Bronchial asthma is a common chronic airway inflammatory disease. Asthma is associated with high mortality, especially in the elderly patients. Repeated exacerbations cause disease progression. Therefore, identifying ...Bronchial asthma is a common chronic airway inflammatory disease. Asthma is associated with high mortality, especially in the elderly patients. Repeated exacerbations cause disease progression. Therefore, identifying the onset of acute elderly asthma as soon as possible and giving the effective treatment is crucial to improve the prognosis. This study was to investigate the significance of fractional exhaled nitric oxide （FeNO） combined with serum procalcitonin （PCT） and C-reactive protein （CRP） in the evaluation of elderly asthma. A total of 120 elderly patients with an acute attack of asthma from July, 2010 to May, 2012 were studied. On presentation, FeNO, serum PCT and CRP concentrations were measured and sputum culture was also performed. The elderly patients were re-evaluated when they had returned to their stable clinical state. The elderly patients were classified into two groups： positive bac- terial culture group （A） and negative bacterial culture group （B）. The results showed that： （1） In patients with an acute exacerbation of asthma, 48 （40%） patients had positive sputum bacterial culture and 72 （60%） had negative sputum bacterial culture. （2） The levels of FeNO in patients with acute exacerbation of asthma were significantly higher than in those with no acute exacerbation state （63.8±24.6 vs. 19±6.5 ppb, P〈0.05）. There was no significant difference in FeNO between group A and group B （P〉0.05）. （3） The levels of PCT and CRP in group A patients with an acute exacerbation of asthma were significantly higher （P〈0.05） than in group B （for PCT： 27.46±9.32 vs. 7.85±3.52 ng/mL; for CRP： 51.25±11.46 vs. 17.11±5.87 mg/L, respectively）. When they had returned to stable clinical state, the levels of PCT and CRP in group A were decreased significantly （P〈0.05）, and those in group B had no significant change （P〉0.05） when compared with the exacerbation group. There were no significant differences in the levels of PCT and CRP between the two groups in non-acute exacerbation state （/9〉0.05）. These results suggest that the increase in FeNO indicates the acute exacerbation of asthma, and the elevation of serum PCT and CRP levels may be associated with bacterial infection.展开更多
The prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor in spite of better treatments. This relates mainly to the fact that the majority of patients present with advanced disease. There is a ne...The prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor in spite of better treatments. This relates mainly to the fact that the majority of patients present with advanced disease. There is a need to identify tools which can improve screening for lung cancer in the at risk patient population. The aim of this study was to compare the breath proteomic profile of NSCLC patients with healthy control subjects to explore the potential of new biomarkers of lung cancer. Comparative proteomic analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) between 14 patients with NSCLC and 13 healthy control subjects were carried out using LTQ FT Ultra mass spectrometry and database searching to determine any unique proteins. In total, 29 unique proteins were identified using multiple protein identification algorithms. A comparison of lung cancer, smoker, and ex-smoker proteomes showed that 18 proteins were shared among the three groups. While one unique protein was found in smokers and lung cancer patients, four proteins were unique to ex-smokers. This data set provides a foundation for evaluation of these proteins from EBC as potential biomarkers for non-invasive lung cancer diagnosis.展开更多
Aim: The goal of this study was to compare asthma treatment guidance based on bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol, spirometry or exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in stable asthmatic children. Methods: 60 stable alle...Aim: The goal of this study was to compare asthma treatment guidance based on bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol, spirometry or exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in stable asthmatic children. Methods: 60 stable allergic asthmatic children aged 7 to 16 years on a low to medium dose treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were recruited to a double blind randomised controlled trial. At study entry (visit 1), the following was assessed: FeNO, spirometry, bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol (MDP-?test), quality of life (paediatric asthma quality-of-life questionnaire;PAQLQ) and asthma control (asthma control test;ACT). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups and treatment was modified by a blinded respiratory physician according to the test results of visit 1: ICS dose was doubled when FeNO was >22 ppb (group 1), in case of a positive MDP-test (group 2) or when FEV1 was <80% of a predicted one (group 3), respectively, or remained unchanged for the remaining subjects. After 3 months (visit 2), the subjects were reassessed and all tests were repeated. Results: 48 children successfully completed the study. At the first visit, 8 out of 16 (50%) children in group 1 showed a FeNO > 22 ppb, 8 children out of 16 (50%) in group 2 showed a positive MDP-test and 3 children out of 16 (18.7%) in group 3 had a FEV1 < 80% of that predicted and had their ICS-dose doubled. In group 1, FeNO decreased significantly after the intervention (p = 0.005), whereas the self-administered and the interviewer-administered PAQLQ (p = 0.02 resp. p = 0.033) as well as the ACT (p = 0.031) increased. Neither the number of children with a positive mannitol challenge nor spirometric results changed significantly. In group 2 and group 3, there were no significant changes in none of the assessed parameters. Conclusion: In this small pragmatic double blind randomised controlled study, we showed that ICS dose modification based on FeNO led to increased quality of life and enhanced asthma control, and to a reduction in airway inflammation and was superior to treatment modifications based on bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol or on FEV1.展开更多
Breath monitoring is a non-invasive, safe, and repeatable approach to determining the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and general health status of humans and other mammals. Breath samples could be detected in two ways...Breath monitoring is a non-invasive, safe, and repeatable approach to determining the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and general health status of humans and other mammals. Breath samples could be detected in two ways—directly sensing exhaled breath (EB) or chilling the EB to obtaining the exhaled breath condensate (EBC). Each has its advantages and disadvantages but they are both affected by different sampling conditions. The dearth of information on how sampling conditions affect the intrinsic properties of biomarkers in breath hinders the use of breath monitoring in clinical use. In this study, ethanol, a potential biomarker of liver function, was chosen as a model biomarker to demonstrate the effect of sampling conditions on different phases and how breath sampling could be standardized by developing predictive models. EB and EBC samples were determined under three simulated breath temperatures, two breath rates, and two condensing temperatures for developing predictive models. Results showed EB samples were affected by breath temperatures and EBC samples were affected by condensing temperatures. Flow rate changes did not have a significant influence on both EB and EBC samples. Final predictive models based on 5 minute sensing time were developed for EB (R2 = 0.8261) and EBC (R2 = 0.9471).展开更多
Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are common and difficult to diagnose and characterize. This is due in large part to difficulty in obtaining samples directly from the...Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are common and difficult to diagnose and characterize. This is due in large part to difficulty in obtaining samples directly from the inflamed lung. The collection of lung secretions by traditional methods including bronchoalveolar lavage and induced sputum collection are limited by their invasive nature. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a simple and non-invasive technique of collecting fluid samples, which are representative of airway lining fluid. Advances in collection methods and evolving molecular techniques have led to development of more sensitive assays for existing biomarkers and identification of new biomarkers, which can be potentially useful in monitoring lung inflammation. In this review, we present the current understanding of various biomarkers including small molecules (H2O2, pH and nitric oxide related biomarkers), lipid mediators (8-isprostane, leukotrienes and prostaglandins), small proteins (cytokines and chemokines) and nucleic acids (DNA and microRNAs). We also discuss the differential profile of biomarkers in recognizing different patterns of lung inflammation. As the sensitivity of methods of EBC improves, this biofluid will play an increasing role in diagnosis and monitoring of lung diseases.展开更多
The concentration of the heavy isotope of hydrogen, deuterium (D), is not routinely measured in (human) medical laboratory tests, even though an increasing number of papers prove the pivotal role of D in tumor growth,...The concentration of the heavy isotope of hydrogen, deuterium (D), is not routinely measured in (human) medical laboratory tests, even though an increasing number of papers prove the pivotal role of D in tumor growth, cell cycle regulation, cell metabolism, and aging. Data from a prospective phase 2 clinical study and numerous retrospective clinical studies proved the anticancer effect of deuterium depletion achieved by replacing the regular water intake with deuterium-depleted water (DDW). In previous studies, the changes in serum D concentration of DDW-consuming patients were followed using blood samples and mass spectrometry, which was invasive, costly, and time-consuming. As future clinical trials will also require a follow-up of internal D level and the patient’s compliance, a new sampling device and procedure was developed based on condensing the exhaled breath water vapor and measuring its D content using a liquid water isotope laser analyzer. Test results showed that the device provided accurate, reliable, and reproducible data. According to the data, the internal D level in a person consuming normal water was stable. In contrast, exclusive consumption of DDW for several days resulted in a gradual decrease of D concentration in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), which was proportional to the D concentration of DDW. These data confirm that orally applied DDW equilibrates with the person’s water pool quickly, leading to a reduced internal D level reflected in the D content of EBC.展开更多
Breath analysis can be used to diagnose diseases non-invasively.Accurate measurement of volatolomics is critical for breath analysis to be a gold standard.Tedlar bags(TB)are often used to collect breath samples,but th...Breath analysis can be used to diagnose diseases non-invasively.Accurate measurement of volatolomics is critical for breath analysis to be a gold standard.Tedlar bags(TB)are often used to collect breath samples,but they emit contaminants that affect accuracy.This issue was overlooked in previous studies.We found contamination issues with TB(e.g.,siloxanes and aromatic impurities)that affect the identification of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)due to impurities.Then,home-designed equipment(HD)made with poly-tetrafluoride(PTFE)and quartz glass for breath collection was developed and employed in clinical trials.15 healthy individuals and 32 non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients at IA stage participated in this study.610 VOCs can be collected through TB,which is less than HD(1109 VOCs),demonstrating that the inner wall of the TB easily adsorbs VOCs,leading to decreased detection concentrations.Otherwise,utilizing orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA),we identified chemical markers with significant discriminatory power(VIP>1.5,P<0.05).The HD method identified 12 target VOCs,surpassing the 3 target VOCs discerned by the TB method.A model combined with a machine learning algorithm for distinguishing early-stage lung cancer patients was established based on biomarkers,which were selected based on OPLS-DA.The results showed strong predictive capabilities for the HD-based model.It indicated that 12 biomarkers derived from the HD model were more effective in distinguishing NSCLC patients,with an AUC value of 0.92,compared to the AUC value of 0.5 from 3 markers obtained from the TB model.The sensitivity and specificity in the confusion matrix reached 100%and 80%for the HD test,but TB test reached only 40%and 60%.This work demonstrated that optimizing and standardizing VOCs collection methodology from breath of lung cancer patients is essential to identify actual volatiles,which could promote disease volatolomics worldwide.展开更多
Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of high-throughput real-time mass spectrometry detection technology for exhaled breath in the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB),providing a novel technological ...Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of high-throughput real-time mass spectrometry detection technology for exhaled breath in the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB),providing a novel technological support for early screening and diagnosis of PTB.Methods:A total of 120 PTB patients admitted to a hospital from January 2023 to June 2024 were selected as the case group,and 150 healthy individuals and patients with non-tuberculous pulmonary diseases during the same period were selected as the control group.Exhaled breath samples were collected from all study subjects,and the types and concentrations of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)in the samples were detected using a high-throughput real-time mass spectrometer.A diagnostic model was constructed using machine learning algorithms,and core indicators such as diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,and area under the curve(AUC)of this technology were analyzed and compared with the efficacy of traditional sputum smear examination,sputum culture,and GeneXpert MTB/RIF detection.Results:The diagnostic sensitivity of the high-throughput real-time mass spectrometry diagnostic model for exhaled breath in diagnosing PTB was 92.5%,the specificity was 94.0%,and the AUC was 0.978,which were significantly higher than those of sputum smear examination(sensitivity 58.3%,specificity 90.0%,AUC 0.741).Compared with GeneXpert technology,its specificity was comparable(94.0%vs 93.3%),and the detection time was shortened to less than 15 minutes.The model achieved an accuracy of 91.3%in distinguishing PTB from other pulmonary diseases and was not affected by demographic factors such as age and gender.Conclusion:High-throughput real-time mass spectrometry detection technology for exhaled breath has the advantages of being non-invasive,rapid,highly sensitive,and highly specific,and holds significant clinical application value in the rapid diagnosis and large-scale screening of PTB,warranting further promotion.展开更多
The radon control mechanism of Na_(2)O·nSiO_(2)−CaCl_(2)modified soil was studied through the laboratory simulation experiment of tailing covering radon control.The radon exhalation rate(J)is negatively correlate...The radon control mechanism of Na_(2)O·nSiO_(2)−CaCl_(2)modified soil was studied through the laboratory simulation experiment of tailing covering radon control.The radon exhalation rate(J)is negatively correlated with the coverage thickness(H),and it has a non-linear relationship with the temperature.The moisture content variation rate of the covering soil significantly decreases,which helps to reduce soil damage and enhance the resistance of the covering soil to ambient temperature interference.The formation of silicic gel and C−S−H gel effectively optimizes the pore structure and permeability,reduces the diffusion and migration of radon gas in the covering soil,and the average radon exhalation rate is decreased by 1.01×10^(−2)Bq/(m^(3)·s).The research results show that the Na_(2)O·nSiO_(2)−CaCl_(2)modified covering soil can effectively improve the radon control performance of the covering soil and reduce the cost of cover treatment.展开更多
Liver disease is characterized by breath exhalation of peculiar volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Thanks to the availability of sensitive technologies for breath analysis,this empiric approach has recently gained incre...Liver disease is characterized by breath exhalation of peculiar volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Thanks to the availability of sensitive technologies for breath analysis,this empiric approach has recently gained increasing attention in the context of hepatology,following the good results obtained in other fields of medicine.After the first studies that led to the identification of selected VOCs for pathophysiological purposes,subsequent research has progressively turned towards the comprehensive assessment of exhaled breath for potential clinical application.Specific VOC patterns were found to discriminate subjects with liver cirrhosis,to rate disease severity,and,eventually,to forecast adverse clinical outcomes even beyond existing scores.Preliminary results suggest that breath analysis could be useful also for detecting and staging hepatic encephalopathy and for predicting steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.However,clinical translation is still hampered by a number of methodological limitations,including the lack of standardization and the consequent poor comparability between studies and the absence of external validation of obtained results.Given the low-cost and easy execution at bedside of the new technologies(e-nose),larger and well-structured studies are expected in order to provide the adequate level of evidence to support VOC analysis in clinical practice.展开更多
The Wuchuan-Sihui-Shaoguan(WSS)exhalative sedimentary pyrite belt in the southwestern part of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou(Qin-Hang)belt is the most important sulfur industry base in China.However,a wide range of metallogenet...The Wuchuan-Sihui-Shaoguan(WSS)exhalative sedimentary pyrite belt in the southwestern part of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou(Qin-Hang)belt is the most important sulfur industry base in China.However,a wide range of metallogenetic ages spanning from Ediacaran to Devonian has been reported in the literature.This age range does not support the idea that the typical character of"coeval mineralization"in an exhalative sedimentary mineralization belt in China and worldwide.Therefore,the precise determination of mineralization ages of representative deposits is necessary to provide guides for exploration and metallogenetic models.The Dajiangping pyrite deposit is a typical example of this kind of deposits and is also the largest deposit with a proven reserve of 210 Mt.This deposit was thought to have formed in Ediacaran or Devonian.In this study,2-3 layers of 10-25 cm thick 2M1-type microcrystalline muscovite slate abruptly embedded in the No.Ⅳmassive orebody of the deposit has been identified to be low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.A Concordia zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age of 432.5±1.3 Ma(mean standard weighted deviation of concordance and equivalence=1.2;N=11)has been yielded for the low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.This age is distinctly different from the Rb-Sr isochron age of630.1±7.3 Ma for siliceous rock at the top of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody and the Re-Os isochron age of 389±62 Ma for pyrites from a laminated orebody.Instead,it is close to the intercept age(429 Ma)of the youngest detrital zircons from sandstone interlayers of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody.The Concordia age is also coincident with those of the Late Caledonian(400-460 Ma)magmatism-metamorphism events which are widely distributed in Cathaysia Block.Particularly,it agrees well with that of the Early Silurian extensional volcanism(434-444 Ma)which have been revealed in the Dabaoshan,Siqian-Hekou,and Nanjing volcanic basins in northern Guangdong Province and southern Jiangxi Province.Hence,the dating result in this study confirms that the sedimentary time of the ore-host Daganshan Formation is Early Silurian,and implies that the mineralization age of the Dajiangping pyrite deposit should also be Early Silurian.In combination with the Early Silurian age of Shezui pyrite deposit and the Dabaoshan volcanic basin along the WSS pyrite belt,it could be inferred that the WSS pyrite belt provides a record of the northern expanding of Qinzhou-Fangcheng trough in Early Silurian and that the exhalative pyrite mineralization was triggered by the postcollisional extension of the margin of Cathaysia Block after the intracontinental collision between Cathaysia Block and Yangtze Block during Late Caledonian stage.展开更多
The Aqishan lead-zinc deposit,located in the Jueluotag metallogenic belt of eastern Tianshan,Xinjiang,Northwest China,has a stratiform occurrence in the marine volcanic tuff of the Yamansu Formation.The ore body has a...The Aqishan lead-zinc deposit,located in the Jueluotag metallogenic belt of eastern Tianshan,Xinjiang,Northwest China,has a stratiform occurrence in the marine volcanic tuff of the Yamansu Formation.The ore body has a typical double-layer structure,having a stratified,stratoid,lenticular upper part and a veined,stockwork-like lower part.The occurrence of the upper orebody is consistent with that of the volcanic tuff wall rock.The ore minerals are mainly chalcopyrite,pyrite,sphalerite,galena and magnetite,the altered minerals mainly being silicified,such as sericite,chlorite,epidote,garnet.The garnetized skarn,being stratiform and stratoid,is closely related to the upper part of the orebody.Geological observations show that the limestone in the ore-bearing Yamansu Formation is not marbleized and skarnized.Spatially,it is associated with the ferromanganese deposits in the marine volcanic rocks of the Yamansu Formation.These geological features reflect the likelihood that the Aqishan lead-zinc deposit is a hydrothermal exhalation sedimentary deposit.The results from the EPMA show that the garnet is mainly composed of grossular-andradite series,contents being in a range of 34.791-37.8%SiO_(2),32.493-34.274%CaO,8.454-27.275%FeO,0.012-15.293%Al_(2)O_(3),0.351-1.413%MnO,and lower values of 0.013-1.057%TiO_(2).The content of SiO_(2) vs.CaO and FeO vs.Al_(2)O_(3) has a significant positive correlation.The results of ICP-MS analysis for the garnet show that the REE pattern is oblique to right in general.The total amount of rare earth elements is relatively low,ΣREE=71.045-826.52 ppm,which is relatively enriched for LREE and depleted for HREE.LREE/HREE=8.66-4157.75,La_(N)/Yb_(N)=23.51-984.34,with obvious positive Eu and Ce anomalies(δEu=2.27-76.15,δCe=0.94-1.85).This result is similar to the REE characteristics of ore-bearing rhyolite volcanic rocks,showing that the garnet was formed in an oxidizing environment and affected by clear hydrothermal activity.The U-Pb isotopic dating of garnet by fs-LA-HR-ICP-MS gives an age of 316.3±4.4 Ma(MSWD=1.4),which is consistent with the formation time of the Yamansu Formation.According to the study of deposit characteristics and geochemical characteristics,this study concludes that the Aqishan lead-zinc deposit is a hydrothermal exhalation sedimentary deposit,the garnet being caused by hydrothermal exhalative sedimentation.展开更多
Recently, the interest in oral malodor has been grown and the number of people having trouble with oral malodor is increasing year by year. Generally, as the branch of medicine which deals with patients complaining ab...Recently, the interest in oral malodor has been grown and the number of people having trouble with oral malodor is increasing year by year. Generally, as the branch of medicine which deals with patients complaining about oral malodor, dentistry is mostly chosen. On the current situation, however, the dental office side typically finds it difficult to deal with several kinds of oral malodor which show no improvement even though cavities or periodontal disease is completely cured. Main components to cause oral malodor are volatile sulfur compounds (methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide);in the present study, therefore, the effect of mouthwash solution containing chlorine dioxide to relieve oral malodor and increase saliva production was tested. The subjects were 92 patients (Control group: 2 males, 3 females, age;30.8 ± 4 years old, Mouthwash group: 28 males, 59 females, age: 36.9 ± 1.3 years old) who visited the hospital complaining about oral malodor. Intraoral gas, exhaled gas, the saliva production at rest, the ability for salivation and the buffering ability of saliva were examined twice, before the subjects used the mouthwash solution every day for one month. The simple chromatography oral chroma, which was insulated from the influence of temperature and humidity and also was able to measure with a high degree of accuracy, was used to measure odor as the device analysis method. The control group did not change in VSCs, saliva production and the buffering ability of saliva. After using mouthwash solution, the concentration of the 3 major components gas of intraoral gas and exhaled gas, i.e. methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, were all decreased. As for hydrogen sulfide, intraoral gas (from 225.8 ± 28.1 ppb to 41.1 ± 8.8 ppb) and exhaled gas (from 212.0 ± 50.4 ppb to 34.6 ± 16.6 ppb) was significantly decreased. Also, saliva production at rest (from 1.3 ± 0.1 ml to 1.7 ± 0.1 ml) and the ability to salivate (from 4.5 ± 0.3 ml to 5.1 ± 0.3 ml) were both significantly increased. As for the buffering ability of saliva, significant changes were not detected on the change of salivary pH after using mouthwash solution, and it did not have any effects on the buffering ability of saliva. In conclusion, these results suggest that the mouthwash solution containing chlorine dioxide has significant effects on inhibiting malodor.展开更多
Background: Some patients present clinical features of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has led to the recent proposal of asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) as a diagnosis. Fractional exhaled...Background: Some patients present clinical features of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has led to the recent proposal of asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) as a diagnosis. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a candidate biomarker to diagnose ACO. We assessed the effect of an add-on treatment with budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FM) combination in patients with ACO, which was diagnosed by FeNO. Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, open-label, before and after comparison study. Subjects included 83 patients with COPD who attended outpatient clinics for routine checkups at Shizuoka General Hospital between June and November 2016. All patients fulfilled the GOLD definition of COPD and were receiving long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) or LAMA/long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) combinations. After an 8-week run-in period, BUD/FM was added to the patients with FeNO levels of ≥35 ppb, defined as having ACO. For patients receiving LAMA/LABA, BUD/FM was added after the discontinuation of LABA. The modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) score, COPD assessment test (CAT) score, spirometric indices, forced oscillation parameters, and FeNO were assessed before and after 8 weeks of BUD/ FM add-on treatment. Results: Twenty-four patients (28.9%) had FeNO levels ≥ 35 ppb, and 17 patients completed the study (mean age: 73 years and GOLD I/II/III/IV, 5/10/1/1). The mean CAT scores significantly improved (9.2 to 5.4, p = 0.015) and 10 patients (58.8%) showed ≥2 points improvement, a minimal clinically important difference. The mean FeNO levels significantly decreased from 63.0 to 34.3 ppb (p Conclusions: FeNO-guided treatment with BUD/FM improves symptoms in patients with ACO.展开更多
Based on the study of ore deposits and orebody structures of two sedimentary-exhalative ore deposits, i.e., Changba and Xitieshan Ore Deposits, it is found that the structural patterns of metallogenic basin of seafloo...Based on the study of ore deposits and orebody structures of two sedimentary-exhalative ore deposits, i.e., Changba and Xitieshan Ore Deposits, it is found that the structural patterns of metallogenic basin of seafloor exhalative sulfide deposits in the ancient graben systems are controlled by relay structures in normal faults. The shapes of metallogenic basins are composed of tilting ramp, fault-tip ramp and relay ramp, which dominate migration of gravity current of ore-hosted fluid and shape of orebody sedimentary fan in the ramp. By measuring and comparing the difference of length-to-thickness ratios of orebody sedimentary fan, the result shows that the occurrence of the ramp has a remarkable impact on the shape of orebody.展开更多
Radongas concentrations in soil samples were determined from depths (surface, 15, and 30) cm for nine locations in Al-Dora refinery and surrounding area using “sealed can technique” and CR-39 solid state nuclear tra...Radongas concentrations in soil samples were determined from depths (surface, 15, and 30) cm for nine locations in Al-Dora refinery and surrounding area using “sealed can technique” and CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors. The radon concentration in surface samples ranged from 810.08 to 1380.08 Bq/m3 with an average 1137.71 Bq/m3. The radon concentration in soil at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 490.5 to 1197.52 Bq/m3 with an average 732.78 Bq/m3 and at the depth 30 cm was ranged from 362.07 to 889.53 Bq/m3 with an average 529.41 Bq/m3. The surface exhalation rate in surface soil samples ranged was 0.44, to 0.99 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.61 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.22 to 0.64 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.39 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.22 to 0.64 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.39 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate and the mass exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 30 cm ranged from 0.19, to 0.48 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.28 Bq·m-2·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in surface soil samples ranged from 0.09 to 0.21 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.12 Bq·kg-1·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in soil samples from depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.046 to 0.14 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.08 Bq·kg-1·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 30 cm was ranged from 0.042 to 0.1 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.06 Bq·kg-1·h-1.展开更多
Coal is the main energy source for electricity generation in the world. In Morocco, 37% of electricity generation comes from combustion coal in thermal power plants. This combustion process generates large amounts of ...Coal is the main energy source for electricity generation in the world. In Morocco, 37% of electricity generation comes from combustion coal in thermal power plants. This combustion process generates large amounts of fly and bottom ashes. In recent years, these ashes became a great topic of interest because of their different uses and especially in construction materials. In this work, we assess radiation risks due to natural radioactivity in samples of fly and bottom ashes collected from JLEC (Jorf Lasfar Energy Company) thermal power plant, and different analyses are performed through two nuclear techniques such as gamma spectrometry and alpha dosimetry based on the use of LR115 films detectors. Our analysis shows that <sup>226</sup>Ra activities and <sup>232</sup>Th in both ash samples are well above the permissible activity. The values of the external risk index (H<sub>ex</sub>) and internal one (H<sub>in</sub>) for these ashes are below unity, with the exception of 1.28 in fly ash for H<sub>in</sub>. The obtained values for the equivalent radium Ra<sub>eq</sub> and annual effective doses Ėin fly and bottom ashes are 324 Bq/kg and 210 Bq/kg, and 0.18 mSv/y and 0.11 mSv/y, respectively. The surface radon exhalation rates for the samples of fly and bottom ashes are 276 mBq⋅m<sup>-2</sup>⋅h<sup>-1</sup> and 381 mBq⋅m<sup>-2</sup>⋅h<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. Based on these results, we have shown that fly ash and bottom one from thermal power plant JLEC didn’t have, in any case, a health risk to the public so it can be effectively used in various construction activities.展开更多
Exhaled ammonia(NH_(3))is an essential noninvasive biomarker for disease diagnosis.In this study,an acetone-modifier positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry(AM-PIMS)method was developed for accurate qualita...Exhaled ammonia(NH_(3))is an essential noninvasive biomarker for disease diagnosis.In this study,an acetone-modifier positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry(AM-PIMS)method was developed for accurate qualitative and quantitative analysis of exhaled NH_(3)with high selectivity and sensitivity.Acetone was introduced into the drift tube along with the drift gas as a modifier,and the characteristic NH_(3)product ion peak of(C_(3)H_(6)O)_(4)NH_(4)^(+)(K_(0)=1.45 cm^(2)/V·s)was obtained through the ion-molecule reaction with acetone reactant ions(C_(3)H_(6)O)_(2)H^(+)(K_(0)=1.87 cm^(2)/V·s),which significantly increased the peak-to-peak resolution and improved the accuracy of exhaled NH_(3)qualitative identification.Moreover,the interference of high humidity and the memory effect of NH_(3)molecules were significantly reduced via online dilution and purging sampling,thus realizing breath-by-breath measurement.As a result,a wide quantitative range of 5.87-140.92μmol/L with a response time of 40 ms was achieved,and the exhaled NH_(3)profile could be synchronized with the concentration curve of exhaled CO_(2).Finally,the analytical capacity of AM-PIMS was demonstrated by measuring the exhaled NH_(3)of healthy subjects,demonstrating its great potential for clinical disease diagnosis.展开更多
The assay of trace volatile low molecular weight(MW) compounds in human breath or in ambient atmosphere typically involves gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (FID). This paper introduced a direct assa...The assay of trace volatile low molecular weight(MW) compounds in human breath or in ambient atmosphere typically involves gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (FID). This paper introduced a direct assay which can overcome the difficulties of collection low concentration samples. In order to pre concentrate the trace low MW compounds, a small trapping column filled with absorbent must be used before thermal desorption of the collected samples onto chromatographic column(packed with Porapak Q) for separation. It has been proved that the characteristic of absorbent mainly influence the recoveries and the linear range of this method is from 0 05 ng to 5200 ng for pentane, methanol, ethanol and acetone.展开更多
Introduction: Tuberculosis still characterizes till now a major respiratory insult with concurrent pulmonary manifestations and later disability. Aim of Work: To evaluate the level of exhaled fraction of nitric oxide ...Introduction: Tuberculosis still characterizes till now a major respiratory insult with concurrent pulmonary manifestations and later disability. Aim of Work: To evaluate the level of exhaled fraction of nitric oxide (FENO) and fraction of exhaled carbon monoxide (FECO) as markers of pulmonary tuberculosis TB activity in patients under chemotherapy in comparison to healthy negative patients and latent TB patients. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 130 patients recruited from the outpatient clinic of Mansoura Chest hospital during the period from May 2019 to December 2019. They were categorized into the three groups: 1) Pulmonary tuberculous patients PTB (group1) which included 48 cases with positive sputum for TB bacilli in the initiation phase after 1 month of starting anti-tuberculous chemotherapy;2) Latent patients (group 2): included 40 patients with positive tuberculin skin test (Mantoux test) > 10 mm. 3) Control patients (group 3) which included 42 healthy volunteers with negative sputum for TB bacilli. They were subjected to portable spirogram as well as exhaled fractional NO and CO measurement. Results: FECO and FENO levels prevailed in pulmonary TB patients followed by Latent TB patients and lastly healthy volunteers (42 ± 12.32/5 ± 0.16 & 38 ± 8.25/6 ± 2.25 and 23 ± 3.25/2 ± 0.40 respectively). Conclusion: Measurement of CO and NO level in expired air may correlate with active pulmonary TB infection in comparison to healthy negative tuberculous patients and latent tuberculous patients.展开更多
基金supported by Fundation of Henan Provincial Medical Science and Technology Research(No.201003098)
文摘Bronchial asthma is a common chronic airway inflammatory disease. Asthma is associated with high mortality, especially in the elderly patients. Repeated exacerbations cause disease progression. Therefore, identifying the onset of acute elderly asthma as soon as possible and giving the effective treatment is crucial to improve the prognosis. This study was to investigate the significance of fractional exhaled nitric oxide （FeNO） combined with serum procalcitonin （PCT） and C-reactive protein （CRP） in the evaluation of elderly asthma. A total of 120 elderly patients with an acute attack of asthma from July, 2010 to May, 2012 were studied. On presentation, FeNO, serum PCT and CRP concentrations were measured and sputum culture was also performed. The elderly patients were re-evaluated when they had returned to their stable clinical state. The elderly patients were classified into two groups： positive bac- terial culture group （A） and negative bacterial culture group （B）. The results showed that： （1） In patients with an acute exacerbation of asthma, 48 （40%） patients had positive sputum bacterial culture and 72 （60%） had negative sputum bacterial culture. （2） The levels of FeNO in patients with acute exacerbation of asthma were significantly higher than in those with no acute exacerbation state （63.8±24.6 vs. 19±6.5 ppb, P〈0.05）. There was no significant difference in FeNO between group A and group B （P〉0.05）. （3） The levels of PCT and CRP in group A patients with an acute exacerbation of asthma were significantly higher （P〈0.05） than in group B （for PCT： 27.46±9.32 vs. 7.85±3.52 ng/mL; for CRP： 51.25±11.46 vs. 17.11±5.87 mg/L, respectively）. When they had returned to stable clinical state, the levels of PCT and CRP in group A were decreased significantly （P〈0.05）, and those in group B had no significant change （P〉0.05） when compared with the exacerbation group. There were no significant differences in the levels of PCT and CRP between the two groups in non-acute exacerbation state （/9〉0.05）. These results suggest that the increase in FeNO indicates the acute exacerbation of asthma, and the elevation of serum PCT and CRP levels may be associated with bacterial infection.
文摘The prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor in spite of better treatments. This relates mainly to the fact that the majority of patients present with advanced disease. There is a need to identify tools which can improve screening for lung cancer in the at risk patient population. The aim of this study was to compare the breath proteomic profile of NSCLC patients with healthy control subjects to explore the potential of new biomarkers of lung cancer. Comparative proteomic analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) between 14 patients with NSCLC and 13 healthy control subjects were carried out using LTQ FT Ultra mass spectrometry and database searching to determine any unique proteins. In total, 29 unique proteins were identified using multiple protein identification algorithms. A comparison of lung cancer, smoker, and ex-smoker proteomes showed that 18 proteins were shared among the three groups. While one unique protein was found in smokers and lung cancer patients, four proteins were unique to ex-smokers. This data set provides a foundation for evaluation of these proteins from EBC as potential biomarkers for non-invasive lung cancer diagnosis.
文摘Aim: The goal of this study was to compare asthma treatment guidance based on bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol, spirometry or exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in stable asthmatic children. Methods: 60 stable allergic asthmatic children aged 7 to 16 years on a low to medium dose treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) were recruited to a double blind randomised controlled trial. At study entry (visit 1), the following was assessed: FeNO, spirometry, bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol (MDP-?test), quality of life (paediatric asthma quality-of-life questionnaire;PAQLQ) and asthma control (asthma control test;ACT). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups and treatment was modified by a blinded respiratory physician according to the test results of visit 1: ICS dose was doubled when FeNO was >22 ppb (group 1), in case of a positive MDP-test (group 2) or when FEV1 was <80% of a predicted one (group 3), respectively, or remained unchanged for the remaining subjects. After 3 months (visit 2), the subjects were reassessed and all tests were repeated. Results: 48 children successfully completed the study. At the first visit, 8 out of 16 (50%) children in group 1 showed a FeNO > 22 ppb, 8 children out of 16 (50%) in group 2 showed a positive MDP-test and 3 children out of 16 (18.7%) in group 3 had a FEV1 < 80% of that predicted and had their ICS-dose doubled. In group 1, FeNO decreased significantly after the intervention (p = 0.005), whereas the self-administered and the interviewer-administered PAQLQ (p = 0.02 resp. p = 0.033) as well as the ACT (p = 0.031) increased. Neither the number of children with a positive mannitol challenge nor spirometric results changed significantly. In group 2 and group 3, there were no significant changes in none of the assessed parameters. Conclusion: In this small pragmatic double blind randomised controlled study, we showed that ICS dose modification based on FeNO led to increased quality of life and enhanced asthma control, and to a reduction in airway inflammation and was superior to treatment modifications based on bronchial hyper-responsiveness to mannitol or on FEV1.
文摘Breath monitoring is a non-invasive, safe, and repeatable approach to determining the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and general health status of humans and other mammals. Breath samples could be detected in two ways—directly sensing exhaled breath (EB) or chilling the EB to obtaining the exhaled breath condensate (EBC). Each has its advantages and disadvantages but they are both affected by different sampling conditions. The dearth of information on how sampling conditions affect the intrinsic properties of biomarkers in breath hinders the use of breath monitoring in clinical use. In this study, ethanol, a potential biomarker of liver function, was chosen as a model biomarker to demonstrate the effect of sampling conditions on different phases and how breath sampling could be standardized by developing predictive models. EB and EBC samples were determined under three simulated breath temperatures, two breath rates, and two condensing temperatures for developing predictive models. Results showed EB samples were affected by breath temperatures and EBC samples were affected by condensing temperatures. Flow rate changes did not have a significant influence on both EB and EBC samples. Final predictive models based on 5 minute sensing time were developed for EB (R2 = 0.8261) and EBC (R2 = 0.9471).
文摘Inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are common and difficult to diagnose and characterize. This is due in large part to difficulty in obtaining samples directly from the inflamed lung. The collection of lung secretions by traditional methods including bronchoalveolar lavage and induced sputum collection are limited by their invasive nature. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a simple and non-invasive technique of collecting fluid samples, which are representative of airway lining fluid. Advances in collection methods and evolving molecular techniques have led to development of more sensitive assays for existing biomarkers and identification of new biomarkers, which can be potentially useful in monitoring lung inflammation. In this review, we present the current understanding of various biomarkers including small molecules (H2O2, pH and nitric oxide related biomarkers), lipid mediators (8-isprostane, leukotrienes and prostaglandins), small proteins (cytokines and chemokines) and nucleic acids (DNA and microRNAs). We also discuss the differential profile of biomarkers in recognizing different patterns of lung inflammation. As the sensitivity of methods of EBC improves, this biofluid will play an increasing role in diagnosis and monitoring of lung diseases.
文摘The concentration of the heavy isotope of hydrogen, deuterium (D), is not routinely measured in (human) medical laboratory tests, even though an increasing number of papers prove the pivotal role of D in tumor growth, cell cycle regulation, cell metabolism, and aging. Data from a prospective phase 2 clinical study and numerous retrospective clinical studies proved the anticancer effect of deuterium depletion achieved by replacing the regular water intake with deuterium-depleted water (DDW). In previous studies, the changes in serum D concentration of DDW-consuming patients were followed using blood samples and mass spectrometry, which was invasive, costly, and time-consuming. As future clinical trials will also require a follow-up of internal D level and the patient’s compliance, a new sampling device and procedure was developed based on condensing the exhaled breath water vapor and measuring its D content using a liquid water isotope laser analyzer. Test results showed that the device provided accurate, reliable, and reproducible data. According to the data, the internal D level in a person consuming normal water was stable. In contrast, exclusive consumption of DDW for several days resulted in a gradual decrease of D concentration in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), which was proportional to the D concentration of DDW. These data confirm that orally applied DDW equilibrates with the person’s water pool quickly, leading to a reduced internal D level reflected in the D content of EBC.
基金supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi(No.2022ZDLSF01-04)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22104117)The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University’s Medical"Basic-Clinical"Integration Innovation(No.YXJLRH2022033)。
文摘Breath analysis can be used to diagnose diseases non-invasively.Accurate measurement of volatolomics is critical for breath analysis to be a gold standard.Tedlar bags(TB)are often used to collect breath samples,but they emit contaminants that affect accuracy.This issue was overlooked in previous studies.We found contamination issues with TB(e.g.,siloxanes and aromatic impurities)that affect the identification of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)due to impurities.Then,home-designed equipment(HD)made with poly-tetrafluoride(PTFE)and quartz glass for breath collection was developed and employed in clinical trials.15 healthy individuals and 32 non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients at IA stage participated in this study.610 VOCs can be collected through TB,which is less than HD(1109 VOCs),demonstrating that the inner wall of the TB easily adsorbs VOCs,leading to decreased detection concentrations.Otherwise,utilizing orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA),we identified chemical markers with significant discriminatory power(VIP>1.5,P<0.05).The HD method identified 12 target VOCs,surpassing the 3 target VOCs discerned by the TB method.A model combined with a machine learning algorithm for distinguishing early-stage lung cancer patients was established based on biomarkers,which were selected based on OPLS-DA.The results showed strong predictive capabilities for the HD-based model.It indicated that 12 biomarkers derived from the HD model were more effective in distinguishing NSCLC patients,with an AUC value of 0.92,compared to the AUC value of 0.5 from 3 markers obtained from the TB model.The sensitivity and specificity in the confusion matrix reached 100%and 80%for the HD test,but TB test reached only 40%and 60%.This work demonstrated that optimizing and standardizing VOCs collection methodology from breath of lung cancer patients is essential to identify actual volatiles,which could promote disease volatolomics worldwide.
基金Science and Technology Plan of Heilongjiang Provincial Health Commission,Study on the Efficacy of High-Throughput Real-Time Mass Spectrometry Detection of Exhaled Breath for Rapid Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis(Project No.:20230303110014)。
文摘Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of high-throughput real-time mass spectrometry detection technology for exhaled breath in the rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB),providing a novel technological support for early screening and diagnosis of PTB.Methods:A total of 120 PTB patients admitted to a hospital from January 2023 to June 2024 were selected as the case group,and 150 healthy individuals and patients with non-tuberculous pulmonary diseases during the same period were selected as the control group.Exhaled breath samples were collected from all study subjects,and the types and concentrations of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)in the samples were detected using a high-throughput real-time mass spectrometer.A diagnostic model was constructed using machine learning algorithms,and core indicators such as diagnostic sensitivity,specificity,and area under the curve(AUC)of this technology were analyzed and compared with the efficacy of traditional sputum smear examination,sputum culture,and GeneXpert MTB/RIF detection.Results:The diagnostic sensitivity of the high-throughput real-time mass spectrometry diagnostic model for exhaled breath in diagnosing PTB was 92.5%,the specificity was 94.0%,and the AUC was 0.978,which were significantly higher than those of sputum smear examination(sensitivity 58.3%,specificity 90.0%,AUC 0.741).Compared with GeneXpert technology,its specificity was comparable(94.0%vs 93.3%),and the detection time was shortened to less than 15 minutes.The model achieved an accuracy of 91.3%in distinguishing PTB from other pulmonary diseases and was not affected by demographic factors such as age and gender.Conclusion:High-throughput real-time mass spectrometry detection technology for exhaled breath has the advantages of being non-invasive,rapid,highly sensitive,and highly specific,and holds significant clinical application value in the rapid diagnosis and large-scale screening of PTB,warranting further promotion.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51174116)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2023YFC3010903)the Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Hunan Province,China(No.24A0319).
文摘The radon control mechanism of Na_(2)O·nSiO_(2)−CaCl_(2)modified soil was studied through the laboratory simulation experiment of tailing covering radon control.The radon exhalation rate(J)is negatively correlated with the coverage thickness(H),and it has a non-linear relationship with the temperature.The moisture content variation rate of the covering soil significantly decreases,which helps to reduce soil damage and enhance the resistance of the covering soil to ambient temperature interference.The formation of silicic gel and C−S−H gel effectively optimizes the pore structure and permeability,reduces the diffusion and migration of radon gas in the covering soil,and the average radon exhalation rate is decreased by 1.01×10^(−2)Bq/(m^(3)·s).The research results show that the Na_(2)O·nSiO_(2)−CaCl_(2)modified covering soil can effectively improve the radon control performance of the covering soil and reduce the cost of cover treatment.
文摘Liver disease is characterized by breath exhalation of peculiar volatile organic compounds(VOCs).Thanks to the availability of sensitive technologies for breath analysis,this empiric approach has recently gained increasing attention in the context of hepatology,following the good results obtained in other fields of medicine.After the first studies that led to the identification of selected VOCs for pathophysiological purposes,subsequent research has progressively turned towards the comprehensive assessment of exhaled breath for potential clinical application.Specific VOC patterns were found to discriminate subjects with liver cirrhosis,to rate disease severity,and,eventually,to forecast adverse clinical outcomes even beyond existing scores.Preliminary results suggest that breath analysis could be useful also for detecting and staging hepatic encephalopathy and for predicting steatohepatitis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.However,clinical translation is still hampered by a number of methodological limitations,including the lack of standardization and the consequent poor comparability between studies and the absence of external validation of obtained results.Given the low-cost and easy execution at bedside of the new technologies(e-nose),larger and well-structured studies are expected in order to provide the adequate level of evidence to support VOC analysis in clinical practice.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41873058 and 41462001)the Natural Science and Technology Foundation of Guizhou Province,China(Grant No.JZ[2015]2009)。
文摘The Wuchuan-Sihui-Shaoguan(WSS)exhalative sedimentary pyrite belt in the southwestern part of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou(Qin-Hang)belt is the most important sulfur industry base in China.However,a wide range of metallogenetic ages spanning from Ediacaran to Devonian has been reported in the literature.This age range does not support the idea that the typical character of"coeval mineralization"in an exhalative sedimentary mineralization belt in China and worldwide.Therefore,the precise determination of mineralization ages of representative deposits is necessary to provide guides for exploration and metallogenetic models.The Dajiangping pyrite deposit is a typical example of this kind of deposits and is also the largest deposit with a proven reserve of 210 Mt.This deposit was thought to have formed in Ediacaran or Devonian.In this study,2-3 layers of 10-25 cm thick 2M1-type microcrystalline muscovite slate abruptly embedded in the No.Ⅳmassive orebody of the deposit has been identified to be low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.A Concordia zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age of 432.5±1.3 Ma(mean standard weighted deviation of concordance and equivalence=1.2;N=11)has been yielded for the low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.This age is distinctly different from the Rb-Sr isochron age of630.1±7.3 Ma for siliceous rock at the top of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody and the Re-Os isochron age of 389±62 Ma for pyrites from a laminated orebody.Instead,it is close to the intercept age(429 Ma)of the youngest detrital zircons from sandstone interlayers of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody.The Concordia age is also coincident with those of the Late Caledonian(400-460 Ma)magmatism-metamorphism events which are widely distributed in Cathaysia Block.Particularly,it agrees well with that of the Early Silurian extensional volcanism(434-444 Ma)which have been revealed in the Dabaoshan,Siqian-Hekou,and Nanjing volcanic basins in northern Guangdong Province and southern Jiangxi Province.Hence,the dating result in this study confirms that the sedimentary time of the ore-host Daganshan Formation is Early Silurian,and implies that the mineralization age of the Dajiangping pyrite deposit should also be Early Silurian.In combination with the Early Silurian age of Shezui pyrite deposit and the Dabaoshan volcanic basin along the WSS pyrite belt,it could be inferred that the WSS pyrite belt provides a record of the northern expanding of Qinzhou-Fangcheng trough in Early Silurian and that the exhalative pyrite mineralization was triggered by the postcollisional extension of the margin of Cathaysia Block after the intracontinental collision between Cathaysia Block and Yangtze Block during Late Caledonian stage.
基金by a grant from the Xinjiang Geological Exploration Fund Project Management Center(Grant No.Y14-5-LQ05)。
文摘The Aqishan lead-zinc deposit,located in the Jueluotag metallogenic belt of eastern Tianshan,Xinjiang,Northwest China,has a stratiform occurrence in the marine volcanic tuff of the Yamansu Formation.The ore body has a typical double-layer structure,having a stratified,stratoid,lenticular upper part and a veined,stockwork-like lower part.The occurrence of the upper orebody is consistent with that of the volcanic tuff wall rock.The ore minerals are mainly chalcopyrite,pyrite,sphalerite,galena and magnetite,the altered minerals mainly being silicified,such as sericite,chlorite,epidote,garnet.The garnetized skarn,being stratiform and stratoid,is closely related to the upper part of the orebody.Geological observations show that the limestone in the ore-bearing Yamansu Formation is not marbleized and skarnized.Spatially,it is associated with the ferromanganese deposits in the marine volcanic rocks of the Yamansu Formation.These geological features reflect the likelihood that the Aqishan lead-zinc deposit is a hydrothermal exhalation sedimentary deposit.The results from the EPMA show that the garnet is mainly composed of grossular-andradite series,contents being in a range of 34.791-37.8%SiO_(2),32.493-34.274%CaO,8.454-27.275%FeO,0.012-15.293%Al_(2)O_(3),0.351-1.413%MnO,and lower values of 0.013-1.057%TiO_(2).The content of SiO_(2) vs.CaO and FeO vs.Al_(2)O_(3) has a significant positive correlation.The results of ICP-MS analysis for the garnet show that the REE pattern is oblique to right in general.The total amount of rare earth elements is relatively low,ΣREE=71.045-826.52 ppm,which is relatively enriched for LREE and depleted for HREE.LREE/HREE=8.66-4157.75,La_(N)/Yb_(N)=23.51-984.34,with obvious positive Eu and Ce anomalies(δEu=2.27-76.15,δCe=0.94-1.85).This result is similar to the REE characteristics of ore-bearing rhyolite volcanic rocks,showing that the garnet was formed in an oxidizing environment and affected by clear hydrothermal activity.The U-Pb isotopic dating of garnet by fs-LA-HR-ICP-MS gives an age of 316.3±4.4 Ma(MSWD=1.4),which is consistent with the formation time of the Yamansu Formation.According to the study of deposit characteristics and geochemical characteristics,this study concludes that the Aqishan lead-zinc deposit is a hydrothermal exhalation sedimentary deposit,the garnet being caused by hydrothermal exhalative sedimentation.
文摘Recently, the interest in oral malodor has been grown and the number of people having trouble with oral malodor is increasing year by year. Generally, as the branch of medicine which deals with patients complaining about oral malodor, dentistry is mostly chosen. On the current situation, however, the dental office side typically finds it difficult to deal with several kinds of oral malodor which show no improvement even though cavities or periodontal disease is completely cured. Main components to cause oral malodor are volatile sulfur compounds (methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide);in the present study, therefore, the effect of mouthwash solution containing chlorine dioxide to relieve oral malodor and increase saliva production was tested. The subjects were 92 patients (Control group: 2 males, 3 females, age;30.8 ± 4 years old, Mouthwash group: 28 males, 59 females, age: 36.9 ± 1.3 years old) who visited the hospital complaining about oral malodor. Intraoral gas, exhaled gas, the saliva production at rest, the ability for salivation and the buffering ability of saliva were examined twice, before the subjects used the mouthwash solution every day for one month. The simple chromatography oral chroma, which was insulated from the influence of temperature and humidity and also was able to measure with a high degree of accuracy, was used to measure odor as the device analysis method. The control group did not change in VSCs, saliva production and the buffering ability of saliva. After using mouthwash solution, the concentration of the 3 major components gas of intraoral gas and exhaled gas, i.e. methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, were all decreased. As for hydrogen sulfide, intraoral gas (from 225.8 ± 28.1 ppb to 41.1 ± 8.8 ppb) and exhaled gas (from 212.0 ± 50.4 ppb to 34.6 ± 16.6 ppb) was significantly decreased. Also, saliva production at rest (from 1.3 ± 0.1 ml to 1.7 ± 0.1 ml) and the ability to salivate (from 4.5 ± 0.3 ml to 5.1 ± 0.3 ml) were both significantly increased. As for the buffering ability of saliva, significant changes were not detected on the change of salivary pH after using mouthwash solution, and it did not have any effects on the buffering ability of saliva. In conclusion, these results suggest that the mouthwash solution containing chlorine dioxide has significant effects on inhibiting malodor.
文摘Background: Some patients present clinical features of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has led to the recent proposal of asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) as a diagnosis. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a candidate biomarker to diagnose ACO. We assessed the effect of an add-on treatment with budesonide/formoterol (BUD/FM) combination in patients with ACO, which was diagnosed by FeNO. Methods: This was a prospective, single-arm, open-label, before and after comparison study. Subjects included 83 patients with COPD who attended outpatient clinics for routine checkups at Shizuoka General Hospital between June and November 2016. All patients fulfilled the GOLD definition of COPD and were receiving long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) or LAMA/long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) combinations. After an 8-week run-in period, BUD/FM was added to the patients with FeNO levels of ≥35 ppb, defined as having ACO. For patients receiving LAMA/LABA, BUD/FM was added after the discontinuation of LABA. The modified British Medical Research Council (mMRC) score, COPD assessment test (CAT) score, spirometric indices, forced oscillation parameters, and FeNO were assessed before and after 8 weeks of BUD/ FM add-on treatment. Results: Twenty-four patients (28.9%) had FeNO levels ≥ 35 ppb, and 17 patients completed the study (mean age: 73 years and GOLD I/II/III/IV, 5/10/1/1). The mean CAT scores significantly improved (9.2 to 5.4, p = 0.015) and 10 patients (58.8%) showed ≥2 points improvement, a minimal clinically important difference. The mean FeNO levels significantly decreased from 63.0 to 34.3 ppb (p Conclusions: FeNO-guided treatment with BUD/FM improves symptoms in patients with ACO.
文摘Based on the study of ore deposits and orebody structures of two sedimentary-exhalative ore deposits, i.e., Changba and Xitieshan Ore Deposits, it is found that the structural patterns of metallogenic basin of seafloor exhalative sulfide deposits in the ancient graben systems are controlled by relay structures in normal faults. The shapes of metallogenic basins are composed of tilting ramp, fault-tip ramp and relay ramp, which dominate migration of gravity current of ore-hosted fluid and shape of orebody sedimentary fan in the ramp. By measuring and comparing the difference of length-to-thickness ratios of orebody sedimentary fan, the result shows that the occurrence of the ramp has a remarkable impact on the shape of orebody.
文摘Radongas concentrations in soil samples were determined from depths (surface, 15, and 30) cm for nine locations in Al-Dora refinery and surrounding area using “sealed can technique” and CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors. The radon concentration in surface samples ranged from 810.08 to 1380.08 Bq/m3 with an average 1137.71 Bq/m3. The radon concentration in soil at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 490.5 to 1197.52 Bq/m3 with an average 732.78 Bq/m3 and at the depth 30 cm was ranged from 362.07 to 889.53 Bq/m3 with an average 529.41 Bq/m3. The surface exhalation rate in surface soil samples ranged was 0.44, to 0.99 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.61 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.22 to 0.64 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.39 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.22 to 0.64 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.39 Bq·m-2·h-1. The surface exhalation rate and the mass exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 30 cm ranged from 0.19, to 0.48 Bq·m-2·h-1 with average 0.28 Bq·m-2·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in surface soil samples ranged from 0.09 to 0.21 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.12 Bq·kg-1·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in soil samples from depth 15 cm was ranged from 0.046 to 0.14 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.08 Bq·kg-1·h-1. The mass exhalation rate in soil samples at the depth 30 cm was ranged from 0.042 to 0.1 Bq·kg-1·h-1 with average 0.06 Bq·kg-1·h-1.
文摘Coal is the main energy source for electricity generation in the world. In Morocco, 37% of electricity generation comes from combustion coal in thermal power plants. This combustion process generates large amounts of fly and bottom ashes. In recent years, these ashes became a great topic of interest because of their different uses and especially in construction materials. In this work, we assess radiation risks due to natural radioactivity in samples of fly and bottom ashes collected from JLEC (Jorf Lasfar Energy Company) thermal power plant, and different analyses are performed through two nuclear techniques such as gamma spectrometry and alpha dosimetry based on the use of LR115 films detectors. Our analysis shows that <sup>226</sup>Ra activities and <sup>232</sup>Th in both ash samples are well above the permissible activity. The values of the external risk index (H<sub>ex</sub>) and internal one (H<sub>in</sub>) for these ashes are below unity, with the exception of 1.28 in fly ash for H<sub>in</sub>. The obtained values for the equivalent radium Ra<sub>eq</sub> and annual effective doses Ėin fly and bottom ashes are 324 Bq/kg and 210 Bq/kg, and 0.18 mSv/y and 0.11 mSv/y, respectively. The surface radon exhalation rates for the samples of fly and bottom ashes are 276 mBq⋅m<sup>-2</sup>⋅h<sup>-1</sup> and 381 mBq⋅m<sup>-2</sup>⋅h<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. Based on these results, we have shown that fly ash and bottom one from thermal power plant JLEC didn’t have, in any case, a health risk to the public so it can be effectively used in various construction activities.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.:22027804,21974141,and 21904125)Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province(Grant Nos.:2022-MS-019 and 2022-MS-016)+2 种基金Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Dalian(Grant No.:2022JJ13SN096)Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics(Grant Nos.:DICP I202141 and DICP I202144)1+X Program for Large Cohort Study-Clinical Research Incubation Project,The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University(Project No.:2022DXDL01).
文摘Exhaled ammonia(NH_(3))is an essential noninvasive biomarker for disease diagnosis.In this study,an acetone-modifier positive photoionization ion mobility spectrometry(AM-PIMS)method was developed for accurate qualitative and quantitative analysis of exhaled NH_(3)with high selectivity and sensitivity.Acetone was introduced into the drift tube along with the drift gas as a modifier,and the characteristic NH_(3)product ion peak of(C_(3)H_(6)O)_(4)NH_(4)^(+)(K_(0)=1.45 cm^(2)/V·s)was obtained through the ion-molecule reaction with acetone reactant ions(C_(3)H_(6)O)_(2)H^(+)(K_(0)=1.87 cm^(2)/V·s),which significantly increased the peak-to-peak resolution and improved the accuracy of exhaled NH_(3)qualitative identification.Moreover,the interference of high humidity and the memory effect of NH_(3)molecules were significantly reduced via online dilution and purging sampling,thus realizing breath-by-breath measurement.As a result,a wide quantitative range of 5.87-140.92μmol/L with a response time of 40 ms was achieved,and the exhaled NH_(3)profile could be synchronized with the concentration curve of exhaled CO_(2).Finally,the analytical capacity of AM-PIMS was demonstrated by measuring the exhaled NH_(3)of healthy subjects,demonstrating its great potential for clinical disease diagnosis.
文摘The assay of trace volatile low molecular weight(MW) compounds in human breath or in ambient atmosphere typically involves gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (FID). This paper introduced a direct assay which can overcome the difficulties of collection low concentration samples. In order to pre concentrate the trace low MW compounds, a small trapping column filled with absorbent must be used before thermal desorption of the collected samples onto chromatographic column(packed with Porapak Q) for separation. It has been proved that the characteristic of absorbent mainly influence the recoveries and the linear range of this method is from 0 05 ng to 5200 ng for pentane, methanol, ethanol and acetone.
文摘Introduction: Tuberculosis still characterizes till now a major respiratory insult with concurrent pulmonary manifestations and later disability. Aim of Work: To evaluate the level of exhaled fraction of nitric oxide (FENO) and fraction of exhaled carbon monoxide (FECO) as markers of pulmonary tuberculosis TB activity in patients under chemotherapy in comparison to healthy negative patients and latent TB patients. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 130 patients recruited from the outpatient clinic of Mansoura Chest hospital during the period from May 2019 to December 2019. They were categorized into the three groups: 1) Pulmonary tuberculous patients PTB (group1) which included 48 cases with positive sputum for TB bacilli in the initiation phase after 1 month of starting anti-tuberculous chemotherapy;2) Latent patients (group 2): included 40 patients with positive tuberculin skin test (Mantoux test) > 10 mm. 3) Control patients (group 3) which included 42 healthy volunteers with negative sputum for TB bacilli. They were subjected to portable spirogram as well as exhaled fractional NO and CO measurement. Results: FECO and FENO levels prevailed in pulmonary TB patients followed by Latent TB patients and lastly healthy volunteers (42 ± 12.32/5 ± 0.16 & 38 ± 8.25/6 ± 2.25 and 23 ± 3.25/2 ± 0.40 respectively). Conclusion: Measurement of CO and NO level in expired air may correlate with active pulmonary TB infection in comparison to healthy negative tuberculous patients and latent tuberculous patients.
