New approaches in the diagnosis and prognosis of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common pregnancy metabolic disorder in which a person with no history of hyperglycemia exhibits any degree of impaired glucose tolerance during gestation. GDM can be resolved on its own after birth, but mothers with GDM are more at risk for future problems, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In addition, GDM can cause macrosomia in infants and obesity or even the risk of diabetes in childhood. Standard diagnostic tests for GDM are the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and glucose challenge test (GCT), which is a mandatory test at 28-28 weeks of pregnancy in most countries. Disorders in various molecular mechanisms, such as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling pathways are involved in GDM. Therefore, a better understanding of these mechanisms can help find new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies accordingly. In this review, we first deal with molecular mechanisms involved in GDM occurrence and then summarized the studies that hired this knowledge for early diagnosis and prognosis of GDM. Finally, we present the latest achievements in the diagnosis of GDM based on exosomes, microRNAs, glycosylated hemoglobin, and inflammatory factors detection in maternal circulation.

Strong ultrafast demagnetization due to the intraband transitions.

Demagnetization in ferromagnetic transition metals driven by a femtosecond laser pulse is a fundamental problem in solid state physics, and its understanding is essential to the development of spintronic devices.Ab initiocalculation of time-dependent magnetic moment in the velocity gauge so far has not been successful in reproducing the large amount of demagnetization observed in experiments. In this work, we propose a method to incorporate intraband transitions within the velocity gauge through a convective derivative in the crystal momentum space. Our results for transition-element bulk crystals (bcc Fe, hcp Co and fcc Ni) based on the time-dependent quantum Liouville equation show a dramatic enhancement in the amount of demagnetization after the inclusion of an intraband term, in agreement with experiments. We also find that the effect of intraband transitions on each ferromagnetic material is distinctly different because of their band structure and spin property differences. Our finding has a far-reaching impact on understanding of ultrafast demagnetization.

[Transmission characteristics and risk factors of household COVID-19 clusters caused by 2019-nCoV Omicron variant in Tianjin].

Objective: To understand the transmission characteristics and risk factors of household COVID-19 clusters caused by 2019-nCoV Omicron variant in Tianjin and provide evidence for COVID-19 prevention and control. Methods: Field epidemiological method was used to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 cases, and descriptive analysis was used to describe the epidemiological information. Results: A total of 430 cases were reported in this epidemic in Tianjin, in which 409 cases were included in this study. Among these cases, 70.90% (290/409) occurred in families. The family secondary attack rate was 33.64% The family secondary attack rate in age group 12-17 years (13.79%) was significantly lower than that in age group 18-49 years (36.48%), the OR was 0.378 (95%CI: 0.170-0.840). The logistic regression analysis showed that compared with centralized quarantine, the OR of the index cases found in closed-off/controlled areas and in home quarantine were 2.951 (95%CI:1.322-6.586) and 2.287 (95%CI:1.164-4.495), respectively, compared with the cases without sore throat, the OR of the index cases with sore throat was 3.003 (95%CI: 1.576-5.720), and compared with cases in families without completed COVID-19 vaccinations in all members, the OR of the cases in families with completed COVID-19 vaccinations in all members was 0.268 (95%CI: 0.132-0.552). Conclusions: The risk of household transmission of infection with Omicron variant was high. Detecting the index case in closed-off/controlled areas or in home quarantine and sore throat in index cases were the risk factors of the household transmission, completed COVID-19 vaccination was the protective factor.

Spin-phonon dispersion in magnetic materials.

Microscopic coupling between the electron spin and the lattice vibration is responsible for an array of exotic properties from morphic effects in simple non magnets to magnetodielectric coupling in multiferroic spinels and hematites. Traditionally, a single spin-phonon coupling constant is used to characterize how effectively the lattice can affect the spin, but it is hardly enough to capture novel electromagnetic behaviors to the full extent. Here, we introduce a concept of spin-phonon dispersion to project the spin moment change along the phonon crystal momentum direction, so the entire spin change can be mapped out. Different from the phonon dispersion, the spin-phonon dispersion has both positive and negative frequency branches even in the equilibrium ground state, which correspond to the spin enhancement and spin reduction, respectively. Our study of bcc Fe and hcp Co reveals that the spin force matrix, that is, the second-order spatial derivative of spin moment, is similar to the vibrational force matrix, but its diagonal elements are smaller than the off-diagonal ones. This leads to the distinctive spin-phonon dispersion. The concept of spin-phonon dispersion expands the traditional Elliott-Yafet theory in nonmagnetic materials to the entire Brillouin zone in magnetic materials, thus opening the door to excited states in systems such as CoF2and NiO, where a strong spin-lattice coupling is detected in the THz regime.

Rapid screening of monoclonal antibodies against porcine circovirus type 2 using colloidal gold-based paper test.

A proof of concept for using paper test as a suitable method in the production of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) is reported. The paper test which detects antibodies against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) using colloidal gold-labelled capsid protein as the antigen probe was applied exclusively in the screening of anti-PCV2 MAbs. It allowed the detection of 118 single cell clones within 30 min using naked eyes. MAbs with specific binding to authentic epitopes on the virus were selected using a blocking strategy in which the antibody was pre-incubated with PCV2 viral sample before applying to the test paper. Five hybridomas secreting MAbs against the capsid protein were obtained, with only three of them capable of binding to PCV2. The results were validated and confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence assay. The paper test is simple, rapid, and independent on professional technicians and proves to be an excellent approach for the screening of MAbs against specific targets.

[Seroepidemiological survey and influencing factors of hepatitis E virus infection among key occupational population in Tianjin].

Objective: To evaluate the infection rate and influencing factors of hepatitis E virus (HEV) among key occupational population in Tianjin, so as to help occupational population to carry out HEV prevention and control. Methods: A combination of stratified random sampling and convenience sampling was carried out for the study in Tianjin in June 2019. The livestock and poultry-related farming workers, slaughtering workers, selling workers, doctors, farmers, seafood sellers, sewage pipeline workers as the key occupational population groups (1036 person) , and non key occupational population as the control group (200 person) , cross-sectional surveys were conducted in the groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the serum IgG and IgM antibodies to HEV, and logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of HEV infection. Results: The positive rate of anti-HEV IgG in key occupational group was 26.45% (274/1036) , which was higher than that in control group of 14.50% (29/200) (χ(2)=13.41, P<0.01) . The occupations with the highest positive rate of anti-HEV IgG were livestock (swine) , breeding and slaughtering workers, all of which reached 33.96% (18/53) . The difference in infection rates between different occupations was statistically significant (χ(2)=22.57, P<0.01) . Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the longer working years, high frequency of eating out (3-5, ≥6 times/week) , drinking raw water, eating under-cooked pork or pig liver, and low frequency of washing hands were risk factors for HEV infection in occupational population (P<0.05) . But the high education is a protective factor for HEV infection (P<0.05) . Conclusion: There is a high positive rate of anti-HEV IgG in key occupational population in Tianjin. It is necessary to strengthen the monitoring, publicity and education of the high-risk population, pay attention to personal and dietary hygiene.

Ultrafast Electron Correlations and Memory Effects at Work: Femtosecond Demagnetization in Ni.

Experimental observations of the ultrafast (less than 50 fs) demagnetization of Ni have so far defied theoretical explanations particularly since its spin-flipping time is much less than that resulting from spin-orbit and electron-lattice interactions. Through the application of an approach that benefits from spin-flip time-dependent density-functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory, we show that proper inclusion of electron correlations and memory (time dependence of electron-electron interaction) effects leads to demagnetization at the femtosecond scale, in good agreement with experimental observations. Furthermore, our calculations reveal that this ultrafast demagnetization results mainly from spin-flip transitions from occupied to unoccupied orbitals implying a dynamical reduction of exchange splitting. These conclusions are found to be valid for a wide range of laser pulse amplitudes. They also pave the way for ab initio investigations of ultrafast charge and spin dynamics in a variety of quantum materials in which electron correlations may play a definitive role.

[Investigation and analysis on characteristics of a cluster of COVID-19 associated with exposure in a department store in Tianjin].

Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of a cluster of COVID-19 cases reported in Baodi district of Tianjin as of 18 February, 2020, which might be associated with the exposure in a local department store, and provide suggestions for prevention and control strategy development. Methods: The basic characteristics, time and area distributions, clinical manifestations, epidemiological history and transmission mode of the COVID-19 cases associated with the department store exposure were analyzed. Results: A total of 40 COVID-19 cases were associated with the department store exposure, accounting for 75.47% of the total confirmed cases (53 cases) reported in Baodi district. The cases were mainly at the age of 60 years or older (35.00%) and farmers (40.00%). The main clinical manifestations included fever (95.00%), cough (35.00%), and diarrhea (15.00%). The proportion of confirmed severe cases was 32.50%. The incidence curve showed that the incidence peak occurred on 31 January, 2020. Among the 40 cases, 6(15.00%) were department store employees, 19 (47.50%) were customers and 15 (37.50%) were close contacts (secondary cases). The first case occurred on 21 January, 2020, this case was a department store employee who had a purchasing history at whole sale markets in other provinces and cities before the onset, and 3 employees were still on duty after symptom onsets. The median of the incubation period of customer cases was 6 days, and the median of the interval between onset and medical treatment of customer cases was 7 days. Conclusion: This was a cluster epidemic of COVID-19, which might be associated with the exposure in the department store. By now, the current prevention and control measures have achieved satisfied effects.

Modulating the electronic and optical properties for SrTiO3/LaAlO3 bilayers treated as the 2D materials by biaxial strains.

The emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene have opened the door to industrial applications. Here, we consider the oxide perovskite monolayer of SrTiO3 (STO), LaAlO3 (LAO) and their heterostructures as the 2D transitional metal system. Results show that a band-gap transition from indirect to direct occurs when the separated monolayer STO (indirect band gap of 3.210 eV), and LAO (indirect band gap of 4.024 eV), form the heterostructures (direct band gap of 2.976 eV). The obtained bandgap for the stable bilayers may effectively be modulated by biaxial strains from -12% to 8%. With 12% compressive biaxial strain, the band gap reduces to be 0.23 eV. The optical properties for the stable bilayers are also tuned by the biaxial strain. When the strain increases from compressive strain to tensile strain, the strongest peak of the imaginary part of dielectric function red shifts to lower energy. In comparing with the monolayer STO and LAO, the elastic property enhances obviously for the stable heterostructure, suggesting the heterostructure can be more stable freestanding or may be applied in device fabrications.

Development of a blocking immunoperoxidase monolayer assay for differentiation between pseudorabies virus-infected and vaccinated animalss.

Pseudorabies (PR) outbreaks have devastated many swine farms in several parts of China since late 2011. The outbreak-associated pseudorabies virus (PRV) variant strains exhibited some typical amino acid changes in glycoprotein E (gE), a diagnostic antigen used for discriminating between PRV-infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). To counteract the potential impact of epitope variations on current serological diagnostics of PRV, we produced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against gE protein of one representative PRV variant strain and developed a blocking immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (b-IPMA) for DIVA. The b-IPMA was based on the inhibition of binding between PRV-infected cells and mAb by PRV-specific antibodies present in clinical swine sera and was validated by comparison with a commercial PRV gpI Antibody Test Kit (IDEXX Laboratories, USA). The diagnostic sensitivity, diagnostic specificity and agreement were determined to be 99.25%, 98.18% and 99.02% respectively upon testing 509 serum samples. b-IPMA detected only PRV-specific antibodies and showed no cross- -reactivity with antibodies elicited by gE-deleted vaccine or other common swine pathogens. Thus, b-IPMA has the potential to be used for high-throughput screening of PRV-infected animals in veterinary clinics.

All-optical spin switching under different spin configurations.

All-optical spin switching represents a new frontier in femtomagnetism. However, its underlying principles are quite different from traditional thermal activated spin switching. Here, we employ an atomic spin model and present a systematic investigation from a single spin to a large system of over a million spins. We find that for a single spin without an external perturbation, the conservation of total angular momentum requires that the spin change, if any, exactly matches the orbital momentum change, but a laser pulse significantly alters this relation, where the spin change does not necessarily follow the orbital change. This is reflected in the strong dependence of switching on laser polarization. To have an efficient spin switching, the electron initial momentum direction must closely follow the spin's orientation, so the orbital angular momentum is transverse to the spin and consequently the spin-orbit torque lies in the same direction as the spin. The module of the spin-orbit torque is [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the angle between spin [Formula: see text] and position [Formula: see text] (momentum [Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] is the angle between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. These findings are manifested in a much larger system. We find that the spin response depends on underlying spin structures. A linearly polarized laser pulse creates a dip in a uniform inplane-magnetized thin film, but has little effects on Néel and Bloch walls. Both right- and left- circularly polarized light ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) have stronger but different effects in both uniform spin domains and Néel walls. While [Formula: see text] light creates a basin of spins pointing down, [Formula: see text] light creates a mound of spins pointing up. In the vicinity of the structure spins are reversed, similar to the experimental observation. [Formula: see text] light has a dramatic effect, disrupting spins in Bloch walls. By contrast, [Formula: see text] light has a small effect on Bloch walls because [Formula: see text] only switches down spins up and once the spins already point up, there is no major effect. These findings are expected to have important implications in the future.

Facile synthesis of novel dithioacetal-naphthalene derivatives as potential activators for plant resistance induction.

In this paper, a series of novel dithioacetal-naphthalenes were designed and synthesized for plant immunity. Their antiviral activities were evaluated against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). The results indicated that most compounds exhibited better activity against CMV than against TMV. These dithioacetal derivatives also displayed good bacterial activity against rice bacterial leaf blight. Among them, compound S16 exhibited relatively good anti-CMV, anti-TMV, and antibacterial activity. Structure-activity relationships indicated that introducing the naphthalene moiety enhanced their activities for plant resistance induction. Therefore, the basic motif of compound S16 could be the most promising candidate for further structural optimization to develop a potential activator for plant resistance induction.

[Optimization of delivering minimum Gd-DTPA at the posterior upper point on tympanic medial wall and hT2W-3D-FLAIR sequence for detecting endolymphatic hydrops].

Objective: To optimize delivery of gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid(Gd-DTPA) at the posterior upper point on tympanic medial wall and heavily T2-weighted 3-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (hT2W-3D-FLAIR) sequence, and to implement the technique of detecting endolymphatic hydrops using gadolinium-enhancement MRI. Methods: Thirteen patients with periphery vertigo, who visited Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Changhai Hospital during June and December of 2017, were enrolled in the study.0.10-0.20 ml of Gd-DTPA in various dilutions (10, 20, and 40-fold) were delivered at the posterior upper point on tympanic medial wall using a soft-tipped tympanic suction and drug-spraying needle through an artificially perforated tympanic membrane. Inner ear MRI was performed at 8, 24 h after Gd-DTPA administration using a 3T MR machine in combination with a 20-channel Tim 4G head/neck coil and the sequence of hT2W-3D-FLAIR to detect the gadolinium-enhancement signal within the inner ear and possible endolymphatic hydrops. The scanning time was either 8 min 35 s or 15 min 11 s. Results: Efficient inner ear uptake of Gd-DTPA was detected and induced high signal to noise ratio of MRI in patients receiving targeted delivery of 0.15-0.20 ml of 10-fold diluted contrast agent at the posterior upper point on tympanic medial wall. At 8 h after delivery, significant uptake was detected in the scala tympani and vestibuli of hook region and basal turn of the cochlea, and perilymhatic compartment of the vestibule. At 24 h after delivery, the distribution of Gd-DTPA became homogenous in each turn of the cochlea and perilymphatic compartment of the vestibule. However, obvious individual variance existed in the inner ear uptake when 0.10 ml of 40-fold diluted Gd-DTPA was delivered. Efficient inner ear uptake and high quality images that generated in patients receiving 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 ml of 20-fold Gd-DTPA demonstrated endolymphatic hydrops with minor individual variance. There was insignificant difference in the enhancement signal of inner ear between 0.15 and 0.10 ml groups when Gd-DTPA was diluted at 20-fold except for the signal of semicircular canal of 0.15 ml group (190.00±53.95 vs 165.50±42.13, t=2.61, P<0.05). There was insignificant difference in the image quality between 8 min 35 s and 15 min 11 s canning time. Various degrees of endolymphatic hydrops were detected in 7 cochleae and 11 vestibule, and both simultaneous cochlear and vestibular endolymphatic hydrops were detected in 4 ears. Cochlear endolymphatic hydrops was detected in all the 3 patients with definite Meniere's disease, and 2 of them had combined cochlear and vestibular endolymphatic hydrops. Endolymphatic hydrops was not detected in patients with possible Meniere's disease nor with symptoms of superior semicircular canal dehiscence. Conclusion: Targeted delivery of 0.10 ml with 20-fold diluted Gd-DTPA (total dosage of 5 µmol) at the posterior upper point on tympanic medial wall in combination with 8 min 35 s scanning time hT2W-3D-FLAIR sequence for inner ear MRI in a 3T MR machine is a clinically practical method to detect endolymphatic hydrops, and reduce the requirement for MRI hardware.

Laser-induced ultrafast transport and demagnetization at the earliest time: first-principles and real-time investigation.

It is generally believed that there are at least two ways to use an ultrafast laser pulse to demagnetize a magnetic sample. One is to directly photo-demagnetize the system through spin-orbit coupling (SOC), and the other is to utilize ultrafast hot electron transport without SOC. The challenge is that these two processes are entangled on the same time scale. While the experimental results have been inconclusive, theoretical investigations are even scarcer, beyond those earlier studies based on spin superdiffusion. For instance, we do not even know how fast electrons move under laser excitation and how far they move. Here we carry out a first-principles time-dependent calculation to investigate how fast electrons actually move under laser excitation and how large the electron transport affects demagnetization on the shortest time scale. To take into account the transport effect, we implement the intraband transition in our theory. In the bulk fcc Ni, we find the effect of the spin transport on the demagnetization is extremely small, no more than 1%. The collective electron velocity in Ni is 0.4 Å fs-1, much smaller than the Fermi velocity, and the collective displacement is no more than 0.1 Å. But this does not mean that electrons do not travel fast; instead we find that electron velocities at two opposite crystal momenta cancel each other. We follow the Γ-X line and find a huge dispersion in the velocities in the crystal momentum space. In the Fe/W(1 1 0) thin film, the overall demagnetization is larger than Ni, and the Fermi velocity is higher than Ni. However, the effect of the spin transport is still small in the Fe/W(1 1 0) thin film. Based on our numerical results and existing experimental findings, we propose a different mechanism that can explain two latest experimental results. Our finding sheds new light on the effect of ballistic transport on demagnetization.

Generating high-order optical and spin harmonics from ferromagnetic monolayers.

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in solids has entered a new phase of intensive research, with envisioned band-structure mapping on an ultrashort time scale. This partly benefits from a flurry of new HHG materials discovered, but so far has missed an important group. HHG in magnetic materials should have profound impact on future magnetic storage technology advances. Here we introduce and demonstrate HHG in ferromagnetic monolayers. We find that HHG carries spin information and sensitively depends on the relativistic spin-orbit coupling; and if they are dispersed into the crystal momentum k space, harmonics originating from real transitions can be k-resolved and carry the band structure information. Geometrically, the HHG signal is sensitive to spatial orientations of monolayers. Different from the optical counterpart, the spin HHG, though probably weak, only appears at even orders, a consequence of SU(2) symmetry. Our findings open an unexplored frontier-magneto-high-order harmonic generation.

Manifestation of intra-atomic 5d6s-4f exchange coupling in photoexcited gadolinium.

Intra-atomic exchange couplings (IECs) between 5d6s and 4f electrons are ubiquitous in rare-earth metals and play a critical role in spin dynamics. However, detecting them in real time domain has been difficult. Here we show the direct evidence of IEC between 5d6s and 4f electrons in gadolinium. Upon femtosecond laser excitation, 5d6s electrons are directly excited; their majority bands shift toward the Fermi level while their minority bands do the opposite. For the first time, our first-principles minority shift now agrees with the experiment quantitatively. Excited 5d6s electrons lower the exchange potential barrier for 4f electrons, so the 4f states are also shifted in energy, a prediction that can be tested experimentally. Although a significant number of 5d6s electrons, some several eV below the Fermi level, are excited out of the Fermi sea, there is no change in the 4f states, a clear manifestation of intra-atomic exchange coupling.

Is perpendicular magnetic anisotropy essential to all-optical ultrafast spin reversal in ferromagnets?

All-optical spin reversal presents a new opportunity for spin manipulations, free of a magnetic field. Most of all-optical-spin-reversal ferromagnets are found to have a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), but it has been unknown whether PMA is necessary for spin reversal. Here we theoretically investigate magnetic thin films with either PMA or in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA). Our results show that spin reversal in IMA systems is possible, but only with a longer laser pulse and within a narrow laser parameter region. Spin reversal does not show a strong helicity dependence where the left- and right-circularly polarized light lead to the identical results. By contrast, the spin reversal in PMA systems is robust, provided both the spin angular momentum and laser field are strong enough while the magnetic anisotropy itself is not too strong. This explains why experimentally the majority of all-optical spin-reversal samples are found to have strong PMA and why spins in Fe nanoparticles only cant out of plane. It is the laser-induced spin-orbit torque that plays a key role in the spin reversal. Surprisingly, the same spin-orbit torque results in laser-induced spin rectification in spin-mixed configuration, a prediction that can be tested experimentally. Our results clearly point out that PMA is essential to spin reversal, though there is an opportunity for in-plane spin reversal.

Mechanical properties of crossed-lamellar structures in biological shells: A review.

The self-fabrication of materials in nature offers an alternate and powerful solution towards the grand challenge of designing advanced structural materials, where strength and toughness are always mutually exclusive. Crossed-lamellar structures are the most common microstructures in mollusks that are composed of aragonites and a small amount of organic materials. Such a distinctive composite structure has a fracture toughness being much higher than that of pure carbonate mineral. These structures exhibiting complex hierarchical microarchitectures that span several sub-level lamellae from microscale down to nanoscale, can be grouped into two types, i.e., platelet-like and fiber-like crossed-lamellar structures based on the shapes of basic building blocks. It has been demonstrated that these structures have a great potential to strengthen themselves during deformation. The observed underlying toughening mechanisms include microcracking, channel cracking, interlocking, uncracked-ligament bridging, aragonite fiber bridging, crack deflection and zig-zag, etc., which play vital roles in enhancing the fracture resistance of shells with the crossed-lamellar structures. The exploration and utilization of these important toughening mechanisms have attracted keen interests of materials scientists since they pave the way for the development of bio-inspired advanced composite materials for load-bearing structural applications. This article is aimed to review the characteristics of hierarchical structures and the mechanical properties of two kinds of crossed-lamellar structures, and further summarize the latest advances and biomimetic applications based on the unique crossed-lamellar structures.

Quantum mechanical interpretation of the ultrafast all optical spin switching.

The all-optical spin switching induced by an intense (∼TW cm-2), near-infrared (775 nm), ultrashort (∼100 fs) circularly-polarized laser pulse is studied based on the spin-orbit coupled Heisenberg model. We find that the magnetic spin momentum undergoes an oscillation in time during the interaction with a driving laser pulse, which can be explained as a classical counterpart of the Rabi oscillation associated with a spin-orbit coupling. The optimal spin reversal is achieved by adjusting the pulse duration to one half the Rabi oscillation period. A successive spin reversal by a delayed pulse is possible if it has the opposite helicity and a shorter duration relative to the first pulse. Moreover, inclusion of an exchange interaction term in the Hamiltonian leads to a precession of the magnetic spin momentum that lasts even after the driving laser pulse turns off. This spin precession is stronger in antiferromagnets than ferrimagnets.

Association of tumor necrosis factor-α gene polymorphism with osteoarticular tuberculosis prognosis in a Hebei population.

This study investigated the association of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-308, -238, and -863 polymorphisms with osteoarticular tuberculosis (OA-TB) prognosis in a Hebei population. Genomic DNA was extracted from venous blood samples of 120 OA-TB patients and 100 healthy volunteers. TNF-α-308, -238, and -863 were analyzed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism; genotype and allele frequencies were calculated. Serum TNF-α level was significantly higher in OA-TB patients (283.16 ± 51.68 ng/L) than in control (122.54 ± 54.65 ng/L; P < 0.05). Higher frequency of TNF-α-308 GG genotype in healthy volunteers (91.0%) than in OA-TB patients (79.2%) indicated that it was a protective factor against OA-TB (OR = 0.405, 95%CI = 0.147-0.657, P = 0.007). Higher frequencies of TNF-α-308 GA genotype and TNF-α-308 allele (A) in OA-TB patients (20.8 and 10.4%, respectively) than in healthy volunteers (8.0 and 5.0%, respectively) indicated an association with increased risk of OA-TB (OR = 3.112, 95%CI = 1.520-6.343, P = 0.003; OR = 3.109, 95%CI = 1.676-6.538, P = 0.006; respectively). Haplotype association analysis of TNF-α polymorphisms (-308/-238/-863) showed a higher frequency of TNF-α AGA in OA-TB patients (12.1%) than in healthy volunteers (3.5%), indicating that it was a risk factor for OA-TB (OR = 4.201, 95%CI = 1.80-9.91, P = 0.010). TNF-α-308 G/A and TNF-α AGA (-308/-238/-863) were associated with a predisposition to OA-TB, which could aid clinical detection, prevention, and prognosis of OA-TB.