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BackgroundAlthough publications have been increasing rapidly, the research quality has yet to improve in the field of critical care medicine (CCM) in China. This study aimed at investigating the current status of and the influential factors for impactful publications in CCM research by Chinese authors.MethodsPublications by authors with the affiliation of critical care medicine department or intensive care unit (CCM/ICU) in Chinese as well as American hospitals from 2001 to 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database for this bibliometric analysis. Moreover, statistical analyses to test factors affecting impactful publications by Chinese authors were performed.ResultsOf 13,487 articles retrieved by this search strategy, 6,622 were published by Chinese authors as first or corresponding authors. The annual publications by Chinese authors have been rapidly increasing from 2001 to 2020, and so did the citations to these articles. However, the proportion in the world of publications by Chinese authors was much less than that by American authors each year [M (IQR): 1.85 (9.592) vs. 27.77 (7.3), p < 0.001]. In addition, impactful articles were significantly less published by Chinese than by American authors, including articles either in journals with a high impact factor (p < 0.001) or in the top 10 journals in the field of CCM (5.4 vs 13.4%, p < 0.001), and articles with high citation frequency as well (p < 0.001). Moreover, the percentage of impactful publications by Chinese authors was likely associated with academic background and regions of the author's affiliations, funds support, public health events of COVID-19, and collaboration between authors.ConclusionOur results demonstrated that CCM research in China grew rapidly in the recent 20 years. However, the impactful publications remained limited, largely owing to the shortage of comprehensive research training, inactive collaboration, and underfunded CCM research.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common gastrointestinal tumor with a poor prognosis, which is associated with poor differentiation of tumor cells. However, the potential value of cell differentiation-related molecules in predicting the benefit and prognosis of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) therapy remains unknown. Herein, to investigate the differentiation trajectory of HCC cells and their clinical significance, a differentiation-related gene prognostic index (DRGPI) based on HCC differentiation-related genes (HDRGs) was constructed to elucidate the immune characteristics and therapeutic benefits of ICI in the HCC subgroup defined by DRGPI. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA-seq data from four HCC samples were integrated for bioinformatics analysis. Then, PON1, ADH4, SQSTM1, HSP90AA1, and STMN1 were screened out to construct a DRGPI. More intriguingly, RT-qPCR validation of the expression of these genes yielded consistent results with the TCGA database. Next, the risk scoring (RS) constructed based on DRGPI suggested that the overall survival (OS) of the DRGPI-high patients was significantly worse than that of the DRGPI-low patients. A nomogram was constructed based on DRGPI-RS and clinical characteristics, which showed strong predictive performance and high accuracy. The comprehensive results indicated that a low DRGPI score was associated with low TP53 mutation rates, high CD8 T cell infiltration, and more benefit from ICI therapy. Homoplastically, the high DRGPI score reflected the opposite results. Taken together, our study highlights the significance of HCC cell differentiation in predicting prognosis, indicating immune characteristics, and understanding the therapeutic benefits of ICI, and suggests that DRGPI is a valuable prognostic biomarker for HCC.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and short-rod-shaped bacterium, designated as strain SY7T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of the mangrove Kandelia obovata of Fugong village, in Zhangzhou, China. The isolate grew at 10–45 °C (optimum 30 °C), pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and 0–8% NaCl (optimum 3%, w/v). The 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain SY7T located within the radiation of genus Nitratireductor and showed the highest sequence similarity of 97.23% to Nitratireductor pacificus MCCC 1A01024T. The DNA G+C content was 64.9%. In silico DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values between strain SY7T with reference strains of N. pacificus MCCC 1A01024T, N. basaltis KCTC 22119T and N. aquibiodomus DSM 15645T were 16.7%, 14.3%, 14.7% and 75.2%, 72.6%, 73.5%, respectively. The major isoprenoid quinone was Q-10. The dominant fatty acids were 11-methyl C18:1ω7c, iso-C17:0, C19:0ω8c cyclo and summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c/C18:1ω7c), a profile that almost matched the other members of the genus Nitratireductor. The predominant polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain SY7T represents a novel species of the genus Nitratireductor, for which the name Nitratireductor mangrovi sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is SY7T (= KCTC 72110T = MCCC 1K03723T).

When a new pathogen that causes a global epidemic in humans, one key question is where it comes from. This is especially important for a zoonotic infectious disease that jumps from animals to human...

The efficacy and safety of early renal replacement therapy (eRRT) for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) remain controversial. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to perform an up-to-date meta-analysis with the trial sequential analysis (TSA) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the therapeutic effect of eRRT on patients in an intensive care unit (ICU). We extensively searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and ClinicalTrials.gov, Gray Literature Report, and Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), and conducted an updated search on December 27, 2021. The included studies were RCTs, which compared the efficacy and safety of eRRT and delayed renal replacement therapy (dRRT) on critically ill patients with AKI. We adopted TSA and sensitivity analysis to strengthen the robustness of the results. About 12 RCTs with a total of 5,423 participants were included. Patients receiving eRRT and dRRT had the similar rate of all-cause mortality at day 28 (38.7% vs. 38.9%) [risk ratio (RR), 1.00; 95%CI, 0.93–1.07, p = 0.93, I2 = 0%, p = 0.93]. A sensitivity and subgroup analysis produced similar results for the primary outcome. TSA showed that the required information size was 5,034, and the cumulative Z-curve crossed trial sequential monitoring boundaries for futility. Patients receiving eRRT had a higher rate of renal replacement therapy (RRT) (RR, 1.50, 95% CI: 1.28–1.76, p < 0.00001, I2 = 96%), and experienced more adverse events comparing to those receiving dRRT (RR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.22–1.63, p < 0.0001, heterogeneity not applied). The most remarkable and important experimental finding is that, to our knowledge, the current meta-analysis included the largest sample size from the RCTs, which were published in the past 10 years to date, show that eRRT had no significant survival benefit for ill patients with AKI compared with dRRT and TSA indicating that no more studies were needed to confirm it.Trial RegistrationINPLASY, INPLASY2020120030. Registered 04 December 2020.

Factory explosion accidents not only cause damages of factory facilities and equipment, or casualties usually, but also cause fire disaster due to various reasons, resulting in larger losses. After the occurrence of accidents, timely, accurate, and efficient response is an urgent need to protect the safety of people's lives and property. A hazardous Factory Explosion accident in North China in 2019 was taken as an example by this paper. It conducts research from four aspects, including the basic situation of the accident, the handling of the explosion accident, and the analysis of the cause of explosion accident. The useful advice and efficient disposal methods of accidents, the enhancement of disaster prevention and disaster relief capabilities, and the formation of a long-term mechanism to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property are expounded in this paper, in order to provide a reference for similar accident management.

Three new compounds, namely massonside C (1), massonianoside F (2), and 3, 8-dimethyl- herbacetin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), together with five known compounds (4-8), were isolated from the fresh needles of Pinus massoniana. Their structures were established by 1D, 2D NMR, HRMS and comparison with the literature data. The absolute configuration of 1 was confirmed by a combination of X-ray single crystal analysis. All isolated compounds were evaluated for the protective effect of human umbilical vein endothelial cells against oxidative damage.

Family planning is a basic national policy in China. An intrauterine device (IUD) is an important method of achieving family planning owing to its high safety, low cost, and convenient use. The indwelling birth control ring has no obvious adverse effects on the sexual life of women after the operation, and the process is reversible. This ring can be removed for women who want to have children again. There are approximately 100 million women with IUDs worldwide, with approximately 80 million in China. This finding accounts for approximately 40% of women of childbearing age in China. Although an IUD is safe, the invasive operation inevitably leads to complications, such as pelvic infection, abnormal menstruation, and damage to adjacent organs. Among them, ectopic bladder stone formation is a rare complication, but several related cases have been reported. We report four cases of heterotopia of an IUD and cystolithiasis, with diagnosis based on the medical history, clinical manifestations, imaging, and cystoscopic findings. The four patients with ectopic IUDs were treated with cystoscopy combined with laparoscopy (or hysteroscopy). We describe the process of diagnosis and treatment of our patients, and the related literature on an ectopic IUD is reviewed.

Three-dimensional (3D) elastic-plastic finite element model (FEM) is adopted to research the effect of side groove on the crack-front J-integral for different size of Compact Tension (CT) specimens. Although the side-grooved CT specimen is widely used in the existing test method, such as ASTM E1820-13, the test data of fracture toughness is varying with the various geometric parameters. Before FE calculation, the material properties of Q345 steel were obtained by uniaxial tensile test, especially for the true stress-strain relationship. In this paper, it focuses on the numerical study of geometric parameter effects on the fracture toughness. Toward this end, the commercial FE software of ABAQUS is adopted to calculate the J-integral. Since the side groove of CT specimen is so important to make the fracture test success, the various parameters of side groove is intensively analyzed for obtaining the accurate J-integral along the crack front, including the effects of the angle, depth and root radius. In fact, the side groove effect is so significant around the crack front that cannot be ignored in the J-integral calculation. Through rigorous FE investigation, the influence of the side groove on the fracture toughness testing is fully disclosed, and the appropriate side groove configuration is recommended accordingly.

The effect of destabilization at (960°C,1000°C,1050°C) followed by sub-critical heat treatment (SCHT) at (260°C, 450°C, 550°C) on microstructure and mechanical properties of a hypereutectic chromium cast iron containing 31 wt.% Cr was investigated. The response of the microstructure of the specimens differed significantly to heat treatment. With increasing destabilization temperature, the amount of retained austenite increased and it became more stable during following SCHT. The peak values of bulk hardness deceased with increasing destabilization temperature, while higher SCHT was needed to reach the hardness maximum. The hardness and erosion wear property of the specimens destabilization at 960°C or 1000°C deteriorated after SCHT at 550°C due to the formation of ferrite/carbide product, which was not found in the specimens destabilization at 1050°C followed by SCHT at 550°C. The specimen destabilization at 960°C + SCHT at 260°C performed best erosion wear resistance with matrix of martensite containing little austenite.

The power delay profile (PDP) of the single antenna full-duplex self-interference channel (SIC) is studied in the indoor environments in this paper. We perform the measurements at the center frequency of 2.4 GHz with 100 MHz bandwidth. The PDP can be decomposed into three components: leakage path (LP), antenna reflection path (ARP), and space multipath (SMP). Furthermore, we get the model of the profiles of the leakage path and the antenna reflection path. The space multipath can be modeled as power-law decay plus a random variable with lognormal statistics.

The economics of bio-solvent production are largely dependent on the cost of the fermentation substrate. Dioscorea zingiberensis C.H. Wright (DZW), the main raw material used to produce saponin, contains 13-18% starch which can be directly saccharified to a saccharification liquid of DZW starch (SLDS) that contains abundant nutrients. In this study, the water-soluble micromolecule compounds in SLDS were quantified through 1H NMR. Using SLDS as the substrate to conduct ABE fermentation by Clostridium beijerinckii, the fermentation cycle was shortened 24h, the maximum biomass and consumption rate of the glucose significantly increased, and the productivity of total solvents were increased by 0.244±0.010g/L/h compared to standard P2 medium. Expression analysis of genes encoding key enzymes involved in acetone and butanol production and glucose consumption showed that they were induced by SLDS. Taken together, SLDS is a useful and renewable glycosylated solution for ABE fermentation.

To simulate the fracture of the coal under impact load, uniaxial pressure test of coal which retrieved from KongZhuang coal mine-DaTun coal and electricity Company of China coal group was done in the manner of strain control which rest with a function of uniform variable acceleration. Through researches on the stress-strain relationships and acoustic emission characteristics, the relationship between ring count rate and time series was founded, and the process before failure of coal was divided into four stages: low-level ringing count rate, higher level, highest level and peaceful period. Through the comparison and analysis, it is founded that acoustic emission characteristics in the stage of higher level of ringing count rate can be regarded as a basis for the prediction of coal fracture. According to three obvious rise stages of acoustic emission signal in the process before failure of coal, growth factor of climbing speed is introduced and the values are calculated between 2 to 4, and it is conferred that the value of is proportional to compressive strength of coal and loading rate. It is of great significance for the prediction of coal fracture by acoustic emission characteristics in the stage of new cracks.

the unstable approach caused by the distortion of glideslope, endangers aircraft in the forms of over-pitching, stalling at low altitude, and exceeding the limitation of descent rate. Aiming at the issues above, this paper presents a glideslope distortion correction model based on the fusion of multi-navigation sensors. Model simulations have been done to prove the effectiveness of the model, and the results show that the correction model can enhance the stability of glideslope effectively.

Inaccurate alignment with the runway centerline caused by localizer over-bending, will make the aircraft’s approach unstable, and hinder the timely and correct establishment of landing configuration, even threat the safety of aircraft. Targeting at the problems above, and according to the actual operational circumstance of coastal airport ,this paper, based on the performance specification of instrument landing system and character analysis of localizer over-bending at coastal airport, presents the relationship between localizer bending extent and the distance from the runway centerline to the coastline. Meanwhile, corresponding mathematics model is built and related simulations have been done, which effectively enhance the crew’s situation awareness of localizer over-bending and improve the aircraft’s landing safety at coastal airport.

Rationale Giant mature retroperitoneal teratoma of the adrenal region is quite rare in adults. In most cases, open adrenalectomy is required to ensure complete resection. We describe a case of bilateral giant primary mature cystic teratoma in the region of both adrenal glands in a 22-year-old female patient. Patient concerns A 22-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with no complain after detecting to have 2 giant well circumscribed masses in a routine investigation. Diagnoses She was diagnosed with bilateral giant primary mature retroperitoneal teratoma of the adrenal region. Interventions The patient underwent en bloc excision of the mass through laparoscopic simultaneous resection. Outcomes We carefully separated and retained most of the adrenal tissue on both sides during surgery. Pathology reported mature teratomas. Eleven days after operation, the patient made uneventful recovery and left the hospital without any complication. Lessons Preoperative imaging and histologic analysis confirmed mature retroperitoneal teratomas. It is feasible to treat such giant benign tumors by laparoscopic simultaneous resection.

In the last three decades, many giant DNA viruses have been discovered. Giant viruses present a unique and essential research frontier for studies of self-assembly and regulation of supramolecular assemblies. The question on how these giant DNA viruses assemble thousands of proteins so accurately to form their protein shells, the capsids, remains largely unanswered. Revealing the mechanisms of giant virus assembly will help to discover the mysteries of many self-assembly biology problems. Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus-1 (PBCV-1) is one of the most intensively studied giant viruses. Here, we implemented a multi-scale approach to investigate the interactions among PBCV-1 capsid building units called capsomers. Three binding modes with different strengths are found between capsomers around the relatively flat area of the virion surface at the icosahedral 2-fold axis. Furthermore, a capsomer structure manipulation package is developed to simulate the capsid assembly process. Using these tools, binding forces among capsomers were investigated and binding funnels were observed that were consistent with the final assembled capsid. In addition, total binding free energies of each binding mode were calculated. The results helped to explain previous experimental observations. Results and tools generated in this work established an initial computational approach to answer current unresolved questions regarding giant virus assembly mechanisms. Results will pave the way for studying more complicated process in other biomolecular structures.

The ultimate fracture of rock depends on flows which rock contains, and the process of fracture is nonlinear and unbalanced. Materials like rocks are inhomogeneous, and geometric shapes of crack are usually complicated and irregular. The macroscopic fracture of limestone is studied by using SWA-2000 Electro-hydraulic Servo-controlled Rock Mechanics Testing System and fractal geometric methods. The results indicate that the magnitude of confining pressure is related to the fractal dimension, and macroscopic fracture can be described quantitatively by using fractal geometric methods.

A whole machine tool structure is a muti-DOF system, it is usually composed of many parts which are connected with joint interfaces. The structure is complicated that the accuracy of modal test is always in a low level. When doing modal test, equivalent single DOF method can not only improve the efficiency and decrease the difficulty, but also exclude interferences such as random noise. In this paper, the author simplified a two-DOF system into an equivalent single DOF system and derived its frequency response function, then analyzed a testing device for fixed joint by using the equivalent single DOF method, and measured several groups of unit area dynamic characteristic parameters of fixed joint interfaces in different materials and different working conditions. The dynamic characteristic parameters can be used in further study of machine tool joint interfaces.

Consider the rod on elastic foundation. Its discrete model is the simply connected spring-mass system with partial mass connected to the ground. The inverse mode problem of constructing the physical elements of the system from two eigenpairs, the spring stiffness of the system is considered. The necessary and sufficient conditions for constructing a physical realizable system with positive mass and stiffness elements are established. If these conditions are satisfied, the rod on the elastic foundation may be constructed uniquely. The numerical methods and examples are given finally.

Consider the simply connected spring-mass system with partial mass connected to the ground. The inverse mode problem of constructing the physical elements of the system from two eigenpairs, the grounding spring stiffness and total mass of the system is considered. The necessary and sufficient conditions for constructing a physical realizable system with positive mass and stiffness elements are established. If these conditions are satisfied, the grounding spring-mass system may be constructed uniquely. The numerical methods and examples are given finally.

The novel compound JRS-15 was obtained through the chemical modification of xylocydine. JRS-15 exhibited much stronger cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic activity than its parent compound in various cancer cell lines, with IC50 values in HeLa, HepG2, SK-HEP-1, PC-3M and A549 cells ranging from 12.42 to 28.25 µM. In addition, it is more potent for killing cancer than non-cancerous cells. Mechanistic studies showed that JRS-15 treatment arrested cell cycle at the G1/S phase, which further triggered the translocation of Bax and Bak to the mitochondria, resulting in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) depolarization and the subsequent release of cytochrome c and the second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac). The sequential activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3/7 and the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were observed following these mitochondrial events. Caspase-8, an initiator caspase that is required to activate the membrane receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptosis pathway was not activated in JRS-15-treated cells. Further analysis showed that the levels of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and XIAP were significantly reduced upon JRS-15 treatment. Furthermore, the caspase-9 inhibitor z-LEHD-fmk, the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk, and Bcl-xL or XIAP overexpression all effectively prevented JRS-15-induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results indicate that JRS-15 induces cancer cell apoptosis by regulating multiple apoptosis-related proteins, and this compound may therefore be a good candidate reagent for anticancer therapy.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL8) in the proliferation, invasiveness and metastasis of colon cancer and its role in the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway. The plasmid vector containing CXCL8 cDNA was transfected into LoVo cells using Lipofectamine 2000 reagent. Real-time PCR and western blot analyses were performed to determine expression of CXCL8. MTT growth inhibition, scratch and Transwell invasion assays were conducted to assess cell proliferation, migration and invasiveness of the CXCL8-transfected LoVo cells. Western blot analyses were conducted to measure the levels of phosphorylation of protein in the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway in the CXCL8-transfected LoVo cells. Expression levels of CXCL8 mRNA and protein were significantly increased in the CXCL8-transfected LoVo cells compared with levels in the control and empty-vector cells (P

Heat treatment was carried out to the 1420 Al-Li alloy electron beam welding (EBW) joints after welding, and the microstructures of welded joints are analyzed systematically before and after post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). The observation of joint microstructure demonstrates that the grain morphology of weldment changes from equiaxed dendrites in as-welded (AW) condition into equiaxed grains after PWHT, and that the fine strengthening phases precipitate within the grain. The XRD analysis of phase constituent and TEM observation of weldment indicate that the main strengthening phases in 1420 Al-Li alloy weldment are spheroidal δ′(Al3Li), β′(Al3Zr) and rod-like T(Al2MgLi) after PWHT. Furthermore, the δ′ phase precipitate free zone (PFZ) is found along the grain boundary. The scanning observation of joint fracture shows that Al-Li alloy EBW joint presents the characteristic of transgranular ductile fracture in AW condition. After PWHT, the Al-Li alloy welded joint presents the pattern of intergranular fracture. The variation of fracture mode is related to dispersed precipitation of δ′ phase and the formation of PFZ at the grain boundary in weldment after heat treatment.

An integrated TOF (Tunable Optical Filter) based on thermo-optic effect in Silicon on insulator (SOI) rib waveguide is designed and simulated. The device is comprised of two high refractivity contrast Si/Air stacks, functioning as high reflectivity of DBRs and separated by a variable refractive index Si F-P cavity. The output characteristics are calculated and simulated based on Transfer Matrix Method (TMM). Wavelength tuning is achieved through thermal modulation of refractive variation of the cavity.As the cavity Si is heated,the refractive index of the cavity increases.When the temperature of cavity Si changes within100°C，the central wavelength gets a continuous 8nm shift from 1550nm to 1558nm, which is right located in the WDM (Wavelength division multiplexing) networks operating at C-band. Moreover, by calculating, the tuning sensitivity is about 0.08nm/°C. Owing to the compact size and excellent characteristics of integration, the proposed component has a promising utilization in spectroscopy and optical communication.

The mass-normalized stiffness matrix of the star spring-mass system is an arrowhead matrix. Given two eigenpairs of the arrowhead matrix. It is assumed that the total mass of a star spring-mass system is known. The problem of constructing the physical elements of the system from the known data is considered. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the construction of a physical realizable system with positive mass and spring stiffness are established. If these conditions are satisfied, the system may be constructed uniquely.

Given the odd /even degree eigenpair and the even degree eigenpair of a simply connected central symmetric spring-mass system respectively. The inverse mode problem of constructing the physical elements of the system from two eigenpairs and the total mass of the system is considered. The necessary and sufficient conditions for constructing of a physical realizable system with positive mass and stiffness elements are established. If these conditions are satisfied, the simply connected central symmetric spring-mass system may be constructed uniquely. The numerical methods and examples are given finally.

A yielding inverted arch of composite structures is designed to control serious floor heave of tunnel. Constitution of the inverted arch is studied to present mechanism of the composite structure to restrain floor heave. By field trial of the yielding inverted arch with composite structures, it is an effective method to control floor heave, and its important function is to absorb main elastic deformation coming from bottom strata.

Natural gas downhole choke process inlet is high temperature and high pressure. Usually it can achieves 10~30MPa, while it will be higher in high pressure drilling well. It is installing thousands of meters underground. It is difficult carrying on field test during working process. These special situations make the choke outlet flow being complex, which includes expansion wave, compression wave, and energy transformation. The physical experiment is difficult. To be more accurately analyzing the compressible viscous turbulent motion of downhole choke internal flow field, this article uses RNG − model for three dimensional numerical simulation. It analyzes the result of flow field streamlines, velocity, Mach number, pressure, and temperature distribution. It analyzes the influence on hydrate formation of choke working process. Numerical calculation can provide useful reference for the prevention of natural gas hydrate formation and optimization design of downhole choke.

A novel strain of the class Actinobacteria was isolated from a seawater sample collected in the South China Sea using modified R2A agar plates. The strain was a Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming, catalase-positive, irregular rod-shaped bacterium. The strain grew at 4–45 °C and pH 5.0–10.2, and tolerated 5 % (w/v) NaCl. Based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence, the organism was related phylogenetically to members of the genera Fodinibacter (96.7 % similarity), Lapillicoccus (96.5 %), Knoellia (95.0–95.8 %), Oryzihumus (95.6 %) and Humibacillus (95.6 %). The cell-wall contained l-ornithine as the major diagnostic diamino acid in the peptidoglycan. MK-8(H4) was the predominant menaquinone. Major cellular fatty acids were iso-C18 : 1 ω9c, iso-C16 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and C17 : 0. The G+C content of the DNA was 69.6 mol%. Phenotypic and phylogenetic data revealed that this strain represents a novel species in a new genus of the family Intrasporangiaceae, for which the name Ornithinibacter aureus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain of Ornithinibacter aureus is HB09001T (=CGMCC 1.10341T =DSM 23364T).

Hsp90 is a ubiquitous molecular chaperone that plays a key role in the malignant development of hormone-dependent pathologies such as cancer. An important role for Hsp90 is to facilitate the stable binding of steroid hormones to their respective receptors enabling the ligand-based signal to be carried to the nucleus and ultimately resulting in the up-regulation of gene expression. Along with Hsp90, this dynamic and transient process also involves the recruitment of additional proteins and co-chaperones that add further stability to the mature receptor-chaperone complex. In the work presented here, we describe four new protocols for the bacterial over-expression and column chromatographic purification of the human p23, FKBP52, HOP and SGTα proteins. Each of these proteins plays a distinct role in the steroid hormone receptor regulatory cycle. Affinity, ion-exchange and size-exclusion techniques were used to produce target yields greater than 50mg/L of cultured media, with each purified sample reaching near absolute sample homogeneity. These results reveal a reliable system for the production of p23, FKBP52, HOP and SGTα substrate proteins for use in the investigation of the Hsp90-associated protein interactions of the steroid hormone receptor cycle.

4-Methyl-8-hydroxylpsoralen (MXan) and 4,9-dimethyl-8-hydroxylpsoralen (DMXan) were synthesized in order to clarify the effect of methyl on the antioxidant effectiveness of xanthotoxol (8-hydroxylpsoralen, Xan), which were assessed by bleaching β-carotene in linoleic acid–Triton emulsion, by interacting with 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) cationic radical (ABTS + ), 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), and galvinoxyl radical, and by protecting DNA against the oxidation induced by Cu 2+ /glutathione (GSH) and 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride) (AAPH). Methyl attaching to xanthotoxol did not affect its ability to protect linoleic acid against autoxidation and to inhibit Cu 2+ /GSH-induced oxidation DNA, but decreased its ability to scavenge ABTS + and DPPH, and to protect DNA against AAPH-induced oxidation. Therefore, methyl attenuated the antioxidant effectiveness of xanthotoxol in radical-induced oxidation of DNA.

The most extensive structural information on viruses relates to apparently icosahedral virions and is based on X-ray crystallography and on cryo-electron microscopy single-particle reconstructions. This paper concerns itself with the study of the macromolecular complexes that constitute viruses, using structural hybrid techniques., The most extensive structural information on viruses relates to apparently icosahedral virions and is based on X-ray crystallography and on cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle reconstructions. Both techniques lean heavily on imposing icosahedral symmetry, thereby obscuring any deviation from the assumed symmetry. However, tailed bacteriophages have icosahedral or prolate icosahedral heads that have one obvious unique vertex where the genome can enter for DNA packaging and exit when infecting a host cell. The presence of the tail allows cryo-EM reconstructions in which the special vertex is used to orient the head in a unique manner. Some very large dsDNA icosahedral viruses also develop special vertices thought to be required for infecting host cells. Similarly, preliminary cryo-EM data for the small ssDNA canine parvovirus complexed with receptor suggests that these viruses, previously considered to be accurately icosahedral, might have some asymmetric properties that generate one preferred receptor-binding site on the viral surface. Comparisons are made between rhinoviruses that bind receptor molecules uniformly to all 60 equivalent binding sites, canine parvovirus, which appears to have a preferred receptor-binding site, and bacteriophage T4, which gains major biological advantages on account of its unique vertex and tail organelle.

Along with the emergence of massive graph-modeled data, it is of great importance to investigate graph similarity joins due to their wide applications for multiple purposes, including data cleaning, and near duplicate detection. This paper considers graph similarity joins with edit distance constraints, which return pairs of graphs such that their edit distances are no larger than a given threshold. Leveraging the MapReduce programming model, we proposeMGSJoin, a scalable algorithm following the filtering-verification framework for efficient graph similarity joins. It relies on counting overlapping graph signatures for filtering out nonpromising candidates. With the potential issue of too many key-value pairs in the filtering phase, spectral Bloom filters are introduced to reduce the number of key-value pairs. Furthermore, we integrate the multiway join strategy to boost the verification, where a MapReduce-based method is proposed for GED calculation. The superior efficiency and scalability of the proposed algorithms are demonstrated by extensive experimental results.

Grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) is abundant in oxalate and can secrete oxalate under aluminium (Al) stress. However, the features of Al-induced secretion of organic acid anions (OA) and potential genes responsible for OA secretion are poorly understood. Here, Al-induced OA secretion in grain amaranth roots was characterized by ion charomatography and enzymology methods, and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) together with quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to identify up-regulated genes that are potentially involved in OA secretion. The results showed that grain amaranth roots secrete both oxalate and citrate in response to Al stress. The secretion pattern, however, differs between oxalate and citrate. Neither lanthanum chloride (La) nor cadmium chloride (Cd) induced OA secretion. A total of 84 genes were identified as up-regulated by Al, in which six genes were considered as being potentially involved in OA secretion. The expression pattern of a gene belonging to multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) family, AhMATE1, was in close agreement with that of citrate secretion. The expression of a gene encoding tonoplast dicarboxylate transporter and four genes encoding ATP-binding cassette transporters was differentially regulated by Al stress, but the expression pattern was not correlated well with that of oxalate secretion. Our results not only reveal the secretion pattern of oxalate and citrate from grain amaranth roots under Al stress, but also provide some genetic information that will be useful for further characterization of genes involved in Al toxicity and tolerance mechanisms.

A novel strain, named S4T, was obtained from industrial wastewater in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province, China. Cells were Gram-negative, neutrophilic and non-spore-forming and moved by means of a polar flagellum. Normal cells were 0.8–0.9×1.3–1.9 µm and the cells elongated to 10–25 µm when cultivated at high temperatures. Strain S4T grew at 15–50 °C (optimum at 48 °C), pH 5.5–8.5 (optimum 7.0–7.5) and 0–2 % (optimum 0.5 %) (w/v) NaCl. Ubiquinone-8 was the predominant respiratory quinone. C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) and C17 : 0 cyclo were the major cellular fatty acids. The major 3-OH fatty acid was C10 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and an unknown aminoglycolipid. The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.8 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences alignment, the most closely related strains were members of the genera Comamonas (94.6–95.6 % similarities), Giesbergeria (94.9–95.6 %), Acidovorax (94.8–95.4 %), Brachymonas (94.1–95.2 %) and Macromonas (95.1 %). Phylogenetic analysis showed the closest relatives of strain S4T were members of the genus Macromonas . Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, we suggest that strain S4T represents a novel species of a new genus of the family Comamonadaceae , for which the name Extensimonas vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Extensimonas vulgaris is S4T ( = CGMCC 1.10977T = JCM 17803T).

A series of 4-methylcoumarin derivatives containing 4,5-dihydropyrazole moiety were synthesized and their antioxidant activities were evaluated in AAPH (2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane hydrochloride))-induced oxidation of DNA, and in trapping DPPH (2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS +• (2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) cationic radical), respectively. Among coumarin derivatives, 3a – d and 4a – c exhibited the termination of radical propagation-chains in AAPH-induced oxidation of DNA. The ortho dihydroxyphenyl substitution at 5 position and 1-unsubstitution of the 4,5-dihydroxylpyrazole was found enhancing the antioxidant activities of these coumarin derivatives.

To study the effects of acupuncture on Chinese medicine syndromes of vascular dementia (VaD). Sixty-three VaD patients were divided into three groups. Those willing to be randomized were randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture (random acupuncture group, 24 cases) or rehabilitation training (guided rehabilitation group, 24 cases) for 6 weeks. Those unwilling to be randomized also received acupuncture for 6 weeks (non-random acupuncture group, 19 cases). Patient syndromes and their severity were evaluated before treatment (baseline), at the end of treatment, and at 4-week follow-up after the completion of treatment using a CM scoring system (scale of differentiation of syndromes of vascular dementia, SDSVD). The SDSVD scores of the random and non-random acupuncture groups, and of all patients who received acupuncture (combined acupuncture group, 43 cases), were compared with those in the guided rehabilitation group. In the random, non-random, and combined acupuncture groups, SDSVD scores were significantly reduced at the end of treatment and at follow-up than at baseline. In the guided rehabilitation group, SDSVD scores were similar to baseline scores at the end of treatment and at follow-up. However, there were no significant differences in SDSVD scores among the three groups or between the combined acupuncture group and the guided rehabilitation group at any time points. In the non-random and combined acupuncture groups, SDSVD scores were significantly reduced at the end of treatment than at baseline in patients with hyperactivity of Liver (Gan)-yang or phlegm obstruction of the orifices. Acupuncture reduced the severity of VaD. The improvement was the greatest in patients undergoing their treatment of choice. Treatments in this study were more effective for excess syndromes, such as Liver-yang hyperactivity or phlegm obstruction of the orifices than deficiency syndromes, such as Kidney (Shen)-essence deficiency.

A rice cDNA encoding a novel calmodulin-like protein was identified. It has 38 additional amino acids at the C-terminus of a complete, typical calmodulin (CaM) sequence of 149 amino acids. The four C-terminal amino acid residues form a CAAL motif which could be a site for protein prenylation and may subsequently cause the protein to become membrane associated. RT-PCR analysis confirmed that such a combined protein gene truly exists in rice. Sequence analysis of its genomic counterpart showed that there is an intron located at junction of the normal CaM sequence and the 38 C-terminal amino acids. This introduces a potential stop codon for normal CaM if an alternative splicing mechanism is involved. Southern blot analysis of rice genomic DNA revealed that there is only one locus for this gene. The northern blot analysis showed that this gene is highly expressed in rice roots, shoots and flowers. The distribution of this protein demonstrates the functional importance of this novel CaM-like protein in rice.

The LADM model (Least Action Detonation Model) proposed by Hu et al was analyzed theoretically and examined by experiments. The classical theoretical detonation model, CJ and ZND models (CJ-ZND model in short), are one-dimensional model neglecting transport effects. In the LADM model, the entropy principle is used to specify the final point of detonation process, and the Hamiltons principle is used to find the real path from the explosive to the final point, in which transport effects and complex movement are taken into account besides chemical reactions. X-ray photographes show that there is a stationary region behind the reaction zone of detonation wave, which coinsides with the LADM model. The pressure profile of emulsion explosive is studied by the LADM model.