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In our previous study, we demonstrated that a surface supported rapid evaporation crystallization (SSREC) method can be utilized to effectively prepare single nanometer nanocrystals (NCs) of 4-N, N-dimethylamino-4’-N’-methylstilbazolium tosylate (DAST), a bench mark of organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal. In this study, first, we extend the SSREC method to DAST single crystal nanowires (NWs) preparation by using a polymer-type surfactant. With one-drop of DAST-methanol solution, millimeter-scale the DAST NWs can be attained within one minute. We presume that this highly efficient driving forces of the fast self-assembling process originate from Coulombic interactions of the DAST nanocrystals. In order to further increase the crystal quality of the NWs, we propose a one-drop self-assembly process which separates the SSREC self-assembling process into two steps: SSREC process for NCs preparation and static cultivation process for NWs self-assembly. By this method, we successfully attain 4-N, N-dimethylamino-4'-N'-methylstilbazolium 2-naphthalenesulfonate (DSNS-2) NWs. The obtained DSNS-2 NWs have very high surface quality with surface roughness

Sepsis, a condition of systemic inappropriate inflammation response to the invasion of microorganisms, results in considerable morbidity and mortality in patients. Some, but not all, epidemiological studies have suggested that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) polymorphisms, Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile, may influence the risk of at-risk patients for sepsis. Our work tried to further study the association of the two common polymorphisms with sepsis susceptibility by performing a meta-analysis of previous data. Electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were performed. Original observational studies dealing with the association between polymorphisms Asp299Gly and/or Thr399Ile and sepsis risk were selected. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with random-effects model or fixed-effects model based on the heterogeneity analysis. Seventeen studies including 2212 cases and 3880 controls were included with most subjects of Caucasian ethnicity. The odds ratio for the association of Asp299Gly polymorphism with sepsis risk was 1.22 (95% CI: 0.90–1.65, P = 0.21), and the association of Thr399Ile polymorphism was 1.16 (95%CI: 0.70–1.91, P = 0.57). Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis did not change the results. Our meta-analysis revealed that the two common TLR4 polymorphisms, Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile, have no strong association with the likelihood of sepsis in Caucasian populations. Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of genetic networks and their mutual interactions in TLR4 signaling pathway on sepsis susceptibility.

The 18 samples representing 18 populations of Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) O. Ktze in Fujian Province of China were analyzed with RAPD markers. Eleven primers were used, a total of 106 bands were scored and 88 of them were polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic loci was 77.36%, Nei’s gene diversity was 0.2420, and Shannon’s index was 0.3700. The 18 populations were classified into 2 groups based on the RAPD data by the method of hierarchical cluster analysis. Most of the populations from Fujian were clustered into a group, other populations were clustered into the other group. There was a high level of genetic diversity among the populations, and the genetic differentiation was obvious among the populations from Fujian.

An efficient protein extraction method for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) from plant samples is usually challenging due to the low protein content and high level of interfering compounds. Proteomic analyses of rice (Oryza sativa L.) roots are limited by the lack of an efficient protein extraction method. To establish an effective protocol of protein extraction suitable for 2-DE analysis in rice roots, we evaluated three protein extraction methods (trichloroacetic acid [TCA]/acetone, Mg/NP-40/TCA, and tris-base/acetone). Our results showed that the Mg/NP-40/TCA extraction method had the highest protein yield and is the best resolution of protein separation among the three methods. The TCA/acetone method exhibited clear protein profiles and detected more protein spots with the highest intensity in the region of high Mr (above 45 kDa) than the other methods. However, this method was unable to detect proteins with low-Mr (less than 24.0 kDa). The Tris-base/acetone method showed the poorest resolution of protein separation. Our results suggest that the Mg/NP-40/TCA method was the most effective among the three methods and may provide enhanced proteomic information for rice and other crop roots.

A multicenter cooperative investigated the incidence of Phenylketonuria (PKU) in the central, southern and western areas of Guangdong province and its surrounding districts. Tests to measure phenylalanine (Phe) on dried blood spots on filter paper cards used BIA and thefluorescence assay. Four hundred sixty-one thousand eight hundred five (461,805) newborns were screened and 14 cases of persistent hyperphenylalaninemia (PHPA) were detected. The incidence of PHPA was 1/33,000, including 1/77,000 for classical PKU; 1 in 66,000 for hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) and 1 in 461,805 for BH4 deficiency. A high variation in PKU incidence in the different districts was observed. The differences may be attributed to the variations in gene frequency of PKU in the different districts and to bioethical consideration especially as regards reproduction in different areas.