Resumo Estima-se que a doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC) seja a terceira causa de mortalidade global em 2020. A exacerbação aguda DPOC (AECOPD) é um agravamento súbito dos sintomas da DPOC e pode ser devido a infecções por vírus/bactérias e poluição do ar. O aumento da expressão de marcadores inflamatórios em pacientes com AECOPD está associado à infecção viral. Este estudo teve como objetivo detectar diferentes vírus e analisar a expressão de vários marcadores inflamatórios associados a pacientes com AECOPD. Trezentos e quarenta e sete pacientes com diagnóstico de DPOC de acordo com os critérios GOLD foram incluídos neste estudo. Amostras de swab e sangue foram coletadas para detecção de vírus por RT-PCR e expressão de marcadores inflamatórios, respectivamente. Das amostras de esfregaço, 113 (32,6%) amostras foram positivas para detecção de vírus. Nestas, o HRV (39,8%) foi o vírus predominante detectado, seguido do FluB (27,4%) e do FluA (22,1%). A presença de VFC foi significativamente maior (p = 0,044) entre os demais vírus detectados. Quando comparados a controles saudáveis, os níveis de expressão de TNF-α, IL-6 e IL-8 foram significativamente maiores (p <0,05) em pacientes com vírus positivo. A IL-6 e a IL-8 foram as próximas predominantemente expressas em marcadores entre as amostras. A maior taxa de expressão de IL-8 foi significativamente (p <0,05) associada a pacientes com grau de gravidade GOLD III da DPOC e história de tabagismo. Embora o HRV tenha sido o vírus predominante, a prevalência combinada de Influenza A e B ultrapassou a taxa de HRV. O alto nível de expressão de marcadores inflamatórios bem conhecidos de AECOPD, TNF-α, IL-6 e IL-8 indica uma doença crônica grave. Esses marcadores desempenham um papel importante e podem ser usados como um marcador para determinar a gravidade da AECOPD.

Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was estimated to be the third cause of global mortality by 2020. Acute exacerbation COPD (AECOPD) is a sudden worsening of COPD symptoms and could be due to virus/bacterial infections and air pollution. Increased expression of inflammatory markers in patients with AECOPD is associated with viral infection. This study aimed to detect different viruses and analyze the expression of various inflammatory markers associated with AECOPD patients. Three hundred and forty-seven patients diagnosed with COPD according to GOLD criteria were included in this study. Swab samples and blood were collected for the detection of viruses by RT-PCR and expression of inflammatory markers, respectively. Of the swab samples, 113 (32.6%) of samples were positive for virus detection. Of these, HRV (39.8%) was the predominant virus detected followed by FluB (27.4%) and FluA (22.1%). The presence of HRV was significantly higher (p=0.044) among the other detected viruses. When compared to healthy controls the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher (p<0.05) in virus-positive patients. The IL-6 and IL-8 were the next predominantly expressed in markers among the samples. The higher expression rate of IL-8 was significantly (p<0.05) associated with patients having COPD GOLD III severity level and smoking history. Although HRV was the predominant virus detected the combined prevalence of Influenza A and B surpassing the rate of HRV. The high-level expression of well known inflammatory markers of AECOPD, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 indicates a chronic severe illness. These markers play an important role and could be used as a marker for determining the severity of AECOPD.

Resumo Ginkgo biloba é um fitoterápico tradicional da medicina chinesa que contém vários componentes que contribuem para suas notáveis bioatividades. Variações sazonais, meteorológicos e de plantio do solo sobre os teores fitoquímicos em folhas de G. biloba, devido aos efeitos do crescimento meteorológico e parâmetros do solo, foram investigadas neste estudo. As folhas de G. biloba foram coletadas em diferentes meses e na província de Zhejiang, os teores de flavonas (quercetina, kaempferol e isorhamnetina) e lactonas terpênicas (bilobalida, ginkgolídeos A, B e C) foram quantificados por Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE) e pelo método do detector de dispersão da luz por evaporação. Os métodos estabelecidos foram validados com boa linearidade, precisão, repetibilidade, estabilidade e recuperação. Uma análise abrangente sugeriu que o tempo de colheita adequado para G. biloba foi em outubro na província de Zhejiang. O resultado da análise de correlação com fatores meteorológicos mostra que a temperatura e a precipitação não têm efeito significativo sobre os principais componentes de G. biloba. Além disso, o tipo e composição (Mn e Zn) do solo apresentaram efeito significativo sobre o teor de flavonoides e lactonas terpênicas. Este estudo enriqueceu o conhecimento sobre o valor de desenvolvimento e utilização das folhas de G. biloba e foi útil para determinar o melhor tempo de colheita e condição de crescimento.

Abstract Ginkgo biloba is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing multiple components that contribute to its notable bioactivities. Variations of seasonal, meteorological and planting soil on the phytochemicals contents in G. biloba leaves due to the effects of growth meteorological and soil parameters were investigated in this study. The leaves of G. biloba were collected from different months and place in Zhejiang province, the contents of flavones (quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin) and terpene lactones (bilobalide, ginkgolides A, B and C) were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) method. The established methods were validated with good linearity, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery. Comprehensive analysis suggested the proper harvest time for G. biloba was in October of Zhejiang province. The result of correlation analysis with meteorological factors shows that the temperature and precipitation have non-significant effect on the main components of G. biloba. In addition, the type and content (Mn and Zn) of the soil showed significantly effect on the content of flavonoids and terpene lactones. This study enriched the knowledge on the development and utilization value of the G. biloba leaves and was useful for determining the optimal harvest time and growing condition.

Abstract Numerical modeling of fracture failure is challenging due to various issues in the constitutive law and the transition of continuum to discrete bodies. Therefore, this study presents the application of the combined finite-discrete element method to investigate the fracture failure of reinforced concrete slabs subjected to blast loading. In numerical modeling, the interaction of non-uniform blast loading on the concrete slab was modeled using the incorporation of the finite element method with a crack rotating approach and the discrete element method to model crack, fracture onset and its post-failures. A time varying pressure-time history based on the mapping method was adopted to define blast loading. The Mohr-Coulomb with Rankine cut-off and von-Mises criteria were applied for concrete and steel reinforcement respectively. The results of scabbing, spalling and fracture show a reliable prediction of damage and fracture.

This study was designed to investigate and compare the HPV prevalence, genotypes distribution and associated risk factors in rural and urban women living in Xishuang Banna district, in the province of Yunnan. A total of 177 and 190 women from rural and urban areas were engaged, respectively. HPV DNA was amplified using the L1 consensus primers system (MY09/11 and GP5/6) and HPV GenoArray test was conducted for genotyping. Proportions were compared by chi-square test, and logistic regression was used to evaluate risk factors. A total of 54 women were positive for HPV DNA. Among rural women, 23 women were positive for HPV infection, of which 21 showed a single infection and 2 had a multiple infection. HPV-16 (10/23) was the most prevalent genotype followed by HPV-52 (5/23), and HPV-58 (5/23). Urban women had a higher infection rate for overall HPV (31/54) and for multiple genotype infection (8/31). HPV-52 (9/31) was the most prevalent genotype followed by HPV-39 (7/31) and HPV-68 (5/31). The age-specific HPV prevalence was also different between rural and urban women. In urban area, women with age <35 years had the highest HPV prevalence, which declined thereafter as age advanced. However, in rural women the highest HPV prevalence was observed in an older age group (>56 years). Ethnicity, smoking and parity were significantly associated with HPV infection among urban women. Our study demonstrates that HPV prevalence and genotype distribution varies among women from rural and urban areas in the south of Yunnan.

Effects of grain-domain-size (GDS) on levitation force have been directly investigated and identified in well-textured YBCO bulks. A single-grain-domain YBCO bulk (phi=30mm) was prepared by a top seeded melt growth process, then divided into two, three and four grain-domain to acquire the levitation forces of samples with different GDS. It is found that the levitation force of the samples monotonously decreases with the decreasing of the average GDS (or with the increasing of the total length grain-boundaries of the sample). The maximum levitation force for the single-grain-domain sample is about 1.68, 2.05 and 2.4 times higher than that of the samples with two, three, and four grain-domains. It is concluded that the levitation force of a single-grain-domain YBCO bulk is higher than that of samples with multi-grain-domains. It is also found that the levitation force is proportional to the average grain-domain radius, but inverse proportional to the total length of grain-boundaries of the sample, a simple physical model has been provided and well interpret the experiment results.

We have performed single electron spectroscopy experiments on single lateral quantum dots. We demonstrate that the lateral nature of the tunneling as well as the properties of the 2DEG leads can be used to extract new information in the 'spin-flip' regime. Calculations confirm that one needs to go beyond the Hartree-Fock approximation and include correlation effects to explain the experimental observations. The results are found to be consistent with the presence of spin depolarization events at the 'spin-flips'.