[en] To explore the clinical value of determination of serum troponin I (cTnI) and hyper-sensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) around extracorporeal circulation, cTnI and hs-CRP were determined in 46 patients with congenital heart disease before and after the surgery (0, 24h, 3d, 7d, 15d respectively). At the same time, electrocardiogram(ECG), hemo dynamics and other adverse events were recorded. Before the surgery results of cTnI and hs-CRP were in nor- mal range, wheraas after surgery the level of cTnI went up, reached its peak at 24h, and returned normal on d7. The level of hs-CRP begin to increase at 24h, returned normal on dT. Its level was higher in patients with postoperative infection than that in patients without infection, however, it returned normal after anti-inflammatory treatment. Therefore, cTnI and hs-CRP may be taken as diagnostic criteria of prognosis in patient after extracorporea circulation surgery. Postoperative infection around extracorporeal circulation surgery could be prevented by monitring hs-CRP concentration. (authors)

[en] Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Substrate effect on the near-field enhancement of microsphere-assisted laser processing was studied. • The studied substrates include silica, ITO and SiC with increased refractive index. • High refractive index of substrate results in enormous enhancement inside sphere. • The field intensity spreads deeper into the substrate with the oscillations. • The efficient near-field optical enhancement distance can be achieved about λ/2. - Abstract: Close-packed monolayer silica spheres organized through a self-assembly process have been widely used in micro/nano fabrications. In this study, we present the effects of substrate on the near-field enhancement of microsphere-assisted laser processing. There are significant differences in the surface morphology of sub-micro hole arrays on substrates with different refractive indices, which were fabricated at the same laser fluence by a KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm). It is found that the position of the maximum enhancement removes from the exit surface of the silica sphere into the sphere as the refractive index of substrate increased based on the simulation. In addition, the field distribution curve oscillates when there is a substrate under the microsphere, and oscillation spreads deeper into the substrate with a high refractive index. The results contribute toward the optimization of the process conditions of the microsphere-assisted laser micro/nano patterning technique and make the modification profile of the material more controllable.

[en] Objective: To study the significance of changes of serum levels of ferritin (SF), folic acid (FA) and vitamin B₁₂(VB₁₂) in hypothyroidism patients complicated with anaemia. Methods: Serum SF, FA and VB₁₂ contents were determined with CLIA in 73 hypothyroidism patients and 40 controls. Whole blood analyses were performed with impedance method. Results: In the diseased group, SF, FA and VB₁₂ levels were significantly lower than those in the controls (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Determination of SF, FA, VB₁₂ levels combined with whole blood analysis in those patients might be helpful in defining the type of anaemia and could possibly save the patient from bone marrow puncture

[en] To study the relationship between homocysteine(Hcy), lipoprotein(a) [LP(a)], high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, coronary arteriographic finding-diagnosed 144 patients with coronary atherosclerosis were measured for Hcy LP(a) and hs-CRP levels in blood. The results showed that Hcy. LP(a) and hs-CRP levels of patients with coronary atherosclerosis were higher than those in controls, and were significantly associated with the number of attacked coronary artery branches. (P<0.01). As independent risk factors of atherosclerosis, Hcy, LP(a) and hs-CRP may play important roles in diagnosis and prognosis of coronary heart disease. (authors)

[en] The liver X receptors (LXRs) are transcriptional regulators of lipid homeostasis and may be critical for neurodegeneration and neurogenesis in vivo. However, it remains largely unknown about the role of LXRs and its agonists in the in vitro proliferation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Here we revealed for the first time that LXRs were markedly expressed in mouse NPCs and were critical for the in vitro proliferation. LXR agonists GW3965 and LXR623 promoted the proliferation of wildtype NPCs, but not NPCs from LXR double-knockout mice. Mechanistically, phosphorylation of MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 in NPCs was enhanced upon LXR agonist treatment, while abrogation of MEK/ERK phosphorylation by the inhibitors PD98059 and U0126 impaired the proliferation of wildtype NPCs in the presence or absence of LXR agonists. Collectively, our findings suggest that LXR agonists GW3965 and LXR623 can stimulate the NPC proliferation in LXR- and MEK/ERK-dependent manner. - Highlights: • LXRs are expressed and functional in the mouse neural progenitor cells (NPCs). • LXRs are essential for the in vitro proliferation of mouse NPCs. • LXR agonists stimulate the proliferation of wildtype NPCs, but not LXRαβ−/− cells. • Phosphorylation of ERK/MEK was enhanced by LXR agonists in wildtype NPCs. • Inhibition of MEK/ERK phosphorylation impaired the proliferation of NPCs.

[en] The state of hot-core in stagnation phase is very important and valuable in inertial confinement fusion. High energy X-ray (>70 keV) backlight imaging is the most important method to acquire stagnation phase image. The high energy X-ray is produced by high power petawatt laser facility interaction with high Z metal target. This article was based on Shenguang-Ⅲ laser facility with 48×3 kJ. Our work analyzed X-ray source flux and implosion noise and proposed a whole design in high-energy X-ray backlight image system. The result indicates that high energy X-ray backlight image is able to obtain stagnation phase image in Shenguang-Ⅲ laser facility. (authors)

[en] Multilayer structure YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (YBCO)/LaNiO₃ (LNO)/SrTiO₃ (STO)/MgO has been carefully studied in the hope that it can be used for applications such as quasiparticle injection or Josephson junction fabrication. Deposited by pulsed laser, LNO on STO-buffered (100) MgO has low resistivity, good metallic characteristics, and very smooth surface (with a mean-square-root roughness of less than 3 nm). After the deposition of LNO, YBCO film can be grown in situ on it, showing good superconducting properties with a critical temperature above 81 K and a narrow transition width below 1.5 K. X-ray diffraction analyses have indicated that all the deposited films are highly c-axis-oriented

[en] The D-D filled capsule implosion experiment is performed on Shenguang Ⅲ prototype laser facility. One-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical simulations show that neutron yield mechanism can be controlled by different D-D gas pressure and CH shell thickness. In experiments, the high gas filling pressure and thin shell thickness capsule is proposed for shock yield only implosion design. Meantime, many important implosion parameters such as neutron yield, bang-time are collected. The optimized experimental neutron yield is 9.9 × 10⁷ (±9.7%) and the ratio between the experimental value and the 1D simulated value reached 90%. On the other hand, two types of unregular targets (extra high asymmetry and RT instability) are designed and experiments are proposed. The experimental results show that the multi-dimensional factors have little influence on implosion performance. Finally, the quasi-one-dimensional implosion is achieved based on high pressure and thin shell target. (authors)

[en] X-ray phase contrast imaging experiments have been performed on micro-focus X-ray facility and Shenguang-Ⅱ laser driven plasma X-ray source. The Halo and dark zones at capsule shell interface have been found. Our work proposed the principle of light refraction to explain the halo and dark zones, and acquires the theoretic width of the halo and dark zones by sphere model and geometry optics. The theoretic width accords well with the experimental results. Thus, phase contrast imaging has an advantage over absorption imaging in low-Z material sample, and the halo and dark zones are very useful for precise diagnoses in low-Z material interface. (authors)

[en] Although water-dispersible engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have a wide range of applications, the ENPs used in many nanotoxicological studies tend to form micron-sized aggregates in the exposure media and thus cannot reflect the toxicity of real nanoparticles. Here we described the synthesis of bare hematite nanoparticles (HNPs-0) and two poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-coated forms (HNPs-1 and HNPs-2). All three HNPs were well dispersed in deionized water, but HNPs-0 quickly aggregated in the three culture media tested. By contrast, the suspensions of HNPs-1 and HNPs-2 remained stable, with negligible amounts of PAA and Fe³⁺ liberated from either one under the investigated conditions. To better quantify the accumulation of the coated HNPs, a relatively innocuous ⁵⁵Fe-labeled form of HNPs-2 was synthesized as an example and its accumulation in three phytoplankton species was tested. Consistent with the uptake kinetics model for conventional pollutants, the cellular accumulation of HNPs-2 increased linearly with exposure time for two of the three phytoplankton species. These results demonstrate the utility of ⁵⁵Fe-labeled well-dispersible HNPs as a model material for nanoparticle bioaccumulation studies in nanotoxicology. - Highlights: • The PAA-coated hematite nanoparticles were synthesized in two ways. • They had good dispersibility and were innocuous to several organisms. • Negligible amount of PAA and Fe³⁺ was liberated from the nanoparticles. • The method for ⁵⁵Fe-labeled hematite nanoparticle quantification was established. • Their bioaccumulation followed the conventional biokinetics model. - ⁵⁵Fe-labeled well-dispersible hematite nanoparticles can serve as a model material for bioaccumulation studies in nanotoxicology.