DTC subjects. During scheduled examinations, subjects were asked to undergo a semi-structured psychiatric interview and five rated inventories. The same examination was conducted in 219 subjects after surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Low scores represent a better QoL. DTC and control subjects were similar in terms of age, male/female ratio, concomitant psychopharmacological treatments, and frequency of psychiatric diseases. In DTC subjects, Billewicz scale (BS) scores showed an increasing trend over time, especially among females. The ad hoc thyroid questionnaire (TQ) scores were similar in both groups and did not change over time, but at the end of the study ad hoc TQ and BS were significantly related. Ad hoc TQ scores were also related to age on entry to the study. In both male and female DTC subjects, Hamilton’s tests for anxiety (HAM-A), but not for depression (HAM-D), showed an improving trend. At the end of the study, HAM-A and HAM-D scores were comparable to those of the control group. HAM-A and HAM-D were both positively correlated with the stage of cancer and the time between diagnosis and treatment. Only HAM-D correlated with age on entry to the study. Kellner symptom questionnaire (KSQ) item scores were higher in DTC subjects than in controls. The change over time in the items including anxiety, somatization, depression, and hostility was significant. Somatization and hostility were more significantly reduced in DTC females than in DTC males. Hostility scores were significantly lower in DTC subjects than in controls at the end of the study. Somatization and depression were significantly related to staging on diagnosis and age on entry to the study. Our study confirms a wide variation of illness perception in DTC subjects, which is generally unrelated to the favorable clinical follow-up of the disease. Psychological evaluation during long-term follow-up improved QoL scores, which reached the same levels noted in subjects with a history of thyroid surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Our data indicate that special attention should be paid to QoL in older DTC subjects and those with more severe staging on diagnosis.

Objective: To evaluate the predictive values of gene expressions of ribonucleotide reductase M1 (RRM1) and breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) in peripheral blood from Chinese patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with gemcitabine plus platinum. Methods: Forty Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC were recruited and received gemcitabine 1 200 mg/m² on Days 1 and 8 plus carboplatin AUC 5 on Day 1. RRM1 and BRCA1 expression levels in peripheral blood were detected by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were performed to evaluate the correlation between gene expression and overall survival for these subjects. Results: No correlation was observed between gene expression of RRM1 and that of BRCA1 (P>0.05), but there was a strong correlation between the expression of RRM1 and the response to chemotherapy (P=0.003). Subjects with low RRM1 expression levels in peripheral blood had longer survival time than those with high RRM1 expression levels (16.95 vs. 12.76 months, log-rank 3.989, P=0.046). However, no significant association between BRCA1 expression levels and survival time was found (16.80 vs. 13.77 months, log-rank 0.830, P=0.362). Conclusions: Patients with low RRM1 expression levels in peripheral blood have a greater response to chemotherapy and longer survival time. Advanced NSCLC patients with low RRM1 expression levels may benefit from gemcitabine plus platinum therapy. RRM1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood could be used to predict the prognosis of NSCLC treated by gemcitabine and platinum.

At 0.12 mmol/L γ-glutamyl p-nitroaniline (GGPNA), an improved integrated method was developed for kinetic analysis of γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) reaction process and the integration with the classical initial rate method to measure serum GGT. For the improved integrated method, an integrated rate equation, which used the predictor variable of reaction time and considered inhibitions by both GGPNA and products, was nonlinearly fit to GGT reaction processes. For the integration strategy, classical initial rates were estimated when GGPNA consumption percentages were below 50%; otherwise, maximal reaction rates of GGT were estimated by the improved integrated method and converted into initial rates according to the differential rate equation at 0.11 mmol/L GGPNA. The integration strategy was validated using optimized GGT kinetic parameters and 10-s intervals to record reaction curves within 8.0 min. By the integration strategy, there was a linear response from 0.9 to 32.0 U/L GGT, coefficients of variation were below 3.5% for GGT from 8.0 to 32.0 U/L (n=5), and GGT activities in clinical sera responded linearly to their classical initial rates at 2.00 mmol/L GGPNA with an expected slope. Therefore, the integration strategy was successful in measuring GGT at 0.12 mmol/L GGPNA.

Objective: To report clinical features and treatment of 16 cases of acute 2,4-dinitrophenol poisoning. Methods: A total of 16 patients suffering from acute poisoning due to non-oral exposure to 2,4-dinitrophenol were sent to our hospital. Two died within 3 h after admission, while the other 14 responded to supportive treatment and hemoperfusion. Clinical features and treatment of the patients were retrospectively analyzed and presented. Results: Fourteen patients recovered and were discharged after four to six weeks of treatment. No obvious poisoning sequelae were found in the three-month follow-up. Conclusions: Non-oral exposure to 2,4-dinitrophenol is toxic. Hemoperfusion and glucocorticoid treatments may be efficient measures to prevent mortality, but this requires further study.

Central composite design (CCD), together with multiple linear regression, was successfully used to optimize the electrophoretic buffer system of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) for the determination of albiflorin, paeoniflorin, liquiritin, and glycyrrhizic acid in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, Yangwei granule. Concentrations of sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and borate, and proportions of ammonia, acetonitrile, and methanol were optimized. The total resolutions of peaks between the analytes and their adjacent peaks in real samples were integrated into the evaluation index of separation efficiency. The optimum electrophoretic buffer contained 80 mmol/L SDC, 20 mmol/L borate, 5% (v/v) methanol, 0.5% (v/v) ammonia, and 5% (v/v) acetonitrile. The correlation coefficients (R²) between the peak areas and the corresponding concentrations of analytes were greater than 0.9956. The limits of detection (LODs) (S/N=3) of the analytes were 0.97–4.00 μg/ml. The results indicate the superiority of CCD in optimizing the separation conditions of complex samples such as TCM prescriptions.

Several different pharmacological effects have been described for Nigella sativa (Siah-Daneh), including an anti-inflammatory effect. In the present study, the effect of the extract of N. sativa on lung pathology and blood interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) of sensitized guinea pigs was examined. Three groups (n=8 for each group) of guinea pigs sensitized to ovalbumin (OA) were given drinking water alone, and drinking water containing low and high concentrations of the plant extract, respectively. The animals of the control group (n=8) were treated with saline instead of OA and were given drinking water. The pathological changes of the lung, including infiltration of eosinophils and lymphocytes, local epithelial necrosis, the presence of oedema, thickening of the basement membrane, smooth muscle layer hypertrophy, mucosal secretion, and the presence of mucosal plug, and blood IL-4 and IFN-γ of sensitized guinea pigs were evaluated. The lungs of the sensitized group showed significant pathological changes (P<0.001). Blood IL-4 and IFN-γ were increased in sensitized animals compared to the controls (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). Treatment of sensitized animals with the extract led to a significant decrease in pathological changes of the lung (P<0.01 to P<0.001), except for the oedema in the sensitized group treated with low concentration of the extract, but an increased IFN-γ. These results confirm a preventive effect of N. sativa extract on lung inflammation of sensitized guinea pigs.

Freeze-drying is a promising method for a long-term storage of human platelets. The moisture sorption characteristics of freeze-dried human platelets (FDHPs) were studied in this paper. The moisture sorption isotherms of FDHPs and freeze-dried lyophilization buffer (FDLB) were measured at 4, 25, and 37 °C. The experimental data were fitted to Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) equations. There were no significant statistical differences (P>0.05) between the sorption characteristics of FDHPs and FDLB at 4 and 25 °C, while FDHPs absorbed more water at 37 °C. The net isosteric heat of sorption was derived. The heat for FDHPs showed an abnormal negative value at low moisture contents when 25 and 37 °C data were used. Dynamic sorption experiments were carried out at 25 °C with environmental water activity controlled at 0.75, 0.85, and 0.90. The moisture diffusion coefficient was fitted to be 8.24×10⁻¹² m²/s when experimental data at initial time were used. These results would be helpful in choosing prehydration and storage condition for FDHPs.

Seed treatment with endophytic fungi has been regarded as an effective method for plant parasitic nematode control. Endophytic fungi from cucumber seedlings were isolated and screened for their potential to be used as seed treatment agents against Meloidogyne incognita. Among the 294 isolates screened, 23 significantly reduced galls formed by M. incognita in greenhouse test. The 10 most effective isolates were Fusarium (5), Trichoderma (1), Chaetomium (1), Acremonium (1), Paecilomyces (1), and Phyllosticta (1). Their control efficacies were repeatedly tested and their colonizations as well as in vitro activity against M. incognita were studied. They reduced the number of galls by 24.0%–58.4% in the first screening and 15.6%–44.3% in the repeated test, respectively. Phyllosticta Ph511 and Chaetomium Ch1001 had high colonizations on both the roots and the aboveground parts of cucumber seedlings. Fusarium isolates had colonization preference on the roots, their root colonizations ranging from 20.1% to 47.3% of the total root area. Trichoderma Tr882, Paecilomyces Pa972, and Acremonium Ac985 had low colonizations on both the roots and the aboveground parts. Acremonium Ac985, Chaetomium Ch1001, Paecilomyces Pa972, and Phyllosticta Ph511 produced compounds affecting motility of the second stage juveniles of M. incognita. Based on these results, Chaetomium Ch1001 was considered to have the highest potential as a seed treatment agent for M. incognita biocontrol.

Winegrape is an important perennial crop in California, USA. Each year California winegrape farming consumes about 20 million kilograms of pesticides that have been a pollutant source to the fresh water systems of the state. The variation of pesticide use among winegrape growers has been significant. It has been observed that some growers have developed effective ways to reduce pesticide use, yet control pests efficiently to ensure harvest. Identification of the growers with low and high pesticide use is very helpful to extension programs that aim on reducing pesticide environmental risk. In this study, an index approach is proposed to quantitatively measure pesticide use intensity at grower level. An integrated pesticide use index is developed by taking pesticide quantity and toxicity into account. An additive formula and a multiplying formula were used to calculate the pesticide use index, i.e., PUI and PUIM. It was found that both PUI and PUIM were capable of identifying the low and high pesticide users while PUI was slightly more conservative than PUIM. All pesticides used in California winegrape farming were taken into account for calculating the indices. Madera County, one of the largest winegrape producers in California, was taken as an example to test the proposed approach. In year 2000, among the total 208 winegrape growers, 28 with PUI≤10 and 34 with 10<PUI≤20 were identified as low pesticide users who were characterized with both low quantity and low toxicity of pesticide use. Most of the growers had small-sized vineyards, i.e., one field and small planted areas. Furthermore, they had very low pesticide use intensity, used only 1–2 types of pesticides (mainly fungicides), applied few pesticides (1–3 only), and emphasized the use of low toxicity compounds. Meanwhile, 19 growers with PUI>60, identified as high pesticide users, had large-sized vineyards, i.e., more fields and large planted areas. They used all types of pesticides and many compounds, which indicated that their pest controls heavily depended on pesticides rather than on-farm management. Through the case study, the proposed approach proved to be useful for analyzing the growers’ pesticide use intensities and interpreting their pesticide use behaviors, which led to a new start point for further investigation of searching ways to reduce pesticide environmental risk.