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Objective To investigate the phototherapy effect of multifunctional nanometer cerium oxide quantum dot (HACQDs-Ce6) on HepG2 cells. Methods The dissolved oxygen analyzer was used to detect the catalytic oxygen production capacity of HACQDs-Ce6. CCK-8 method, scratch test and Calcein AM/PI staining were used to analyze the effects of HACQDs-Ce6 on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of HepG2 cells. The recombinant mouse macrophage-granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rm GM-CSF) and recombinant mouse interleukin-4 (rm IL-4) were used to induce the differentiation of mouse bone marrow precursor cells into dendritic cells (DC) in vitro to investigate the effect of HACQDs-Ce6 on DC cells. Results HACQDs-Ce6 had catalytic oxygen production capacity. The proliferation activity of cells in the laser group was significantly lower than that in the dark group when the concentration of HACQDs-Ce6 was greater than 0.125 μg/ml (P=0.018). The migration ability of HepG2 cells in HACQDs-Ce6 group was significantly lower than that in the PBS group (P < 0.01). HACQDs-Ce6 almost had no effect on HFF-1/L wnt-3A and DC cells. Calcein AM/PI staining showed that the combined action of HACQDs-Ce6 and PDT killed almost all the HepG2 cells. Conclusion The phototherapy effect of HACQDs-Ce6 on HepG2 cells is obvious, with no damage to HFF-1/L wnt-3A/DC cells.

In order to explore the gender differences of dioecious plants in response to heavy metal stress, the metabolites of Marchantia polymorpha under cadmium (Cd) stress were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS ), and the differential metabolites and metabolic pathways related to different genders were analyzed- The results showed that, without cadmium stress, the levels of flavonoid biosynthesis, purine metabolism and zeatin biosynthesis in females were higher than those in males with significantly higher contents of apigenin, luteolin, adenine and adenosine. After cadmium stress, the levels of flavonoid biosynthesis, purine metabolism and zeatin biosynthesis in females were decreased with the significant decrease of apigenin, luteolin, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, adenine and adenosine. The metabolic levels of the above three pathways increased in males with the significant increase of differential metabolites kaempferol-3-O-robinoside-7-O-rhamnoside, quercetin, adenosine monophosphate and inosine. Studies have shown gender differences in metabolic changes of M. polymorpha in response to cadmium stress. Among them, female M. polymorpha reduced the synthesis level of zeatin and genetic material, and induced the synthesis of glutathione. Male M. polymorpha increased zeatin synthesis, alleviated chlorophyll degradation, and up-regulated secondary metabolites with antioxidant activity such as quercetin and kaempferol-3-O-robinosider7-O-rhamnoside in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To analyze bacteria community structure changes in subgingival plaque after initial therapy, and to provide experimental evidences for clinical decision. METHODS: Six patients with chronic periodontitis were chosen. Subgingival plaque samples, as well as clinical indexes, were collected at baseline and six weeks after initial therapy. The generated two different 16S rDNA fragments of subgingival plaque samples were separated by denaturing gel, creating bands patterns representative of community structure. Subsequent cluster analysis was made. RESULTS: The clinical indexes were improved significantly. The diversity of population of clinical subgingival samples was not significantly different between baseline and 6 weeks after initial therapy. Through cluster analysis, it was confirmed that same patient got similar subgingival plaque between baseline and 6 weeks after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Same patient tend to get similar subgingival plaque between baseline and after initial therapy. DGGE can detect the microbial composition of subgingival plaque. Supported by National "11th Five-Year" Scientific Research Project (2007BAI18B02). Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (S30206) and Key Project of Scientific Research Innovation from Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (09YZ78). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To provide bases for the tests, design and construction of deep beams, the improved robust design method and the new signal-to-noise ratio were employed. Parameters including the shear span ratio, the concrete strength, the yield strength of horizontal hoop, and the yield strength of vertical hoop were taken into account. The shear strength of deep beams and the factors affecting it were analyzed by the softened truss model and the improved robust design method, respectively. The results show that the strength of concrete has the largest influence on the shear strength of component, the next is the shear span ratio, the yield strength of horizontal reinforce and the yield strength of vertical reinforce have the least influence on it. The analysis result of improved robust design method agrees better with the test result compared with Taguchi method, and it is more accurate and more convenient than Taguchi method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and boundary effect on far field interfacial strength of rolled compacted concrete (RCC) with pre-embedded cracks, which had different weakening degrees, was studied. It is found that, the size and boundary of specimen, as well as the length of I - H cracks and its number are the influence factors in interfacial strength of RCC. Based on the theory of interfacial fracture mechanics and the criteria of compound fracture, Hu and Wittmann s fracture mechanics formula of size effect is extended to adapt the mixed fracture characteristics of interface of RCC. And the curves of size and boundary effect on far field interfacial strength of RCC are established [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this paper, chamber experiments were carried out to investigate the oxidation of secondary organic tracers of toluene and isoprene by ozone under different conditions (relative humidity, mixing state, etc.) using a relative rate constants approach. The uncertainty of the tracer-based method due to the ozone oxidation of secondary organic tracers was also addressed. The results showed that the effective rate constants of analogue of 2-methyl erythritol (AME) and 2,3-dihydroxy-4-oxopentanoic acid (DHOPA) were (4.60±0.66)×10 -19 cm 3 ·(molecule·s) -1 and (6.57±0.51)×10 -19 cm 3 ·(molecule·s) -1 , respectively. Given the instability of the secondary organic tracers caused by the oxidation, the contributions of toluene and isoprene to secondary organic aerosols could be underestimated by 16.5%-44.8% and 18.3%-47.3%, respectively.

In this study, stepwise behavioral responses of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) under the joint stress of two organphosphorus pesticides (Trichlorfon and Parathion) were discussed. BEWs was used to record the data of behavior strength, to analyze behavioral response of Japanese medaka. The differences of the behavioral responses time in 20, 10, 5, land 0.1 TU were: 1.4, 4.8, 6.4, 32.2 and 43.0 h separately, which were significant. And evident difference of the behavioral responses time was not detected in different proportions of the pesticides. The results suggested that the stepwise behavioral responses of Japanese medaka were affected by both chemical concentration and exposure time. But the stepwise behavioral responses in different proportions of two organphosphorus pesticides were almost the same as each other, and the evident difference of the behavioral responses time was not detected. It proved that the toxicity effects of the joint stress of two organphosphorus pesticides on the stepwise behavioral responses of Japanese medaka were simple additivity.

Objective: To observe the antioxidant effects of water extract of Carthamus tinctorius on ox-LDL induced injury in rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cell and detecting oxygen derived free radicals (OFR) to explore the antioxidant mechanisms., Method: By using the third generation of rat cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (rCMEC), the protection of water extract of C. tinctorius was investigated after ox-LDL (100 mg x L(-1) induced damage. The supernatant was collected for detecting lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), xanthine oxidase (XOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), nitric oxide (NO), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, and cell suspension was collected for detecting reactive oxygen species (ROS) by electron spin resonance (ESR)., Result: Water extract of C. tinctorius increased the rCMEC survival rate, reduced LDH, MDA and XOD levels, and improved SOD, GSH-Px and NOS activity, while in the cell suspension ROS signal decreased significantly., Conclusion: Water extract of C. tinctorius has antioxidation. The mechanisms are likely related with scavenging of free radicals, enhancing its clearance, enhancing endogenous antioxidant activity.

Objective: To identify the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Chinese chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients., Methods: As part of a multicenter Chinese cohort study, the clinical data associated with CVD of 1239 patients with CKD (stage 2 - 5) hospitalized in 7 grade 3A hospitals distributed in 5 regions of China 2002 - 2003 were collected. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between CVD and the demographic variables, lifestyle, medical history, medication, physical examination, and laboratory variables., Results: (1) Increase of serum C-reactive protein (CRP, cut off > 10 mg/L) was an independent risk factor for development of coronary artery disease (CAD) (OR 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32 - 3.43). 21.5% of the patients in this group showed a value of CRP > 10 mg/L. (2) Being female, anemia, and systolic hypertension were the major determinants of the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (OR 2.99, CI 2.09 - 4.26; OR 2.66, CI 1.19 - 3.57; and OR 1.02, CI 1.00 to -1.02). 54.2% of the patients in this group had their systolic pressure controlled under 140mmHg, and only 15% of the patients in this group had their hemoglobin remain at the level >or= 110 g/L. (3) There was a significant interaction between the calcium-phosphate product and congestive heart failure (CHF) (OR 1.023, CI 1.01 - 1.03). 25.9% of the patients in this cohort had their calcium-phosphate product >or= 55. (4) Hypoalbuminemia (OR 6.01, CI 1.25 - 28.96) and diastolic hypertension (OR 1.05, CI 1.00 - 1.09) played major role in determining cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). In these cohort the prevalence of hypoalbuminemia was 37.3%. (5) Diabetes was associated with CAD (OR 2.34), CHF (OR 1.97), and CVA (OR 4.40), although its prevalence was lower in Chinese CKD patients (20%). Age was the risk factors of CAD (OR 1.04) and CVA (OR 1.22). Hypertension was associated with LVH (OR 1.016), CHF (OR 1.02), and CVA (OR 1.04)., Conclusion: CKD is associated with nontraditional risk factors for the development of CVD, including chronic inflammation, malnutrition and calcium-phosphate disorders. Particular care must be taken to give optimal treatment for the most important CVD risk factors active in Chinese CKD patients, e.g. anemia and hypertension.

Objective: The mice surviving acute exposure to low dose of perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) could tolerant to lethal dose of PFIB. Discovering the gene related with the tolerance would be significant to find preventive agents for PFIB., Methods: By static exposure to PFIB for 3 times, the survival animals could tolerate to lethal dose of PFIB. Three anchoring primers and 4 arbitrary primers were applied in differential display reverse transcription PCR (DDRT-PCR) of lung tissues and the products were analyzed by sequencing PAGE and silver staining. The differential DNA fragments were cloned and sequenced., Results: There were obvious differences of gene expression between control and tolerant animals. Three expressed sequence tags (EST) have been cloned and sequenced,which were homologous to some mouse gene in Genbank., Conclusion: Specific gene up-regulation might be the cause of tolerance to PFIB, and they are very important to clarity the tolerant mechanisms to PFIB.

Samples of coals, fly ashes, slags and tiny fly ashes with different sizes, collected from a large power plant, were studied. It shows that Se tends not to be enriched in coarse fly ash and slag, but to be enriched in fine fly ashes especially in fine fly ash with size > 19.0 microm. This kind of distribution is shaped by: 1) volatility and organic-occurrence of Se in coal; 2) residence time in flue gases; 3) morphology of particles [holes on the surface of particles ( > 19.0 microm) may adsorb more Se]. Sequence leaching test shows that Se is mainly organic-bonded (69.7%) in coal. Mass balance calculation of burned coal indicates that 16.5% of Se in coal may be disposed into air directly. The environmental impacts of Se in fine fly ashes can be ignored because of its small proportion and distributional character (mainly in particles with sizes > 19.0 microm). Se in slag may cause little environmental impacts. Se in coarse fly ash is partially mobile and may be used to benefit the soil which is lack of Se.

Objective: Cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) is the single most important cause of death among Chinese dialysis patients, accounting for 51% of overall mortality. The study was performed to investigate the prevalence and the spectrum of CVD in Chinese chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients., Methods: The multicenter Chinese cohort study examined 1239 CKD patients from 7 main medical centers (distributed in 5 regions of China) who were hospitalized between 2002 and 2003., Results: (1) The most prevalent pathological form of CVD was left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH), accounting for 58.5% of total patients. The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) was 16.5%, 27.7% and 5.6%, separately. (2) The cohort with minor renal dysfunction (stage 2-3) had higher prevalence of CAD (5.9%) and CVA (1.0%) compared with general population in the same regions. Up to 41.2% of minor CKD patients were complicated with LVH, and 13.8% of them had clinical evidence of CHF. The prevalence of CAD, LVH and CHF increased as glomerular filtration decline. (3) The prevalence of CAD (20.0%) was much lower and the prevalence of CVA (5.4%) was higher in Chinese dialysis patients than that in American dialysis population. There was significant geographical variations in CAD prevalence, but it was not different between genders., Conclusion: The CV risk is significantly increased in patients with CKD. Even minor CKD has a major impact on the CV risk. The prevalence of CAD in Chinese dialysis patients is markedly lower than that in American dialysis population.