UiO-66 Selective Enrichment Integrated with Thermal Desorption GC-MS for Detection of Benzene Homologues in Ambient Air.

In this study, UiO-66 was selected as sorbent media packed in the tube to selectively enrich trace levels of benzene homologues such as benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) in ambient air prior to thermal desorption (TD)-GC-MS determination. A series of experiments were conducted to obtain the optimal TD conditions. The results indicated that the optimal TD parameters were as follows: desorption temperature of 180°C, desorption flow rate of 50 mL min, and desorption time of 30 min.

Bioinformatics analysis of epitope-based vaccine design against the novel SARS-CoV-2.

Background: An outbreak of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 recently has brought a great challenge to public health. Rapid identification of immune epitopes would be an efficient way to screen the candidates for vaccine development at the time of pandemic. This study aimed to predict the protective epitopes with bioinformatics methods and resources for vaccine development.

Land surface reflectance retrieval from optical hyperspectral data collected with an unmanned aerial vehicle platform.

We present a physical-based atmospheric correction algorithm for land surface reflectance retrieval based on radiative transfer model MODTRAN 5, with which the aerosol optical thickness @550 nm (AOT@550nm), columnar water vapor (CWV) could also be estimated from the hyperspectral data collected over UAV platform. Then, the method was tested on both the synthetic and field campaign-collected hyperspectral data by an UAV-VNIRIS (UAV visible/near-infrared imaging hyperspectrometer) with the spectral range covering from 400 to 1000 nm. The retrieval results were validated with theoretical values from synthetic data and truth values from field campaign measurements.

Insights of efferocytosis in normal and pathological pregnancy.

Efferocytosis, which is known as the phagocytic clearance of dying cells by professional as well as non-professional phagocytes, including a great number of intracellular/extracellular factors and signals, is interrelated with the immune system, contributing to local and systemic homeostasis, especially in tissues with high constitutive rates of apoptosis. Accumulating studies have indicated that immune dysregulation is associated with the pathogenesis of the female reproductive system, which causes preeclampsia (PE), recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA), ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and so on. And some studies have revealed the pleiotropic and essential role of efferocytosis in these obstetrical disorders.

IL-33/ST2 axis affects the polarization and efferocytosis of decidual macrophages in early pregnancy.

Problem: To explore whether IL-33/ST2 axis modulates the polarization and efferocytosis of decidual macrophages (dMφs).

Method Of Study: The phenotype characteristics of dMφs from both normal pregnant women and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) patients were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry (FCM). Then, the efferocytosis and expression of IL-33 and its receptor (ST2) in dMφs were analyzed by FCM.

Land surface temperature retrieved from airborne multispectral scanner mid-infrared and thermal-infrared data.

Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the key parameters in the physics of land surface processes at local/global scales. In this paper, a LST retrieval method was proposed from airborne multispectral scanner data comparing one mid-infrared (MIR) channel and one thermal infrared (TIR) channel with the land surface emissivity given as a priori knowledge. To remove the influence of the direct solar radiance efficiently, a relationship between the direct solar radiance and water vapor content and the view zenith angle and solar zenith angle was established.

[A Method to Reconstruct Surface Reflectance Spectrum from Multispectral Image Based on Canopy Radiation Transfer Model].

Due to the lack of enough spectral bands for multi-spectral sensor, it is difficult to reconstruct surface retlectance spectrum from finite spectral information acquired by multi-spectral instrument. Here, taking into full account of the heterogeneity of pixel from remote sensing image, a method is proposed to simulate hyperspectral data from multispectral data based on canopy radiation transfer model. This method first assumes the mixed pixels contain two types of land cover, i.

Associations between the rs6010620 polymorphism in RTEL1 and risk of glioma: a meta-analysis of 20,711 participants.

Background: Associations between the rs6010620 polymorphism in the regulator of telomere elongation helicase1 (RTEL1) gene and glioma have been widely reported but the results were not inconclusive. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between the rs6010620 polymorphism in RTEL1 gene and risk of glioma by meta-analysis.

Materials And Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Weipu and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases, which included all research published 05 May 2014.

Insulin receptor substrate 1 regulates the cellular differentiation and the matrix metallopeptidase expression of preosteoblastic cells.

Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) is an essential molecule for the intracellular signaling of IGF1 and insulin, which are potent anabolic regulators of bone metabolism. Osteoblastic IRS1 is essential for maintaining bone turnover; however, the mechanism underlying this regulation remains unclear. To clarify the role of IRS1 in bone metabolism, we employed RNA interference to inhibit IRS1 gene expression and observed the effects of silencing this gene on the proliferation and differentiation of and the expression of matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 11b (TNFRSF11B) in MC3T3-E1 cells.

Suppressive effect of dexamethasone on TIMP-1 production involves murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis.

High dose glucocorticoid (GC) treatment induces osteoporosis partly via increasing osteoblast apoptosis. However, the mechanism of GC-induced apoptosis has not been fully elucidated. Osteoblast-derived tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) was recently reported to be involved in bone metabolism.

[Retrieving eco-environment factors relevant to Oncomelania snail distribution based on QuickBird image].

Objective: To estimate snail distribution by using high spatial resolution QuickBird image on the basis of retrieving the eco-environment factors relevant to snail distribution.

Methods: Combined with the well-positioned ground data of Oncomelania snails, the meter-level high spatial resolution QuickBird image was used to retrieve the eco-environment factors related to snail distribution in Jiangxin village of Dangtu county, Anhui Province. The factors included vegetation (vegetation index and vegetation cover ratio) and soil (soil texture, soil cover type and humidity).

[Inhibitory effect of resveratrol on the proliferation of synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis and its mechanism in vitro].

Objective: To investigate the effect of resveratrol on the proliferation and apoptosis of synoviocytes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in vitro and explore its mechanism.

Methods: The levels of cell proliferation of synoviocytes in RA after 24 h treated with different concentrations of resveratrol were measured by monotetrazolium colourmetric assay method. The percentages of synoviocytes apoptosis in RA after 24 h treated with different concentrations of resveratrol were tested by TUNEL and flow cytometry.