Search

RRM2B gene mutation-related diseases can be divided into four types according to genetic pattern and clinical phenotype of mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 8A (MTDPS8A), mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 8B (MTDPS8B), rod-cone dystrophy, sensorineural deafness, and fanconi-type renal dysfunction (RCDFRD), progressive external ophthalmoplegia with mitochondrial and deletions, autosomal dominant 5 (PEOA5). Among them, MTDPS8A and MTDPS8B are both mitochondrial DNA depletion syndromes with the same genetic pattern, and the clinical phenotypes are complex and heterogeneous in the early stage, making it difficult to identify them. This paper systematically reviewed and analyzed the clinical characteristics, genetic test results, diagnosis and treatment process and other case data of two children diagnosed with MTDPS8A and MTDPS8B, and reviewed relevant literature to summarize the genetic characteristics of these two types, so as to provide diagnostic ideas for future suspected cases and further improve the clinical diagnosis rate of RRM2B mutation-related mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, which also helps to assess the prognosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of the regulator of ribosome synthesis 1 (RRS1) gene on the proliferation and migration of breast cancer BT549 cells and its mechanism of action. Methods Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of RRS1 in human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, BT549, and MCF-7 cells) and normal human breast epithelial MCF-10A cells, and immunofluorescence assay was used to observe the localization of RRS1 in BT549 cells. The lentivirus infection method was used to establish an RRS1-knockdown BT549 cell line, and quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were used to measure the relative mRNA and protein expression levels of RRS1 in the Con group transfected with negative control lentivirus and the sh-RRS1 group transfected with shRNA-RRS1 lentivirus. CCK8 assay and colony-forming assay were used to observe the effect of RRS1 on the proliferation ability of BT549 cells, and wound healing assay and Transwell assay were used to observe the effect of RRS1 on the migration ability of BT549 cells. Western blot was used to measure the relative expression levels of AKT-mTOR signaling pathway proteins and their downstream proteins hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the two groups. Results The relative expression level of RRS1 in breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, BT549, and MCF-7 was significantly higher than that in normal human breast epithelial MCF-10A cells (F=48.92,P

Objective To investigate the effect of FXX-W-12-4, a novel heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90)/histone deacetylase (HDAC) dual-target inhibitor, on the proliferation, invasion, and migration of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. Methods CCK-8 assay was used to observe the effect of FXX-W-12-4 on the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells, and its half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated as the reference value for concentration in follow-up experiment. On the basis of the IC50 value, FXX-W-12-4 with a final concentration of 0, 100, 200, and 300 nmol/L was added to MDA-MB-231 cells and was established as groups A, B, C, and D, respectively. Cell scratch assay and Transwell assay were used to observe the effect of FXX-W-12-4 on the invasion and migration of MDA-MB-231 cells in each group. Western blot was used to measure the relative expression levels of proteins such as ac-H3 and Hsp70 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Results CCK-8 assay showed that the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells gradually decreased with the increase in FXX-W-12-4 concentration (F=2 663.00,P

Objective To investigate the effect of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) on the migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of breast cancer cells and its mechanism. Methods Breast cancer tissue samples and adjacent normal tissue samples were collected from 20 patients with breast cancer, and normal human breast epithelial cell MCF-10A and breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, BT-549, MDA-MB-231, and MDA-MB-468 were cultured. RT-qPCR was used to measure the expression levels of SNHG1 and miR-641 in tissue samples and cells. BT-549 cells were divided into groups A to D and were transfected with si-NC (group A), si-SNHG1 (group B), si-SNHG1+anti-miR-641-NC (group C), and si-SNHG1+anti-miR-641 (group D), respectively. RT-qPCR was used to measure the expression levels of SNHG1 and miR-641 in cells; Transwell assay was used to observe cell invasion and migration abilities; Western blot was used to measure the expression levels of the EMT-related proteins E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and Vimentin. BT-549 cells were divided into groups E to H and were co-transfected with SNHG1-WT and miR-641 mimics (group E), SNHG1-WT and miR-NC (group F), SNHG1-MUT and miR-641 mimics (group G), and SNHG1-MUT and miR-NC (group H), respectively, and dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to determine the interaction between SNHG1 and miR-641. Results SNHG1 was highly expressed in breast cancer tissue (t=4.81,P0.05). Conclusion cSNHG1 is highly expressed in breast cancer tissue and cells, and downregulation of its expression can inhibit the migration, invasion, and EMT of breast cancer cells by targeting miR-641.

Fermented meat products is the meat products with special flavor, color, texture and longer shelf life formed by a series of changes under natural or artificially controlled conditions by the action of microorganisms or enzymes. Fermented meat products is popular with consumers, but they are rich in protein and have a great potential for high levels of biogenic amines. Among them, histamine and tyramine are the most toxic. Consumption of tyramine-rich foods might cause headache, hypertension and other adverse reactions. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to control the tyramine content in fermented meat products. In this paper, the formation pathways, control methods and effects of tyramine in fermented meat products are reviewed. Among them, the main formation pathway is the decarboxylation of tyrosine by the action of decarboxylase, in addition to the existence of chemical pathways related to lipid oxidation products, while the more effective control methods are the addition of auxiliaries and the inoculation of fermentation agents. This paper aims to provid a theoretical support for reducing the tyramine content in fermented meat products and improving the safety of fermented meat products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To some extent, pore throat structures of the rock can be characterized by NMR T2 distribution and capillary pressure curve. Theoretical analysis showed that NMR T2 distribution of a rock could potentially be used to derive its capillary pressure curve, providing a quick and non-destructive way to obtain the pore structure distribution data of the reservoir. In this study, the capillary pressure curves of typical cores were constructed from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) T2 distributions using a piecewise power function method. T2 cutoff values were introduced as piecewise points for the power function. Then the capillary pressure curves constructed with the piecewise power function method and those constructed with the non-piecewise power function method were compared. The results showed that the proposed method had improved precision, with an averaged fitting degree of 0.943 1. Introducing of T2 cutoff values was proven to be useful in constructing NMR capillary curves by the piecewise power function method.

Crimes of destroying forest resources threaten the security of forest resources and hinder the high-quality development of forestry as well as the process of forestry modernization. With the crimes of destroying forest resources happening during the period from 2012 to 2021 as the sample, the temporal and spatial distribution of crimes of destroying forest resources were teased out; the causes of crimes of destroying forest resources from the perspectives of the relationship between supply and demand, crime characteristics, law enforcement and crackdowns, and the construction of the rule of law were analyzed; and treatment paths such as improving laws and regulations on crimes of destroying forest resources were proposed, in order to strengthen special rectification of crimes of destroying forest resources, and build a crime prevention and control system that puts prevention first, for the reference of people in theory and practice circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By controlling the mud content of manufactured sand to 0-10%, the effects of the mud content of manufactured sand on the air content of ready-mixed concrete, the loss rate of air content over time, the bubble spacing coefficient and the distribution of pores on the hardened appearance were studied by using the concrete air content meter and the bubble parameter analysis system. The results show that: when the mud content of the manufactured sand is lower than 6%, the air content of concrete and the loss rate over time increase with the increase of the mud content of the sand; when the mud content is higher than 6%, the air content and loss rate of concrete show a downward trend with the increase of the mud content of the sand. When the mud content of manufactured sand is lower than 4%, the concrete bubble spacing coefficient decreases with the increase of mud content of sand, and the number of pores on the appearance of hardened concrete increases with the increase of mud content. When the mud content is higher than 4%, the bubble spacing coefficient of the concrete increases with the increase of the mud content of the sand, and the number of pores on the hardened appearance of concrete decreases with the increase of mud content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different housing choice behaviors are produced by individuals who have a certain amount of wealth in the real estate market according to the diversity of their needs, which will present some regularity at the macro level. From this perspective, this paper sets up some operation rules using the agent-based model according to the actual behaviors of individuals in the real estate market, and computer simulations about individual migration in the real estate market are performed under the consideration of growth in household wealth and housing prices. Using Gini coefficient as a measure of economic segregation and spacial dissimilarity index as a measure of division of economics, changing the initial conditions and parameter values of the model and analyzing from multi-perspectives, it is finally concluded that the existing housing rules can lead to residential space segregation among urban residents and will further exacerbate the gap between rich and poor with the increase of household wealth, which will form the economic division. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, murals digital restoration is greatly developed, but its main algorithms has no obvious effect on the restoration of image texture direction. In order to solve this problem and restore the original appearance of murals, we propose a simple and rapid mural repairing algorithm in which the Telea algorithm is improved. According to the multi-scale feature of image texture, the proposal repairs texture structure of murals by using the wavelet texture description algorithm. To repair the murals, texture, nonlocal gradient operator is used to calculate the nonlocal gradient value of pixels in unrepaired areas and diffusion is performed according to the global optimal direction. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students developmental orientation refers to a series of direction services provided by schools to promote students to have an all-round and personalized development, an idea that has been widely practiced in numerous countries and areas, and become one of the three functions of school education. The initial student orientation starts from occupation guidance. And after several decades of innovation and advances, it has experienced great changes and extension in content, ideas, models and personnel. In China, even though there are so far some explorations, there are still a lot of issues in high schools that demand solutions, such as lack of the relevant policies and laws, weak in scientificality, and fragile in professionality. This paper aims to put forward the relevant measures for the problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated structure/control modeling of single-manipulator and concurrent optimal methodology for multiobjective were studied. According to the requirement of dynamical and control stability performance, the optimal model with multiobjective and constraints was proposed by combination of the dynamics of flexible structure and poles configuration, and solved by Pareto GA (PGA). In the process of PGA optimization, the technique of regularization of objectives, graded penalized function technique to remove constraints, Pareto-rank of population and Pareto set filter are used. To protect the feature and multiformity of Pareto set, a clustering analysis technique is used to limit the number of individual in Pareto set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary to solve the problem of model coupling between shape of structure and parameters of control system, this thesis focuses on the flexible arm with single-input & single-output as an example. Take the moment of inertia, inherent frequency and control energy as aim to optimize the structure of flexible arm, position of force and parameters of controller, to improve the performance of system. Give the method of design complicate mechanical and control system, reduce the dimension of controller using mode theory, and the model coupling design were proposed. Comparing with the traditional method of design mechanical and controller, it is proved that the integrated performance of the system can be improved. The method of synergetic design of mechanical and controller was proposed, which can be used to resolve the coupling between the parameter of mechanical and parameter of controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the regulative effect of autophagy-related protein ATG5 on the expression of type Ⅱ collagen in human chondrocytes through affecting autophagy function. Methods Transcriptome data of 13 human cartilage tissue samples were downloaded from GEO database to analyze the correlation between ATG5 and COL2A1 expression.Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay were used to detect the expression of type Ⅱ collagen (Collagen Ⅱ, COL2) in human chondrocytes C28/I2 after rapamycin (Rapa) and bafilomycin A1(BafA1) treatment.Human COL2A1 promoter plasmid was constructed, and dual-luciferase reporter assay was applied to detect the effect of overexpression of ATG5 on COL2A1 promoter activity.mRFP-GFP-LC3 autophagy dual fluorescent virus was used to dynamically monitor the changes in autophagic flux of C28/I2 cells with overexpression and knockdown of ATG5.Western blotting was used to detect the effects of Rapa and BafA1 on COL2, LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ expression levels after overexpression or knockdown of ATG5. Results The results of correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the mRNA expression of ATG5 and COL2A1 in human chondrocytes samples.Rapa and BafA1 significantly promoted and inhibited the expression of COL2 in C28/I2 cells (P < 0.05), respectively.The human COL2A1 promoter plasmid was successfully constructed, and the transcriptional activity of the COL2A1 promoter was up-regulated by the overexpression of ATG5(P < 0.01).Treatment with autophagy dual-fluorescence virus resulted in LC3-GFP fluorescence quenching after overexpression of ATG5(P < 0.01), suggesting autophagy activation; and a greater fluorescence intensity of LC3-GFP was observed after knockdown of ATG5(P < 0.05), demonstrating autophagy inhibition.Rapa obviously promoted the expression of COL2 and LC3Ⅱ/LCⅠ, which were up-regulated by ATG5(P < 0.05), but BafA1 showed the opposite effect of Rapa (P < 0.05). Conclusion Overexpression of ATG5 up-regulates the expression of type Ⅱ collagen, and the regulation of ATG5 on the expression of type Ⅱ collagen depends on autophagy in chondrocytes.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of kaempferol in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on network pharmacology and in vitro experiments. Methods Kaempferol targets were queried by TCMSP and SwissTarget databases, and RA related functional targets were searched in the GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. After the cross between kaempferol and RA targets through Venny2.1.0, STRING database was used for protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and molecular docking between kaempferol and the targets was conducted. Mouse mononuclear leukemia RAW264.7 cells were treated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and kaempferol, and divided into control group, LPS group, LPS+Kaempferol group. MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of RAW264.7 cells after kaempferol treatment. LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells were used to construct a cellular inflammatory model. The change in aging and aging-related inflammatory factors were detected in each treatment group. The content of β-galactosidase was detected by SA-β-Gal, and the expression of IL-6 was detected by cellular immunofluorescence assay. Results A total of 138 targets of kaempferol and 76 potential targets of kaempferol against RA were obtained. PPI analysis showed that TNF, EGFR, PTGS2 and AKT1 may be the core targets of kaempferol against RA. The results of molecular docking indicated that kaempferol could form stable complexes with the core targets of TNF, EGFR, PTGS2 and AKT1. The results of MTT assay displayed that the treatment of 0.125 to 16 μmol/L kaempferol for 24 h promoted the proliferation of RAW264.7 cells (P < 0.05), the doses of 0.125 to 8 μmol/L for 48 h exerted similar effect on the proliferation (P < 0.05), but the dose of 0.125 to 16 μmol/L for 72 h had no such significant effect. The results of qPCR and Western blotting showed that kaempferol decreased the expression of cell senescence markers p16 and p21 and promoted the expression of cell cycle markers CCND1 and CCNE1 (P < 0.05). Cellular immunofluorescence assay indicated that kaempferol reduced the expression of IL-6 (P < 0.05). SA-β-Gal staining displayed that LPS treatment promoted β-galactosidase level in RAW264.7 cells (P < 0.05), and this effect was reversed by kaempferol treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusion Kaempferol may regulate the expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α and p16/p21 senescence related genes, prevent premature aging of immune cells, and thus play a therapeutic role for RA. [

The hydrodynamic retarder is one of the important auxiliary braking system in mining dump truck,which has an important influence on the braking force distribution and braking performance of the vehicle. Taking the braking performance of the hydraulic retarder in DFD30 T mining dump truck as the study object. By using the simulation software AMESim,the brake whole model is built,and a retarder under different conditions are analyzed,the result of simulation is compared and analyzed,the further research of the hydraulic retarder braking performance of the system is carried out. Through studying the matching of retarder brake and service brake and simulation analysis of joint braking,it can be seen that the use of hydraulic retarder of brake force distribution,automobile braking performance,driving safety have certain superiority.

Objective: To analyze the mutation spectrum of 23-site chip newborn deafness genetic screening in Beijing, and to provide basis for genetic counseling and clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: The study included 21 006 babies born in Beijing from December 2022 to June 2023. All subjects underwent newborn deafness genetic screening in Beijing Tongren Hospital, covering 23 variants in 4 genes, the GJB2 gene（c.35delG, c.176&#95;191del16, c.235delC, c.299&#95;300delAT, c.109G>A, c.257C>G, c.512insAACG, c.427C>T, c.35insG）, SLC26A4 gene（c.919-2A>G, c.2168A>G, c.1174A>T, c.1226G>A, c.1229C>T, c.1975G>C, c.2027T>A, c.589G>A, c.1707+5G>A, c.917insG, c.281C>T）, Mt12SrRNA （m.1555A>G, m.1494C>T） and GJB3 gene（c.538C>T）. The mutation detection rate and allele frequency were analyzed. Results: The overall mutation detection rate was 11.516%（2 419/21 006）, with the GJB2 gene being the most frequently involved at 9.097%（1 911/21 006）, followed by the SLC26A4 gene at 2.123%（446/21 006）, the GJB3 gene at 0.362%（76/21 006） and Mt12SrRNA at 0.176%（37/21 006）. Among the GJB2 genes, c.109G>A and c.235delC mutation detection rates were the highest, with 6.579%（1 382/21 006） and 1.795%（377/21 006）, respectively. Of the SLC26A4 genes, c.919-2A>G and c.2168A>G had the highest mutation rates of 1.423%（299/21 006） and 0.233%（49/21 106）, respectively. Regarding the allele frequency, GJB2 c.109G>A was the most common variant with an allele frequency of 3.359%（1 411/42 012）, followed by the GJB2 c.235delC at 0.897%（377/42 012） and the SLC26A4 c.919-2A>G at 0.719%（302/42 012）. Conclusion: 23-site chip newborn deafness genetic screening in Beijing showed that GJB2 c.109G>A mutation detection rate and allele frequency were the highest. This study has enriched the epidemiological data of 23-site chip genetic screening mutation profiles for neonatal deafness, which can provide evidence for clinical practice., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

The degradation of chloroquine phosphate (CQP), an anti-COVID-19 drug, was investigated in a UV-activated persulfate system (UV/PS). The second-order rate constants of CQP with hydroxyl radicals (HO·) and sulfate radicals (SO 4 - ·) were determined using a competition kinetics experiment, and the effects of persulfate concentration, pH, and inorganic anions on the degradation of CQP were also systematically studied. Furthermore, a kinetic model was established to predict the concentration of CQP and major free radicals to explore its mechanism of influence. The results showed that the degradation efficiency of CQP could reach 91.3% after 10 min under UV/PS, which was significantly higher than that under UV, sunlight, or PS alone. At pH=6.9, the second-order rate reaction constants of CQP with HO· and SO 4 - · were 8.9×10 9 L·(mol·s) -1 and 1.4×10 10 L·(mol·s) -1 , respectively, and the main active species was SO 4 - ·. The degradation rate of CQP increased with increasing concentrations of PS and decreased with the addition of HCO 3 - and Cl - . The removal efficiency of CQP was inhibited under stronger alkaline conditions. N -de-ethylation, cleavage of the C-N bond, and hydrogen abstraction were proposed as the principal pathways of CQP degradation based on LC-MS analysis. The mineralization rate of CQP could be improved by increasing PS concentration and pH values. This study could be helpful for the treatment of anti-COVID-19 pharmaceutical wastewater.

The effects of biochar combined with nitrogen fertilizer on soil microbial carbon, nitrogen (SMBC, SMBN), and rice yield and quality were investigated to provide a scientific basis for soil fertilization and nitrogen fertilizer reduction. Using a field experiment, we set up a nitrogen reduction gradient (T0-T4):0, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% reductions. The same amount of biochar nitrogen was used as the substitute and no nitrogen fertilizer was used as the control (CK). The yield was measured and sampled at the mature stage of rice, and the samples were analyzed in the laboratory. The results showed that the range of SMBC and SMBN was 208.42-303.16 mg·kg -1 and 32.28-54.73 mg·kg -1 , respectively. SMBC, SMBN, soil microbial entropy (qMB), soil microbial biomass nitrogen to total nitrogen ratio (SMBN/TN), and rice yield increased first and then decreased as the proportion of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer increased. SMBC, SMBN, and rice yield were all the highest in T2, which increased successively by 28.0%, 30.0%, and 13.4% compared with that of the T0 treatment ( P <0.05), while those of the T4 treatment decreased slightly ( P >0.05). The processing of SMBC, qMB, SMBN, and SMBN/TN showed a significantly positive relationship between the two ( P <0.01). Compared with that of the T0 treatment, the T2 treatment significantly increased the Milled rice, gel consistency, and amylose content. In this study, the combination of biochar (5.0 t·hm -2 ) and nitrogen reduction (20%) effectively improved soil microbial carbon and nitrogen content and increased the yield and quality of rice, which could be a good choice for reducing nitrogen fertilization and increasing the efficiency of rice in a yellow soil paddy field in Guizhou.

As important components of PM 2.5 , metal elements are extremely harmful to people and also have source specificity. Understanding the characteristics of PM 2.5 metal pollution in the two different types of cities can help adjust the layout of regional industrial structure and improve the environment. PM 2.5 samples during haze/non-haze periods were collected in Chengdu City and Renshou County. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used to determine the mass concentrations of eighteen metal elements in collected PM 2.5 samples. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was used for source apportionment analysis for metal elements in PM 2.5 . The analysis showed that the ratio of trace elements from fugitive dust, motor vehicle emissions, and coal burning to the total elements is greater in Chengdu City than that in Renshou County. The proportion of trace elements from biomass combustion, industrial, and fuel sources in Renshou County is higher than that in Chengdu City. In addition, concentrations of Cd, As, and Cr in both areas exceeded the standards, indicating the occurrences of heavy metal pollution. During the haze period, the total concentrations of compositional metal elements in PM 2.5 increased, although the rate was much lower than that for PM 2.5 . The ratios of elements between haze and non-haze periods ranged from 0.7 (Al) to 2.8 (Ba) in Chengdu City, and from 0.8 (Al) to 3.1 (Mn) in Renshou County. Among all metal elements, the increase rate for trace elements from coal burning and industrial activities was relatively large but small for those from fugitive dust, with the growth in trace elements from motor vehicles being modest. The results of this study indicated that the characteristics of pollution and source of metal elements in PM 2.5 varied by economic scale, development mode, and industrial layout. In large cities such as Chengdu City, where economic development is mainly focused on tertiary industry, air pollution is mainly caused by transportation and urban construction, while in suburban area such as Renshou County, where secondary or heavy industry are the focus for economic development, the pollution is mainly affected by energy consumption and industrial production.

Reducing the application of chemical fertilizer and increasing fertilizer efficiency can contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture. To evaluate the impacts of N fertilizer reduction and biochar application on soil organic carbon active components and mineralization in yellow soil, an experiment was carried out with five different substitution rates of chemical N fertilizer by biochar under the same rate of N input, i.e ., 0, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% (CK, T 1 -T 4 ). The results showed that chemical N fertilizer reduction combined with biochar application could significantly improve soil organic carbon (SOC), the magnitude of which was proportional to the amount of biochar application. Under the condition of 20% substitution rate (T 2 ), soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and readily oxidized carbon (ROC) were the highest with 293.68 mg·kg -1 and 250.00 mg·kg -1 , respectively, but the concentration of soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was the lowest. SOC mineralization rate reached the highest on the third day of incubation. Then, it decreased rapidly in the early period (day 3 of incubation to day 6), decreased slowly in the middle period (day 6 of incubation to day 18), and stabilized in the later period (day 18 of incubation to day 30). There was a logarithmic relationship between mineralization rate of soil organic carbon and incubation time. SOC cumulative mineralization amount and cumulative mineralization rate were the lowest in the T 2 treatment with 0.66-0.86 g·kg -1 and 2.9%-4.0%, respectively. As the substitution rate of chemical N fertilizer by biochar increased, rice yield increased firstly and then decreased. Rice yield in the T 2 treatment was the highest, which increased by 13.4% compared with the CK. The substitution of 20% chemical N fertilizer with biochar (5 t·hm -2 ) could effectively improve the contents of SOC, MBC, ROC, and rice yield, reduce the cumulative mineralization amount of organic carbon and cumulative mineralization rate, and enhance the capacity of soil carbon sequestration. Hence, it could be the most effective fertilizer practice for improving soil fertility and rice yield in paddy field of yellow soil in Guizhou Province.

To compare the pollution characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol components in the atmosphere between urban and suburban areas, Chengdu City and Renshou County were selected as study areas from which 88 samples of PM 2.5 during haze and non-haze periods were collected and analyzed. Quantification of mass concentrations of PM 2.5 , carbonaceous aerosol components[organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and secondary organic carbon (SOC)], along with correlation analysis of OC and EC, and principal component analysis (PCA) of carbon components were carried out. The results show that pollutant concentrations during the haze period were higher than those during the non-haze period. The OC and EC for Chengdu City and Renshou County were positively correlated, with their correlation coefficients during the non-haze period higher than those during the haze period. The ratios of SOC/PM 2.5 in Renshou County were higher than those in Chengdu City during the haze period. This indicates that secondary aerosols play a more important role in haze formation in Renshou than in Chengdu City. In contrast, the proportion of secondary aerosols during the non-haze period in Chengdu City was significantly higher, indicating that direct emissions are still the main cause of air pollution in Chengdu City. PCA results showed that PM 2.5 formation in both Chengdu City and Renshou County was mainly due to coal burning, vehicle operation, and biomass burning.

Soil contamination of arsenic pollution has become a severely environmental issue, while soil leaching is an efficient method for remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil. In this study, batch tests were primarily conducted to select optimal mixture leaching combination. Firstly, five conventional reagents were selected and combined with each other. Secondly, the fractions were analyzed before and after the tests. Finally, to explore the feasibility of mixed leaching, three soils with different arsenic pollution levels were used to compare the leaching effect. Comparing with one-step washing, the two-step sequential washing with different reagents increased the arsenic removal efficiency. These results showed that the mixture of 4 h 0.5 mol · L⁻¹ NaOH + 4 h 0.1 mol · L⁻¹ EDTA was found to be practicable, which could enhance the removal rate of arsenic from 66.67% to 91.83%, and the concentration of arsenic in soil was decreased from 186 mg · kg⁻¹ to 15.2 mg · kg⁻¹. Furthermore, the results indicated that the distribution of fractions of arsenic in soil changed apparently after mixture leaching. Leaching process could significantly reduce the available contents of arsenic in soil. Moreover, the mixture of 0.5 mol · L⁻¹ NaOH + 0.1 mol L⁻¹ EDTA could well decrease the arsenic concentration in aluminum-type soils, while the mixture of 0.5 mol · L⁻¹ OX + 0.5 mol · L⁻¹ NaOH could well decrease the arsenic concentration in iron-type soils.

The effects of four different stocking densities and five different diets on the growth of Bufo gargarizans tadpoles were studied to determine the optimum stocking density and diet. For stocking density experiment, the tadpoles were fed respectively at different density of 200, 500, 1 000 and 2 000 tadpoles per square meter. For diet experiment, the tadpoles were divided into five groups fed respectively with five different diets. The body weight, snout-vent length and tail length were measured every seven days, and mortality was recorded. The results showed that: the survival rates of tadpole before metamorphosis and after metamorphosis were from 68.7% to 96.3% and from 5.7% to 36.0%, respectively; the optimum stocking density is 1 000 tadpoles per square meter for the stocking density had no effect on the survival rate of tadpole before metamorphosis, and the tadpoles had the relative large body weight and survival numbers in 1000 tadpoles per square meter; the diet Ⅱ(37.9% crude protein and 5.7% crude fat), Ⅳ (25.1% crude protein and 4.0% crude fat), and Ⅴ (egg yolk) were all the optimum diets for the diet had no effect on the survival rate of tadpole before metamorphosis and the tadpoles fed with three kinds of diet above had relatively large body weight, and one of these three diets based on their availability and cost should be adopted during breeding period., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.)

Objective: To compare efficacy differences between fire filiform needle combined with mild moxibustion and gabapentin combined with sham acupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)., Methods: One hundred cases of PHN were randomly divided into a needle group and a medicine group, 50 cases in each one. In the needle group, pricking method of fire filiform needle was given at the Ashi points, and then mild moxibustion was applied for 15 min. In the medicine group, the oral administration of gabapentin capsule and sham acupuncture at non-acupoints in the distal end of lesions were applied. The treatment was required for 21 days in both groups. The visual analogue score (VAS) was recorded before treatment and on the 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, 6th day, 9th day and 12th day of treatment. The most severity of pain within last 24 h, preset severity of pain, immediate analgesia effect and starting time of pain relief were observed, also the efficacy was assessed and improvement of symptoms was observed in the follow-up visit., Results: The total effective rate was 94.0% (47/50) in the fire filiform needle group, which was superior to 86.0% (43/50) in the medicine group (P < 0.05). Compared with medicine group, the VAS of the most severity of pain within last 24 h was obviously reduced after the 2nd treatment in the fire filiform needle group while that of present severity of pain was relieved after the 1st treatment (both P < 0.05). The immediate analgesia effect in the fire filiform needle group was obviously superior to that in the medicine group in the first three times of treatment (all P < 0.05). The average time of pain relief was (3.91 +/- 0.82) days in the fire filiform needle group, which was significantly earlier to (6.53 +/- 1.13) days in the medicine group (P < 0.05). 26 cases were cured in the fire filiform needle group in the follow-up visit, which was superior to 2 cases in the medicine group (P < 0.05). The improvement of VAS, pain range and sleep quality in the needle group were also superior to those in the medicine group (all P < 0.05). The direct medical cost in the fire filiform needle group was (232.32 +/- 48.108) yuan, which was significantly lower than (466.00 +/- 41.09) yuan in the medicine group (P < 0.05). There was only one case of adverse effect in the medicine group during the treatment., Conclusion: The fire filiform needle combined with mild moxibustion could obviously relieve the pain in PHN patients, which has superior immediate analgesia effect and pain relieving time compared with gabapentin, which also has less adverse effects and cheap cost.

Objective: To detect the underlying genetic defect in two Chinese families with hereditary multiple exostoses and provide genetic counseling., Methods: Potential mutations in EXT1 and EXT2 genes in the probands were detected by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified exons. Suspected mutations were verified in all available family members and 200 unrelated healthy controls., Results: A heterozygous frameshift mutation c.346&#95;356delinsTAT in exon 1 of EXT1 and a heterozygous deletion mutation c.2009-2012del(TCAA) in exon 10 of EXT1 were respectively detected in affected members from the two families. The same mutations were not detected in unaffected members and 200 unrelated healthy controls. No mutations in EXT2 were detected in the two families., Conclusion: Two novel mutations of EXT1 have been detected in association with hereditary multiple exostoses in two Chinese families. Above results have provided a basis for genetic counseling for the two families and expanded the spectrum of EXT1 mutations.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of insertion mutations occurring in the hydrophobic region, between amino acids 114 and 115, of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on viral antigenicity and replication., Methods: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was obtained from patients with HBsAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and subjected to sequence analysis and comparison to GenBank reference sequences for HBV genotype B (AB073826) and genotype C (AF286594). Insertion mutations detected in the HBsAg region were used to make recombinant expression plasmids via site-directed mutagenesis. After transfecting the recombinant HBsAg into Huh7 cells, the mutants' effects on viral antigenicity and replication were evaluated by chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) and Southern blot hybridization, respectively. The viral antigenicity of each mutant was predicted by bioinformatic analysis, using the Jameson-Wolf method to predict the antigenic index, the Hopp-Woods method to predict hydrophilicity, the Emini method to predict the probability of a region lying of the protein's surface, and the Karplus-Schulz method to predict the flexibility of the protein backbone., Results: Two CHB patients harbored HBV with insertion mutations in HBsAg: one with two (NT) and one with three (NTT) inserted amino acids between 114 and 115. The NTT recombinant HBsAg mutant showed no impact on viral replication and reacted weakly with anti-HBs in CMIA (P = 0.02). The antigen indices for the insertion of NTT were 1.00, -0.16, and 0.18, and insertion of the three amino acids affected the index values of five proximal amino acid sites (with an average increase of 0.13). The hydrophilic indices for the insertion of NTT were 0.2, -0.4, and -0.4, with no significant effect on the proximal amino acids. The insertion of the three amino acids changed both the surface probability (range: -0.55 to 2.97; affecting eight proximal amino acids) and the flexibility (range: -0.01 to 1.1; affecting five proximal amino acids)., Conclusion: The NTT three amino acids insertion in the HBsAg open reading frame, between 114 and 115 of the wild-type sequence, detected in a CHB patient may play a role in HBV immune escape without influencing the viral replicative capacity.

Calcium hypochlorite was used as the raw material for preparation of the high purity potassium ferrate. The study includes the effects of reaction temperature, recrystallization temperature, reaction time, Ca(ClO)2 dosage, and the amount of calcium hypochlorite on the yield. It was determined that when the reaction temperature was 25 degrees C, recrystallization temperature 0 degree C and reaction time 40 min, the yield was more than 75%. The purity was detected by direct spectrophotometric method to be more than 92%. The product was characterized by infrated spectrum(IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet spectrum (UV) methods and proved to be potassium ferrate that was prepared by calcium hypochlorite as the raw material.

Objective: To construct the point mutation plasmids expressing NS3/4A with different secondary structure of the amino-terminal 120 residues of NS3, and to investigate the differences in serine protease and inhibitory effects on host cells between each subgroup., Methods: The point mutation plasmids were constructed, which expressed NS3/4A with the corresponding secondary structures of subgroup, and were named as A1-2, A2-1, A2-2, B1-1, B1-2, B2-1, and B2-2, with the backbone of M-H05-5 (A1-1). Western blot was performed to detect the expression of NS3/4A and the difference in in cis and in trans NS3 serine protease activity between each subgroup. The inhibitory effects of HCV NS3/4A with different amino-terminal secondary structures on IFN-beta production and p53-dependent transcriptional activation were revealed by Luciferase reporter assay., Results: Western blot revealed the successful expression of the constructs and the incomplete cleavage of NS3/4A in subgroup A2-1 and B2-1, indicating that the in cis NS3 serine protease activities of subgroup A2-1 and B2-1 were weaker compared with that of the other subgroups. By using NS5A/5BDeltaC as a substrate for NS3/4A serine protease, it was also found that the in trans NS3 serine protease activities of subgroup A2-1 and B2-1 were also weaker compared with that of the other subgroups. Differences in inhibitory effects of HCV NS3 on IFN-beta promoter activity and on p53-dependent luciferase gene transcriptional activation were also observed between subgroup A2-1, B2-1 and the other subgroups., Conclusion: HCV NS3/4A with different secondary structures at amino-terminus has different serine protease activities and inhibitory activities on host cell functions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between IL-10 promoter gene polymorphism and the susceptibility to endometriosis (EMs) in Chinese population. Amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reactions (ARMS-PCR) and DNA sequencing were performed to detect polymorphism of -1082G/A site and PCR-RFLP was used to determine the genotypes in -819T/C and -592A/C sites. One hundred and nineteen Chinese women with different stage EMs and 120 controls were employed in this study. Although there were no significant differences in the polymorphism of -1082 site between two groups (P>0.05), the frequencies of -819C, -592C alleles and -819 CC+TC, -592 CC+AC genotypes were significantly increased in EMs patients compared with the controls (P<0.05). The frequencies of -819C, -592C alleles and -819 CC+TC, -592 CC+AC genotypes were significantly increased in III-IV EMs patients compared with I-IIMs or controls (P<0.01). This suggests that polymorphisms of IL-10-819 (T/C) and -592 (A/C) may be associated with the susceptibility to EMs in Chinese population.

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of endovascular covered stent on vertebral dissecting aneurysm and carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF)., Methods: From March 2006 to May 2007, Jostent coronary stent grafts were used to treat 4 patients with vertebral dissecting aneurysm and 3 patients with CCF. The patients of vertebral dissecting aneurysm were male and 37- 57-years-old, the lesion was located on the left vertebral artery in 3 patients and on the right vertebral artery in 1 patient, with the primary symptoms of sudden headache and vomiting; CT scan demonstrated subarachnoid hemorrhage; and the medical history varied from 2 days to 10 years. The patients of CCF were male and 35- 51-years-old, the lesion was located on the left carotid artery in 2 patients and on the right carotid artery in 1 patient, with the primary symptoms of headache, lateral exophthalmos, eyeball distending pain, conjunctive hyperemia and impaired eyesight; all 3 patients got head injury 2 days to 1 month before the appearance of symptoms and 1 of them had a history of severe nosebleed; and the medical history ranged from 1 week to 2 months., Results: For the patients with vertebral dissecting aneurysm, complete obliteration of aneurysms was achieved, the circulations of the vertebral artery, the adjacent posterior inferior cerebellar artery and the adjacent anterior inferior cerebellar artery were smooth, no complications relative to operation occurred, and no recurrence of symptoms and intracranial rehaemorrhagia were observed during the follow-up period of 8 months-2 years. For the patients with CCF, the fistula were completely obliterated, the circulation of carotid artery was smooth, the exophthalmus and conjunctiva hyperemia were improved obviously 3 days after operation, the eyesight of patient was improved at different levels over the follow-up period of 1-3 months., Conclusion: Endovascular covered stent is a new and useful tool for the treatment of vertebral dissecting aneurysm and CCF.

Aim: To construct the plasmid pSG5/NS5A5BdeltaC, and to investigate its expression in Huh7 cells., Methods: The plasmidpTM1-NS2NS5A5BdeltaC was taken as the template. The primers were designed according to the characteristics of the sequence and endoenzyme cleavage sites in HCV NS5A5BdeltaC and vector pTM1, pSG5. The HCV NS5A5BdeltaC gene fragment was amplified by PCR from pTM1-NS2NS5A5BdeltaC and inserted into vector pSG5. The positive clones were screened by Ampicillin and identified by the restriction endoenzyme Sac I and Bgl II digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis. The constructs were transfected into Huh7 cells with FuGene 6 reagents. Immunofluorescence and Western blot were performed to detect the expression of the constructs in Huh7 cells., Results: Endoenzyme digestion analysis showed that the size and the inserting orientation of the fragment met the design expectation. Immunofluorescence staining displayed the expression of HCV NS5A5BdeltaC protein, which was located in the cytoplasm, and the expression rate reached as high as 40%. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the relative molecular mass of the expressed product by pSG5/NS5A5BdeltaC was about 82 ku, which was consistent with the theoretical value., Conclusion: pSG5/NS5A5BdeltaC is successfully constructed, and it can be expressed transiently in Huh7 cells, which would lay a foundation for the further study on function of HCV polyprotein.

Objective: To evaluate the association between the susceptibility of endometriosis (EMS) and the gene polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in Chinese Han population., Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 76 EMS patients and 87 normal controls. PCR-RFLP was used to detect the single base change polymorphism in both TNFalpha gene and TNFbeta gene., Results: The allele frequencies of the TNFalpha polymorphism were 0.9474 and 0.9253 in the EMS patients and the control group respectively, and the TNFbeta polymorphism were 0.0526 and 0.0747 respectively. The allele frequencies of the TNFbeta1 polymorphism were 0.4605 and 0.5115 in the EMS patients and the control group, and the TNFbeta2 polymorphism were 0.5395 and 0.4885. No difference in the gene and genotype frequencies of TNFalpha and TNFbeta was noted in the EMS patients and normal controls (all P > 0.05)., Conclusion: TNF gene polymorphism has no effect on EMS in Chinese Han population. Ethnic difference may exist in TNF allele frequency.

Objective: To investigate whether interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta ) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) gene polymorphisms are associated with endometriosis (EMs) in Chinese women., Methods: One hundred and thirty-eight patients with EMs and 100 women without EMs were enrolled in the study. Polymorphisms for IL-1 beta-511 promoter, IL-1 beta exon 5, and IL-1RA were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)., Result: There were no significant differences about the distribution of the genotypes and alleles of IL-1 beta -511 promoter and IL-1 beta exon 5 in two groups (P > 0.05). The frequencies of A1/A1, A1/A2, A1/A4 and A2/A2 of IL-1RA gene were 84.1 %, 12.3 %, 2.9 % and 0.7 % in EMs and 95 % , 4 % ,1 % and 0 % in controls, respectively (P=0.042). The A1, A2 and A4 alleles were 91.7 % , 6.9 % and 1.4 % in EMs and 97.5 % , 2 % and 0.5 % in controls (P=0.019). In comparison with the reference genotype, the wild A1/A1 homozygote, the odds ratio for A1/A2 was 3.48 (95 % CI: 1.13 - 10.69). Compared with the A1 allele, the odds ratio for the A2 allele was 3.66 (95 % CI: 1.23 - 10.94)., Conclusion: Association between the IL-1 beta-511 promoter,IL-1 beta exon 5 polymorphisms and EMs in China is not found. However, the A2 allele of IL-1RA gene may be one of the risk factors for the Chinese women in Zhejiang Province to suffer EMs.

PPR (pentatricopeptide repeats) gene family, one of the largest gene families discovered in plants, is characterized by tandem arrays of pentatricopeptide repeats, which play essential roles in mitochondria or chloroplasts, probably via binding to organellar transcripts. In this review, we summarized the current status in the study of PPR family, including the structure character of PPR gene, the distribution in the chromosome arms and other genomes, as well as the biological function of PPR gene.

Ferrate is multi-function agent in water treatment and shows great oxidizing ability and excellent purifying effect. This experiment evaluated the performance of ferrate for arsenic removal. Experimental results show that the best rate of ferrate and arsenic (III) is 15:1, the efficiency of As removal can be achieved 98%, and the residual concentration of As3 + is < 0.05 mg/L. The optimum pH is 5.5 to approximately 7.5. The oxidative and coagulation time is 10 min and 30 min respectively. The salinity and hardness did not interfere with removal arsenic. This method is easy, very effective comparing with ferric method and KMnO4-Ferric method.

Objective: To investigate the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the pathogenesis of endometriosis., Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the concentrations of IL-17 in peritoneal fluid of 36 patients with different stage endometriosis and 26 patients without endometriosis., Results: The concentrations of IL-17 in peritoneal fluid of the patients with and without endometriosis were (5.7 +/- 1.9) ng/L and (5.3 +/- 1.4) ng/L, respectively, without significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). According to staging criteria of r-AFS, the concentrations of peritoneal IL-17 in the patients with stage I-II endometriosis (6.4 +/- 1.7) ng/L were significantly higher than those in the patients with stage III-IV endometriosis (5.1 +/- 1.8) ng/L and in the patients without endometriosis (P < 0.05). There was no difference with regard to peritoneal IL-17 concentrations between proliferative and secretory phases in the patients with or without endometriosis (P > 0.05). The levels of peritoneal IL-17 were significantly higher in the endometriosis patients with infertility (6.4 +/- 1.8) ng/L than in the endometriosis patients without infertility (5.1 +/- 1.8) ng/L (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: IL-17 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of early endometriosis and pathophysiology of endometriosis-associated infertility.

Objective: To investigate the role of interleukine-16 (IL-16) in the pathogenesis of endometriosis., Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the levels of IL-16 in peritoneal fluid and serum specimens of 22 women with different stage endometriosis and 22 controls., Results: The median levels of IL-16 in peritoneal fluid and serum were 290.5 pg/ml and 539.4 pg/ml in women with endometriosis, and 296.6 pg/ml and 778.1 pg/ml in controls, respectively; there was no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05). However, the IL-16 levels in peritoneal fluid and serum of patients with minimal/mild stage endometriosis and controls were all significantly higher than those of patients with moderate/severe endometriosis (P<0.01, <0.05). In addition, there was no statistical correlation of peritoneal IL-16 levels with those in serum (P>0.05)., Conclusion: Reduced levels of IL-16 in peritoneal fluid and serum of women with advanced stage endometriosis may imply a role of IL-16 in the development and progression of endometriosis.

Cell cycle deregulation is regarded as an important event to involve in cellular immortalization. To confirm the role of cell cycle deregulation in human fetal nasopharyngeal epithelial cells escaping from the replicative senescence induced by Epstein-Barr virus infection, we detected expression of cell cycle regulators, such as p16INK4a, p21WAF1/CIP1, p53, and E2F1 with Western blotting and immunocytochemisty in this study. Our results found that Epstein-Barr virus inhibited the expression of p16INK4a, at the same time, E2F1 expression were strongly increased in EBV-infected cells, however, as for the expression of p53 and p21WAF1/CIP1, there was no difference between EBV-infected cells and non-infected cells. The results show that EBV inactivates p16INK4a/pRB pathway and then induces E2F1 activity and it is implicated that Epstein-Barr virus-medicated cell cycle deregulation plays an important role in the immortalization of human nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. These data will be helpful for further studying the carcinogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

EBV is detected in more and more tumors, and is relative to carcinogenesis. We studied the copies of EBV DNA in whole blood of NPC patients and healthy controls by real-time quantitative PCR. In the 73 NPC patients and 83 controls, the positive rate of EBV in blood of NPC is 46.6%, while 13.3% in control. The mean copy number is 3.9 x 10(4) copys/microgram DNA in controls, which is much higher than NPC patients (which is 1.7 x 10(5) copies/microgram DNA). EBV infection is relative with NPC, while the lytic form of EBV maybe more important than its latent form. These results suggest that whole blood EBV DNA may be a valuable tool for molecular diagnosis of NPC.