In analytical techniques such as ion mobility spectrometry(IMS)and mass spectrometry(MS),the ionization efficiency of target analytes is primarily constrained by the type of ionization source and factors such as the species and number density of the reactant ions.Systematic investigation into the reactivity differences of various reactant ions under varying conditions can not only significantly enhance the detection sensitivity of target compound product ions but also provide a theoretical foundation for establishing efficient detection methods based on ion-molecule reaction mechanisms.In this study,the pressure of a pressure-tunable photoionization tandem ion mobility spectrometry(PI-tandem-IMS)was reduced from ambient pressure(100 kPa)to low pressure(20 kPa)to systematically examine the reactivity differences between two negative reactant ions,CO3-and CO4-,and methyl salicylate(MeSA)under varying pressures.When the pressure decreased,the increased relative signal intensity of CO4-significantly influenced the detection sensitivity of the characteristic product ion[MeSA·O2]-.Based on differences in ion mobility(k0),the delay time for the opening of TPG2 was adjusted to selectively inject CO-3 and CO-4 in the drift region 2.Independent characterization of the reactivity of these reactant ions with MeSA in the reaction region confirmed that CO4-exhibited superior reactivity toward MeSA.The theoretical model revealed an Arrhenius plot for the ion-molecule reaction between CO4-and MeSA,showing a positive correlation between the reaction rate coefficient(k)and temperature,the activation energy Ea was 62.45 kJ/mol.Furthermore,controlling parameters such as pressure or temperature significantly influenced the progression of this ion-molecule reaction,demonstrating the technical advantages of PI-tandem-IMS in mechanistic studies and regulation of ion-molecule reactions.

The resolving power and sensitivity are critical for on-site detection of hazardous chemicals using stand-alone ion mobility spectrometry(IMS).However,improving the sensitivity and resolving power of IMS has long been a prominent research hot spot.In the commonly used IMS based on the Bradbury-Nielsen gate(BNG),the gating voltage difference(GVD)applied between the two sets of grid wires affects the electric field distribution in the ionization region and the drift region.This,in turn,influences the spatial distribution and temporal width of the injected ion swarm,and has an impact on the ion mobility discrimination,sensitivity,and resolving power of the instrument.This study showed that increasing the GVD could induce an ion converging effect,boosting the ion number density in front of the BNG by nearly 300％.To simultaneously utilize temporal compression and ion converging effects,a novel BNG controlling mode was proposed by adding a chopping state to the conventional controlling mode.This chopping state reduced the mobility discrimination effects between ions with mobility differences up to about 0.90 cm2/(V·s)to 1/22 of their original value.When analyzing hazardous chemical mixtures using the novel BNG controlling mode,compared with conventional mode,the signal intensity of low-mobility methyl salicylate ions(MS·O2)-increased by 18-fold while the resolving power maintained around 100,and the detection limit for MS was improved from 3.75 μg/L to 97 ng/L.This novel BNG controlling mode only added a potential wave to the low voltage wires,with no requirement of changing the structure of the drift tube,and was easy to apply to existing commercial instruments.

Abnormal expression of CMTM4 protein is closely related to tumour occurrence,development and prognosis.Although the important role of CMTM4 in tumours has been gradually manifested,its spe-cific mechanism of action in cervical cancer remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CMTM4 expression and clinicopathological features in cervical cancer and study its mechanism.Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of CMTM4 in cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues,and it was found that CMTM4 was significantly under-ex-pressed in cervical cancer tissues(P＜0.001).The chi-square test analysed the relationship between high and low CMTM4 expression and the clinical and pathological characteristics of cervical cancer pa-tients and results found that CMTM4 expression was correlated with the number of births,HPV infection status,pathological type,FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis.Data from Western blot and RT-qPCR found that CMTM4 protein and mRNA levels in HaCaT cells were significantly higher than that of C-33A cells,HeLa cells,U14 cells,and HT-3 cells.Among them,the most significant change in CMTM4 ex-pression was observed in C-33A cells,so the C-33A cell line was selected for subsequent overexpression experiments.CCK-8 analysis found that the proliferation ability of C-33A cervical cancer cells in the pcDNA-CMTM4 group was significantly lower than that in the pcDNA-NC group(P＜0.001).Flow cy-tometry and Western blot results indicated that CMTM4 overexpression promoted apoptosis(P＜0.001),significantly increased Bax(P＜0.001)and cleaved caspase 3(P＜0.05)protein levels,and significant-ly decreased Bcl-2 protein level(P＜0.01).Western blot results further found that CMTM4 overexpres-sion significantly reduced the protein levels of p-PI3K(P＜0.001)and p-AKT(P＜0.01),but did not affect the protein levels of PI3K and AKT(P＞0.05).The above findings indicated that CMTM4 gene expression was down-regulated in cervical cancer,and CMTM4 overexpression inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway.Therefore,CMTM4 may be used as a biological marker for screening cervical cancer.

Abnormal expression of CMTM4 protein is closely related to tumour occurrence,development and prognosis.Although the important role of CMTM4 in tumours has been gradually manifested,its spe-cific mechanism of action in cervical cancer remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CMTM4 expression and clinicopathological features in cervical cancer and study its mechanism.Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of CMTM4 in cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues,and it was found that CMTM4 was significantly under-ex-pressed in cervical cancer tissues(P＜0.001).The chi-square test analysed the relationship between high and low CMTM4 expression and the clinical and pathological characteristics of cervical cancer pa-tients and results found that CMTM4 expression was correlated with the number of births,HPV infection status,pathological type,FIGO stage and lymph node metastasis.Data from Western blot and RT-qPCR found that CMTM4 protein and mRNA levels in HaCaT cells were significantly higher than that of C-33A cells,HeLa cells,U14 cells,and HT-3 cells.Among them,the most significant change in CMTM4 ex-pression was observed in C-33A cells,so the C-33A cell line was selected for subsequent overexpression experiments.CCK-8 analysis found that the proliferation ability of C-33A cervical cancer cells in the pcDNA-CMTM4 group was significantly lower than that in the pcDNA-NC group(P＜0.001).Flow cy-tometry and Western blot results indicated that CMTM4 overexpression promoted apoptosis(P＜0.001),significantly increased Bax(P＜0.001)and cleaved caspase 3(P＜0.05)protein levels,and significant-ly decreased Bcl-2 protein level(P＜0.01).Western blot results further found that CMTM4 overexpres-sion significantly reduced the protein levels of p-PI3K(P＜0.001)and p-AKT(P＜0.01),but did not affect the protein levels of PI3K and AKT(P＞0.05).The above findings indicated that CMTM4 gene expression was down-regulated in cervical cancer,and CMTM4 overexpression inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway.Therefore,CMTM4 may be used as a biological marker for screening cervical cancer.

The aberrant expression of CMTM4 protein has been implicated in tumorigenesis,develop-ment,and prognosis;however,its precise role and underlying mechanism in cervical cancer remain elu-sive.We aimed to investigate the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer and its regulatory effect and molecular mechanism on MDSCs differentiation and immune cell function.Firstly,immunohisto-chemical (IHC) staining and Western blot analysis were employed to assess the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tumors and adjacent tissues.The results revealed a significant decrease in the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tissues compared to adjacent tissues (P<0.01) .Differenti-ation of MDSCs in tumor samples from cervical cancer patients was assessed using flow cytometry,with CD45,CD11b,and Ly6G used as markers for M-MDSCs,and CD45,CD11b,and Ly6C used as mark-ers for G-MDSCs.The percentage of M-MDSCs and G-MDSCs in the blood of cervical cancer patients was significantly higher than that observed in healthy volunteers (P<0.01) .Furthermore,flow cytometry a-nalysis demonstrated that high expression of CMTM4 increased the proportion of CD3+CD4+T cells and CD3+CD8+T cells in the blood of cervical cancer patients (P<0.01),while also promoting the activa-tion ratio of Th1 and Th17 cells (P<0.05) .Conversely,it inhibited the activation ratio of Th2 and Treg cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .The percentage of CD8+PD-1+T cells and CD8+PD-L1+T cells within tumor tissues was determined by flow cytometry analysis which showed that high expression levels of CMTM4 suppressed their presence within tumor tissues (P<0.05) .The in vitro studies demonstrated that overexpression of CMTM4 in HeLa cells significantly suppressed the generation of MDSCs (P<0.01),while overexpression of PD-1 in HeLa cells further enhanced the generation of MDSCs (P<0.05) .Additionally,ELISA was employed to measure the levels of Th1,Th2,Th17,and Treg cyto-kines.It was observed that CMTM4 overexpression in HeLa cells reduced IL-10 secretion by T cells (P<0.01),but increased IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion (P<0.01),both of which were reversed by PD-1 overexpression (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .In conclusion,low expression of CMTM4 in cervical cancer leads to abnormal differentiation of MDSCs and immune escape of tumors.CMTM4 influences the activation of tumor T cells by regulating the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.Thus,CMTM4 may be a potential target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

The aberrant expression of CMTM4 protein has been implicated in tumorigenesis,develop-ment,and prognosis;however,its precise role and underlying mechanism in cervical cancer remain elu-sive.We aimed to investigate the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer and its regulatory effect and molecular mechanism on MDSCs differentiation and immune cell function.Firstly,immunohisto-chemical (IHC) staining and Western blot analysis were employed to assess the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tumors and adjacent tissues.The results revealed a significant decrease in the expression level of CMTM4 in cervical cancer tissues compared to adjacent tissues (P<0.01) .Differenti-ation of MDSCs in tumor samples from cervical cancer patients was assessed using flow cytometry,with CD45,CD11b,and Ly6G used as markers for M-MDSCs,and CD45,CD11b,and Ly6C used as mark-ers for G-MDSCs.The percentage of M-MDSCs and G-MDSCs in the blood of cervical cancer patients was significantly higher than that observed in healthy volunteers (P<0.01) .Furthermore,flow cytometry a-nalysis demonstrated that high expression of CMTM4 increased the proportion of CD3+CD4+T cells and CD3+CD8+T cells in the blood of cervical cancer patients (P<0.01),while also promoting the activa-tion ratio of Th1 and Th17 cells (P<0.05) .Conversely,it inhibited the activation ratio of Th2 and Treg cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .The percentage of CD8+PD-1+T cells and CD8+PD-L1+T cells within tumor tissues was determined by flow cytometry analysis which showed that high expression levels of CMTM4 suppressed their presence within tumor tissues (P<0.05) .The in vitro studies demonstrated that overexpression of CMTM4 in HeLa cells significantly suppressed the generation of MDSCs (P<0.01),while overexpression of PD-1 in HeLa cells further enhanced the generation of MDSCs (P<0.05) .Additionally,ELISA was employed to measure the levels of Th1,Th2,Th17,and Treg cyto-kines.It was observed that CMTM4 overexpression in HeLa cells reduced IL-10 secretion by T cells (P<0.01),but increased IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion (P<0.01),both of which were reversed by PD-1 overexpression (P<0.05 or P<0.01) .In conclusion,low expression of CMTM4 in cervical cancer leads to abnormal differentiation of MDSCs and immune escape of tumors.CMTM4 influences the activation of tumor T cells by regulating the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.Thus,CMTM4 may be a potential target for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Objective To investigate the role of MBP-1 in proliferation,apoptosis and invasion of human esophageal cancer cells Ec109.Methods The human esophageal cancer cells Ec109 were cultured,and divided into the MBP-1 mimics group,siRNA-MBP-1 group,negative control group and blank control group.The cell proliferation activity of each group was detected by tetrazolium blue (MTT) method;flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and cell cycle;Transwell assay was used to detected the invasion ability and the expressions of cellular cycle related C-myc,Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E were detected by western blot.Results Compared with the negative control group and blank control group,the expression of MBP-1 in esophageal cancer cells Ec109 of the MBP-1 mimics group was up-regulated (P＜0.05),the proliferation ability of esophageal cancer cells was decreased,increased the proportion of apoptosis,decreased the proportion of G0/G1 phase cells,inhibited the number of invasive cells was decreased and the expressions of C-myc,Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E proteins.After silencing MBP-1,the expression of MBP-1 in esophageal cancer cells Ec109 in the siRNA-MBP-1 group was down-regulated,the proliferation ability of esophageal cancer cells was increased,the proportion of apoptosis was decreased,the proportion of G0/G1 phase cells was increased.the number of invasive cells was increased and the expressions of C-myc,Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E proteins were up-regulated.Conclusion MBP-1 is closely correlated with the cell proliferation,cell apoptosis and invasion ability of human esophageal cancer cell line Ec109,and its mechanism might be related to cell cycle abnormality.

PURPOSE: Little is known about combination of the circulating Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) DNA and tumor volume in prognosis of stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. We conducted this cohort study to evaluate the prognostic values of combining these two factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By Kaplan-Meier, we compare the differences of survival curves between 385 patients with different EBV DNA or tumor volume levels, or with the combination of two biomarkers mentioned above. RESULTS: Gross tumor volume of cervical lymph nodes (GTVnd, p < 0.001) and total tumor volume (GTVtotal, p < 0.001) were both closely related to pretreatment EBV DNA, while gross tumor volume of nasopharynx (GTVnx, p=0.047) was weakly related to EBV DNA. EBV DNA was significantly correlated with progress-free survival (PFS, p=0.005), locoregional-free survival (LRFS, p=0.039), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS, p=0.017), while GTVtotal, regardless of GTVnx and GTVnd, had a significant correlation with PFS and LRFS. The p-values of GTVtotal for PFS and LRFS were 0.008 and 0.001, respectively. According to GTVtotal and pretreatment EBV DNA level, patients were divided into a low-risk group (EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm³; EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm³; or EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm³) and a high-risk group (EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm³). When patients in the low-risk group were compared with those in the high-risk group, 3-year PFS (p=0.003), LRFS (p=0.010), and DMFS (p=0.031) rates were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment plasma EBV DNA and tumor volume were both closely correlated with prognosis of stage II NPC patients in the IMRT era. Combination of EBV DNA and tumor volume can refine prognosis and indicate for clinical therapy.
Biomarkers ; Cohort Studies* ; DNA* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Nasopharynx ; Plasma ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy* ; Tumor Burden*

Objective: To explore the predictors in patients of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). Methods: A total of 142 PAF patients received RFCA in our hospital from 2013-03 to 2016-03 were studied. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Recurrence group, n=46 and Non-recurrence group, n=96. Clinical data was compared between 2 groups and AF recurrent predictors were studied by single and multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Based on quartiles of uric acid (UA) level, the patients were categorized in another set of 4 groups: Q1 group, UA<259 &mu;mol/L, n=33, Q2 group, UA 259-320 &mu;mol/L, n=37, Q3 group, UA 321-380 &mu;mol/L, n=37 and Q4 group, UA>380 &mu;mol/L, n=35. The influence of UA on AF recurrence was measured by Kaplan-Meier test, the predictive value of UA combining metabolic syndrome (UA+MS) on AF recurrence was studied by ROC curve analysis. Results: The BMI, diabetes, MS, AF duration, CHADS2 score, creatinine, UA and BNP were different between Recurrence group and Non-recurrence group, all P<0.05. Logistic regression analysis indicated that AF duration (OR=1.02,95% CI 1.01-1.03, P=0.002), UA level (OR=1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, P=0.046) and MS (OR=4.73, 95% CI 1.36-16.45, P=0.014) were the independent predictors for AF recurrence. UA quartile analysis indicated that gender, BMI, MS, creatinine, LVEF and the incidence of AF recurrence had signifcant discrepancy by different UA levels, all P<0.05. ROC curve showed that the predictive values for UA+MS in AF recurrence had the sensitivity at 80.4%, specificity at 74.1% (AUC 0.79±0.04, 95% CI 0.71-0.89, P=0.0001), for UA in AF recurrence had the sensitivity at 73.9%, specificity at 57.2% (AUC 0.66, 95% CI 0.56-0.76, P=0.02); UA+MS had the higher predictive value than UA alone, P<0.05. Conclusion: Both UA and MS were related to AF recurrence, high UA level combining MS had certain predictive value for AF recurrence in PAF patients after RFCA.

Some physiological and ethical problems make it difficult to obtain semen samples from adolescents with varicocele (VC) and to directly evaluate their fertility. Therefore we can only rely on indirect methods to assess the influence of VC on the future fertility of the adolescent patients. Most of the VC adolescents may have normal semen parameters in the adulthood. Thus whether and when to intervene in adolescent VC remain a controversy in andrology. Physical examination is the most common method for screening adolescent VC and ultrasonography is very effective for its diagnosis and evaluation. Other important diagnostic indicators include the widely accepted testicular atrophy index, recently proposed peak retrograde venous flow, total testis volume, and scrotal temperature. Based on the latest literature, this review offers some proposals for the evaluation and intervention of adolescent VC.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; diagnosis ; Male ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Testis ; pathology ; Varicocele ; diagnosis