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Objective: Improve the quality and efficiency of fruit quality sorting and reduce labor costs. Methods: A fruit quality sorting machine is designed to detect and sort for fruit quality. The sorting machine uses STC8A8K64S4A12 as the slave computer and uses Jetson Xavier NX as the master computer. The sorting machine can achieve the detection and sorting of the fruit on damage and sugar content by artificial intelligence. Results: The accuracy, resolution of sugar degree and speed of the sorter for detecting fruit were 99%, 0.1% and 7 200 h-1, respectively. Conclusion: The device can not only avoid fruit damage and fruit drop caused by mechanical equipment, but also has a simple operation and friendly interface. The designed equipment can meet the requirement of fruit quality sorting.

The study aimed to investigate the effect of Huoxiang longhuang powder on the serum biochemical, antioxidant and immune indexes of fattening cattle. Eighty healthy, disease-free, well-conditioned Simmental crossbred cattle with an average weight of (385.0 ± 16.3) kg and similar age were selected and randomly divided into four groups, with four replicates in each group and five cattle in each replicate. The cattle in the control group, experimental group I, experimental group H, and experimental group M were fed with rations containing 0, 1%, 2%, and 4% Huoxiang longhuang powder, respectively. The preliminary trial lasted for 10 days, followed by a formal experimental period of 60 days. The results showed that compared to the control group, the total protein, globulin content, and alkaline phosphatase activity of fattening cattle in the experimental group H increased by 10.87%, 17.83% and 24.82%, respectively (P<0.05), and the urea nitrogen content decreased by 20.25% (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, the superoxide dismutase, catalase activities, and total antioxidant capacity in the serum of fattening cattle in the experimental group H increased by 36.70%, 28.63% and 35.28%, respectively (P<0.05). The concentrations of immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G of fattening cattle in the experimental group H increased by 18.99% and 29.98%, respectively (P<0.05). The study indicates that adding 2% Huoxiang longhuang powder to the diet of fattening cattle can improve the serum biochemical indexes, promote the deposition of fat and protein, and enhance antioxidant and immunity capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the permutation problem of frequency-domain blind source separation, this paper studied the influence of discontinuity of demixing matrix and distance between frequency bins on permutation problem, and proposed an improved method. It used weight coefficients to represent the influence of each frequency bin to the undetermined frequency bin, and used the demixing matrix of the previous frequency bin to initial the demixing matrix of the latter one. This paper presented the processes of the improved method. The improved method was applied in occasions of instantaneous mixtures, convolutive mixtures and real-room conditions. The results show the proposed method has better signal to noise ratio, speed and stronger robustness, comparing with Murata method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-step method is a commonly used solution to the underdetermined blind source separation of sparse source signals, K-means clustering algorithm is usually utilized to estimate mixing matrix firstly, and then, the shortest path algorithm is used to recover source signals. The source signal's number needed in the K-means clustering algorithm is usually unknown in fact, so have to estimate it. This paper studied clustering validity index :BWP index, combined with particle swarm optimization, proposed a new algorithm to determine the source signal's number. Then it introduced the proposed algorithm into the underdetermined blind source separation. The results of experiment show that the proposed algorithm has good separation precision meanwhile it can shorten the separation time and save some memory this advantage is more obvious when the observation data is huge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of locomotion and feeding on the metabolic mode of juvenile lenok, Brachymystax lenok (Pallas) under different water temperatures, the pre-exercise oxygen consumption rate (MO2p), active oxygen consumption rate (MO2a), metabolic scope (MS), critical swimming speed (UC) and swimming metabolic rate of both fasting and fed fish were measured at five temperature levels (4 °C, 8 °C, 12 °C, 16 °C and 20 °C) and ten flow velocities with saturated dissolved oxygen (>8. 0 mg L-1). The results showed that the MO2p and MO2a of the feeding group were significantly higher (P<0. 05) than the fasting group under different temperatures, and the increases in MO2p and MO2a at 4 °C, 8 °C, 12 °C, 16 °C and 20 °C were 15%, 47%, 30%, 43% and 8%, and 12%, 23%, 21%, 36% and 7%, respectively. No significant differences were observed for UC and MS between the fasting and the feeding groups (P>0. 05), but the MS showed a trend of decline with increase in water temperature. Swimming metabolic rate of fish was increased with increasing the flow velocity, and further increase of flow velocity resulted in a decline in swimming metabolic rate, and the swimming metabolic rate of the feeding group was significantly higher than that of the fasting group (P<0. 05). The metabolic rate increased with increasing the swimming speed up to 70% UC, and then decreased with increasing the swimming speed up to UC. It was concluded that, under certain temperature, the maximum metabolic rate was induced by exercise and feeding; the metabolic rate exhibited the additive metabolic mode before increasing to the maximum and thereafter, the metabolic rate induced by feeding reduced with decreasing the swimming metabolic rate, exhibiting the locomotion prioritized mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To solve the problems of complex fault location process and heavy workload before test using traditional large-scale circuit fault diagnosis methods in the multi-fault conditions, this paper presented a new approach for fault diagnosis using group decomposition. Low dimensional fault eigenvectors could be acquired by decomposing the large-scale analogue circuit in accordance with its topological property and group decomposition criteria. Based on ideas of pattern recognition, neural network which had highly parallel classify capability was selected as classifier and wavelet function which had fast convergence property was selected as hidden layer's transfer excitation function. The simulation results show that this method can achieve fast fault feature vector classification and fault diagnosis results. Comparing with the existing multiple-test-condition (MTC) method and intersection tearing method, this approach has smaller amount of work before test, fewer diagnostic times, less computation, better capability of diagnosing multiple faults and stronger engineering practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special requires from different environments and customers result in complex and variety of elevator electric function. In order to verify these functions, there is a demand of an elevator running test platform which should have a characteristic of high expansibility, well applicability and small footprint. Combining elevator running emulation technology, and basing on miniature elevator running simulator, elevator simulative running is hence implemented. This system enables functional verification of other product and customized solution, as well as for elevator running trouble analysis and elevator maintenance training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgenic Bt crops are widely planted around the world. With the quick development and extension of genetically modified crops, it is needed to make a deep study on the effects of Bt crops on soil ecosystem. This paper reviewed the research progress on the effects of transgenic Bt crops on the population dynamics and community structure of soil animals, e.g., earthworm, nematode, springtail, mite, and beetle, etc. The development history of Bt crops was introduced, the passway the Bt protein comes into soil as well as the residual and degradation of Bt protein in soil were analyzed, and the critical research fields about the ecological risk analysis of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals in the future were approached, which would provide a reference for the research of the effects of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to estimate toned triphone's model parameters accurately before state clustering and increase recognition rate, this paper used the corresponding toneless triphone model parameters for the initialization of toned triphones, and applied the maximum a posteriori criterion for model estimation. In the experiment of mandarin large vocabulary continuous speech recognition, this method can improve the accuracy of sparse triphone's model in the training corpus before clustering and achieve certain increase of recognition rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study cloned the transcription factor gene PnbHLH which held an open reading frame of 966 bp encoding 321 amino acids. This study constructed the overexpression vector of transcription factor PnbHLH of Panax notoginseng. The combination of PnbHLH overexpression and RNAi of the key enzyme gene PnCAS involved in the phytosterol biosynthesis was achieved in P. notoginseng cells, thus exploring the biosynthetic regulation of P. notoginseng saponins(PNS) by the synergistic effect of PnbHLH overexpression and PnCAS RNAi. The results showed that the PnbHLH transcription factor interacted with the promoters of key enzyme genes PnDS, PnSS and PnSE in the biosynthetic pathway of PNS, and then regulated the expression levels of key enzyme genes and affected the biosynthesis of saponins indirectly. Further study indicated that the synergistic effect of PnbHLH overexpression and PnCAS RNAi was a more effective approach to regulate the biosynthesis of saponins. Compared with the wild type and PnCAS RNAi cells of P. notoginseng, the contents of total saponins and monomeric saponins(Rd, Rb&#95;1, Re, Rg&#95;1 and R&#95;1) were increased to some extent in the cell lines of PnbHLH overexpression and PnCAS RNAi. This indicated that the two ways of forward regulation and reverse regulation of saponin biosynthesis showed superposition effect. This study explored a more rational and efficient regulation strategy of PNS biosynthesis based on the advantages of multi-point regulation of transcription factors as well as the down-regulation of by-product synthesis of saponins.

Ophiocordyceps lanpingensis is mainly used as an ethnic medicine to treat the diseases of liver, kidney and other diseases, but the pharmacological mechanism is not clear yet. In this study, the components and contents of monosaccharides in the O.lanpingensis polysaccharides(OLP) were analyzed. The results showed that the OLP were composed of mannose, glucose, galactose and arabinose, with mass percentages of 19.1%, 21.8%, 21.1%, and 38.0%, respectively. Based on the hepatic fibrosis model induced by CCl&#95;4 in mice, OLP could significantly relieve the inflammation and fibrosis levels of hepatic tissues, reverse the CCl&#95;4-induced increasing levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST) in mice serum, and recover the functions of liver to a normal state. This study proved that OLP significantly decreased the mRNA expression levels of fibrotic genes, alpha-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) and collagen type 1(Col-1), as well as the content of hydroxyproline(HYP) in the liver tissues; meanwhile, the contents of antioxidants superoxide dismutase(SOD) and glutathione(GSH) were enhanced and the production of lipid peroxide malondialdehyde(MDA) was reduced. Moreover, OLP inhibited the gene expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6) and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) in the livers of mice. Further study indicated that OLP could restrain the apoptosis of hepatic cells due to the decrease of the apoptosis index and down-regulations of protein expression levels of Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3(caspase-3) and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-9(caspase-9), and the promotion of protein expression level of B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2) in livers. To sum up, the mechanism of OLP for alleviating hepatic fibrosis was likely related to the synergy by remitting the oxidative stress of the body, alleviating inflammatory response, anti-apoptosis of hepatic cells, and so on.

The effect of residual veterinary tetracycline on the formation of drug-resistant bacteria and corresponding resistance genes was investigated. During the research, the soil with long-term application of pig manure containing residual tetracycline was collected in autumn and summer respectively in the farmland around a certain pig farm in Shuyang City, Huang Huai area, north of Jiangsu province. At the same time, soils without application of pig manure in the farmland of this area were collected as the reference sample. Composition of drug-resistant bacteria in all soil samples was analyzed and three common tetracycline-resistance genes (tetA, tetC, tetE) were studied by PCR as well. During the research, 59 drug-resistant bacteria belonging to 13 bacterial genus respectively were separated from the soil sample collected in autumn while 35 drug- resistant bacteria belonging to 10 bacterial genus respectively were separated from the soil sample collected in summer and as for the reference sample, 3 drug-resistant bacteria belonging to 1 bacterial genus (Streptomyces) were separated with pathogenic bacteria up to 38.14% of total drug-resistant bacteria. PCR result showed that resistance genes were detected in all drug-resistant bacteria and tetC accounted for the most. At the same time, the residual tetracycline in the soil which was in a range of 41.1-61.9 microg x kg(-1) correlated with the amount of resistance genes (4.63 x 10(5)-37.42 x 10(5) copies x g(-1)). Besides, the climate was found accelerating the formation of drug-resistant bacteria and resistance genes.

To investigate the effect of locomotion and feeding on the metabolic mode of juvenile lenok, Brachymystax lenok (Pallas) under different water temperatures, the pre-exercise oxygen consumption rate (MO2p), active oxygen consumption rate (MO2a), metabolic scope (MS), critical swimming speed (Uc) and swimming metabolic rate of both fasting and fed fish were measured at five temperature levels (4 degrees C, 8 degrees C, 12 degrees C, 16 degrees C and 20 degrees C) and ten flow velocities with saturated dissolved oxygen (> 8.0 mg x L(-1)). The results showed that the MO2p and MO2a of the feeding group were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the fasting group under different temperatures, and the increases in MO2p and MO2a at 4 degrees C, 8 degrees C, 12 degrees C, 16 degrees C and 20 degrees C were 15%, 47%, 30%, 43% and 8%, and 12%, 23%, 21%, 36% and 7%, respectively. No significant differences were observed for Uc and MS between the fasting and the feeding groups (P > 0.05), but the MS showed a trend of decline with increase in water temperature. Swimming metabolic rate of fish was increased with increasing the flow velocity, and further increase of flow velocity resulted in a decline in swimming metabolic rate, and the swimming metabolic rate of the feeding group was significantly higher than that of the fasting group (P < 0.05). The metabolic rate increased with increasing the swimming speed up to 70% Uc, and then decreased with increasing the swimming speed up to Uc. It was concluded that, under certain temperature, the maximum metabolic rate was induced by exercise and feeding; the metabolic rate exhibited the additive metabolic mode before increasing to the maximum and thereafter, the metabolic rate induced by feeding reduced with decreasing the swimming metabolic rate, exhibiting the locomotion prioritized mode.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and management of thyroid carcinoma with the upper mediastinal and axillary metastasis., Methods: Six cases of thyroid carcinomas with metastases to mediastinum and axillary, in addition to the neck, undergoing surgeries from 2006 to 2011 were reviewed. Five cases was papillary carcinoma and one was follicular carcinoma. Of six patients, five underwent surgical treatment at least one time previously and one of them received a radiotherapy with total dose of 60 Gy. (131)I treatment and thyroxine were used postoperatively in all cases., Results: The numbers of metastatic nodes in the axillary were 2/7, 3/12, 2/6, 1/5, 3/7 and 3/10 respectively, while the numbers in the upper mediastinum ranged from 2 to 6, with a 4.3 average, a metastatic lymph node in the retropharyngeal space was also found in one patient. Horner's sign occurred in three cases, temporary hypocalcemia in two cases and chylous fistula in one case. No injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve or to important vessels. Neck or lower mediastinum recurrence and new lung metastasis occurred in three cases separately. No recurrence in the upper mediastinum or axillary area was found with the follow-up of 23-77 months. One died of heart disease 4 years after operation., Conclusion: The surgical treatment of node metastases in the upper mediastinum and axillary from the well-differentiated thyroid cancer is safe and has a promising outcome.

Objective: To study the dynamics of ginsenoside biosynthesis in suspension culture of Panax notoginseng., Methods: The calli of Panax notoginseng were suspended in liquid medium for 40 d, and the changes of ginsenosides were determined by HPLC method., Results: Cell growth was slow in suspension culture, but the contents of six ginsenosides varied with different culture time. The contents of four ginsenosides Rg1, Re, Rh1 and Rb1 showed the increases from about 3.63 to 9.72 mg/g, 2.34 to 7.02 mg/g, 0.42 to 2.37 mg/g and 0.24 to 1.86 mg/g, respectively during 25 and 30 days of the culture. Rh2 and F1 had no obvious change. Such results indicated that the protopanaxatriol saponions (Rg1, Re and Rh1) increased significantly during the growth phase., Conclusion: When the callus is cultured for 25 days, the maximum yield of total saponins content is up to 20.58 mg/g,mainly of the protopanaxatriol saponins.

Objective: To study the roles of hepatitis B virus (HBV) X antigen (HBxAg) in development of HBV-related liver diseases and carcinogenesis., Methods: Liver tissues were collected from patients with HBV infection (HBV carriers, n = 14; chronic hepatitis B (CHB), n = 24), HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC, n = 20), or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, n = 20). Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of HBxAg and the host apoptosis-related genes Fas and Fas ligand (Fas-L). The correlations of HBxAg with HBV DNA level in serum, inflammation grade, and fibrosis stage were statistically analyzed. Liver inflammation grade and fibrosis stage were in accordance with Knodell standard. x2test and Fisher's exact test were adopted in count data, x2split method was adopted in pariwise comparisons between multiple samples, Rank-sum test was adopted in ranked data, Spearman rank correlation analysis was adopted in correlation analysis., Results: The rates of HBxAg-positivity were similar between the patients with HBV infection (71.1%), LC (60.0%), and HCC (65.0%) (x2= 0.754, P = 0.686). The rates of Fas- and Fas-L-positivity in liver cells were also similar between the three groups (Fas: 28.9% vs. 20.0% vs. 5.0%, x2= 4.667, P = 0.101; Fas-L: 36.8% vs. 50.0% vs. 60.0%, x2= 2.988, P = 0.225). However, the positive rate of Fas in lymphocytes of liver tissue was significantly higher in the HCC patients than in the HBV-infected patients (90.0% vs. 68.4%, Z = -4.360, P = 0.00001). The expressions of HBxAg and Fas-L corresponded to regions of severe inflammation in tissues from LC patients and some HCC patients. Furthermore, the expression of HBxAg was positively correlated with Fas (r = 0.304, P = 0.02) and Fas-L (r = 0.368, P = 0.004) in the HBV-infected patients and LC patients, and the expression of Fas was positively correlated with that of Fas-L (r = 0.448, P = 0.0004). Patients with high and medium loads of HBV DNA showed significantly higher rates of HBxAg-positivity than those with low loads (88.9% and 69.2% vs. 26.7%, P less than 0.05)., Conclusion: In the early stage of chronic HBV infection, HBxAg may induce liver cell apoptosis by up-regulating Fas expression, and in the later stage, HBxAg may induce immune escape by up-regulating Fas-L expression in liver cells. Together, HBxAg and high HBV DNA load may promote chronic HBV infection and progression to hepatocarcinogenesis.

PNS (Panax notoginseng saponins) is the main medical bioactive component in Panax notoginseng. The medical value of PNS cannot be extended because of its low production. With the deep study of saponins biosynthetic pathway, the control of PNS biosynthesis through metabolic engineering has gradually become possible. In this study, the Squalene synthase (SS) over-expression vector was established. By the way of agrobacterium-mediated method, the vector was transfered and integrated into the Panax notoginseng genome. The result of the PCR detection and the saponin content detection shows that over-expression SS is able to produce high level of Panax notoginseng saponins, and confirms the regulatory function of SS in the biosynthesis of ginsenosides in Panax notoginseng. It provides a theoretical basis and technical basis for the construction of PNS homologous or heterologous efficient expression system in the future.

Objective: To explore the oxidative modification effect and its mechanism of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in hyperlipidemia (HL) rats after treating with tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4)., Methods: Fifty four 8-week-old male Wistar rats were used, these 54 rats were randomly divided into control group, high fat diet group (HL group), high fat diet and injected BH4 group (HL + BH4 group), and 18 in each group. The BH4 levels of blood fats and blood serum and its metabolites, the aortic reactive oxygen species, the end product malondialdehyde (MDA) and the LDL oxidation level were all determined by killing 6 experimental rats in each group at the first 8, 16, and 24 weeks of age respectively., Results: Treating with BH4 after 8 and 16 weeks, there was no significant difference in serum lipids among three groups (P > 0. 05); but ROS and MDA decreased significantly (P < 0.01); compared with control and HL groups, the BH4 level of HL + BH4 group increased a lot (P < 0.01); compared with control group, the BH4 content reduced obviously in aortic homogenate of HL group (P < 0.01), but the total petrin levels (TB = BH4 + BH2 + B) had no significant difference (P > 0.05); the serum TBARS formation increased gradually with the increase of week-ages, but compared with HL group, the serum TBARS formation of HL + BH4 group reduced significantly (P < 0. 01)., Conclusion: Treating with BH4 can reduced the LDL oxidation, the mechanism may be related to the correct of NOS uncoupling, the reduce of ROS generation and the decrease of LDL lipid peroxidation.

To settle the foundation for the future research on the influence of wild and mutant (A1762T/ G1764A) HBV X gene on the progress of chronic HBV infection and hepatic tumorigenicity, wild and mutant (A1762T/G1764A) HBxAgs expression system was constructed. The wild and mutant (A1762T/ G1764A) HBV X genes were amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from HBV genome were inserted into pGEX-6P-2 and confirmed by sequencing respectively. Prokaryotic expression vectors pGEX-6P-2-hbvx(w) and pGEX-6P-2-hbvx(m) (A1762T/G1764A) were constructed and transformed to Trans1-blue; wild and mutant HBxAgs were expressed through IPTG induction respectively; after refolding of inclusion body, the wild and mutant HBxAgs were purified with GSTrap FF; and analysised by SDS-PAGE, Western blot and ELISA. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the expression system was able to express target protein efficiently; the concentrations of purified wild HBxAg and mutant HBxAg were 4.88 mg/mL and 5.07 mg/mL respectively; Western blot analysis certified both the wild HBxAg and the mutant HBxAg could be recognized by the same monoclonal antibody against HBxAg; the two expressed fusion antigens coated in microtiter plate were able to react with the sera of HBV infected patients but not with the sera from healthy donors in ELISA. Results demonstrated that we successfully established a system for expression of hepatitis B x antigen and lay the foundation for further research on the role and molecular mechanisms of the mutant HBxAg in the progress of chronic HBV infection and hepatic tumorigenicity.

A sort of absorbable Bondi of dura, whose main body is glue capsule, to compensate the deficiency of previous craniotomy, which easily causes delayed epidural hematoma. This device will help conglutinate dura to skull plate tightly, to stop bleeding and other purposes.

Transgenic Bt crops are widely planted around the world. With the quick development and extension of genetically modified crops, it is needed to make a deep study on the effects of Bt crops on soil ecosystem. This paper reviewed the research progress on the effects of transgenic Bt crops on the population dynamics and community structure of soil animals, e.g., earthworm, nematode, springtail, mite, and beetle, etc. The development history of Bt crops was introduced, the passway the Bt protein comes into soil as well as the residual and degradation of Bt protein in soil were analyzed, and the critical research fields about the ecological risk analysis of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals in the future were approached, which would provide a reference for the research of the effects of transgenic Bt crops on non-target soil animals.

Objective: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of 3 methods of central vein catheters indwelling in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy., Methods: 120 cancer patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy (9 months-2 years)were divided into 3 equal groups to be treated via peripherally inserted central catheter(PICC), untunneled central venous catheter (CVC) by repeat venipuncture (20 through jugular vein and 20 through subclavian vein), and implanted subinfuse-port (PORT, 20 through jugular vein and 20 through subclavian vein). The complications of implantation and quality of life were compared., Results: The early complication of the PICC group was malposition of the tip of catheters; and the early complications of the CVC group included hematoma in the jugular vein subgroup and pneumothorax in the subclavian vein subgroup. The incidence rates of catheter obstruction and thrombosis of the PORT group were significantly higher than those of the other two groups (all P < 0.05). The incidence rate of infection (regional and systemic) of the PORT group was significantly lower than those of the other two groups (both P < 0.05). The satisfaction score during chemotherapy of the PORT group was (5.6 +/- 1.6), significantly higher than those of the PICC and CVC groups [(3.3 +/- 0.8) and (3.9 +/- 0.6) respectively, both P < 0.05], and the satisfaction score between chemotherapy courses of the PORT group was (5.7 +/- 0.7), significantly higher than those of the PICC and CVC groups [(4.5 +/- 0.8) and (4.8 +/- 1.2) respectively, both P < 0.05]., Conclusion: The technology of central vein catheter indwelling with subcutaneous port in patients undergoing chemotherapy is effective and safe.

Objective: To analyze the clinical features, especially surgical treatment of superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS)., Methods: The clinical data of 26 patients with SVCS, 19 males and 7 females, aged 37 (19-63), diagnosed base on the space occupying lesion in mediastinum and complete or incomplete obstruction of SVC and/or innominate vein by imaging examination without evidence of tumor in other parts and without evidence of lymphoma in the mediastinal lesion by pathological examination, who underwent surgical treatment were analyzed, focusing on the clinical presentation, preoperative examination, surgical treatment, pathological diagnosis, and survival., Results: Facial cyanosis and edema, cervical and chest wall varicose veins, headache and dizziness, cough and dyspnea were the most common clinical manifestations. Pre-operative percutaneous needle biopsy guided by CT confirmed the diagnoses of malignant tumor of mediastinum in 6 cases and definite diagnoses failed to be got in the other 20 cases. Resection of the primary lesions combined with artificial blood vessel replacement of SVC was performed. Twenty patients received complete resection, and 6 received only incomplete excision because of extensiveness of lesions. The mean survival time of the former group was 30 months, significantly longer than that of the latter group (11 months, P = 0.0036). The overall 1-year survival rate was 69.2%, and 5-year survival rate was 7.6%., Conclusion: Resection procedure is an important factor influencing the prognosis of SVCS.

Objective: To study the surgical management of tumors in the conjunctive area among the neck, thorax and axilla and its efficacy., Methods: From Oct. 1999 to March 2006, eleven cases with benign tumors in the area between the neck, thorax and axilla were collected and analysed. Among them, five neurilemmoma, three neurofibroma, two chondroma and one meningioma, respectively. CT scans showed that the neck, thorax and axilla were affected simultaneously more or less. In this group, direct invasion to the vertebra was found in 4 cases, and spinal compression in one patient. After the disarticulation and displacement of the clavicle, the tumor was removed with the structures of importance in the neck, thorax and axilla under direct views. A bypass was constructed between the axillary vein and the medial end of the subclavian vein., Results: All these tumors were completely removed, injury of vertebral artery was encounter in two cases, and immediate repair was successfully carried out. No other serious complications were found in this group. During the follow-up period from 3 months to 3 years and 5 months, local recurrence was found in no patient., Conclusions: Benign tumors in the area between neck, thorax and axilla could be successfully dissected and removed with displacement of the medial portion of the clavicle.

A strain named NJ2 was isolated from the soils in Nanjing area, and its resting cells transformed IMI into a polar product. The strain was identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia based on BioMerieux Vitek system and the analysis of 16S rDNA sequence. Mass spectrometry of the product extracted with an organic solvent and re-crystallization gave m/z value of 272 for the molecular ion while 256 for substrate IMI. It demonstrated that the transformed product was the hydroxylated derivate of IMI or hydroxy IMI. NMR analysis further indicated that the hydroxyl moiety located at the ring of imidazolidine and the transformed product was 5-hydroxy IMI. Kinetics of transformation IMI showed that the content of IMI decreased 1.15 mmol/L and the content of transformed product 5-hydroxy IMI increased 1.10 mmol/L after transformation for 10 days. The molar conversion yield was 95.9%. The S. maltophilia NJ2 strain, with the characterization of strong transformation ability and high molar conversion yield, can be used in industrial production of 5-hydroxy IMI for synthesis of highly insecticidal olefin IMI.

The lysosome of Eisenia fetida can accumulate neutral red dye rapidly. When exposed to environment pollution, the membrane of the lysosome is easily to be cracked, and the dye shall leak to the cytoplasm gradually, making the cell red. Therefore, neutral red retention time (NRRT) can reflect the damaged degree of lysosome. In this paper, the NRRT of the lysosome in coelomocytes of E. fetida was determined after exposed to different concentrations of acetochlor and selenium. The results showed that with increasing exposure time and increasing concentration of acetochlor and Se, the NRRT was decreased significantly, and had significant correlations with the concentrations of acetochlor in soil and of accumulated Se in E. fetida's body. NRRT could be served as a biomarker of soil pollution, and a promising tool for the early warning of potential danger.

In a simulation test, three treatments of low, normal and high temperature were designed to examine the effects of environmental fluctuant temperature on the development and survival of second generation Dendrolimus punctatus larvae. The results showed that under different temperature but same light and dark cycle, the mortality of lst to approximately 3rd instar was apparently different. Under long photophase, the larval mortality of 1st to approximately 3rd instar was 25.55%, 55.13% and 58.23% at low, normal and high temperature, while under short photophase, the mortality was 32.67%, 64.67% and 94.32%, respectively. High temperature resulted in the diapause of larvae. Under the same short photophase, the larvae exposed to high temperature could develop to 5th instar by 40%, while those exposed to normal and low temperature kept diapause, and could not develop to 5th instar after 20 days. After 48 days, the larvae exposed to high temperature became cocoons, while those exposed to normal and low temperature still diapaused. It was suggested that if the second generation larvae of D. punctatus encountered consecutive high temperature, most of them could develop to third generation.

The study showed that the searching activity of P. japonica on cotton aphid Aphis gossypii decreased gradually with decreasing aphid density. When enough A. gossypii existed, P. japonica had a preferential searching and preying activity on the top of cotton plant. There was no significant difference in the preying activity of P. japonica at different positions of cotton plant, while the searching activity of the ladybird beetle was significantly lower on cotton M9101 than on cotton Zhongmian 13. The preying behavior of P. japonica was significantly correlated with the density and distribution of A. gossypii.

The study on the responses of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) potted in open-top chamber to elevated CO2 (542.1 +/- 24.8 and 738.8.0 +/- 25.7 microl x L(-1) vs. 382.4 +/- 24.8 microl x L(-1)) and their effects on Sitobion avenae aphid growth, development and reproduction showed that elevated CO2 was advantageous for spring wheat growth. In treatments 550 and 750 microl CO2 x L(-1), the plant height during May 5 approximately June 14 increased by 2.80% approximately 14.92% and 6.30% approximately 17.56%, and leaf area per plant during April 30 approximately June 19 increased by 5.68% approximately 50.52% and 6.14% approximately 83.45%, respectively, compared with CK. The DC50 and DC75 were brought forward about 0.39 and 0.53 d for treatment 550 microl CO2 x L(-1), and 0.90 and 1.02 d for treatment 750 microl CO2 x L(-1), respectively. Moreover, the stem, leaf, ear and above-ground biomass also had some increase under elevated CO2. Compared with CK, a significant increase of ear length (0.56% and 3.20%) and grain number per ear (12.5% and 18%), but a significant decrease of 1000-grain dry weight (2.23% and 6.34%) were observed for treatments 550 and 750 microl CO2 x L(-1), respectively. With increasing CO2, the chemical constituents in ear, such as glucose, disaccharide, amylose and TSCs/nitrogen ratio increased significantly, while fructose, trisaccharide and total nitrogen decreased significantly. CO2 elevation shortened the preoviposition duration and longevity of S. avenae, and increased the number of offspring per female aphid and mean relative growth rate (MRGR). Compared with CK, the MRGR increased 33.26% in treatment 550 microl CO2 x L(-1), and 74.34% in treatment 750 microl CO2 x L(-1). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the MAGR of S. avenae and the TSCs/nitrogen ratio of spring wheat ear.

Background: To further probe into the role of CD178 in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)., Methods: The expression of CD178 and HLA-DR on T cell subsets in peripheral blood of patients with HFRS and their dynamic changes were detected by Flow cytometry., Results: CD4+ CD178+ and CD8+ CD178+ T lymphocytes both in fever and polyuria phases were significantly higher than those in normal controls, while there was no significant difference between the both phases of HFRS (P > 0.05). CD178 expression on CD4+ HLA-DR+ and CD8+ HLA-DR+ T lymphocytes were significantly higher than those in normal controls (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001, P < 0.001), while there was no significant difference between CD4+ HLA-DR+ and CD8+ HLA-DR+ T lymphocytes (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: CD178 was expressed on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets, but mainly on CD8+ T cell subsets both in early stage and in later stage in the pathogenesis of HFRS. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) might kill target cells infected by hantavirus (HV) and eliminate HV via cell apoptosis mediated by CD178 in early stage of HFRS. In later stage of HFRS, CD178 might reduce antigen-specific T lymphocytes by activation induced cell death (AICD) and help to maintain the homeostasis of immune system.

Bt toxin Cry1Ac could be introduced into soil by pollen, root exudates, and plant residues. To investigate its toxic effects, the Bt toxin was added into an earthworm-cultured artificial soil, and the survival, growth rate, sperm count, protein content, and activities of acetylcholinesterase (AchE), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cellulase in Eisenia fetida were determined. The results suggested that Bt toxin Cry1Ac had little effects on the biomass and physiological characteristics of E. fetida, with no acute and subchronic toxicity, and was safe for earthworm at field dose level.

Background: Lung cancer is still the most common cause of cancer death. Although it is reported that the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer has been greatly increased, surgical results are controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate and evaluate the improvement of survival of lung cancer surgically intervened in PUMC hospital during the last 15 years., Methods: From January 1989 to December 2003, 1574 cases of lung cancer underwent surgical treatment and obtained follow-up. The results were retrospectively a- nalysed . All cases in this series were divided into two groups according to time, group A (1999-2003) and group B (1989-1998), and the differences of survival rate between group A and group B were compared., Results: The morbidity and mortality of group A decreased significantly when compared to group B (11.2% vs 19.2%, 1.06% vs 1.93%, respectively, P < 0.01). However, the 3- and 5-year survival rates had been obviously raised from 42.35% to 56.07%, and from 28.46% to 38.99%, respectively (P < 0.05 ). A significant improvement in survival was observed in patients with stageI, stage II and stage IIIA, but not in stage IIIB and stage IV. Also, the patients with lobectomy had better results but those with exploratory thoracotomy, limited resection, pneumonectomy and sleeve resection did not show better results., Conclusions: Lobectomy associated with systematic dissection of mediastinal lymph nodes has become the standard mode for the resectable lung cancer. Combination of complete resection and lymph nodes dissection, with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy based on platinum/3rd generation medicine, have preliminarily been justified and proved an important approach for effective improvement of long-term survival of lung cancer.

The study on the effects of nitrogen fertilization (0-450 kg x hm(-2)) and square loss (0-12 x plant(-1)) on cotton aphid population, cotton leafhopper population and cotton yield showed that there were no significant differences in cotton aphid population, cotton leafhopper population, and numbers of effective bolls between transgenic Bt cotton and non-transgenic cotton. Cotton aphid populations on the two cottons were significantly influenced by nitrogen fertilization and by the interaction of nitrogen fertilization and square loss, while leafhopper populations were not significantly influenced by them. Nitrogen fertilization at squaring and flowering stage was one of important factors affecting cotton yield. There was a positive correlation between the application rate of nitrogen fertilizer and cotton yield, but a negative correlation between the number of lost square per plant and the yield of the two cottons.

Background: To study the effects of huTNF-α and hIL-2 gene transfection on the expression of MDR1 and LRP genes in lung cancer cell lines., Methods: huTNF-α and hIL-2 gene plasmids were constructed and transfected into A549, GLC-82, H446 and H460 cells with lipofectinmin. Positive clones were screened out by G418. The expressions of MDR1 and LRP genes were detected at mRNA level by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the non transfected cells and the cloned cells., Results: MDR1 gene was positive in A549, GLC-82, H446 and H460 cell lines, LRP gene was positive in A549, GLC-82 and H460 cell lines; The transfected cell lines expressed both huTNF-α and hIL-2 gene, and the A549, H446 and H460 cell lines transfected with hIL-2 gene had no MDR1 expression at mRNA level compared with the non transfected ones., Conclusions: MDR1 and LRP genes are expressed in lung cancer cell lines, which indicates the presence of intrinsic drug resistance before any form of therapy. MDR1 gene is not expressed in hIL-2 transfected cell lines, which demonstrates that hIL-2 gene modulates the MDR1 gene expression at mRNA level, and may reverse the multidrug resistance of lung cancer.

Investigation on the population dynamics of pests and natural enemies on the cotton plants in the middle and edge of cotton agroecosystems showed that the population of the 2nd generation of cotton bollworms (Heliocopavar armigia) and seedling aphids (Aphis gossyppi) was respectively 1.94 times and 1.09 times higher, but that of the 3rd generation cotton bollworms and summer aphids population was respectively 62.12% and 97.73% lower in the edge than in the middle of cotton agroecosystem. The population of predacious ladybeetles, predacious bugs, spiders and parasites in the edge of cotton agroecosystem was 73.81%, 35.79%, 52.90% and 39.11% of that in the middle of cotton agroecosystem, respectively. The greater diversity of pest community and the less diversity of natural enemies community were found in the edge than in the middle of cotton agroecosystem. The increase of energy utilization efficiency and gross production in the edge of cotton agroecosystems showed the edge effect of cotton agroecosystems.

Objective: To study the surgical management of metastatic disease in the conjunctive area between the neck and thorax and its efficacy., Methods: Fourteen cases with metastatic node disease in the area between neck and thorax were collected and analysed. Eleven tumors were from the thyroid cancer, and the other three were from the hypopharyngeal cancer, esophagual cancer and malignant pheochromocytoma, respectively. The clavicle was displaced or resected, and the upper half of the manubrium might also be resected when necessary. The recurrent laryngeal nerve and phrenic nerve were exposed and protected. The metastatic disease was completely removed with the internal jugular and/or the brachiocephalic vein resected or spared, depending on the disease condition., Results: In 10 cases with metastases from the thyroid, no local recurrence was found within the follow-up period from 2 to 5 years. In contrast, no patient with metastatic disease from hypopharyngeal or esophageal cancer survived more than 11 months. No serious complications were found in this group., Conclusions: The surgical treatment of node metastases in the conjunctive area between neck and thorax from the well-developed thyroid cancer has promising effect and is comparatively safe.

Field experiments were conducted from 1999 to 2000 to assess the effect of nitrogen fertilization levels (0.225 and 450 kg.hm-2) on the population dynamics of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and cotton aphid (Aphid gossypii), and on the numbers of cotton buds and bolls in North China. The population densities of cotton bollworm and cotton aphid increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization during 1999 to 2000, but the differences between treatments were not significant (P > 0.05). There were significant differences of cotton bollworm populations and no significant differences of cotton aphid populations between years. Nitrogen fertilization at flower-bud stage decreased the loss of cotton buds and flowers and increased the number of effective bolls and cotton yield, but the decrement and increment did not get to significant level (P < 0.05). No obvious correlations of nitrogen levels with main pest abundance and cotton production were observed.

The population dynamics of Helicoverpa armigera in Raoyang County, Hebei Province as an example in Northern China was researched, and its natural life-table was established. The results showed that total mortality of first to fourth generations of cotton bollworm in Northern China were 98.3%, 98.34%, 98.69% and 99.13%, and the population tendency index (I) were 3.97, 1.50, 1.41 and 1.09, respectively. A comparative analysis of the natural life-table of cotton bollworm in Southern China and in Northern China showed that the survival curves were concave curves in the two cotton zones. The curve showed that the mortality of cotton bollworm was higher in its egg stage to the second instar, and lower after the third instar. The key death factor of cotton bollworm was the scouring effect of rain and wind in Southern China, and the predation of its natural enemies in Northern China. The hatch period to the first instar was the key stage in Northern China and Southern China, and in this time, its larva instar was slim, fragile and sensitive to bad circumstances, so its mortality was higher. The second and third generations were the key damage generations in Northern China, while the third and fourth generations were the key damage generations in Southern China. The development and damage characters of each generation in Northern China and in Southern China were discussed.

In air oxidation of penicillin G p-methoxybenzyl ester (PGPMB) to its sulfoxides (PGPMBO), sol-gel technique was employed to encapsulate the catalyst Co (acac)3, by which the reaction was run under heterogeneous conditions. A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was established for the determination of the conversion of this reaction. The analysis of PGPMBO was carried out on a C18 column (4.6 mm i.d. x 150 mm, 10 microm) with the mobile phase of methanol-water (85:15, V/V), at a flow rate of 1 mL min(-1) and with detection wavelength of 270 nm. The linearity of the calibration curve of PGPMBO was obtained over the range of 0.05 g x L(-1) - 0.40 g x L(-1) with a relative coefficient of 0.999 2. The highest conversion was 98.8%. The method can be applied to determine this conversion promptly in the reaction system.

Based on the systematical investigation of population dynamics of predacious ladybird in different cotton agroecosystem, the energy flow for predacious ladybirds was analyzed by the way of ecological energetic. The biological control efficiency of ladybirds was compared in different planting-time and inter-crop cotton agroecosystems using available date on the prepapers of ladybird ingestion to pest production. The results showed that the ingestion of predacious ladybirds were 26.45-70 kJ.m-2 yr.-1, accounting for 28.30-47.88% of all predacious natural enemies in different cotton agroecosystems. The biological control efficiency of ladybirds to aphids were 5.07-12.85%, which was decreased in inter-crop cotton agroecosystems and the ecosystems with the delay of planting-time. It is suggested that the ladybirds play the important role of potential biological control in cotton agroecosystems.

Objective: To study the factors influencing the activity of fibrinolytic enzymes from earthworm and to obtain the better way to extract fibrinolytic enzymes as well as keep its optimum activity., Method: 75% alcohol, 0.9% NaCl and 10% saccharose was used to extract the crude fibrinolytic enzymes from earthworm, the method of urokinase gelose-fibrin plate was used to measure the activity of fibrinolytic enzymes from earthworm. and the method of 3,3'-diaminobezidine tetrahydrochloride colorimetry to was used measure the content of selenium. The method use ts of measuring the content of arsenic was silver diethyldithiocarbamate colorimetry., Result: The fibrinolytin of earthworms reared with cattle soils had higher activity than that reared with garbage. The arsenic in the earthworm's body could improve the activity of earthworm's fibrinolytin. However, the selenium had litter influence on it. Among the three methods of extraction, the 75% alcohol one was the most efficient, the 0.9% NaCl was next, and the 10% saccharose was the lowest. The influence of dialysis on the activity of fibrinolytin was less than that of ultrafiltration, when the earthworm's fibrinolytin enzyme was further sublimated., Conclusion: The activity of the earthworm's fibrinolytin will be increased earthworm is reared with the fitting baits and when appropriate methods, of extraction and purification are used.