Identification of adulterated milk based on auto-correlation spectra.

A qualitative analysis of melamine-adulterated milk was proposed based on two-trace two-dimensional (2T2D) auto-correlation spectra. The concentration of melamine was used as external perturbation, and 40 adulterated samples of each brand with different concentrations of melamine (0.01 g/L to 1 g/L) were configured. Four brands of milk were used to configure experimental samples, including Guangming brand, Mengniu brand, Sanyuan brand and Wandashan brand. Spectroscopic data of pure milk and melamine-adulterated milk were measured by infrared (IR) (80-4000 cm-1) spectrophotometer. 2T2D auto-correlation spectral technology combined with least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) method was used for qualitative analysis. The two strongest auto-correlation peaks in the auto-correlation spectra were selected for modeling. For Guangming brand, the intensities of auto-correlation at two wave numbers 2898 cm-1 and 2972 cm-1 were selected as independent variables. For Mengniu brand, the intensities of auto-correlation at two wave numbers 2852 cm-1 and 2920 cm-1 were selected. For Sanyuan brand, the intensities of auto-correlation at two wave numbers 2900 cm-1 and 2974 cm-1 were selected. For Wandashan brand, the intensities of auto-correlation at two wave numbers 2900 cm-1 and 2974 cm-1 were selected. For four brands fused together, the intensities of auto-correlation at two wave numbers 2900 cm-1 and 2974 cm-1 were selected. For each brand, the accuracy of qualitative analysis was 100 %. For four brands fused together, the accuracy of qualitative analysis was 99.05 %. In this way, it greatly reduced the amount of data to be processed. This study showed that 2T2D auto-correlation spectral technology combined with LS-SVM method was perfect for the discrimination of melamine-adulterated milk.

Temperature-perturbed two-dimensional generalized correlation characteristic slice spectra combined with multivariate method to identify adulterated milk.

In order to improve the discrimination accuracy of adulterated milk, a detection method was proposed based on temperature-perturbed generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation characteristic slice spectra. A total of 240 samples were prepared including three brands of 40 pure milk and 40 urea-tainted milk, respectively. The infrared attenuated total reflection spectra of each sample were collected at different temperatures. Synchronous 2D infrared correlation spectrum of each sample was calculated under the external perturbation of temperature. The characteristic slice spectra of each sample were extracted from synchronous 2D correlation spectrum at characteristic peaks of milk and adulterants. N-way partial least squares discriminant analysis (NPLS-DA) models of single brand and the fusion of three brands of adulterated milk were established based on 2D correlation characteristics slice spectra. For comparison, the discrimination models were established using synchronous 2D correlation spectra and one-dimensional (1D) infrared spectra at room temperature, respectively. For the three brand fusion models, the discrimination accuracies of unknown samples were 100%, 98.8% and 82.7% using 2D correlation characteristic slice spectra, 2D correlation spectra, and 1D spectra, respectively. The results showed that the proposed method not only compressed the data, but also effectively extracted the characteristic information, and improved the accuracy of discrimination.

Discrimination of adulterated milk using temperature-perturbed two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy and multivariate analysis.

The discrimination method for adulterated milk is proposed based on temperature-perturbed two-dimensional (2D) infrared correlation spectroscopy and N-way partial least squares discriminant analysis (NPLS-DA). Two brands of pure and adulterated milk samples were prepared. The mid-infrared spectra of all samples were obtained from 30 â„ƒ to 55 â„ƒ with an interval of 5 â„ƒ. Under the perturbation of temperature, synchronous 2D correlation spectra were calculated to build discrimination models of pure milk and adulterated milk. In comparison, the NPLS-DA models were built based on three-dimensional (3D) stacked map (sample × temperature × wavenumber variable). For the NPLS-DA models of two brands of milk, the discrimination accuracy of unknown samples in the prediction set is 100% using temperature-perturbed 2D infrared correlation spectra, versus 77.8% using conventional 3D stacked map. The proposed method can be used as an alternative way for classifying pure and adulterated milk.

Cognitive dysfunction in a patient with migraine and APT1A2 mutation: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Hemiplegic migraine (HM) is a rare type of migraine with aura. Some reports have described the clinical manifestations in HM patients with the ATP1A2 mutation. But the impact of the ATP1A2 mutation on cognitive profile in HM patients has not been evaluated in detail. Here we report a patient with cognitive dysfunction in specific area. CASE PRESENTATION: A 15-year-old boy with an aura that included disturbances in consciousness, associated with fever, vomiting, hemiplegia, and aphasia. He was diagnosed with HM with the ATP1A2 mutation before. He had trouble in mathematics and depicting three-dimensional things. CONCLUSIONS: The HM with ATP1A2 patient could develop permanent cognitive dysfunction. Therefore, the cognitive quotient should be carefully and comprehensively evaluated.

[Chemical Characteristics of Arsenic in PM2.5 in Beijing].

This study assesses the chemical characteristics of As in aerosol PM2.5 samples that were collected from July 2011 to May 2012 in Beijing, China. Total As, As(Ⅲ), and As(Ⅴ) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and hydride generation atomic fluorescence (HG-AFS), respectively. The average concentrations of total As, As(Ⅲ) and As(Ⅴ) over the entire sampling period were (21.82±17.01), (3.15±1.94), and (10.78±5.39) ng·m-3, respectively. The average concentrations of total As, As(Ⅲ) and As(Ⅴ) were (16.62±5.80), (18.34±9.00), (21.49±10.22), and (29.52±27.97) ng·m-3 during the spring, (5.42±2.5), (1.61±0.51), (2.88±1.12), and (3.27±1.23) ng·m-3 during the summer, and (7.55±1.47), (13.57±13.34), (12.75±6.54), and (8.68±3.57) ng·m-3 during the winter, respectively. The average concentrations of As(Ⅲ) in different seasons were higher than As(Ⅴ) concentrations. Seasonal characteristics may be caused by seasonal differences in diffusion conditions, emission sources, and atmospheric oxidation. The ratios of average concentrations of As(Ⅲ)/As(Ⅴ) were 0.67 in spring, 0.13 in summer, 0.27 in autumn, and 0.44 in winter. Ratios of As(Ⅲ)/As(Ⅴ) were negatively correlated with relative humidity, which indicates that high humidity conditions may not have been favorable for the transformation of As(Ⅲ) into As(Ⅴ). As(Ⅲ)/As(Ⅴ) and As(Ⅲ) both showed positive correlations with Ca2+, thereby indicating that soil dust may have been an important source of As(Ⅲ).

[Emission Characteristics of Chemical Composition of Particulate Matter from Coal-fired Boilers].

Samples of particulate matter from coal-fired boilers of different tons were collected in Lanzhou city, and the water-soluble inorganic ions, carbonaceous species, water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed. The results showed that SO42-, Cl-, and Ca2+ were the most important water-soluble ions in the coal-fired boiler samples, accounting for 35.13%, 23.16%, and 22.20% of the total mass of water-soluble ions, respectively. The pyrolysis composition spectra of the carbonaceous species were similar among the coal-fired boilers, and organic carbon fraction (OC1, OC2, OC3, and OC4),and elemental carbon fraction (EC1, EC2, and EC3) accounted for 1.04%, 8.26%, 20.09%, 6.78%, 51.08%, 7.09%, and 5.66% of the total carbon (TC), respectively. EC1 had the highest content and was the most important carbonaceous species. The average ratios of WSOC/TC and WSOC/OC were 0.09±0.07 and 0.23±0.12, respectively, and the difference among the boilers of different tons was large. Phenanthrene (Phe), pyrene (Pyr), and benzene(k)anthracene (BkF) were the three main components of the PAHs, accounting for 16.69%, 11.93%, and 10.66% of the total PAHs, respectively. The particulate water-soluble ions, organic/elemental carbon aerosol (OCEC) and WSOC emitted from different tons coal-fired boilers were not significantly linearly related to the tonnage of the steam boiler, and low molecular weight PAHs decreased with the increase of tonnage of the steam boiler.

Effect of high-order aberrations on pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials.

To investigate the effect of high-order aberrations (HOAs) on pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (PR-VEPs), we measured PR-VEPs with HOAs either retained or corrected with an adaptive optics (AO) system for 12 subjects. The PR-VEPs at different spatial frequencies were recorded for the dominant eye of each subject. The results indicated that the amplitude of the first positive P1 wave at 1-16 cpd (except 2 cpd) and the second negative N2 wave at 12 and 16 cpd were raised statistically significantly with HOA correction. This confirmed the contributions of the HOAs to the alterations in PR-VEPs, and suggested that HOAs should be corrected to realize accurate PR-VEP testing.

Erratum: MicroRNA-137 inhibits cell migration and invasion by targeting bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7) in non-small cell lung cancer cells.

[This corrects the article on p. 10847 in vol. 8, PMID: 26617798.].

In silico insight into EGFR treatment in patients with lung carcinoma and T790M mutations.

The T790M mutational basis of treatment failure, following treatment via alteration of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway, is a well-known anomaly in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The T790M mutation activates the kinase domain, causing tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as gefitinib, to elicit little or no response. To overcome this acquired resistance in NSCLC cells, the present study utilized a structure-based drug designing method to identify a novel lead compound. An in-house traditional Chinese medicinal compound database was used and following initial virtual screening, pre-absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion/Tox and automated docking analyses, nardosinon was selected as the most appropriate candidate for further analysis. Two NSCLC cell lines, PC9GR4 and H2347, were used to test nardosinon and the results were compared with gefitinib. Results from an initial cell death assay revealed that nardosinon was able to induce cell death in NSCLC cells with and without the T790M mutation. These findings suggest that nardosinon may be an effective pharmacological compound for NSCLC treatment, including T790M EGFR mutant NSCLC cells.

[Progress in Application of Two-Dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy for Detection of Food Quality].

In recent years, the food safety and quality has always been a serious issue. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a rapid and widely available method to determine the quality of food. Due to high spectral resolution, good spectral selectivity and good ability of spectrogram analysis, the technology of two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy is an effective method for solving three major problems encountered by the conventional one-dimensional (1D) spectrum: low selectivity of the spectra, difficulty in extracting the information of the spectral feature and difficulty in spectrogram analysis. Therefore, 2D correlation spectroscopy, which is suited to distinguish similar samples hardly distinguished by the conventional 1D spectroscopy, has been successfully applied in many complex biological systems. The developmental process, the experimental way to obtain spectrum, the fundamental mathematical principle and the properties of 2D correlation spectroscopy were introduced in this paper. At the same time, it is pointed out that the origin of weak characteristic bands of substance can be verified in terms of the positive or negative corss peaks in synchronous 2D correlation spectrum combined with the existence or inexistence of corss peaks in asynchronous 2D correlation spectrum. The application of 2D near-infrared, mid-infrared, fluorescence, and raman correlation spectroscopy in the detection of food quality and adulteration, concentrated specifically on diary product, wine, oil, meat, honey, and rice were reviewed. Finally, the limitations and future development prospects were pointed out.

MicroRNA-137 inhibits cell migration and invasion by targeting bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7) in non-small cell lung cancer cells.

MicroRNA-137 (miR-137) was reported to be dysregulated in several human cancers. However, the function and mechanism of miR-137 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. In the current study, we explored the role of miR-137 in NSCLC progression. Using qRT-PCR, our data showed that miR-137 was significantly down-regulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. In vitro functional assay, we found that over-expression of miR-137 suppressed NSCLC cells proliferation, migration and invasion, indicating that miR-137 could act as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC progression. In addition, bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP7) was identified as a target of miR-137 in NSCLC cells, Luciferase reporter assay suggested that miR-137 directly targeted 3'-UTR of BMP7, and correlation analysis revealed that BMP7 inversely correlated with miR-137 in NSCLC tissues. Furthermore, Restoration of BMP7 remarkably reversed the tumor suppressive effects of miR-137 on NSCLC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Taken together, our findings suggested that miR-137/BMP7 axis could contribute to the progression of NSCLC, suggesting miR-137 as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NSCLC.

[Discrimination of adulterated milk based on Euclidian distances between two-dimensional infrared correlation spectra].

Based on Euclidian distances between synchronous two-dimensional infrared correlation spectra, in terms of the average Euclidian distances between unknown samples and "extreme samples", and average intra- and inter-Euclidian distances of samples in the calibration set, a new method for the discrimination of adulterated milk was proposed. Sixteen pure milk samples were collected and 16 adulterated milk samples with urea (0.01-0.3 g x L(-1)), and 16 adulterated milk samples with melamine (0.01-0.3 g x L(-1)) samples were prepared, respectively. The IR absorption spectra of all samples were measured at room temperature. The synchronous two-dimensional correlation spectra were generated from concentration-dependent spectral variation of adulterant in milk. The Euclidian distances were calculated between synchronous two-dimensional infrared correlation spectra of all samples. Then, the classification models were built respectively for adulterated milk with urea, and adiulterated milk with melamine. The "extreme samples", average intra- and inter-Euclidian distances were determined. Finally, the unknown samples in prediction set were predicted using constructed models in terms of classification rules of adulterated milk. The classification accuracy rates for pure milk and adulterated milk were 100%. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified. The results obtained in this study revealed that synchronous two-dimensional infrared correlation spectra in combination with Euclidian distance has a feasible potential to discriminate adulterated milk and pure milk.

Increased expression of the lncRNA PVT1 promotes tumorigenesis in non-small cell lung cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major cause of cancer death worldwide. Increasing evidence shows that long non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are widely involved in the development and progression of NSCLC. lncRNA PVT1 in several cancers has been studied, its role in lung cancer remains unknown. Our studies were designed to investigate the expression, biological role and clinical significance of PVT1 in lung cancer. METHODS: lncRNA PVT1 expression in 82 NSCLC tissues and 3 lung cancer cell lines was measured by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Its association with overall survival of patients was analyzed by statistical analysis. RNA interference (RNAi) approaches were used to investigate the biological functions of PVT1. The effect of PVT1 on proliferation was evaluated by MTT, cell migration and invasion ability was evaluated by cell migration and invasion assays. RESULTS: lncRNA PVT1 expression was significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and lung cancer cells when compared with corresponding adjacent normal tissues and normal bronchial epithelial cells. Increased PVT1 expression was significantly correlated with histological grade and lymph node metastasis. In addition, NSCLC patients with PVT1 higher expression have shown significantly poorer overall survival than those with lower PVT1 expression. And PVT1 expression was an independent prognostic marker of overall survival in a multivariate analysis. In vitro assays our results indicated that knockdown of PVT1 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated that lncRNA PVT1 is significantly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and may represent a new biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for NSCLC intervention.

Copy number variation of FCGR3A rather than FCGR3B and FCGR2B is associated with susceptibility to anti-GBM disease.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody disease (anti-GBM disease) is a rare disorder characteristic of universally poor outcome. Fcgamma receptors (FcgammaRs) play important roles in anti-GBM disease based on evidence from animal models. Copy number variation (CNV) influences disease susceptibility. The FcgammaRs genes show CNV, and CNV of the FCGR3B gene is associated with glomerulonephritis in systemic lupus erythematosus and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated small vasculitis. Here, we investigated CNV of three FCGR genes, including two (FCGR3A and FCGR3B) for activating FcgammaRs and one (FCGR2B) for inhibitory FcgammaR by duplex quantitative real-time PCR. Copy numbers were analyzed by Applied Biosystems CopyCaller Software v1.0. We first demonstrated the distribution of CNV of FCGR3A, FCGR3B and no CNV of FCGR2B in Chinese population (including 47 anti-GBM patients and 146 healthy controls). The frequency of CNV of FCGR3A was observed to be significantly higher than matched healthy controls (27.7 versus 12.3%, P = 0.013, odds ratio 1.21-6.10). Considering previous report about gene knock-out animal models and CNV effect of FCGR3A, we thus propose that CNV in members of FCGR family should have different roles in the pathogenesis of human anti-GBM disease.

[Clinicopathologic characteristics and outcomes of IgA nephropathy in elder patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical, pathological characteristics and outcomes of IgA nephropathy in the elderly. METHODS: Seventy patients over age 60 with IgA nephropathy were studied and compared with 82 patients under 60 years in the clinical and pathological features as well as the outcomes. RESULTS: Compared with non-elderly group, elder group patients had higher blood pressure [systolic pressure (142.0+/-20.4) mmHg vs (124.2+/-16.9) mmHg (1mmHg=0.133 kPa), diastolic pressure (83.1+/-11.8) mmHg vs (78.9+/-12.3) mmHg], serum creatinine [(172.7+/-125.8) micromol/L vs (94.4+/-42.5) micromol/L], serum cholesterol[(5.7+/-1.6) mmol/L vs (5.1+/-1.6) mmol/L], 24 hj urinary protein excretion rate [(3.4+/-2.9) g/d vs (1.8+/-2.0) g/d], and the incidence of CKD stages 3-5(64.0% vs 14.6%)(P<0.05). No significant differences were seen in the disease courses, rate of gross hematuria, serum triglyceride and serum IgA level between two groups(P>0.05).Renal pathological investigation showed the chronic lesions were dominated in elder group. There was significant difference in portion of glomerular sclerosis [(19.7+/-20.1)% vs (13.4+/-17.8)%], renal tubule atrophy (>1 score,34.2% vs 25.6%), interstitial fibrosis (>1,score 34.2% vs 18.2%), and arteriolosclerosis (>2 score,20.0% vs 8.5%) between two groups (P<0.05). However, there were no significant difference in proportion of mesangial proliferation, crescent and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration (P>0.05). After a mean post-biopsy follow-up of (34.6+/-33.3) months, the 3-year and the 5-year renal survival rates for elder group were 74.6% and 62.2%, respectively, which were lower than those of non-elder group (100% and 92.9%, P=0.002). CONCLUSION: Elder patients with IgA nephropathy were more likely to suffer from hypertension, hyperlipidemia, renal insufficiency and chronic pathologic lesions, which might be the risk factors for the patient's unfavorable prognosis.

[Ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for hepatic metastases].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the therapeutic results and prognostic factors of hepatic metastases treated by ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave coagulation. METHODS: Seventy-four patients with 149 nodules of hepatic metastases were given percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy. The longest diameter of the metastatic nodule ranged from 0.7 - 6.8 cm (mean, 3.1 +/- 1.8 cm). The cumulative survival rate was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and the difference between groups was compared with log-rank test. Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine potential prognostic variables. RESULTS: The follow-up period for the 74 patients was 5 - 83 months (mean, 25.1 +/- 11.4 months). The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year cumulative survival rates were 91.4%, 46.4% and 29.0%, respectively. The log-rank test showed that number of metastases, tumor size, tumor cell differentiation and local recurrence or new metastases were statistically significant prognostic factors; while age, sex and site of primary tumors were not significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor differentiation, number of metastases and recurrence or new metastases were statistically significant prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for hepatic metastases in patients with single metastasis, well-differentiated tumor, and without recurrence and new metastases could achieve long-term survival.