Description: Background: Existing standard non-molecular diagnostic methods such as viral culture andimmunofluorescent (DFA) are time-consuming, labor intensive or limited sensitivity. Severalmultiplex molecular assays are costly. Therefore, there is a need for the development of arapid and sensitive diagnosis of respiratory viral pathogens. Methods: A GeXP-based multiplex RT-PCR assay (GeXP assay) was developed to detectsimultaneously sixteen different respiratory virus types/subtypes. Seventeen sets of chimericprimers were used to initiate the RT-PCR, and one pair of universal primers was used for thesubsequent cycles of the RT-PCR. The specificity of the GeXP assay was examined withpositive controls for each virus type/subtype. The sensitivity was evaluated by performing theassay on serial ten-fold dilutions of in vitro-transcribed RNA of all RNA viruses and theplasmids containing the Adv and HBoV target sequence. GeXP assay was further evaluatedusing 126 clinical specimens and compared with Luminex xTAG RVP Fast assay. Results: The GeXP assay achieved a sensitivity of 20-200 copies for a single virus and 1000 copieswhen all of the 16 pre-mixed viral targets were present. Analyses of 126 clinical specimensusing the GeXP assay demonstrated that GeXP assay and the RVP Fast assay were incomplete agreement for 109/126 (88.51 %) of the specimens. GeXP assay was more sensitivethan the RVP Fast assay for the detection of HRV and PIV3, and slightly less sensitive for thedetection of HMPV, Adv, RSVB and HBoV. The whole process of the GeXP assay for thedetection of 12 samples was completed within 2.5 hours. Conclusions: In conclusion, the GeXP assay is a rapid, cost-effective, sensitive, specific and highthroughput method for the detection of respiratory virus infections.

Description: Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgoaceae), originating from China, now distributes all over the world. Wide application of Ginkgo biloba extracts is determined by the main active substances, flavonoids and terpenoids, which indicates its extracts suitable to be used as an effective corrosion inhibitor. The extracts of Ginkgo biloba leave have been investigated on the corrosion inhibition of Q235A steel with weight loss and potentiodynamic polarisation techniques. The inhibition efficiency of the extracts varies with extract concentration. The extracts inhibit corrosion mainly by adsorption mechanism. Potentiodynamic polarisation studies show that extracts are mixed type inhibitors. The antibacterial activity of the extracts against oil field microorganism (SRB, IB and TGB) was also investigated.

Description: Background: Radiation-induced skin injury is a common complication of radiotherapy. The RHIZOMA COPTIDIS and COPTIS CHINENSIS extract (RCE) can ameliorate radiation-induced skin injury in our clinical observation. But, the protective mechanism of RHIZOMA COPTIDIS and COPTIS CHINENSIS in radiation-induced skin injury remains unclear. Methods: In this experiment, we developed a radiation-induced skin injury rat model to study the mechanism. The animals were randomly divided into control group, treatment group, radiation group, and treatment and radiation group. 5 rats in each group were separately executed on 2 d and 49 d post-radiation. The semi-quantitative skin injury score was used to measure skin reactions by unblinded observers, and hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to evaluate the damage areas by irradiation. The MDA content, SOD activity of skin and serum were measured to detect the oxidative stress. Results: Acute skin reactions were caused by a single dose of 45 Gy of beta-ray irradiation, and the skin injury could be found in all rats receiving irradiation based on the observation of HE staining of skin at different time-points, while RCE could significantly ameliorate those changes. TheMDA content in serum and skin of control rats was 4.13 +/- 0.12mmol/ml and 4.95 +/- 0.35mmol/mgprot on 2 d post-radiation. The rats receiving radiation showed an increased content of MDA (5.54 +/- 0.21mmol/ml and 7.10 +/- 0.32mmol/mgprot), while it was 4.57 +/- 0.21mmol/ml and 5.95 +/- 0.24mmol/mgprot after treated with RCE (p 〈 0.05). Similarchanges of the MDA content could be seen on 49 d post-radiation. However, the SOD activity of rats receiving radiation decreased compared with control group on both time-points, which was inhibited by RCE (p 〈 0.05). Meanwhile, no valuable changes could befound between control group and treatment group on 2 d and 49 d. Conclusions: Our study provides evidences for the radioprotective role of RCE against radiation-induced skin damage in rats by modulating oxidative stress in skin, which may be a useful therapy for radiation-induced skin injury.

Description: Two new coordination polymers (CPs) formed from 5-iodobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (H 2 iip) in the presence of the flexible 1,4-bis(1 H -imidazol-1-yl)butane (bimb) auxiliary ligand, namely poly[[μ 2 -1,4-bis(1 H -imidazol-1-yl)butane-κ 2 N 3 : N 3′ ](μ 3 -5-iodobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylato-κ 4 O 1 , O 1′ : O 3 : O 3′ )cobalt(II)], [Co(C 8 H 3 IO 4 )(C 10 H 14 N 4 )] n or [Co(iip)(bimb)] n , (1), and poly[[[μ 2 -1,4-bis(1 H -imidazol-1-yl)butane-κ 2 N 3 : N 3′ ](μ 2 -5-iodobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylato-κ 2 O 1 : O 3 )zinc(II)] trihydrate], {[Zn(C 8 H 3 IO 4 )(C 10 H 14 N 4 )]·3H 2 O} n or {[Zn(iip)(bimb)]·3H 2 O} n , (2), were synthesized and characterized by FT–IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), solid-state UV–Vis spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and powder X-ray diffraction analysis (PXRD). The iip 2− ligand in (1) adopts the (κ 1 ,κ 1 -μ 2 )(κ 1 , κ 1 -μ 1 )-μ 3 coordination mode, linking adjacent secondary building units into a ladder-like chain. These chains are further connected by the flexible bimb ligand in a trans – trans – trans conformation. As a result, a twofold three-dimensional interpenetrating α-Po network is formed. Complex (2) exhibits a two-dimensional (4,4) topological network architecture in which the iip 2− ligand shows the (κ 1 )(κ 1 )-μ 2 coordination mode. The solid-state UV–Vis spectra of (1) and (2) were investigated, together with the fluorescence properties of (2) in the solid state.

Description: Background: To examine whether electro-acupuncture (EA) could decrease 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and increase neuro-peptide Y (NPY) in the brain-gut axis (BGA) in D-IBS using rat models. Methods: Rats were randomly exposed to unpredictable chronic stress for 3 weeks followed by 1-hour acute restraint stress (CAS) after 7 days of rest, or daily gavage of Senna decoction (6 g/kg) plus chronic restraint stress (for a duration of 2 h, starting from 1 h prior to the gavage) for 2 weeks (ISC). The content of 5-HT, CGRP and NPY in the distal colon, spinal cord, hypothalamus was examined at the end of the treatment. Results: 1. The two rat models exhibited similar characteristics, e.g., increased number of fecal pellets expelled in 1 h, decreased sacchar-intake, decreased CRD, elevated 5-HT, CGRP content and decreased NPY in the distal colon, spinal cord, hypothalamus (P 

Description: State-of-the-art pansharpening methods generally inject the spatial structures of a high spatial resolution (HR) panchromatic (PAN) image into the corresponding low spatial resolution (LR) multispectral (MS) image by an injection model. In this paper, a novel pansharpening method with an edge-preserving guided filter based on three-layer decomposition is proposed. In the proposed method, the PAN image is decomposed into three layers: A strong edge layer, a detail layer, and a low-frequency layer. The edge layer and detail layer are then injected into the MS image by a proportional injection model. In addition, two new quantitative evaluation indices, including the modified correlation coefficient (MCC) and the modified universal image quality index (MUIQI) are developed. The proposed method was tested and verified by IKONOS, QuickBird, and Gaofen (GF)-1 satellite images, and it was compared with several of state-of-the-art pansharpening methods from both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The experimental results confirm the superiority of the proposed method.

Description: Analytical Chemistry DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b00714

Description: Purpose To assess the efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and to compare DKI-derived parameters with that of conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for grading the inflammatory activity of Crohn's disease (CD). Materials and Methods In all, 38 patients with CD underwent 3T magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) with DKI (b values of 0–2000 s/mm 2 ). The inflammatory activity of the bowel segments was graded by magnetic resonance index of activity (MaRIA) as inactive (〈7), mild (≥7 and 〈11), or moderate-severe (≥11). Apparent diffusion for non-Gaussian distribution (D app ) and apparent kurtosis coefficient (K app ) on DKI as well as apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) on DWI were compared. Results In all, 86 bowel segments including inactive (20), mild (19), and moderate-severe (47) CD were analyzed. The differences in K app , D app , and ADC among inactive, mild, and moderate-severe CD were significant (all P 〈 0.05). K app ( r = 0.862), D app ( r = −0.755), and ADC ( r = −0.713) correlated well with MaRIA in all segments. Stronger correlation with MaRIA in moderate-severe CD was found for K app ( r = 0.647) than that of D app ( r = −0.414) and ADC ( r = −0.580). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed high accuracy of K app , D app , and ADC for differentiating active from inactive CD (AUC: 0.953 for K app , 0.944 for D app , 0.907 for ADC) as well as differentiating inactive-mild from moderate-severe CD (AUC: 0.946 for K app , 0.887 for D app , 0.846 for ADC). The threshold K app of 0.731 allowed differentiation of active from inactive CD with 89.4% sensitivity and 95% specificity. Conclusion DKI of CD is clinically feasible and might be superior to conventional DWI for grading the inflammatory activity of CD. Level of Evidence : 2 Technical Efficacy : Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017.

Description: Extragonadal primary yolk sac tumor of the intestinal tract origin is exceedingly rare. Through a multiple disciplinary team, thediagnosis and treatment of primary intestinal yolk sac tumor were further defined. We report 2 such cases with detailed histologicand immunohistochemical analysis. The two patients were a 7-year-old girl and a 29-year-old woman. Both of thempreoperatively had an elevated serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP) level (1210 ng/mL). The tumors are located in the intestine andimaging examination indicated the rectum as the primary site. Grossly the mass was grey-white and crisp texture. Microscopicexamination featured reticular, microcystic, macrocystic, papillary, solid, and some glandular patterns. Immunohistochemically,tumors cells of both cases were positive for SALL4, AFP, pan-cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), and glypican-3. Simultaneously, a stain forEMA, OCT4, CD30, HCG, vimentin and CK20 were negative in all 2 neoplasms. The features of morphology,immunohistochemistry, laboratory examinations and imaging studies consist of the diagnosis of primary yolk sac tumor of the intestine.

Description: Analytical Chemistry DOI: 10.1021/ac302853y