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In order to solve the problems of pesticides abuse, nonuniformity deposition and low operating efficiency, build up the smart mango orchard, sedimentary properties of liquids in mango canopy of two orchard pesticide machinery, i.e., orchard caterpillar mist sprayer and six-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of were compared. Mango canopy was divided into upper, middle and lower canopy, tartrazine wsa selected as the tracer, high-definition printing paper and filter paper were used to collect pesticide droplets, the image processing methods such as deposition distribution uniformity were used to analyze the droplets. The experimental results showed that, for the surface droplets coverage rate of upper canopy leaf, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was significantly higher than the cartipillar mist sprayer, there was no significant difference for the middle and lower canopy leaf. The the average coverage rate of both the front and back of leaves in UAV treatment group were 1.5~2 times for cartipillar mist sprayer, and got more deposition in back of leaves compare with caterpillar mist sprayer. The density of droplets on the front of the leaves of the mist sprayer treatment was significantly higher than that of the UAV treatment, but there was no significant difference on the back of the leaves. Both the front and back of the leaves of the plant protection UAV did not meet the requirements of disease and pest control with a low spray amount of 20/cm2. The liquid deposition of mist sprayer concentrated in the middle and lower canopy (61.1%), and while for the UAVs, it concentrated in the upper canopy (43.0%). The proportion of the deposition in the canopy was higher than that of the UAVs (48.6%), but the deposition capacity of mist sprayer in the upper canopy was insufficient, accounting for only 17%. The research shows that, compared with UAV, caterpillar mist sprayer is more suitable for the pest control of lower and middlein canopy, at the same time, the high density of droplets cover also has obvious advantages when spraying fungicide. UAV is more suitable for the external tidbits pest control of upper mango canopy, such as thrips, anthrax. According to the experimental results, a stereoscopic plant protection system can be built up in which can use the advantages of both caterpillar mist sprayer and UAV to achieve uniform coverage of pesticide in the mango tree canopy.

Carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites possess high specific stiffness and strength and have been widely used as structural materials in aerospace and aircraft engineering. In many practical applications, such as wing skin, loading condition is a complexity of tension, bending, and torsion. Therefore, fabricating CFRP composite laminates of multiple-angled plies is necessary to achieve balanced mechanical properties and meet the loading requirements under different working conditions. However, considering the size and weight limitations, designing a quasi-isotropic laminate with standard ply thickness (0.125 mm) is difficult. The recently developed spread-tow technique has provided a promising strategy to fabricate composite laminates of thin and light plies for the production of thinner and lighter laminates and structures and improvement of mechanical performance. Laminates fabricated using thin plies exhibit much higher strength in tension, compression, and impact as compared with standard-ply laminates because of the associated positive size effects. In the thin-walled structure, buckling stability is the primary factor determining the mechanical performance. In this study, composite cylindrical shells with different ply thickness (0.125, 0.055, and 0.020 mm) were fabricated via cross-ply and balanced stacking using the spread-tow technique, and their buckling behaviors under axial compression were studied. The experimental results show that with decreasing ply thickness, the critical buckling loads of composite cylindrical shells with cross-ply and balanced stacking under axial compression increase, whereas the buckling mode of composite cylindrical shells remains constant. Mechanical analysis indicates that the bending stiffness variation and interlaminar shear stress distribution play a key role in increasing the critical buckling load of the composite cylindrical shells, and the application of thin plies effectively improves the local buckling performance of the thin-walled composite structures.

In comparison with CT, ultrasonography, MRI et al, scintigraphic imaging have the advantages of high specificity and recognizes lesions and structure-function of the receptor and metabolism in molecular level, which could diagnose melanoma and its metastasis earlier. With the emergence of more new imaging agents, this unique advantage was more obviously. This article discussed the latest research progress of melanoma imaging with radionuclide agents from aspects of single photon and positron.

The problem of elderly care services brought about by the aging population is a serious problem faced by modern society. For example, in many countries, false are the biggest cause of death due to injuries among the elderly. Therefore, how to perform automatic fall detection for the elderly has become an urgent problem to be solved in elderly care services. At present, in the SIIM of indoor fall detection, mainstream fall detection methods based on wearable devices and environmental sensors are facing problems such as complex equipment and high cost. In view of this, this paper introduces human body posture estimation into the SIIM of fall detection, and proposes a fall detection method based on two-dimensional video. Firstly, the Open Pose data set is used to extract the positions of human points in the original data. Secondly, these data with enhanced features are used to build static classification modes and dynamic classification modes. Finally, model training and fall detection are tested on three pubic fall data sets, achieving good results. The results of this research can provide a certain reference for the related research of fall detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of water-retaining agent (60 kg·hm-2) and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 225, and 450 kg·hm-2) on the leaf photosynthetic characteristics, chlorophyll content, and water utilization of winter wheat at jointing and grain-filling stages were studied under field conditions. In all treatments, the net photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, water use efficiency, and chlorophyll content were greater at grain-filling stage than at jointing stage. Under nitrogen fertilization but without water-retaining agent application, the water use efficiency (WUE) of single leaf at jointing stage increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization rate, while the net photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, and transpiration rate decreased after an initial increase. The chlorophyll content was the highest under 225 kg·hm-2 nitrogen fertilization. In the treatments of water-retaining agent application, the intercellular CO2 concentration decreased with increasing nitrogen application rate, but the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and WUE increased. The application of water-retaining agent or its combination with nitrogen fertilization increased the chlorophyll content, but excessive nitrogen fertilization had lesser effects. At grain-filling stage, applying nitrogen fertilizer alone significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate and WUE, but decreased the stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, and transpiration rate. The chlorophyll content increased with increasing nitrogen application rate. After applying water-retaining agent and with the increase of nitrogen fertilization rate, the photosynthetic rate and WUE decreased after an initial increase, while the intercellular CO2 concentration and transpiration rate were in adverse but still lower than those without water-retaining agent application. The stomata conductance increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization rate. The chlorophyll content increased significantly under the application of water-retaining agent, but somewhat decreased under the combined application of water-retaining agent and nitrogen fertilizer. The application of both water-retaining agent and nitrogen fertilizer increased the 1000 grain mass, grain yield, and water production efficiency of winter whe at significantly, with the best effect in the treatment of water-retaining agent with 225 kg·hm-2 nitrogen fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted at the Yuzhou Experimental Base of Henan Province to study the effects of different application rates (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg·hm-2) of water-retaining agent (WRA) on the root physiological characteristics, biomass, and grain yield of two winter wheat cultivars Zhengmai-9694 and Aikang-58, aimed to probe into the action mechanisms of WRA on the root system of winter wheat at its different growth stages. The application of WRA decreased the root membrane permeability and soluble sugar content, and increased the root vigor. After the application of WRA, the Zhengmai-9694 at its different growth stages had a greater decrement of root membrane permeability, compared with Aikang-58. In all treatments except 90 kg·hm-2 of WRA, the root vigor of Aikang-58 was obviously higher than that of Zhengmai-9694. At booting and grain-filling stages, the root soluble sugar content of Zhengmai-9694 decreased much more than that of Aikang-58. In the whole growth period of the two cultivars, their root membrane permeability and soluble sugar content were the lowest in treatment 60 kg·hm-2 of WRA, and no significant differences were observed between treatments 60 and 90 kg·hm-2 of WRA. The root vigor of Zhengmai-9694 increased remarkably with the increasing rate of WRA application, while that of Aikang-58 was the highest in treatment 60 kg·hm-2 of WRA. The application of WRA also increased root biomass, and at jointing and booting stages, the root biomass of Aikang-58 was much higher than that of Zhengmai-9694. However, at grain-filling stage, the biomass of Aikang-58 in treatments 60 and 90 kg·hm-2 of WRA was lower than that of Zhengmai-9694. Treatment 60 kg·hm-2 of WRA had the highest grain yield of the two cultivars. It was concluded that WRA had more significant effects on Zhengmai-9694 than on Aikang-58, and applying 60 kg·hm-2 of WRA could obtain the best effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

longitudinal and lateral aerodynamic characteristics of the low aspect ratio flying wing calibration model are investigated in a low speed wind tunnel. Normal force measuring experiment is conducted to gain the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics and yaw control characteristics, and the PIV test is also conducted to investigate the flow mechanism of the low aspect ratio flying wing. The results indicate that the leading-edge separation vortex appears on the wing's spine surface when the attack angle is at 6 degree. The vortex intensity increases and the vortex core shifts to the symmetric plane of flying wing with the increase of attack angle. Increasing the attack angle further, the vortex core becomes unsteady and begins to oscillate, finally break entirely. The broken position shifts from the ending edge to the leading edge. Yaw control characteristics of low aspect ratio flying wing is also studied in this paper. The results indicate that the flying wing is static stabile at the test attack angle. When the attack angle is less than 6 degree, it is controllable in yaw direction. And when attack angle is more than 6 degree, the yaw control ability decreases because the control surface may lays in the wake region of broken leading-edge vortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the coagulation deficit and genetic basis for a Chinese pedigree affected with Congenital dysfibrinogenemia (CD)., Methods: Peripheral venous blood samples of the proband and her family members (including 4 individuals from three generations) were subjected to routine blood test and assays of liver and kidney functions and viral hepatitis to exclude related diseases. Clauss method and DFg-PT method were used to determine the fibrinogen activity (Fg:C), and an immunoturbidimetric assay was used to determine the level of fibrinogen antigen (Fg:Ag). All of the exons (22 in total) and their flanking sequences of the FGA, FGB and FGG genes were amplified by PCR and directly sequenced. Variants in the coding regions of the three genes and transcriptional splicing sites were screened by using Mutation Surveyor TM software., Results: The Clauss method showed that Fg:C was significantly reduced in the proband and her father, whilst her mother and son were normal. With the DFg-PT method, the proband, her parents and son were all within the normal range. The Fg:C/Fg:Ag ratio of the proband and her father was lower than 0.7, whilst her mother and son were above 0.7. No significant change in the prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin clotting time and thrombin time was noted. Two genetic variants were detected, which included a homozygous missense variant in the FGA gene [c.991A>G (p.Thr331Ala)], which was predicted to be benign, and a heterozygous missense variant of the γ chain of the FGG gene [c.1211C>G (p.Ser404Phe)], which is located in a conserved region and unreported in the CLINVAR/HGMD/EXAC/1000G databases and literature., Conclusion: This pedigree has conformed to the autosomal dominant inheritance of CD. The c.1211C>T (p.Ser404Phe) missense variant of the γ chain of the FGG gene probably underlay the pathogenesis of CD in this pedigree. The variant was unreported previously and named as "Fibrinogen Harbin II Ser404Phe".

The loss of ecological carbon sinks often occurs in the process of coal resource development. Under the carbon neutral strategy, it is of great significance to explore technologies and models for improving ecological carbon sinks in coal mining areas. This study firstly addressed the system construction framework of the ecological carbon sink in coal mining areas, which included two levels of management mode and technical methods; three main categories of soil carbon sink, vegetation carbon sink, and wetland carbon sink; and several technical contents such as ecological carbon sink planning, carbon sink monitoring and investigation, carbon sink function improvement, and carbon sink loss prevention. The study analyzed the main types of ecological carbon sink (mainly involving soil carbon sinks and vegetation carbon sinks, whereas wetland carbon sinks were mainly related to coal mining subsidence areas with high groundwater level) and circumstances of carbon sink losses (including coal mining activities, the process of ecological vegetation construction, and ecological stability risk under long-term conditions) and proposed methods to improve ecological carbon sinks and prevent carbon sink losses for soil carbon sinks and vegetation carbon sinks in coal mining areas. The results can provide technical reference for the scientific research and engineering construction of ecological carbon sinks in coal mining areas.

Using 13 C pulsed labeling technique, we examined the biomass and carbon accumulation of different organs as well as the distribution characteristics of 13 C assimilate of 6-year-old Korla fragrant pear trees under three nitrogen application levels, i.e ., 150, 300, and 450 kg N·hm -2 (marked as N 1 , N 2 , and N 3 , respectively). Results showed that the biomass, carbon accumulation, 13 C fixation and leaf assimilation capacity of the whole pear tree increased while root to shoot ratio decreased with increasing nitrogen application. Both biomass and carbon accumulation amount of reproductive organs ( i.e ., fruits) were the highest under N 2 treatment. The 13 C content and distribution rate of each organ changed dynamically along with increasing nitrogen application. At the new shoot growing stage, leaves and roots had stronger competitive abilities for photosynthate, with 13 C distribution rates being the highest under N 1 treatment. During fruit swelling and mature stages, leaves and fruits were more competitive, with 13 C content and distribution rate in leaves being the highest under N 3 treatment and those in fruits being the highest under N 2 treatment. According to the absorption and distribution characteristics of carbon assimilate across organs under the three nitrogen application levels, the optimal nitrogen application level for achieving high fruit yield in the 6-year-old Korla fragrant pear tree orchard is recommended as 300 kg·hm -2 .

Objective: To observe the effect of warming needling therapy on gastrointestinal reaction after hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients of spleen and stomach deficiency syndrome after colon cancer surgery., Methods: A total of 120 cases of HIPEC were randomized into observation group and control group, 60 cases in each. The patients of the two groups all received HIPEC. In the observation group, 1 h before HIPEC, warming needling technique was applied to Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Yinlingquan (SP9) and the even-needing technique of acupuncture was applied to Neiguan (PC6) for 30 min, and then the intravenous injection with Ondansetron was given 30 min before HIPEC. In the control group, The intravenous injection with Ondansetron was given 30 min before HIPEC. In the two groups, the changes in nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention, diarrhea, total bilirubin (TB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and KPS score, as well as the average hospitalization length of stay were observed., Results: The total effective rates in the treatment of nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention and diarrhea were 91.67%(55/60), 93.33%(56/60), 80.00%(48/60) and 88.33%(53/60) in the observation group and were 78.33%(47/60), 78.33%(47/60), 63.33%(38/60) and 70.00%(42/60) in the control group respectively, and the total effective rate in the treatment of gastrointestinal reaction of HIPEC in the observation group was obviously higher than that in the control group( P <0.05). The KPS score and curative effect in the observation group was obviously higher than those of the control group( P <0.05), and the average hospitalization length of stay in the observation group was obviously reduced as compared with the control group ( P <0.05). There were no significant differences in serum TB, ALT and ALP contents between the two groups after treatment ( P >0.05)., Conclusion: The warming needling technique of acupuncture and moxibustion alleviates the gastrointestinal reaction, improves KPS score and reduces the hospitalization length of stay in HIPEC patients after the surgery of colon cancer and differentiated as the spleen and stomach deficiency in traditional Chinese medicine.

In order to meet the demand of detecting the high-resolution and broadband-2D spectrogram for echelle-prism cross-dispersion, the design method is given, and the 2D spectrogram detection system with high-resolution and low noise is designed by analyzing the relation between the detector and the optical system and proving designing method of detecting the area spectrogram. The system includes a main control unit, a detector driving unit, a signal processing unit, a data storage unit and a data transmission unit, etc. With Hamamatsu’s S10141-1109S CCD as the detector, the detection system features high sensitivity, broadband spectrogram, high signal to noise ratio. Combined with the echelle-prism cross-dispersion optical path to perform experiments, the results show that, the detection system can acquire high-resolution 2D spectrogram image in the range of 200 to 600 nm, the monochromatic image at 253.652 nm of Hg lamp covers 5 pixels, and the resolvable wavelength reaches 6.3 pm.

In order to explore the effect of Mirabilis jalapa Linn. growth on the structure characteristics of the microbial community and the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in the petroleum-contaminated saline-alkali soil, Microbial biomass and species in the rhizosphere soils of Mirabilis jalapa Linn. in the contaminated saline soil were studied with the technology of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis. The results showed that comparing to CK soils without Mirabilis jalapa Linn., the ratio of PLFAs species varied were 71. 4%, 69. 2% and 33. 3% in the spring, summer and autumn season, respectively. In addition, there was distinct difference of the biomasses of the microbial community between the CK and rhizosphere soils and among the difference seasons of growth of Mirabilis jalapa Linn.. Compare to CK soil, the degradation rates of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) was increased by 47. 6%, 28. 3%, and 18. 9% in spring, summer, and autumn rhizosphere soils, respectively. Correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between TPH degradation and the soil microbial community. 77. 8% of the total soil microbial PLFAs species showed positive correlation to the TPH degradation (the correlation coefficient r > 0), among which, 55. 6% of PLFAs species showed high positive correlation(the correlation coefficient was r≥0. 8). In addition, the relative content of SAT and MONO had high correlation with TPH degradation in the CK sample soils, the corelation coefficient were 0. 92 and 0. 60 respectively; However, the percent of positive correlation was 42. 1% in the rhizosphere soils with 21. 1% of them had high positive correlation. The relative content of TBSAT, MONO and CYCLO had moderate or low correlation in rhizosphere soils, and the correlation coefficient were 0. 56, 0. 50, and 0. 07 respectively. Our study showed that the growth of mirabilis Mirabilis jalapa Linn. had a higher influence on the species and biomass of microbial community in the rhizosphere soils, and the results will provide a basis theory for the research of phytoremediation petroleum contaminated saline soil.

In order to reduce the risk of enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crops, reduce the potential hazards of food-sourced PAHs to human and increase the agricultural safety of PAHs contaminated soils, the bio-augmented removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated through in situ remediation by introducing Rhodobacter sphaeroides (RS) into the agricultural soil contaminated by PAHs. The 50-times diluted RS was sprayed on leaf surface (in area B) or irrigated to roots (in area D). The treatment of spraying water of the equal amount was taken as the control (A) and the wheat field without any treatment as the blank (CK). Treatments were conducted since wheat seeding. Soil and wheat samples were collected in the mature period to analyze the changes of community structure of the soil microorganisms and the concentration of PAHs in soils and investigate the strengthening and restoration effects of RS on PAHs contaminated soils. Compared to the CK Area, the areas B and D revealed that the variation ratio of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) that were the biomarker of soil microorganisms was 29.6%, and the ratio of total PAHs removed was increased 1.59 times and 1.68 times, respectively. The dry weight of wheat grain of 50 spikes was increased by 8.95% and 12.5%, respectively, and the enrichment factor of total PAHs was decreased by 58.9% and 62.2% respectively in the wheat grains. All the results suggested that RS reduced enrichment of PAHs in wheat grains and increased wheat yield, which had great exploitation and utilization potentiality in repairing and improving the agricultural safety of the soils contaminated with PHAs.

Objective: To construct a co- culture system of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and multiple myeloma (MM) cells and investigate the alterations of connexin 43 (CX43) expression and stromal derived growth factor (SDF)- 1α secretion of MSC., Methods: CX43 expression and SDF- 1α secretion of MM cell lines (RPMI8226) and human primary MM cells were analyzed by western blot and immunofluorescence. Western blot, RT- PCR and immunofluorescence were employed to detect the alterations of CX43 expression and distribution in MSC directly and indirectly co-cultured with myeloma cells. Lucifer yellow dye spread was utilized to evaluate gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) between co- cultured MSC. Transwell was applied to study the transmigration of RPMI8266 induced by MSC under the condition of 18α- glycyrrhetinic acid (18α-GA). The level of SDF- 1α was detected by EILSA., Results: RPMI8266, U266 and one-third primary MM cells expressed CX43 at low or moderate levels. CX43 wasn't expressed in XG- 4 and XG- 7 cells but highly expressed in MSC. The expressions of CX43 mRNA of MSC were up- regulated after directly and indirectly co- cultured with RPMI8226, 1.36 and 2.10 times that of MSC cultured alone respectively. Western blot analysis showed that CX43 protein expression of MSC was also up-regulated, mainly distributed in cytoplasm. Lucifer yellow dye spread showed that GJIC was up-regulated in MSC. SDF-1α concentration in supernatant of MSC directly and indirectly co-cultured with RPMI8226 were (373.02±10.11)pg/ml and (309.71±10.71)pg/ml respectively, which were higher than that of MSC cultured alone (237.84±9.23)pg/ml (P<0.01), and could be inhibited by 18α-GA [(237.84±9.23)pg/ml and (94.31±6.44)pg/ml] respectively (P<0.01). 18α-GA could inhibit the transmigration of RPMI8226 induced by MSC, decrease from (8.00±0.67)% to (4.82±0.19)%., Conclusion: CX43 expression of MSC was up-regulated after directly and indirectly co-cultured with MM cells, which could improve the level of SDF-1α secretion of MSC. GJ inhibitor could downregulate SDF-1α secretion of MSC and inhibit the transmigration of MM cells induced by MSC.

The present paper analyzes the relative relation between the meridian and sagittal rays in off-plane quasi-Littrow (OP-QL) dispersion mountings. It's concluded that the off-plane angle will cause the rotation of the beam and result in the mismatch between the sagittal beams on different optical elements. Therefore the total optical path difference (OPD) should be an accumulation of corresponding beams instead of the sagittal beam of each element itself. Then, a directional derivative based method is put forward to calculate the OPD for spherical mirrors in various directions. Based on the method, the numerical OPD for OP-QL mountings is solved. Finally, this methodology is validated with both echelette and echelle examples.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation of auricular concha region (ACR) on behavior changes of depression rats., Methods: A total of 80 male Wistar rats were randomized into depression model (model, n = 6), EA-ACR (n = 12), preventive EA-ACR (Pre-EA-ACR, n = 11) and EA-ear-tip (n = 12) groups. Depression model was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress for 21 days and isolated breeding. Open-field test and sucrose solution intake preference test were conducted to assess changes of the rats' behavior activities before modeling and on day 22, 36 and 50 after starting model. For rats of the pre-EA-ACR group, EA (2 Hz, 1 mA) was applied to the bilateral auricular concha area for 20 min, once daily for 14 days, beginning from the 8th day on after starting model preparation till the end of the modeling, and for rats of the EA-ACR and EA-ear-tip groups, EA was given to the bilateral ACR and ear-tips respectively, beginning after modeling, once daily for 14 days., Results: In comparison with pre-modeling, the percentages of sucrose solution consumption in rats of the model group decreased gradually from day 22 to 50 (P > 0.05). Compared with the model group,the percentage of sucrose solution consumption in the EA-ACR group was increased significantly on day 50 (P < 0.05), suggesting an inhibitory effect of EA on the reduction of sucrose intake preference at this time-point. No significant differences were found between the pre-EA-ACR and the model groups and between the EA-ear-tip and model groups as well as between the EA-ACR and model groups at most time-points (P > 0.05). Open-field test showed that in comparison with pre-modeling in the same one group, the total scores, crossing and rearing scores on day 22 were decreased considerably in the model and EA-ear-tip groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), rather than in the pre-EA-ACR and EA-ARC groups (P > 0.05), suggesting a suppressing effect of pre-EA-ACR and EA-ACR on depression behavior. Compared to day 22 in the same one group, the total scores, crossing and rearing scores on day 36 and 50 in the pre-EA-ACR and EA-ear-tip groups were decreased significantly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: EA of auricular concha region can restrain the development of depression behavioral status in depression rats, which is superior to that of EA of ear-tip.

Objective: To investigate single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) and haplotypes of interleukin-18(IL-18) gene associated with the susceptibility to colorectal cancer(CRC)., Methods: Two SNPs of IL-18 gene promoter -137G/C and -607C/A in 170 patients with CRC and 160 healthy controls matched by age and sex in a Chinese population were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) strategy. Frequency of haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium of IL-18 gene in different groups were analyzed by SHEsis programs., Results: The distributions of IL-18 gene -607C/A polymorphism did not differ between CRC patients and healthy controls, but IL-18 gene -137G/C polymorphism was significantly different(P<0.05). The relative risk of C allele for CRC was 1.814 times of the G allele (OR=1.814,95% CI:1.246-2.642). Consistent with the results of the genotyping analyses, IL-18 -137G/C and -607C/A polymorphisms showed strong linkage disequilibrium(|D'|=0.945), frequency of the -137C/-607A haplotype in patients with CRC was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(P<0.05). The -137C/-607A haplotype was associated with a significantly increased risk of CRC(OR=1.637, 95% CI:1.100-2.437)., Conclusions: IL-18 gene -137G/C polymorphism and -137C/-607A haplotype are associated with CRC. -137C allele may be an important genetic susceptibility gene for CRC.

The effects of water-retaining agent (60 kg x hm(-2)) and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 225, and 450 kg x hm(-2)) on the leaf photosynthetic characteristics, chlorophyll content, and water utilization of winter wheat at jointing and grain-filling stages were studied under field conditions. In all treatments, the net photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, water use efficiency, and chlorophyll content were greater at grain-filling stage than at jointing stage. Under nitrogen fertilization but without water-retaining agent application, the water use efficiency (WUE) of single leaf at jointing stage increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization rate, while the net photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, and transpiration rate decreased after an initial increase. The chlorophyll content was the highest under 225 kg x hm(-2) nitrogen fertilization. In the treatments of water-retaining agent application, the intercellular CO2 con- centration decreased with increasing nitrogen application rate, but the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and WUE increased. The application of water-retaining agent or its combination with nitrogen fertilization increased the chlorophyll content, but excessive nitrogen fertilization had lesser effects. At grain-filling stage, applying nitrogen fertilizer alone significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate and WUE, but decreased the stomata conductance, intercellular CO2 concentration, and transpiration rate. The chlorophyll content increased with increasing nitrogen application rate. After applying water-retaining agent and with the increase of nitrogen fertilization rate, the photosynthetic rate and WUE decreased after an initial increase, while the intercellular CO2 concentration and transpiration rate were in adverse but still lower than those without water-retaining agent application. The stomata conductance increased with increasing nitrogen fertilization rate. The chlorophyll content increased significantly under the application of water-retaining agent, but somewhat decreased under the combined application of water-retaining agent and nitrogen fertilizer. The application of both water-retaining agent and nitrogen fertilizer increased the 1000 grain mass, grain yield, and water production efficiency of winter wheat significantly, with the best effect in the treatment of water-retaining agent with 225 kg x hm(-2) nitrogen fertilization.

A field experiment was conducted at the Yuzhou Experimental Base of Henan Province to study the effects of different application rates (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg x hm(-2)) of water-retaining agent (WRA) on the root physiological characteristics, biomass, and grain yield of two winter wheat cultivars Zhengmai-9694 and Aikang-58, aimed to probe into the action mechanisms of WRA on the root system of winter wheat at its different growth stages. The application of WRA decreased the root membrane permeability and soluble sugar content, and increased the root vigor. After the application of WRA, the Zhengmai-9694 at its different growth stages had a greater decrement of root membrane permeability, compared with Aikang-58. In all treatments except 90 kg x hm(-2) of WRA, the root vigor of Aikang-58 was obviously higher than that of Zhengmai-9694. At booting and grain-filling stages, the root soluble sugar content of Zhengmai-9694 decreased much more than that of Aikang-58. In the whole growth period of the two cultivars, their root membrane permeability and soluble sugar content were the lowest in treatment 60 kg x hm(-2) of WRA, and no significant differences were observed between treatments 60 and 90 kg x hm(-2) of WRA. The root vigor of Zhengmai-9694 increased remarkably with the increasing rate of WRA application, while that of Aikang-58 was the highest in treatment 60 kg x hm(-2) of WRA. The application of WRA also increased root biomass, and at jointing and booting stages, the root biomass of Aikang-58 was much higher than that of Zhengmai-9694. However, at grain-filling stage, the biomass of Aikang-58 in treatments 60 and 90 kg x hm(-2) of WRA was lower than that of Zhengmai-9694. Treatment 60 kg x hm(-2) of WRA had the highest grain yield of the two cultivars. It was concluded that WRA had more significant effects on Zhengmai-9694 than on Aikang-58, and applying 60 kg x hm(-2) of WRA could obtain the best effect.

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of by combining a 12-week course of lamivudine in those HBeAg-positive hepatitis B patients receiving peginterferon alfa-2a (peg-IFN alpha-2a) therapy., Methods: A total of 58 patients initiated a 52-week course of peginterferon alfa-2a were enrolled and divided into 3 groups. The patients with HBV DNA undetectable or HBeAg negative at week 12 were divided into group A, in this group treatment continued to week 52 with peg-IFN alpha-2a alone; The rest patients were divided into group B1 and B2, in group B1, lamivudine was combined at a course of 12 weeks, while in group B2 treatment continued to week 52 with peg-IFN alpha-2a alone. Clinical responses were assessed at week 52., Results: 8 out of 58 patients achieved undetectable HBV DNA or HBeAg loss at week 12 and divide into group A. In this group the HBV DNA loss rate, HBeAg seroconversion rate, HBsAg loss rate and ALT normalization rate were 100% (8/8), 75% (6/8), 0% (0/8) and 100% (8/8) respectively at the end of treatment. In this group the HBV DNA loss rate, HBeAg seroconversion rate, HBsAg loss rate and ALT normalization rate were 100% (8/8), 75% (6/8), 0% (0/8) and 100%(8/8) respectively at the end of treatment. The rest 50 patients without early response to peg-IFN alpha-2a at week 12 were divided into group B1 (24 patients enrolled) and B2 (26 patients). At the end of treatment, the HBV DNA loss rate, HBeAg seroconversion rate, HBsAg loss rate and ALT normalization rate in Group B1 were 50% (12/24), 38% (9/24), 4% (1/24) and 63% (15/24) respectively, and 31% (8/26), 27% (7/26), 0% (0/26) and 35% (9/26) respectively in group B2., Conclusion: Those patients with early responses to peg-IFN alpha-2a therapy can achieve high clinical responses at the end of 52-week treatment. The combining therapy of lamivudine for a course of 12-weeks can improve the clinical responses for the patients without early responses to peg-IFN alpha-2a.

To increase the content of active constituent--RE and PD of Polygonum cuspidatum hairy root, through Ri-mediated gene transformation technology, modified high salt low pH method was used to distill genome DNA of grapevine (Vitis raparia). Primer was designed according to sequence of Genebank (AF128861). Through PCR amplification obtain RS gene sequence was obtained. Binary vector pCAMBIA1300-35S-RS was constructed. Frost thawing method was used to transform Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC11325. Scratched aseptic seedling leaf of Polygonum cuspidatum was contaminated subsequently. DNA conformity and mRNA expression of RS gene were investigated by PCR and RT-PCR respectively. RE and PD in transgenic hairy root were determined by HPLC. For the first time successfully inducement acquires transformed RS gene hairy root of Polygonum cuspidatum. Content of active constituents--RE and PD were 17 - 187 microg x g(-1) DW and 836 - 1 970 microg x g(-1) DW, respectively, the non-transgenic hairy root was 0 - 130 microg x g(-1) DW and 190 - 320 microg x g(-1) DW. In the different root selected, the content of PD was much higher than that in non-transformed hairy roots of Polygonum cuspidatum, the highest content is 5 times, but the content of RE has not increased apparently.

In order to investigate the secretion mechanism of denervated submandibular gland(SMG) and artificially regulate the secretion of transferred SMG,serial studies on the secretion function of normal and transferred SMG have been performed. The results showed that functional alpha(1A-) and alpha(1B-) adrenoceptors(AR) were expressed in human SMG, and might contribute to the regulation of saliva synthesis and secretion. Both beta(1)- and beta(2)-AR were expressed in rabbit SMG. beta(1)-AR was the predominant subtype and might play an important role in regulating saliva and alpha-amylase secretion. Vanilloid receptor1(VR1) mRNA and protein were detected in rabbit SMG. Capsaicin could induce a significant increase in secretion of rabbit SMG via activitation of VR1. On the rabbit model of microvascular transfer of SMG, phenylephrine(10(-7) mol/L) was infused into SMG through the Wharton's duct. The secretion of transferred SMG was significantly increased without significant changes of cardiovascular function. The effective mechanism of phenylephrine might involve the increased expression of alpha1-AR, translocation of AQP(5) from cytoplasm to apical membrane, activation of signal molecules related to cell proliferation, and moderate the atrophy of the gland. These results provided a experimental basis for deeply understanding of secretion mechanism of normal and transferred SMG, and effective regulation of secretion of the transferred SMG.

The Tagsk1 (Triticum asetium L. glycogen synthase kinase 1) gene derived from the genome of wheat salt-tolerance mutant RH8706-49 was cloned by PCR. The special primers designed according to full length cDNA sequence of Tagsk1 (AF525086). A binary expression vector pBI121-gsk1 containing Gus and Tagsk1 was constructed. And pBI121-gsk1 was introduced into the callus induced from mature embryos of salt-sensitive wheat H8706-34 and cv. China Spring by particle bombardment. The transformed callus were screened by Kanamycin and 0.5% NaCl. The salt-tolerance callus were obtained, which showed higher ability of salt-tolerance and could diffirentiate roots and buds on the medium containing 0.5% NaCl.

Two dimensional electrophoresis was used to analyse the proteome of the salt-tolerant mutant of wheat (RH8706-49) and the salt-sensitive mutant of wheat (H8706-34) which had been treated by 1% NaCl for 72 hours. After being analysed by MALDI-TOF-MS and Mascot software, the qualitative and quantitative differences were identified between the two materials for five candidate proteins: H+-transporting two-sector ATPase, glutamine synthetase 2 precursor, putative 33 kD oxygen evolving protein of photosystem II and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit. These five proteins are all belong to chloroplast proteins. They are likely to play a crucial role in keeping the function of the chloroplast and the whole cells when the plant was under salt-stress.

Background & Objective: The prognosis of supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SGSCC) was poor. To authors' knowledge, the relationship between inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and the prognosis of SGSCC has not been addressed to date. This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic significance of these two parameters in SGSCC., Methods: The expression of iNOS and bFGF protein in 64 patients with SGSCC using LSAB method and pathologic imagine analysis system and their association with neck lymph node metastases, recurrence, and prognosis., Results: (1) The expression of iNOS and bFGF was significantly higher in cervical lymph node positive group (33.2+/-8.8 and 36.1+/-7.8) than in negative group (27.3+/-7.4 and 24.5+/-7.5) with statistical significance. The expression of iNOS and bFGF was higher in recurrence group (36.9+/-1.7 and 34.6+/-2.0) than in no-recurrence group (29.1+/-1.3 and 27.2+/-1.4) with statistical significance. (2) Patients with positive neck lymph node had poorer 5-year survival than those with negative neck lymph node (31.0% vs. 57.1%). Patients with positive iNOS expression had poorer 5-year survival than those with the negative iNOS expression (40.0% vs. 77.8%). However, there was no statistical significance between positive bFGF expression group and negative bFGF expression group. (3) Cox model multivariate regression analysis showed that lymph node status, the expression of iNOS and postoperative radiotherapy were independent prognosis factors, whereas the T staging and the expression of bFGF were not., Conclusion: The expression of iNOS was one of the independent prognostic factors, but it is necessary to study further for iNOS and bFGF to predict the prognosis of patients with SGSCC using immunohistochemical technique.

Through the genetic analysis of a F2 population, derived from CMS line 75-3369A (T-type CMS wheat) and the restorer line 7269-10, the result indicated that the restorer line was conditioned by two dominant genes. A F2 population was used to map the fertility restorer (Rf) gene by microsatellite and BSA (bulked segregant analysis). Restorer and sterile DNA pools were established using the extreme fertile and sterile plants of F2 population, respectively. Among the 230 pairs of microsatellite primers, two markers were found polymorphic between the two pools. Linkage analysis showed that microsatellite marker Xgwm136 and Xgwm550 were linked with the two fertility restorer genes, respectively. One of the Rf gene was located on 1AS and the genetic distance between the SSR marker Xgwm136 and this Rf gene was 6.7 cM, the other Rf gene was located on 1BS and with a genetic distance of 5.1 cM to marker Xgwm550.

cDNA-AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) is used to isolate genes differentially expressed in two wheat lines with the different resistance to NaCl derived from a single seed. A lot of cDNA fragments related to salt tolerance are obtained. Of with the number 73 cDNA fragment encodes for a transcription factors with an 32% similarity to human transcription factors in the relative amino acid which is named SIR73. Northern analysis confirms that SIR73 is strongly induced by NaCl stress and the expression in SR is more strongly induced than in SS.SIR73 may be involved in the regulation of gene expression in salt stress in wheat.

Background & Objective: To the authors' knowledge, the relationship between inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and cervical lymph node metastasis of supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SGSCC) has not been addressed to date. This study was designed to investigate the effect of iNOS and bFGF on biological behavior of cervical lymph node metastasis in SGSCC., Methods: The authors conducted a contrast analysis for 64 patients with SGSCC (experimental group) and 33 patients with chronic laryngeal mucositis (control group). Pathologic imaging analysis was used for quantitative determination., Results: 1. Positive staining site of iNOS and bFGF was concentrated in cytoplasm; bFGF was also expressed in nuclei and intracellular substance. 2. The expressions of iNOS and bFGF were significantly higher in experimental group than in control group. 3. The expression in cervical lymph node positive group was significantly higher than that in negative group. However, there was no statistical significance between primary negative-follow positive group and primary positive group., Conclusion: The expression of iNOS and bFGF was closely associated with SGSCC, and can be considered to be a predictor for lymph node metastasis of SGSCC.