The associated risk of phthalate exposure, both parent compounds in the home and their metabolites in urine, to childhood allergic and respiratory morbidity, after adjusting for exposures of indoor ...pollutants, especially bioaerosols, was comprehensively assessed. Levels of five phthalates in settled dust from the homes of 101 children (3–9 years old) were measured, along with their corresponding urinary metabolites. Other environmental risk factors, including indoor CO2, PM2.5, formaldehyde, 1,3‐β‐d‐glucan, endotoxin, allergen and fungal levels, were concomitantly examined. Subject’s health status was verified by pediatricians, and parents recorded observed daily symptoms of their children for the week that the home investigation visit took place. Significantly increased level of benzylbutyl phthalate, in settled dust, was associated with test case subjects (allergic or asthmatic children). Higher levels of dibutyl phthalate and its metabolites, mono‐n‐butyl phthalate, and mono‐2‐ethylhexyl phthalate were found to be the potential risk factors for the health outcomes of interest. Similarly, indoor fungal exposure remained a significant risk factor, especially for reported respiratory symptoms. The relative contribution from exposure to phthalates and indoor biocontaminants in childhood allergic and respiratory morbidity is, for the first time, quantitatively assessed and characterized.
Practical Implications
For asthmatic and allergic children living in subtropical and highly developed environments like homes in Taiwan, controlling environmental exposure of phthalates may be viewed as equally important as avoiding indoor microbial burdens, for the management of allergy‐related diseases. It is also recognized that multidisciplinary efforts will be critical in realizing the true underlying mechanisms associated with these observations.
A number of patient-specific and leukemia-associated factors are related to the poor outcome in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, comprehensive studies regarding the impact ...of genetic alterations in this group of patients are limited. In this study, we compared relevant mutations in 21 genes between AML patients aged 60 years or older and those younger and exposed their prognostic implications. Compared with the younger patients, the elderly had significantly higher incidences of PTPN11, NPM1, RUNX1, ASXL1, TET2, DNMT3A and TP53 mutations but a lower frequency of WT1 mutations. The older patients more frequently harbored one or more adverse genetic alterations. Multivariate analysis showed that DNMT3A and TP53 mutations were independent poor prognostic factors among the elderly, while NPM1 mutation in the absence of FLT3/ITD was an independent favorable prognostic factor. Furthermore, the status of mutations could well stratify older patients with intermediate-risk cytogenetics into three risk groups. In conclusion, older AML patients showed distinct genetic alterations from the younger group. Integration of cytogenetics and molecular mutations can better risk-stratify older AML patients. Development of novel therapies is needed to improve the outcome of older patients with poor prognosis under current treatment modalities.
Summary
Background Quantitative analysis of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment against toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is lacking.
Objectives To provide a meta‐analysis evidence‐based ...examination of IVIg efficacy against TEN.
Methods A systematic review and meta‐analysis of literature published before 31 July 2011 was conducted. In observational controlled studies with at least eight patients with TEN receiving IVIg treatment, a pooled estimate of mortality risk was determined, comparing IVIg and supportive care. Statistical analyses were performed on raw data to compare the clinical differences between (i) high‐dose and low‐dose IVIg treatment in adult patients and (ii) paediatric and adult patients treated with IVIg.
Results Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria. Overall mortality rate of patients with TEN treated with IVIg was 19·9%. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for mortality from six observational controlled studies comparing IVIg and supportive care was 1·00 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·58–1·75; P = 0·99. The pooled OR for mortality in patients treated with high‐dose IVIg vs. supportive care was 0·63 (95% CI 0·27–1·44; P = 0·27). Adults treated with high‐dose IVIg exhibited significantly lower mortality than those treated with low‐dose IVIg (18·9% vs. 50%, respectively; P = 0·022); however, multivariate logistic regression model adjustment indicated that IVIg dose does not correlate with mortality (high vs. low dose: OR 0·494; 95% CI 0·106–2·300; P = 0·369). Paediatric patients treated with IVIg had significantly lower mortality than adults (0% vs. 21·6%; P = 0·001).
Conclusions Although high‐dose IVIg exhibited a trend towards improved mortality and children treated with IVIg had a good prognosis, the evidence does not support a clinical benefit of IVIg. Randomized controlled trials are necessary.
See also the Commentary by Walsh and Creamer
We report results on the searches of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with sub-GeV masses (mχ) via WIMP-nucleus spin-independent scattering with Migdal effect incorporated. Analysis on ...time-integrated (TI) and annual modulation (AM) effects on CDEX-1B data are performed, with 737.1 kg day exposure and 160 eVee threshold for TI analysis, and 1107.5 kg day exposure and 250 eVee threshold for AM analysis. The sensitive windows in mχ are expanded by an order of magnitude to lower DM masses with Migdal effect incorporated. New limits on σχNSI at 90% confidence level are derived as 2×10−32∼7×10−35 cm2 for TI analysis at mχ∼50–180 MeV/c2, and 3×10−32∼9×10−38 cm2 for AM analysis at mχ∼75 MeV/c2–3.0 GeV/c2.
We present improved germanium-based constraints on sub-GeV dark matter via dark matter-electron (χ-e) scattering using the 205.4 kg·day dataset from the CDEX-10 experiment. Using a novel calculation ...technique, we attain predicted χ-e scattering spectra observable in high-purity germanium detectors. In the heavy mediator scenario, our results achieve 3 orders of magnitude of improvement for m_{χ} larger than 80 MeV/c^{2} compared to previous germanium-based χ-e results. We also present the most stringent χ-e cross-section limit to date among experiments using solid-state detectors for m_{χ} larger than 90 MeV/c^{2} with heavy mediators and m_{χ} larger than 100 MeV/c^{2} with electric dipole coupling. The result proves the feasibility and demonstrates the vast potential of a new χ-e detection method with high-purity germanium detectors in ultralow radioactive background.
The optical design and performance of the recently opened 13A biological small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) beamline at the 3.0 GeV Taiwan Photon Source of the National Synchrotron Radiation ...Research Center are reported. The beamline is designed for studies of biological structures and kinetics in a wide range of length and time scales, from angstrom to micrometre and from microsecond to minutes. A 4 m IU24 undulator of the beamline provides high‐flux X‐rays in the energy range 4.0–23.0 keV. MoB4C double‐multilayer and Si(111) double‐crystal monochromators (DMM/DCM) are combined on the same rotating platform for a smooth rotation transition from a high‐flux beam of ∼4 × 1014 photons s−1 to a high‐energy‐resolution beam of ΔE/E ≃ 1.5 × 10−4; both modes share a constant beam exit. With a set of Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) mirrors, the X‐ray beam is focused to the farthest SAXS detector position, 52 m from the source. A downstream four‐bounce crystal collimator, comprising two sets of Si(311) double crystals arranged in a dispersive configuration, optionally collimate the DCM (vertically diffracted) beam in the horizontal direction for ultra‐SAXS with a minimum scattering vector q down to 0.0004 Å−1, which allows resolving ordered d‐spacing up to 1 µm. A microbeam, of 10–50 µm beam size, is tailored by a combined set of high‐heat‐load slits followed by micrometre‐precision slits situated at the front‐end 15.5 m position. The second set of KB mirrors then focus the beam to the 40 m sample position, with a demagnification ratio of ∼1.5. A detecting system comprising two in‐vacuum X‐ray pixel detectors is installed to perform synchronized small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering data collections. The observed beamline performance proves the feasibility of having compound features of high flux, microbeam and ultra‐SAXS in one beamline.
The optical design and performance of the BioSAXS beamline at the Taiwan Photon Source are reported
Highlights • TBI is associated with a greater occurrence of FTD. • TBI increased TDP-43 proteolysis in rats. • TBI induced impaired behaviors that were associated with TDP-43 and its fragments.
A single factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of Chinese herbal medicines mixture (CHMM) on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity and immune response of Japanese ...seabass, Lateolabrax japonicus (initial weight 5.01 ± 0.32 g). The fish were fed diets containing six levels of CHMM (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 g/kg) for 4 weeks. The results showed that the weight gain rate and specific growth rate (SGR) enhanced significantly in fish fed diet containing 8 g/kg CHMM (p < .05), while the feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the 4 and 8 g/kg CHMM groups reduced significantly compared with the control (p < .05). The body crude protein levels in 8 and 16 g/kg groups were significantly higher than the control (p < .05). The pepsin, amylase and lipase activities elevated significantly in the stomach of fish fed 8 g/kg CHMM, while the erepsin and lipase in the intestine of fish in 12 and 16 g/kg groups were higher significantly than the control (p < .05). The lysozyme, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase (ACP), total antioxidative capacity activities in serum of fish fed 12 g/kg CHMM were higher significantly than those in the control (p < .05), while the total superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidative capacity, catalase, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and ACP activities in hepatopancreas of fish in 12 g/kg group were all significantly higher than those in the control (p < .05). Regression analysis showed that the relationships between dietary CHMM levels and either FCR, SGR, erepsin, pepsin or lysozyme activities were best expressed by quadratic or cubic regression equations, and the optimal inclusion levels are 11.4, 10.7, 10.7, 8.4 and 10.5 g/kg for maximum FCR, SGR, erepsin, pepsin and lysozyme activities, respectively. Under the present experimental condition, the optimal supplementary level of CHMM in the diet of Japanese seabass is 8–12 g/kg.
A search for exotic dark matter (DM) in the sub-GeV mass range has been conducted using 205 kg day data taken from a p-type point contact germanium detector of the CDEX-10 experiment at China's ...Jinping underground laboratory. New low-mass dark matter searching channels, neutral current fermionic DM absorption (χ+A→ν+A) and DM-nucleus 3→2 scattering (χ+χ+A→ϕ+A), have been analyzed with an energy threshold of 160 eVee. No significant signal was found; thus new limits on the DM-nucleon interaction cross section are set for both models at the sub-GeV DM mass region. A cross section limit for the fermionic DM absorption is set to be 2.5×10^{-46} cm^{2} (90% C.L.) at DM mass of 10 MeV/c^{2}. For the DM-nucleus 3→2 scattering scenario, limits are extended to DM mass of 5 and 14 MeV/c^{2} for the massless dark photon and bound DM final state, respectively.
We present results on light weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) searches with annual modulation (AM) analysis on data from a 1-kg mass p-type point-contact germanium detector of the CDEX-1B ...experiment at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory. Datasets with a total live time of 3.2 yr within a 4.2-yr span are analyzed with analysis threshold of 250 eVee. Limits on WIMP-nucleus (χ-N) spin-independent cross sections as function of WIMP mass (m_{χ}) at 90% confidence level (C.L.) are derived using the dark matter halo model. Within the context of the standard halo model, the 90% C.L. allowed regions implied by the DAMA/LIBRA and CoGeNT AM-based analysis are excluded at >99.99% and 98% C.L., respectively. These results correspond to the best sensitivity at m_{χ}<6 GeV/c^{2} among WIMP AM measurements to date.
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