Hoodgade6053

The mean standard deviation of the logarithms of 137Cs activity concentrations in plants sampled in all such sites and the corresponding transfer factors were similar for all sites studied and were not dependent on the mean soil contamination density at the site, the type of radioactive fallout and the vegetation type. The values of the average standard deviation of the 137Cs activity concentration logarithms in plants and the corresponding transfer factors for the vegetation sampling area ≥1 m2 and the relative activity measurement uncertainties ≤10% were estimated as 0.4 ± 0.1 and 0.5 ± 0.1, respectively. A new simple method for optimization of the number of linked (conjugated) plant and soil samples as well as estimates of the activity concentration and transfer factor uncertainties when measuring composite samples were proposed. Based on the results of these studies, the recommendations were made to the sampling of plants for radionuclides.Natural radioactivity is released into the environment during the combustion process of coal at various thermal power plants. Coal contains higher contents of α-emitting radionuclides such as 238U, 232Th along with their decay elements, which pose a potential health risk to the population. selleck inhibitor In the present studies, the effluent waste samples were collected from a coal fired Thermal Power Plant. Samples were collected in the form of solid residues and filtrates. CR-39 detector pieces were then exposed for varying time with residue and filtrate samples for registering the alpha tracks for α-detection and measurement. Thus, registered alpha particles in CR-39 detectors were revealed by employing the conventionally used 6M NaOH/KOH etchant and 5% tetraethyl ammonium bromide (TEAB) as a phase transfer catalyst in 6M NaOH/KOH etchant. Under both compositions of the etchants, CR-39 detectors were etched at 60 °C for 6 h for developing alpha tracks for observations under optical transmission microscope. Alpha track densities (Td) and alpha track diameters in the etched CR-39 detectors for all samples were measured. The introduction of new chemical etchant effectively improved the uniformity in distribution of alpha tracks, enhanced the track density, and reduced the time of track revelation in CR-39 detectors. Therefore, it could be concluded that the phase transfer catalyst TEAB was highly effective in the etchant for alpha track revelation and detection as compared to conventionally used 6M NaOH etching method. Apart from measuring alpha radio activities, the amounts of 238U & 232Th in the samples were also measured by ICP-MS for understanding the alpha radio activities measured in the coal samples.

Combination therapies with immune checkpoint blockade demonstrate promising antitumor activity and safety in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). However, whether the combination therapy is superior to their monotherapies, and which combination regimen is most efficacious remain unknown. This meta-analysis aims to synthesize the current available evidences on the efficacy and safety of combination immunotherapy in patients with NSCLC.

PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC were included.

We identified nine RCTs including a total of 5,142 patients. The study showed that the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for combination therapy were 0.74 (95% CI 0.63-0.86, p=0.001) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.56-0.73, p=0.004); the pooled odds ratios (ORs) of objective response rates (ORRs) and grade 3 or higher adverse events (AEs) were 1.51 (95% CI 1.02-1.99, p<0.001) and 1.30 (95% CI 1.03-1.57, p=0.007). Subgroup analysis showed that the OR of grade 3 or higher AEs for immunotherapy plus chemotherapy was higher than that of chemotherapy alone, but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.061) , and there was PFS and OS benefit for either immunotherapy plus chemotherapy, double agent immunotherapy or immunotherapy plus targeted plus chemotherapy combination regimens.

Combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors showed more clinical benefit for patients with NSCLC, with increased grade 3 or higher AEs, but toxicities were manageable.

Combination therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors showed more clinical benefit for patients with NSCLC, with increased grade 3 or higher AEs, but toxicities were manageable.Inflammation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI), but the mechanism remains unclear. Current anti-inflammatory therapy has poor efficacy on ALI. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective mechanism of curcumin against ALI. In in vivo experiments, curcumin significantly alleviated lung inflammation, histopathological injury and MPO activity, serum concentrations of CCL7, IL-6 and TNF-α, and mortality in mice compared to the model group. RAW264.7 cells cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharide and adenosine triphosphate showed significantly lower viability, higher pyroptotic percentage and inflammation, but supplement of curcumin increased the cell viability, reduced pyroptosis and inflammation. Additionally, the expressions of NF-κB and pyroptosis related proteins were notably increased, while Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) was decreased in both in vivo and in vitro ALI models. The results suggested that curcumin remarkably inhibited the expression of NF-κB and pyroptosis related proteins and increased the expression of SIRT1. However, EX527, a SIRT1 inhibitor, blocked the protective effect of curcumin against ALI. In conclusion, curcumin has protective effect against ALI. It may inhibit inflammatory process by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis through the up-regulation of SIRT1.

Intestinal mucosa barrier function and gut-liver axis are impaired by ethanol in chronic alcoholic liver disease (ALD). However, the possible mechanism is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Forkhead Box O4 (FOXO4) on alcohol-induced chronic liver injury and its molecular mechanism(s).

Male C57BL/6J mice were injected with or without FOXO4-WT, FOXO4-TB or NF-κB vectors, and fed with Lieber-DeCarli liquid diets containing 36% ethanol for eight weeks to induce chronic ALD. Thereafter, blood, liver, colon and fecal samples were collected. Biochemical parameters, endotoxin and inflammatory cytokines in the blood and antioxidant enzymes in the liver were tested by commercial kits. Histopathological changes in the liver were evaluated by HE staining. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression of FOXO4, NF-κB, ZO-1 and Occluding in the colon were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. Furthermore, gut microbiota composition in the fecal samples was investigated with 16S rDNA sequencing.