The production of lead-acid battery in China covered about one-third of the world total output and there are more than 2000 lead-acid battery factories. They may cause the major environment lead pollution. Blood lead levels of several hundreds of residents were over 100μg/L due to the waste discharges from a lead-acid battery factory in Heyuan, Guangdong province. This study aimed to find out the environmental lead sources, the human lead exposure pathways, and the amplitudes from a lead-acid battery factory. The study results showed that lead levels in soil, dust, tree leaves and human blood declined with the distances increased from the production site. Twenty nine of 32 participants had blood lead levels of over 100μg/L with an exceptional high value of 639μg/L for one child. This result suggested that the lead-acid battery production from this factory has caused the elevated lead levels in its neighboring environment and residents. Dust intake was the dominant exposure pathway for humans (over 90%). The lead levels found in adult and toddler (6.19 and 50.1μg/kg/d, respectively) in the polluted area were far higher than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 25μg/kg body weight (translated into 3.5μg/kg/d), which was established by the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee. Blood lead levels within the family members were strongly correlated with the house dust lead levels. Our results in this study suggested that further studies in this area should be performed to assess human exposure and relevant human health risks from living close to lead-acid battery factories.

INTRODUCTION: Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is responsible for the enzymatic degradation of the fatty acid amide family of signaling lipids, including the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) anandamide. The involvement of the endocannabinoid system in pain and other nervous system disorders has made FAAH an attractive target for drug development. Companion molecular imaging probes are needed, however, to assess FAAH inhibition in the nervous system in vivo. We report here the synthesis and in vivo evaluation of [(18)F]PF-9811, a novel PET ligand for non-invasive imaging of FAAH in the brain. METHODS: The potency and selectivity of unlabeled PF-9811 were determined by activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) both in vitro and in vivo.[(18)F]PF-9811 was synthesized in a 3-step, one-pot reaction sequence, followed by HPLC purification. Biological evaluation was performed by biodistribution and dynamic PET imaging studies in male rats. The specificity of [(18)F]PF-9811 uptake was evaluated by pre-administration of PF-04457845, a potent and selective FAAH inhibitor, 1h prior to radiotracer injection. RESULTS: Biodistribution studies show good uptake (SUV~0.8 at 90min) of [(18)F]PF-9811 in rat brain, with significant reduction of the radiotracer in all brain regions (37%-73% at 90min) in blocking experiments. Dynamic PET imaging experiments in rat confirmed the heterogeneous uptake of [(18)F]PF-9811 in brain regions with high FAAH enzymatic activity, as well as statistically significant reductions in signal following pre-administration of the blocking compound PF-04457845. CONCLUSIONS:[(18)F]PF-9811 is a promising PET imaging agent for FAAH. Biodistribution and PET imaging experiments show that the tracer has good uptake in brain, regional heterogeneity, and specific binding as determined by blocking experiments with the highly potent and selective FAAH inhibitor, PF-04457845.

The Poisson's ratio of perovskites with a high degree of anisotropy can change from negative to positive and become much larger than the normally observed range of 0.2-0.4 and even greater than the isotropic upper limit 0.5 along certain crystallographic orientations. These results pave the way for better understanding of elastic-mediated physical properties of perovskites by engineering the orientation-dependent Poisson's ratios.

OBJECTIVE: Compare the incidence of hospitalized bacterial infections among children with and without juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and examine the effects of selected medications METHODS: Using national U.S. Medicaid data from 2000-2005, we identified a JIA cohort and a comparator cohort of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Exposures to methotrexate (MTX), TNF inhibitors, and oral glucocorticoids were determined using pharmacy claims. Hospitalized bacterial infections were identified using coded discharge diagnoses. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) to compare infection incidence rates while adjusting for relevant covariates. RESULTS: We identified 8,479 JIA patients with 13,003 person-years of follow-up; 42% used MTX and 17% used TNF inhibitors. Compared with ADHD patients, JIA patients without current MTX or TNF inhibitor use had an increased rate of infection (aHR 2.0; 95%CI 1.5-2.5). Among JIA patients not using TNF inhibitor therapy, MTX users had a similar rate of infection compared with those without current MTX use (aHR 1.2; 95%CI 0.9-1.7). TNF inhibitor use (irrespective of MTX) resulted in a similar rate of infection compared to MTX without TNF inhibitor (aHR 1.2; 95%CI 0.8-1.8). With adjustment for MTX and TNF inhibitor use, high-dose glucocorticoid use (≥10 mg of prednisone daily) increased the rate of infection compared with no glucocorticoid use (aHR 3.1; 95%CI 2.0-4.7). CONCLUSIONS: Children with JIA had an increased rate of infection compared to children with ADHD. Among children with JIA, the rate of infection was not increased with MTX or TNF inhibitor use, but was significantly increased with high-dose glucocorticoid use.

OBJECTIVE To report clinical outcomes of kidney transplantation from cardiac death donors (DCD) in China, and to investigate its feasibility to expand the organ donor pool. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively studied clinical data of 46 DCD kidneys from 31 donors from February 2007 to August 2011. Recipients were followed for patient and graft survival. RESULTS We discarded the organs from 3 of 29 (10.3%) DCD donors and 7 of 42 (16.7%) kidneys that displayed renal thrombosis. Of the 39 recipients engrafted with DCD kidneys successfully, the mean follow-up was 16 months,(range = 50 days to 43 months). Delayed graft function (DGF) occurred in 15 (38.5%) recipients, who except one recovered within 3 months. Three biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes were observed in two recipients (5.1%). All patients survived through the follow-up. The graft survival rate was 97.4% at 12 months and 94.9% at 24 months. A 45-year-old male recipient who received a pair of grafts from a 6-year-old child survived with good renal function. CONCLUSION Although kidney transplantations from DCD donors showed a higher rate of DGF with a longer duration of graft recovery, we achieved favorable short-term clinical outcome in terms of graft survival and function. Donation after cardiac death can expand the organ donor pool in China.

Using successor functions and Poincaré-Bendixson theorem of impulsive differential equations, the existence of periodical solutions to a predator-prey model with two state impulses is investigated. By stability theorem of periodic solution to impulsive differential equations, the stability conditions of periodic solutions to the system are given. Some simulations are exerted to prove the results.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: To evaluate whether rates of serious infection with anti-TNF therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients differ in magnitude by specific drugs and patient characteristics. METHODS: Among new non-biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD)users enrolled in Medicare/Medicaid or a large U.S. commercial health plan, we created and validated a person-specific infection risk score based upon age, demographics, insurance, glucocorticoid dose, and comorbidities to identify patients at high risk for hospitalized infections. We then applied this risk score to new users of infliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab and compared the observed one-year rate of infection to each other and to the predicted infection risk score estimated in the absence of anti-TNF exposure. RESULT: Among 11,657 RA patients initiating anti-TNF therapy, the observed one year rate of infection was 14.2 per 100 person-years in older patients (>= 65 years) and 4.8 in younger patients (< 65 years). There was a relatively constant rate difference of 1-4 infections per 100 person-years associated with anti-TNF therapy across the range of the infection risk score. Infliximab had a significantly greater adjusted rate of infection compared to etanercept and adalimumab in both high and lower risk RA patients. CONCLUSION: The rate of serious infections for anti-TNF agents was incrementally increased by a fixed absolute difference irrespective of age, comorbidities, and other factors that contributed to infections. Older patients and those with high comorbidity burdens should be reassured that the magnitude of incremental risk with anti-TNF agents is not greater for them than for lower risk patients. © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.

We demonstrate a new high-order harmonic generation mechanism reaching the "water window" spectral region in experiments with multiterawatt femtosecond lasers irradiating gas jets. A few hundred harmonic orders are resolved, giving μJ/sr pulses. Harmonics are collectively emitted by an oscillating electron spike formed at the joint of the boundaries of a cavity and bow wave created by a relativistically self-focusing laser in underdense plasma. The spike sharpness and stability are explained by catastrophe theory. The mechanism is corroborated by particle-in-cell simulations.

In this study, we report a facile method for the preparation of core-shell magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for protein recognition. Uniform carboxyl group functionalized Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a solvothermal method. Magnetic MIPs were synthesized by self-polymerization of dopamine in the presence of template protein on the surface of the Fe(3)O(4) NPs. A thin layer of polydopamine can be coated on Fe(3)O(4) NPs via dopamine self-polymerization and the imprinted polydopamine shells can be controlled by the mass ratio of Fe(3)O(4) NPs and dopamine. More importantly, there is a critical value of polydopamine shell thickness for the maximum rebinding capacity. The as-prepared lysozyme-imprinted Fe(3)O(4)@polydopamine NPs show high binding capacity and acceptable specific recognition behavior towards template proteins. This method provides the possibility for the separation and enrichment of abundant proteins in proteomic analysis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The maternally inherited alpha-Proteobacteria Wolbachia pipientis is an obligate endosymbiont of nematodes and arthropods, in which they induce a variety of reproductive alterations, including Cytoplasmic Incompatibility (CI) and feminization. The genome of the feminizing wVulC Wolbachia strain harboured by the isopod Armadillidium vulgare has been sequenced and is now at the final assembly step. It contains an unusually high number of ankyrin motif-containing genes, two of which are homologous to the phage-related pk1 and pk2 genes thought to contribute to the CI phenotype in Culex pipiens. These genes encode putative bacterial effectors mediating Wolbachia-host protein-protein interactions via their ankyrin motifs. RESULTS: To test whether these Wolbachia homologs are potentially involved in altering terrestrial isopod reproduction, we determined the distribution and expression of both pk1 and pk2 genes in the 3 Wolbachia strains that induce CI and in 5 inducing feminization of their isopod hosts. Aside from the genes being highly conserved, we found a substantial copy number variation among strains, and that is linked to prophage diversity. Transcriptional analyses revealed expression of one pk2 allele (pk2b2) only in the feminizing Wolbachia strains of isopods. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal the need to investigate the functions of Wolbachia ankyrin gene products, in particular those of Pk2, and their host targets with respect to host sex manipulation.