The incidence of artificial stone-related silicosis among interior decoration workers in different countries / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

In this paper, 177 cases of artificial stone-related silicosis in interior decoration workers from Israel, Spain, USA, Italy and Australia were analyzed. Interior decoration workers were from small businesses (or workshops), engaged in kitchen and/or bathroom artificial stone countertops cutting, grinding, polishing and other reprocessing. In the working environment, the content of crystalline silica in artificial stone was more than 70%, and the concentration of silica dust exceeded the relevant standards. Most workplaces used dry cutting without ventilation and dust removal and other dust-proof measures, and most workers did not wear qualified respiratory protective equipment. Taking comprehensive measures such as wet operation, ventilation and dust removal, and individual protection can effectively prevent the occurrence of artificial stone-related silicosis.

Clinical characteristics and follow-up analysis of 12 patients of acute phosphine poisoning / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with acute phosphine poisoning, and to follow up and evaluate the prognosis of patients. Methods: In May 2022, 12 patients with phosphine poisoning by respiratory inhalation in Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital of Capital Medical University were analyzed. The patients were treated with symptomatic support therapy. Three months later, patients were re-evaluated the symptoms of poisoning, pulmonary function and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain to understand the prognosis of the phosphine poisoning. Results: The main symptoms of 12 patients were respiratory and central nervous system symptoms with hypoxia. The symptoms of poisoning improved after treatment. Follow-up found that the patients had different degrees of residual symptoms. Pulmonary function showed increased airway resistance. Airway challenge test was positive in some patients. MRI of the head of some patients showed small ischemic focus in bilateral frontal lobes. Conclusion: Acute phosphine poisoning may cause persistent damage to the respiratory system and central system, and residual symptoms after 3 months.

A systematic review of the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of artificial stone-related silicosis and dust protection / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, on-site dust monitoring and individual protection of the patients with artificial stone-related silicosis. Methods: In March 2022, the literature on artificial stone-related silicosis published from January 1965 to February 2022 was searched in China Journal Full-text Database, Wanfang Database, VIP Database, EMbase and PubMed. Chinese and English search terms include "silica dust""silica dust""silicosis""artificial stone""pneumoconiosis", etc. References were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data were extracted. The epidemiological characteristics, natural course of disease, workplace dust concentration and individual protection level of patients with artificial stone-related silicosis were analyzed by systematic review. Results: A total of 30 literatures were included, including 7 cohort studies, 14 cross-sectional studies, 3 case-control studies and 6 case reports. A total of 1358 patients with artificial stone-related silicosis were diagnosed from 1997 to 2020, with an average age of 41.5 years old and an average dust exposure time of 11.3 years. Among them, 36.2% (282/778) had progressive mass fibrosis or accelerated progressive silicosis at first diagnosis. Chest imaging showed diffuse small nodule shadow, pulmonary fibrosis, and silico-alveolar proteinosis. Pulmonary function showed restricted or mixed ventilation disorder with or without decreased diffusion volume. The disease progressed rapidly, with progressive mass fibrosis, respiratory failure, and even death. Patients engaged in artificial quartz stone processing, with high concentration of silica including ultra-fine particles, most of which were dry operation, lack of on-site ventilation measures and no effective personal protection. Conclusion: The artificial stone processing workers suffer from artificial stone-related silicosis due to dry cutting, lack of on-site dust removal facilities and personal protective measures, and the disease progresses rapidly, leading to poor prognosis.

A concise review of diagnosis and evaluation of interstitial lung abnormalities / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) refer to the subtle or mild signs of ILAs pulmonary parenchyma on chest HRCT scans, which are not yet sufficient to diagnose a certain interstitial lung disease, may be potentially compatible an early stage of the diseases. The signs of ILAs usually includes ground-glass opacities, reticular abnormakicies, honeycombing, traction bronchiectasis or non-emphysematous cysts. This article reviews the research progreses in the definition and classification, risk factors, prognosis, comorbidities and management of ILAs in combination with domestic and foreign literatures.

Mechanism of Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction to prevent the development of prehypertension and excessive phlegm-dampness syndrome in rats based on metabonomics technology / 药学学报

The alterations of serum biological endogenous chemicals in rats with phlegm dampness accumulation syndrome of prehypertension (PHT) were interfered by Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction (BBT), and the metabolic regulatory pathway of BBT was clarified using serum metabonomics analysis. To replicate the rat model of prehypertension phlegm dampness syndrome, blood pressure, behavioral markers, and serum biochemical markers of rats were collected. BBT's effectiveness in controlling blood pressure and blood lipids was assessed, and changes in endogenous small molecules in rat serum were determined using UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS metabolic analysis. The results showed that BBT could regulate 9 metabolites, including arachidonic acid, cholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, N-adenosyltyrosine, arginine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine (20:0/0:00), lysophospholipid (P-18:0), lysophospholipid (18:0), lysophospholipid (22:5(7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)). MetaboAnalyst was used to analyze the metabolic pathway. There were 7 metabolic pathways closely related to the change of blood pressure in rats, among which arachidonic acid metabolic pathway was the most critical. The metabolism difference foreign body in the model rats tends to return to the normal level, which provides a research basis for the mechanism of BBT from the perspective of metabonomics. This study was approved by the Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Review Committee of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval number: SDUTCM20211103001).

Current trends in research on pulmonary fibrosis and metabolites: A bibliometric analysis / 环境与职业医学

Background Certain metabolites are closely related to the occurrence and development of pulmonary fibrosis, and the related mechanism has not been fully elucidated. It is necessary to explore the trends of various metabolites and causes of pulmonary fibrosis. Objective To discuss the trends of publication and research hotspots of pulmonary fibrosis-related metabolites by bibliometrics. Methods With "pulmonary fibrosis" and "metabolites" in both Chinese and English as primary keywords, literature search was conducted through public online databases: PubMed, Web of Science, SinoMed, and CNKI. NoteExpress 3.0 and Excel 2019 were used to store and organize the collected literature. Analyses included publication year, number of papers, institution, country/region, and journal title. VOSviewer 1.6.10 was used for visual analysis. Keyword co-occurrence was analyzed by setting the minimum threshold for the occurrence of keywords to 5 times. Results The research on pulmonary fibrosis and associated metabolites in foreign language was earlier than that in Chinese language. Since the 1990s, the number of literature showed an increasing trend in both foreign and Chinese language literature. A total of 1 062 articles were published in foreign languages, of which 864 articles contained the authors’ address information. The authors in the United States published 340 articles, followed by China with 196 articles, and then Japan, Germany, and Italy. There were 728 relevant pieces of literature published in Chinese, 709 of which included the authors’ institution information and 350 institutions were involved. North China University of Science and Technology, Shanxi Medical University, Peking University, Zhengzhou University, China Medical University，and Soochow University were the top 6 by number of publication. A total of 255 Chinese journals published 728 Chinese articles, and among them 242 articles (33.24%) were published by 12 journals having published more than ten articles per journal. A total of 1062 articles were published in 609 foreign language journals, and among them 179 articles (16.85%) were published by 8 journals with more than 15 articles published by each journal. The results of keywords co-occurrence analysis suggested that pulmonary fibrosis in association with glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and biological oxidation were the common themes studied at home and abroad. Conclusion The number of publications on pulmonary fibrosis and metabolites has been on the rise in recent years, and the research hotspots include glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and biological oxidation.

Chest high-resolution CT features analysis in predicting the progression of asbestosis / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To analyze the radiological characteristics of chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of patients with asbestosis, and to investigate the signs of predicting the disease progression of asbestosis. Methods: A prospective method was used to enroll 68 patients with asbestosis who were regularly followed up from 2013 to 2016. The radiological characteristics of patients with asbestosis were described by the International Classification of HRCT for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases (ICOERD) , and the differences between patients with and without progression were compared during the observation period. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the chest HRCT radiological signs predicting the progression of asbestosis. Results: The study included 68 patients with asbestosis aged (65.5±7.8) years old, of which 64.7% (44/68) were female, 29.4% (20/68) had a history of smoking. There was no significant difference in age, sex, smoking and asbestos exposure between patients with progressive asbestosis (20.6%, 14/68) and patients without progressive asbestosis (79.4%, 54/68) (P>0.05) . Chest HRCT of patients with asbestosis showed irregular and/or linear opacities, of which 5.9% (4/68) were accompanied by honeycombing. Irregular and/or linear opacities were mainly lower lung preponderant, often accompanied with ground glass opacity and mosaic perfusion. 98.5% (67/68) had pleural abnormalities, of which 39.7% (27/68) had diffuse pleural thickening with parenchymal bands and/or rounded atelectasis. The analysis of multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression showed that the risk of the progression of asbestosis was increased with higher irregular and/or linears opacities cores (HR=1.184, 95%CI: 1.012-1.384, P=0.034) and the appearance of honeycombing (HR=6.488, 95%CI: 1.447-29.097, P=0.015) . Conclusion: The irregular and/or linear opacities scores and honeycombing on chest HRCT are independent influencing factors for predicting the disease progression of asbestosis.

Anti-tumor Mechanism of Active Ingredients of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Its Combined Use in Anti-tumor Treatment： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

As a traditional Chinese medicinal material， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma has been extensively used in various formulae. According to modern pharmacological research， it has anti-tumor， anti-inflammatory， anti-viral， liver-protecting， anti-heart failure， immunoregulatory， and anti-fibrosis effects. Caused by the interaction of various factors， cancer features complex pathogenesis. It is a global challenge and one of the main causes of death in China. Statistics show that the morbidity and mortality of malignant tumors have been on the rise， particularly for the young， which threaten the health of human beings. At the moment， radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the main countermeasures. Most clinical anti-tumor drugs demonstrate non-selective toxicity. To be specific， they damage normal cells while killing tumor cells， thus injuring vital organs. In addition， long-term medication will reduce the sensitivity of tumor cells. However， traditional Chinese medicine， which is characterized by treatment based on syndrome differentiation， multiple components， and multiple targets， is superior in the treatment of tumor. Studies have shown that the combination of anti-tumor drugs with Chinese medicine can not only enhance the anti-tumor effect but also alleviate toxicity. Therefore， it has been a research hotspot to develop anti-tumor drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years， major headway has been made in the research on active ingreddients of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in anti-liver cancer， anti-breast cancer， anti-lung cancer， and anti-colon cancer and the combination with other drugs for anti-tumor. On this basis， we summarized the mechanisms of active ingredients of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in inducing apoptosis， interfering with cell cycle， inducing autophagy， inhibiting glycolysis， regulating immunity， and modulating miRNA and signaling pathways， as well as the combination with other drugs in anti-tumor efficiency， toxicity reduction， and sensitivity enhancement， hoping to lay a theoretical basis for the further development and clinical application of active ingredients of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma.

Occupational dust exposure-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a bibliometric and visual analysis / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the current status and research hotspots of occupational dust exposure-related chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases(COPD). METHODS: Publications were searched and collected from the CNKI, SinoMed, PubMed and EMBASE. The high frequency key words were visually analyzed using NoteExpress V3.0 and VOSviewer 1.6.10, and content analysis was used to analyze research hotspots. RESULTS: A total of 3 095 COPD publications related to occupational dust exposure were retrieved. The first paper on COPD was published in 1973 in Chinese literature, and the number of publications had been on the rise since 2006. A total of 410 journals and 980 research institutions had published relevant articles. The first paper on COPD was published in 1950 in English literature, with a peak in publication after 2014. A total of 523 journals and 109 countries or regions had published relevant articles. The results of keyword co-occurrence analysis showed that COPD studies related to dust exposure mainly focused on epidemiology, risk factors and clinical characteristics. CONCLUSION: The number of research papers on occupational dust exposure-related COPD has been on the rise. The research papers mainly focus on epidemiology, risk factors and clinical characteristics of COPD.

Construction of theoretical framework, item pool and rating scale words of / 中国针灸

Literature investigation and expert consultation were adopted to construct the theoretical framework and item pool of

Progress in randomized clinical trials of antifibrotic drug nintedanib and pirfenidone / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Pulmonary fibrosis is the terminal manifestation of a variety of interstitial lung diseases. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one of the chronic, progressive, fibrotic lung disease with high incidence and poor prognosis. Nintedanib and pirfenidone are currently marketed anti-pulmonary fibrosis drugs, and their efficacy and safety are recognized in patients with IPF. This article reviews the targets and clinical trials of the two drugs, and provides a basis for the expansion of indications for anti-pulmonary fibrosis drugs.

Clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of chronic mercury-related nephrotic syndrome / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the etiology, clinical features, treatment and outcome of nephrotic syndrome associated with chronic mercury poisoning.@*Methods@#From June 2013 to April 2018, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University received 33 patients with chronic mercury-neutral nephrotic syndrome. The clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment methods, and outcomes were analyzed.@*Results@#Among the 33 patients, 27 patients had mercury exposure due to daily-life contact and the other 6 patients were caused by iatrogenic mercury. The symptom was characterized by typical nephrotic syndrome such as lower extremity edema and proteinuria at first onset. The treatment was based on mercury-removing treatment, 19 cases were treated with mercury removal alone, 16 cases were completely relieved; 10 cases were treated with mercury removal and glucocorticoids, all of which were completely relieved; 4 cases were treated with mercury removal, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents, all complete remission; clinical complete remission rate is about 90.9% (30 cases in total) . Urinary mercury levels decreased the fastest between the first and second courses of mercury treatment, but the total amount of urine protein increased. As the amount of urinary mercury excreted increased, the total amount of urine protein decreased gradually (Z=2.86, P<0.01) .@*Conclusion@#The clinical features of chronic mercury-induced nephrotic syndrome are non-specific, easy to be misdiagnosed and missed. The treatment is mainly treated with mercury removal treatment. The prognosis is good. In severe cases, glucocorticoid therapy can be supplemented.

Efficacy and safety of Nintedanib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a meta-analysis / 中国实用内科杂志

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the efficacy and safety of Nintedanib in patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.METHODS: We search systematically for randomized controlled trials and cohort study of Nintedanib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients published between January 1999 and May 2018. The literatures that met all eligibility criteria were selected. The extracted data were analyzed with RevMan 5.3. RESULTS: A total of 4 random control trials(RCT) and one cohort study were included. Nintedanib, as compared with placebo, reduced the decline in FVC and the predicted FVC% from baseline by 130 mL/yr or 3.84% of the mean value respectively. It also significantly reduced relative the risk of FVC%pred≥10% or FVE decline≥200 mL(RR 0.78, 95% confidence interval(CI) 0.67 to 0.90, P=0.0006), the hazard ratio(HR) of first acute exacerbation(HR with Nintedanib, 0.53; 95%CI 0.33-0.86;P=0.02), all-cause mortality(HR in the Nintedanib group, 0.70; 95%CI 0.45-1.08; P=0.11) and respiratory mortality(HR in the Nintedanib group, 0.63; 95%CI 0.37-1.10; P=0.11) in IPF patients. The Nintedanib group had a higher rate of gastrointestinal adverse events and a lower rate of cardiovascular events compared to the placebo group(P=0.02). CONCLUSION: Nintedanib delays disease progression in patients with IPF. Nintedanib is generally well tolerated, and the mild gastrointestinal adverse events are more common.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: a review on epidemiology / 中国实用内科杂志

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis(HP) is an interstitial lung disease associated with environmental exposure, which is related to individual susceptibility and environmental antigen exposures. Its clinical manifestations, severity and natural course are highly heterogeneous. This review on HP epidemiology includes the incidence and prevalence of HP, geographical distribution, gender differences and age characteristics, incidence data of smokers, antigens, clinical subtypes and mortality of HP.

A Rare Missense Variant in Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase is Associated with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Chinese Han Family / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Background</b>Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an age-related and progressive interstitial lung disease. Up to 20% of cases of IPF cluster in families, genetic factors contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of the disease. This study aimed to explore the association between rare genetic variants and IPF in Chinese Han families.</p><p><b>Methods</b>A Han family, comprising three IPF patients and five unaffected their first-degree relatives, and 100 ethnically matched control individuals from North China were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood was collected, and genomic DNA was extracted. To elucidate if rare genetic variants are associated with the familial IPF, we performed whole-exome sequencing of affected members from a Chinese Han IPF family. Candidate rare variants were then confirmed by Sanger sequencing.</p><p><b>Results</b>We identified a potentially damaging rare variant-a heterozygous mutation c.2146G>A in exon 6 of the gene encoding for telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), which results in an amino acid substitution (p.Ala716Thr). We confirmed the missense mutation by Sanger sequencing in all the affected family members but did not detect this mutation in 100 ethnically matched healthy controls. Patients carried this mutation were characterized by the frequently acute exacerbation of IPF phenotype, with poor prognosis. The mean time to death was 2.8 years after diagnosis.</p><p><b>Conclusion</b>Using next-generation sequencing technology in familial IPF patients, we identified the heterozygous rare variant in TERT gene, and strengthened the importance of genetic variants in telomere-related pathogenesis in Chinese IPF patients.</p>

Genetic analysis of a family affected with pulmonary hypertension secondary to hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To carry out genetic testing for a family affected with pulmonary hypertension (PH) as the initial sign of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>High throughput sequencing was performed to detect potential mutation in the coding regions of endoglin (ENG), activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ACVRL1) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4) genes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A pathogenic heterozygous c.814C>T (p.Gln272Ter) mutation of the ACVRL1 gene was identified in the proband. Her mother and two sons have carried the same mutation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The c.814C>T (p.Gln272Ter) mutation of the ACVRL1 gene probably underlies the disease in this family. Genetic testing should be recommended to HHT patient, in particular those with pulmonary hypertension.</p>

Comparison of two imaging diagnosis methods in the diagnosis of pulmonary thesaurosis induced by dust of iron and its compounds / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic value of high-k V X-ray chest photography and chest high-resolution computed tomography( HRCT) in the diagnosis of pulmonary thesaurosis induced by dust of iron and its compounds(hereinafter called the iron pulmonary thesaurosis). METHODS: A total of 80 workers exposed to iron oxide dust in a magnetic material factory were collected as the study subjects by convenience sampling method,and they were examined with high-k V X-ray chest photography and HRCT. Differences between the two methods in the diagnosis of iron pulmonary thesaurosis were compared. RESULTS: Of the 80 workers,only 5 of them(6. 2%) showed no abnormal changes in chest HRCT,others showed varying degrees of diffuse distribution of air-cavity nodules and ground-glass lesions. High-k V X-ray chest photography and chest HRCT diagnosis of iron pulmonary thesaurosis accounted for 8. 8%( 7/80) and 37. 5%(30/80) with extreme mild degree,and 21. 3%(17/80) and 26. 3%(21/80) with mild degree respectively. The diagnostic rates for iron pulmonary thesaurosis were 30. 0%( 24/80) and 63. 8%( 51/80),respectively. There was consistency between the two methods for the diagnosis of iron pneumoconiosis( Kappa = 0. 411,P < 0. 01). The chest HRCT has a higher diagnostic classification and diagnosis rate compared with the high-k V X-ray chest photography( P <0. 01). CONCLUSION:s The chest HRCT has a higher diagnostic grade and higher diagnostic rate for lung siderosis compared with the high-k V X-ray chest photography,which is helpful for the early diagnosis of the disease.

Diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration combined with the new category of papanicolaou society of cytopathology in solid pancreatic lesions / 中华消化杂志

Objective To study the diagnostic value of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) combined with the new category of papanicolaou society of cytopathology in solid pancreatic lesions (SPL) rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE).Methods From February 2011 to October 2014,225 patients with SPL who underwent EUS-FNA and obtained the cytological diagnosis were enrolled.The lesions were finally diagnosed according to pathological results,imaging and follow-up data,and then the sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of SPL were calculated based on the new papanicolaou society of cytopathology terminology.Logistic stepwise regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors.Results Among 225 patients with SPL,96 cases (42.7％)had uncertain cytological diagnosis,17.3％ (39/225) could not be diagnosed,8.0％ (18/225) were atypical lesions,and 17.3％ (39/225) were suspicious malignant carcinomas.Among 129 cases (57.3％)with certain cytological diagnosis,15.1％ (34/225) were benign lesions,14.7％ (33/225) were tumors (benign or others) and 27.6％ (62/225) were malignant tumors.When atypical lesions were added into non-tumor lesions or tumor lesions,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of diagnosis were 87.3 ％,91.7％,88.2％,and 94.7％,72.2％,90.3％,respectively.Serum CA125≥14 kU/L (odds ratio (OR) =7.13,95％ confidence interval (CI) 2.02 to 25.22,P=0.002) and history of biliary disease (OR=3.85,95％CI 1.22 to 12.51,P=0.022) were two independent risk factors of pancreatic tumors.Conclusions Despite of a high percentage of uncertain cytological diagnosis,EUS-FNA still has high diagnostic value in SPL when combined with the new papanicolaou society of cytopathology terminology.Furthermore,serum CA125≥14 kU/L and history of biliary disease may help to diagnose pancreatic tumors.

High yields and soluble expression of superoxide dismutases in Escherichia coli due to the HIV-1 Tat peptide via increases in mRNA transcription

This study aimed to validate the high yield and soluble expression of proteins carrying the transactivator of transcription (Tat) peptide tag, and further explored the potential mechanism by which the Tat tag increases expression. Escherichia coli superoxide dismutase (SOD) proteins, including SodA, SodB and SodC, were selected for analysis. As expected, the yields and the solubility of Tat-tagged proteins were higher than those of Tat-free proteins, and similar results were observed for the total SOD enzyme activity. Bacterial cells that overexpressed Tat-tagged proteins exhibited increased anti-paraquat activity compared with those expressing Tat-free proteins that manifested as SodA>SodC>SodB. When compared with an MG1655 wild-type strain, the growth of a ΔSodA mutant strain was found to be inhibited after paraquat treatment; the growth of ΔSodB and ΔSodC mutant strains was also slightly inhibited. The mRNA transcript level of genes encoding Tat-tagged proteins was higher than that of genes encoding Tat-free proteins. Furthermore, the α-helix and turn of Tat-tagged proteins were higher than those of Tat-free proteins, but the β-sheet and random coil content was lower. These results indicated that the incorporation of the Tat core peptide as a significant basic membrane transduction peptide in fusion proteins could increase mRNA transcripts and promote the high yield and soluble expression of heterologous proteins in E. coli.

Clinical features and outcomes of 210 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lethal chronic interstitial lung disease (ILD) of unknown cause and having a variable and unpredictable course. This study aimed to summarize the clinical features and follow-up outcomes and to identify potential factors useful for the assessment of prognosis in IPF.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and ten patients hospitalized and diagnosed as IPF in our unit from January 1999 to June 2007 were enrolled into this study. The baseline demographic, clinical, radiologic and physiologic characteristics were summarized. Clinical follow-up data until February 2010 were collected, and the median survival time and 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates, as well as the influences of the summarized baseline variables on the prognosis were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The age at diagnosis as IPF was (64 ± 10) years, the duration before diagnosis of 106 patients (50%) was shorter than 2 years, and 73% were males. One hundred and forty-five patients (69%) had a history of smoking with a median pack-year of 18. Eighty-nine patients (42%) had emphysema and 62 patients (29%) pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). One hundred and twenty-four patients were followed up, of which 99 patients died from various causes including respiratory failure related to IPF (93%). The follow-up period was (21 ± 23) months. The median survival time was 38 months. The 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates were 61%, 52%, and 39%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed clubbing, PAH, duration from initial onset to diagnosis, and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) were independent prognostic indicators of IPF.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>IPF patients who have clubbing, PAH, a higher FEV1/FVC, and a short duration from initial onset to diagnosis have a poorer outcome.</p>