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Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technique for precise topographic mapping. However, owing to the side-looking SAR imaging geometry, geometry distortions appear in mountainous scenarios. Because of phase discontinuities or the absence of a valid phase, it is difficult to recover accurate DEM in such areas with single-aspect InSAR data. Fusion of two or more different aspects of InSAR data can deal with this problem in practice. Experiments using two antiparallel aspects of airborne InSAR data are carried out based on this idea. To decrease the processing error in single-aspect data and fuse them seamlessly, a MOtion COmpensation (MOCO) method using iterative DEM is used to reduce the MOCO error. Besides, phase-unwrapping methods based on terrain characteristics are proposed to avoid phase-unwrapping error owing to phase discontinuities in areas of shadow and layover. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the processing methods.

Interferometry filtering is one of the key steps in obtain high-precision Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Orthophoto Map (DOM). In the case of low-correlation or complicated topography, traditional phase filtering methods fail in balancing noise elimination and phase preservation, which leads to inaccurate interferometric phase. This paper proposed an adaptive iterated nonlocal interferometry filtering method to deal with the problem. Based on the thought of nonlocal filtering, the proposed method filters the image with utilization of the image redundancy information. The smoothing parameter of the method is adaptive to the interferometry, and automatic iteration, in which the window size is adjusted, is applied to improve the filtering precision. Validity of the proposed method is verified by simulated and real data. Comparison with existed methods is given at the same time.

When applying to the airborne repeat-pass Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which has long synthetic aperture and large azimuth-dependent errors, the surface assumption used to simply the time-domain algorithm model and the residual motion errors due to the precision of the navigation system will affect the imaging result and the interferometric measurement. This paper analyzes the altitude errors introduced by the surface assumption and the residual motion errors due to the precision of the navigation system. We deduce the range errors model during the single pass and analyze the effects of these errors on the plane location, interferometric phase and DEM precision. Then the accuracy of the theoretical deduction is verified by simulation and real data. The research provides theoretical bases for the system design and signal processing of airborne repeat-pass InSAR.

Phase unwrapping is a key issue in InSAR research. As a critical step of InSAR processing, it affects the accuracy of interferometry measurement directly. The efficiency of the traditional quality-guided phase unwrapping method is low due to a great deal of sorting, espceically for large interferogram. This paper proposes a highly efficient quality-guided phase unwrapping method based on heap sort in order to solve the problem. First, the quality map is caculated according to the interferometric complex data or interferogram. Next, with the max-heap acting as the data structure of sorting, its property is maintained while deleting root node and inserting new node, and thus the sorting of quality map is accomplished and the phase can be unwrapped from high quality areas to low quality areas. The improved algorithm reduces the computational complexity greatly compared with traditional methods, which is significant in large area mapping of InSAR. At the end of the paper, the simulated and experimental results show the accuracy and the efficiency of the algorithm.

The cultural exchange for ancient Jiaodong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula is determined by the particular geographical conditions. As early as 7000 years ago, the two peninsulas began to culturally exchange, and finally the culture in Jiaodong Peninsula replaced the aboriginal culture in Liaodong Peninsula. During the reign of Hanwudi in the Han Dynasty, the county system was established in Liaodong Peninsula, the advanced culture of Jiaodong Peninsula was accepted by people in Liaodong Peninsula. By the end of Han dynasty, the cultures in the two peninsulas had been combined to each other under the influence of Confucian thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The present experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of mature peptide eukaryotic expression plasmid of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) in Guangxi Bama Mini-pig on mouse growth effect , in order to provide reference for researching the promoting growth effect of GHRH mature peptide on Guangxi Bama Mini-pig, and efficient preparation and safety use of GHRH gene vaccine. [Method] By using gene recombination technique, the GHRH mature peptide sequence of Guangxi Bama Mini-pig was linked into plasmid pEGFP-N1 to construct recombinant eukaryotic plasmid pEGFP-GHRH. The mouse pretreated with 25% sugar solution was treated with intramuscular injection with dose of 0.5 μg/g plasmid to record their weight. Mean while aiming at mice in injection group of recombinant plasmid, the DNA of their heart, hepar, kidney and muscle in injection site was extracted to detect residue of gene plasmid by using PCR technique. [Result] The results showed that, when recombinant plasmid pEGFP-GHRH was injected into mouse, the ex-GHRH mature peptide sequence was expressed in the muscle, while it was not integrated into mouse genome. Compared injection group of recombinant plasmid with injection group of empty plasmid, there was no significant difference in final weight of mice between the former and the latter (P>0.05). While during 10-25 days after injection, the weight of the former was significantly higher than that of the latter (P>0.05 ). As for relative daily gain rate, during 15 days after injection, the weight of the former was higher than that of the latter. [Conclusion] The recombinant plasmid pEGFP-GHRH of Guangxi Bama Mini-pig can promote growth of mouse for a certain time. Therefore, GHRH has small difference in different species and high conservation in animal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question classification is one of most important tasks of question analysis in question answer system. A novel question classification method combining domain ontology and question focus is proposed in this article. First, with the supports of predefined structure of question focus and extracting rules, the semantic representation of question focus is fetched from the results of shallow semantic analysis including dependency analysis and semantic role labeling. Then, questions are labeled with the IDs of question objects in domain ontology. Thus, according to the fact of "same questions have same focus, and questions with different focuses are of different questions", questions with same focus are classified into the same category. The experimental result found that 93.91% accuracy for 1 905 special questions in restricted domain of computer troubleshooting could be achieved by using the proposed method. It demonstrates the validity of question focus and domain ontology in question classification task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cashmere scarf with its comfortability, soft slippery waxy, lasting and nature luster characteristics it is popular with vast consumers. Cashmere and its blended ihin scarves developing has become a main direction in the development of cashmere products. Using water soluble fiber and cashmere fiber blended to production thin scarf gets the attention in the industry. This article researches the water soluble fiber, Modal fiber and blended cashmere scarf from raw material selection, product design, and process technology of spinning, printing the main process. Combined with the actual production obtained appropriate production technology, it provides the effective way for the development of frivolous, unique style of cashmere blended printed scarf. The production technology in actual production has played a guiding role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Node importance evaluation is one of the important network analyses in complex network and data mining. However most of the existing methods are complex and slow for large networks. In this paper, a practical method based on resistive network for fast node importance evaluation was proposed. Node importance was evaluated based on its influence on the average power dissipation in a resistance network, a node was important because it reduced the average energy dissipation of the network. The time complexity of the algorithm is O(n³) in the worst situation, and is O(n) in the distributed computing environment. Experimental results testify that the algorithm is efficient and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restrictions on the use of phthalates have led to the wide use of alternative plasticizers (APs) such as organophosphate, adipate, citrate, and sebacate. However, because plasticizers combine with polymers in plastic products via unstable noncovalent bonds, they can easily migrate out of these products, causing environmental pollution. In particular, their migration out of food packaging, containers, and other food-contact materials and into food has raised great concerns. Toxicological studies have shown that APs contain potentially toxic substances that can affect endocrine functions and cause neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and other adverse effects. Thus, their potential risks to food should not be underestimated. Sesame oil is a necessity in daily cooking. The results of risk monitoring in recent years have indicated that sesame oil often contains phthalates in excess of the standard limits. However, the potential risks of APs in sesame oil have not yet been reported. Some common detection methods for APs include gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Unfortunately, these methods use low-resolution mass spectrometry and are limited by the resolution, scan rate, and analysis mode. Gas chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-Q-TOF/MS) has the advantages of high resolution, sensitivity, and analysis speed. In full-scan mode, GC-Q-TOF/MS can accurately collect the full-spectrum mass number of target compounds with low content levels in complex substrates, thereby realizing efficient screening and quantitative analysis. It shows outstanding advantages in the trace analysis of pesticide residues and pollutants. Furthermore, it features strong qualitative and high screening abilities. Establishment of a personal compound database and library (PCDL) addresses limitations in the number of compounds that can be measured and enables the rapid identification of targets without the use of standard products. In addition, increasing the number of targets for synchronous screening enables the retrospective analysis of new targets. In this study, a method based on GC-Q-TOF/MS was developed for the determination of 54 APs in sesame oil. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified using a PSA/silica solid-phase extraction column. The mass-spectral information of the samples was then collected by GC-Q-TOF/MS in full-scan mode, and the 54 APs were searched using an established high-resolution mass-spectrum database to simultaneously achieve the broad-spectrum screening, qualitative identification, and quantitative analysis of multiple targets. The effects of different extraction solvents and purification methods on sample extraction and purification were compared. The accuracy of the screening results was improved by optimizing the GC-separation conditions, quality-extraction window, retention-time deviation, and other screening parameters. The screening detection limits (SDLs) of the 54 APs ranged from 0.01 to 0.02 mg/kg; specifically, the SDL of 41 compounds was 0.01 mg/kg and that of 13 compounds were 0.02 mg/kg. The limits of quantification were in the range of 0.02-0.04 mg/kg. A total of 80 sesame-oil samples were rapidly screened using this method under optimal conditions. Five APs were identified from the 80 sesame-oil samples and quantitatively analyzed using the matrix-matched external-standard method. The results of this quantitative methodology showed that the five APs had good linear relationships in the range of 0.01-0.2 mg/L, with all correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The accuracy and precision of the method were verified using a standard recovery test with blank sesame-oil samples. Under the three standard levels of 0.04, 0.08, and 0.2 mg/kg, the recoveries of the five APs ranged from 71.3% to 97.8%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.4% to 6.1%( n =6). The developed method is fast, accurate, sensitive, and has high throughput. Thus, it can realize the efficient screening, qualitative identification, and quantitative analysis of the 54 APs in sesame oil and provides a potential solution for the monitoring of other contaminants in food.

Objectives: To study the early motor development of children with William syndrome (WS)., Methods: The medical data of 59 children with WS (40 males and 19 females) aged 0-24 months from September 2018 to August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the test results of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale II, the motor development ability of the children of different ages was analyzed., Results: There was no significant difference in age and motor quotient between boys and girls ( P >0.05). For the age groups of <6 months, 6 to <12 months, 12 to <18 months, and 18 to 24 months, the gross-motor quotients were 94±5, 78±11, 71±8, and 63±8, respectively, and the fine-motor quotients were 94±5, 80±10, 74±9, and 65±9, respectively. Both the gross- and fine-motor quotients significantly decreased with age ( P <0.05). For the above age groups, the rates of gross-motor abnormalities were 0%, 53%, 87%, and 93%, respectively, and the rates of fine-motor development abnormalities were 0%, 47%, 67%, and 93%, respectively. The rates of gross- and fine-motor development abnormalities increased significantly with age ( P <0.05)., Conclusions: Children with WS have no obvious motor delays within 6 months of age, but present with decreasing motor ability and an increasing incidence of motor delays with age. Therefore, it is necessary to follow up their motor abilities and provide early intervention to decrease the incidence of motor developmental delays.

Objective: To explore the effects of hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase alpha subunit (HADHA) on the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells, a human trophoblast cell line, and its potential mechanism of action., Methods: Immunofluorescence staining was done to evaluate the expression levels of HADHA in samples of normal villi and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) villi at 6-8 weeks. Lentiviral infection system was used to construct stable HTR-8/SVneo cell lines with HADHA overexpression and knockdown. Western blot, qRT-PCR, Wound-healing assay, and Transwell assay were used to determine the effect of HADHA on the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells and the expression of relevant genes. Transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were done to screen for the potential target genes and signaling pathways regulated by HADHA. The specific molecular mechanism of how HADHA regulates the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells was examined by adding the inhibitor of protein kinase B (PKB/AKT)., Results: HADHA was highly expressed in extravillous trophoblasts (EVT) of RSA villus samples as compared with samples from the normal control group. In HTR-8/SVneo cells overexpressing HADHA , the expression levels of migration and invasion-related genes, including HLA - G , MMP 2, MMP 9, and NCAD , were decreased ( P <0.01, P <0.05), and the migration and invasion abilities of HTR-8/SVneo cells were weakened ( P <0.05). HADHA knockdown increased the expression levels of HLA - G , MMP 2, MMP 9, and NCAD ( P <0.01, P <0.05), and promoted the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells ( P <0.05). In addition, HADHA overexpression decreased the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT ( P <0.05) and inhibited the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. HADHA knockdown activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. When MK-2206, an AKT inhibitor, was added to stable HTR-8/SVneo cell lines with HADHA knockdown, the migration and invasion of the cells were significantly reduced., Conclusion: HADHA inhibits the migration and invasion of HTR-8/SVneo cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway., (Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

Objective: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Taichong"(LR3) on blood pressure, sympathetic nerve activity, baroreflex sensitivity, and α 2-adrenergic receptor (α2AR) expression in nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) in hypertensive rats, so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of hypertension., Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham-operation, model, EA, and sham-EA (non-acupoint) groups, with 12 rats in each group. The hypertension model was established by occlusion of the right renal aorta (two-kidney-one clip method). Rats of the sham-operation group received the same surgery but without occlusion of the renal artery. EA (2 Hz/15 Hz, 2 mA) was applied to bilateral LR3 for 30 min, once a day for 28 days, and sham EA was applied to the skin of the rat tail near the buttock on both sides. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) of the abdominal aorta and heart rate (HR) were recorded. The autonomic nerve function was assessed by using frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV), and the baroreflex sensitivity detected by sequential method. Plasma norepinephrine (NE) level was measured by ELISA, and the α2AR positive neurons and α2AR protein expression in NTS were detected by using fluorescence immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively. The functions of α2AR within the NTS in modulating MBP and HR were verified by microinjection of its agonist (clonidine) and antagonist (yohimbine) separately., Results: Compared to the sham operation rats, the hypertension rats displayed significant increases in the MAP ( P <0.01), plasma norepinephrine content ( P <0.01), ratios of low frequency/total power (LF/TP) and low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ( P <0.01), and significant reduction in the overall gain, uplink sequence gain and downlink sequence gain of baroreflex ( P <0.01), the number α2AR positive neurons and α2AR protein expression level in NTS ( P <0.01). The rats in the EA group (rather than in the sham-EA group) showed significant reduction in MAP at the 3rd and 4th week, plasma NE content, LF/TP and LF/HF ( P <0.01), and obvious increase in the overall gain, uplink sequence gain and downlink sequence gain of baroreflex ( P <0.01), and the number of α2AR positive neurons and α2AR protein expression in comparison ( P <0.05) with those of the model group. Microinjection of clonidine into NTS induced an evident decrease in both MAP and HR in the model group relevant to the sham operation group ( P <0.01), while the MAP and HR changes of the EA (not sham EA) group were considerably bigger than those of the model group ( P <0.05), being similar to those of the sham-operation group ( P >0.05), which suggested an elimination of the BP-lowering effect of clonidine after EA., Conclusion: EA at LR3 can reduce MBP, sympathetic activities, improve baroreflex sensitivity in renovascular hypertensive rats, which may be associated with its effects in up-regulating the decreased NTS α2AR expression and functional activities.

Surface farmland soil samples were collected from 135 different sites in a 64 km 2 area around a lead and zinc smelter in Jiaozuo City, China. The concentration of the selected heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, V, and Co) was analyzed and the spatial distribution of these heavy metals in the farmland was determined using the kriging interpolation technique (ArcGis 10.1). The enrichment factor, potential ecological risk model, and potential health risk model were used to assess the contamination level and potential risk of heavy metals in farmland surface soil. The results show that the average contents of Cd, Pb, Cr, and Zn in farmland soil are higher than the background content of these metals in the Henan Province and the average content of Cd is 2.8 times higher than that of class Ⅱ of the environmental quality standard for soils in China (GB 15618-1995). The heavy metal contamination in the west of the study area is higher than that in the east and the soil around the lead and zinc smelter (within 3 km) is severely contaminated with Pb and Cd, which is consistent with the location of the industries causing the pollution. The enrichment factors show that the soil is severely contaminated with Cd; partial sampling points are seriously contaminated with Pb, Cu, and Zn; the Cr and Co pollution is small; and Ni and V are almost not affected by human activities. The results of the risk assessment indicate that Cd poses serious ecological and health risks, Pb and Cu pose serious ecological risks, and Cr poses a serious cancer risk.

Objective: To study the effects of Chai Qin Cheng Qi Decoction(CQCQD)(Traditional Chinese Medicine)on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)complicated liver damage in rats., Methods: Seventy-two SD rats were randomly divided into three groups( n =24):Sham group, SAP group and CQCQD treatment group. SAP model was induced by retrograde injection with sodium taurocholate. The rats in CQCQD group received treatment with CQCQD. After modeling 1 h, 5 h, 10 h, pancreas and liver histopathological changes were observed. The serum levels of interleukin-6(IL-6), amylase(AMS), alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate transaminase(AST) were detected. IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1(MCP-1)mRNA in pancreas and liver were assayed., Results: Compared with sham group, the activities of AMS,ALT and AST and the serum level of IL-6 in SAP group were increased significantly. The levels of MCP-1 and IL-6 mRNA in pancreas and liver tissue were increased ( P <0.05). Compared with SAP group, the activities of AMS,ALT and AST and the level of IL-6 in CQCQD group were reduced significantly ( P <0.05). The pancreas and liver tissue pathological damage alleviated. The levels of IL-6 and MCP-1mRNA in pancreas and liver were decreased significantly( P <0.05)., Conclusions: MCP-1 takes part in the progression of SAP complicated liver damage; CQCQD can significantly inhibit the expression of pancreas and liver MCP-1, alleviate pathological damage of pancreas and liver in SAP and play a therapeutic role in SAP complicated liver damage.

Sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite autotrophic denitrification reactors were applied to treat the secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant to explore the removal effect, the changes of microbial community, and recovery time of reactors after starvation period. It was shown in the results that after 30 d non-water starvation endurance, the effluent concentrations of NO 3 - -N in sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite reactors increased from 1.78 mg·L -1 , 11.32 mg·L -1 to 27.87 mg·L -1 , 26.56 mg·L -1 respectively at the low temperature of 12-14℃. In addition, sulfur/dolomite and pyrite/dolomite reactors recovered within 5 d and 11 d since restarted and could maintain a good effect of nitrogen removal at low temperature. MiSeq high throughput sequencing results showed that the abundance and diversity of the bacterial communities in starvation period in both reactors were lower than those in recovery period. The dominating phylum was Proteobacteria in both reactors while the dominating class was β -Proteobacteria. Thiobacillus was identified as the main genus for denitrification in sulfur/dolomite reactor.

Sphingolipids are a class of lipids that have important signaling functions. The most widely studied bioactive shingolipids include ceramides, sphingosine-1-phosphate and so on. In contrast, dihydroceramides have received poor attention. However, recent reports indicate that dihydroceramides are in fact bioactive lipids. The biological activity of dihydroceramide derivatives have been proven in the biophysical, genetic and pharmacological models by decreasing dihydroceramide desaturase activity. Current research shows that dihydroceramides are involved in a variety of important physiological and pathological processes, including the response of autophagy, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In this review article, we summarizes the recent advances in study of dihydroceramide in the metabolism pathway, the key metabolic enzymes and biological funcitons.

Objective: To observe the effect of jujube pretreatment on serum levels of AST and ALT, liver pathology, and the expression of cytochrome P4502e1 (CYP2E1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the liver tissue of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) mice., Methods: Totally 88 Kunming mice were randomly divided into the control group (n = 28), the model group (n = 32), and the jujube treatment group (n = 28). The animal model was prepared using intragastric alcoholism for mice in the model group and the jujube treatment group, while distilled water was intragastrically given to those in the control group. Extraction of jujube was intragastrically given to mice in the jujube treatment group at week 4, while equal volume of distilled water was intragastrically given to mice in the rest two groups. The therapeutic course lasted for 12 weeks. Serum levels of AST and ALT, liver pathology, and the expression of CYP2E1 and TNF-alpha in the liver tissue of ALD mice were observed after administration of jujube., Results: Compared with the model group, serum levels of AST and ALT decreased, the liver pathology was improved, and the expression of CYP2E1 and TNF-alpha in the liver tissue decreased, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Jujube had certain effect in treating ALD.

The vascular development consists of two continuous processes: vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Some researches showed that G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play important roles in these processes, including the regulation of differentiation, migration and coalescence of angioblasts, fate decision of tip and stalk cells, proliferation and migration of endothelial cells and tube formation. For the key events of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, we summarize the recent advance of GPCRs, especially Class A and F. In particular, the advantages, of zebrafish, which has been widely used in developmental biology as a vertebrate model, are introduced. Using zebrafish will bring the great potential and prospect to demonstrate the role of GPCRs in vascular development in the future.

The present study is aimed to investigate the effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) on contractile activities in isolated thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery rings and the underlying mechanism in rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group (CON), 14 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH14), 28 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH28) and 42 days CIHH treatment group (CIHH42). CIHH rats were exposed to hypoxia in a hypobaric chamber simulating 5 000 m altitude, 6 h daily for 14, 28 and 42 d, respectively. After artery rings were prepared from pulmonary artery and thoracic aorta, the contractile activity of the artery rings was recorded using organ bath technique. Results are shown as follows. (1) There were no significant differences of noradrenaline (NA)- and KCl-induced contractions in thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery rings among CIHH and CON rats. (2) Angiotensin Ⅱ (ANGⅡ)-induced contraction in thoracic aorta rings, not in pulmonary artery rings, of CIHH rats was decreased compared with that in CON rats. There was no significant difference of ANGⅡ-induced contraction in thoracic aorta rings among CIHH rats. (3) Inhibitory effect of CIHH on ANGⅡ-induced contraction in thoracic aorta rings was endothelium-independent, and was reversed by glibenclamide (Gli), an ATP-sensitive potassium channels (K(ATP)) blocker, and L-NAME, a NO synthase inhibitor, but not by indomethacin (Indo), a cyclooxygenase inhibitor. These results suggest that CIHH attenuates the contraction induced by ANGⅡ in thoracic aorta rings of rat, which is related to the opening of K(ATP) channel and the increased production of NO.

Objective: To investigate the role of fascin, an actin bundling protein, in the development and progression of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and explore its association with the clinicopathologic characteristics and 5-year survival of the patients., Methods: Using tissue array and immunohistochemistry, the expression of fascin was determined in 241 ESCC tissues and the corresponding normal esophageal mucosal tissues., Results: ESCC tissues showed a significantly higher overexpression rate of fascin than the corresponding normal esophageal mucosal tissues (68.9% vs 15.5%, P<0.05). The overexpression of fascin was correlated to lymph node metastasis and TMN stage, but not to the patients' age, gender, tumor differentiation and general classification. Survival analysis showed that abnormal expression of fascin was associated with the 5-year survival rate of patients with ESCC., Conclusions: The abnormal expression of fascin may play an important role in the progression of ESCC, and detection of fascin expression may have important prognostic values.

Objective: To evaluate the influence on the synaptic protein expression in different brain regions of ICR mice after lambda-cyhalothrin (LCT) exposure during postnatal period., Methods: Two male and 4 female healthy ICR mice were put in one cage. It was set as pregnancy if vaginal plug was founded. Offspring were divided into 5 groups randomly, and exposed to LCT (0.01% DMSO solution) at the doses of 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 mg/kg by intragastric rout every other day from postnatal days (PND) 5 to PND13, control animals were treated with normal saline or DMSO by the same route. The brains were removed from pups on PND 14, the synaptic protein expression levels in cortex, hippocampus and striatum were measured by western blot., Results: GFAP levels of cortex and hippocampus in the LCT exposure group increased with doses, as compared with control group (P < 0.05), while Tuj protein expression did not change significantly in the various brain regions of ICR mice. GAP-43 protein expression levels in the LCT exposed mouse hippocampus and in female ICR mouse cortex increased with doses, as compared with control group (P < 0.05). Presynaptic protein (Synapsin I) expression levels did not change obviously in various brain regions. However, postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) expression levels of the hippocampus and striatum in male offspring of 10.0 mg/kg LCT group, of cortex of female LCT groups, and of female offspring in all exposure groups, of striatum, in 1.0 or 10.0 mg/kg LCT exposure groups significantly decreased (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Early postnatal exposure to LCT affects synaptic protein expression. These effects may ultimately affect the construction of synaptic connections.

Objective: To study the effect of adenovirus vector-mediated siRNA targeting vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) on apoptosis and the expression of survivin in K562 cells., Methods: K562 cells were infected with recombinant adenovirus Ad5-VEGFsi for 72 hours as experimental group (K562/Ad5-VEGFsi), and empty vector group (K562/Ad5) and blank control group (K562) as controls. VEGF mRNA and survivin mRNA expression were determined by RT-PCR. The protein levels of VEGF and survivin were measured by ELISA and Western blot, respectively. The apoptosis of K562 cells was detected by flow cytometry., Results: The levels of VEGF and survivin mRNA expression in experimental group cells were significantly decreased (P < 0.01). The protein concentration of VEGF in experimental group supernatant was (1121 +/- 15) pg/ml, being lower than that in empty vector group \[(1290 +/- 28) pg/ml\] and black control group \[(1303 +/- 28) pg/ml\] (P < 0.01), and the level of survivin protein in experimental group (0.26 +/- 0.11) was significantly reduced compared with that in blank control group (0.74 +/- 0.10) (P < 0.01). The apoptosis rate of K562/Ad5-VEGFsi cells (16.45 +/- 0.14)% was higher than those of K562/Ad5 cells (3.54 +/- 0.17)% and K562 cells (2.56 +/- 0.20)% (P < 0.01)., Conclusions: VEGF can up-regulate the expression of survivin. After inhibition of VEGF by RNAi, the expression of survivin is decreased subsequently and the rates of cell apoptosis are increased.

Aim: To investigate the effect of Honeysuckle flower (HF) and Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi (SBG) on contraction and electric activity of small intestine smooth muscle in rabbit and the underlying mechanisms., Methods: Using organ bath technique to observe the effect of HF and SBG on contractive and electric activity of small intestine smooth muscle in rabbit., Results: HF and SBG significantly decreased the amplitude, frequency and area under the curve of contractive, as well as electric activity in a dose-depended manner. IC50 of the contractive amplitude was 6.30 g/L and 1.56 g/L by Logit Loglinear analysis. The inhibitive effect of HF and SBG on contractive activity could be partly decreased by beta-receptor blocker Propranolol, NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME, and K+ channel blocker Glibenclamide. Also HF and SBG inhibited acetylcholine-induced both intracellular and extracellular calcium-depended contraction significantly., Conclusion: HF and SBG obviously inhibit the contractive and electric activity of small intestine smooth muscle of rabbit. The mechanisms are related to several pathways.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between the spatial learning and memory and hippocampal ERK1/2 pathway activity in ovariectomized rats., Methods: Female SD rats were randomly divided into sham operated group (Sham group) and ovariectomized group (OVX group), and fed 4 months. Then spatial learning and memory of rats were evaluated by the Morris water maze task. Rats in each group were randomly divided into training group and untraining group before the test. Induced activity of ERK 1/2 stimulated by learning and memory was detected in the training group, and basic activity of ERK 1/2 was detected in the untraining group. The protein expression of p-ERK 1/2 and Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) were assayed by Western blotting respectively., Results: (1) During the training session the OVX rats held longer escape latenci than the sham rats did (P < 0.05). (2) The relative level of pERK1/2 protein in training rats of the both groups was higher than that in untraining rats (P < 0.05). (3) The relative level of p-ERK1/2 protein both training and untraining rats in OVX group was lower than that in sham group correspondingly (P < 0.05). (4) Compared with sham group, the relative expression of RKIP in OVX group was significantly higher (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Spatial learning and memory deficits in ovariectomized rats might be correlated with the decreased basic and induced activity of ERK1/2 pathway and increased expression of RKIP in the CA1/CA2 region of hippocampus.

Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) is a highly conserved group of multifunctional proteins found in a variety of different species. In the same species, it is expressed in numerous tissues and cell types. PEBP plays a pivotal modulatory role in several signal transduction pathways. PEBP inhibits the MAPK pathway through interacting with Raf-1, so it's also known as Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP). PEBP is involved in the regulation of PKC, G-protein-coupled receptor and NF-kappaB signaling pathway as well. In clinical researches, it was found that as the precursor of hippocampal cholinergic neurostimulating peptide (HCNP), PEBP has an important effect on the development of Alzheimer's disease. Recent evidence imply that PEBP function as a metastasis suppressor gene because it can suppress metastasis and promote apoptosis in tumor cells. In colorectal cancer, high methylation of the promoter region of PEBP gene results in the non-expression of PEBP, that maybe the molecular basis of tumor metastasis. The latest studies demonstrate that PEBP regulates the spindle checkpoint in cell cycle and loss of PEBP can leads to chromosomal abnormalities.

Total RNA was isolated from pituitary gland of Clarias lazera, and the cDNA encoding growth hormone (GH) protein was amplified and cloned by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The open reading frame (ORF) of cDNA is of 603 nt which encodes GH precursor consisted of a signal peptide with 22 amino acid residues and a mature peptide with 178 amino acid residues. Sequence alignment indicated that the amino acid sequence homology approached to 95.8% between C. lazera and other 6 species of Siluriforms catfish. Secondary structure assessment showed that the GH protein contained different structural regions of alpha-helix, beta-sheet, beta-turn and random coil, among which alpha-helix has main proportion. Antigenicity analysis indicates that there exist 4 domains in amino acid sequence where B cell dominant epitopes could form. Summarily, the structure characteristics of C. lazera GH should provide a great benefit in its modification into recombinant vaccine or monoclonal antibody for future application.