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In undersea applications, contactless power transferring (CPT) systems are surrounded by seawater, and show very different characters versus those used in air. To improve the transferring capacity and stability of CPT systems used in seawater, a new model was established in this paper, and the parasitic capacitance across the coupled coils was considered in this model. By using two-port network method, the model was analyzed to demonstrate the transferring properties of the system. Coupling parameters and parasitic capacitances of a physical prototype were measured, and the data were used to compare the two models inner characters. Conclusions of this research can be used in more in-depth studies.

The paper discuss the application of CRI method in the fuzzy reasoning in the following three aspects: (1) the influence of different implication operators on the classification result; (2) the influence of different shape of triangles on the classification result when fuzzying the example as a triangle; (3) the influence of different compound algorithms on the classification result. The paper presents the maximum information entropy methods to calculate the classification result for a given rule and compares the CRI method with the similarity-based method in the fuzzy classification problems. The experiments show that choosing proper parameters can make the classification accuracy obtained by CRI method prior to the accuracy obtained by similarity-based method. Thereby proves the validity of CRI method in the classification problems.

Metallography of beads caused by fire play an important role in determining fire mode. However, it is difficult to evaluate the Metallographic difference at present. In this paper, a computer program based on the software MATLAB was proposed to extract the geometric feature from metallography of the beads. Not only the size parameters of the beads such as the grain size, the diameters of the pores and their variance by mathematical morphological operations, but also the angle parameter of the pores arrangement has been obtained through this program. Several metallographic images of four typic fire modes were analyzed. Therefore, a reliable conclusion about the fire mode of the metallography can be drawn based on both the size and angle parameters extracted with the program mentioned above. And the application of the program will be helpful to quantitive analysis the fire conditions and mode of beads in the future.

Objective To study the feasibility of the crossover trial design and the minimal imbalance index random distribution method in the clinical small-sample-size randomized controlled trial (RCT) research of thalamic pain treated with acupuncture under the guidance of evidence-based medicine (EBM). Methods The crossover trial design was adopted. Eleven cases with the definite diagnosis were randomized into a program-I group (6 cases, treated with acupuncture before western medicine) and a program-ll group (5 cases, treated with western medicine before acupuncture) according to the minimal imbalance index method. In the statistical analysis, the groups were named as an acupuncture group and a western medicine group separately, 11 cases in each one. Acupuncture was applied to Ximen ( PC 4), Yīnxi ( HT 6), Xuehai ( SP 10), etc. In the control treatment, Carbamazepine was prescribed for oral administration. Either the duration of treatment or the wash-out period was 10 days. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was adopted for the efficacy assessment. Results The total effective was 100.0% (11/11) after treatment in either group. The remarkably effective rates were 63.6% (7/11) and 36.4% (4/11) in the acupuncture group and the western medicine group separately, without statistically significant difference in comparison. Conclusion The crossover trial design and the minimal imbalance index distribution method can accomplish RCT of the clinical acupuncture and moxibustion research with the small sample size involved. They can provide the high-quality evidences for clinical acupuncture research. Acupuncture therapy can achieve the same therapeutic effect as Carbamazepine, the common western medicine, and the efficacy of it is potentially superior to that of western medicine.

In this study, nano ZrO2 powders were incorporated into Al-5 wt% Zn sacrificial anode and the effect of ZrO2 contents (wt% =0.1, 0.2) on microstructures and electrochemical properties were investigated. The results show that the addition of nano ZrO2 was effective on improving metallurgical and electrochemical properties. With the increase of ZrO2 content, the dendritic structure is fined gradually and the corrosion current density values is also increased. The incorporation of ZrO2 also can result in a moderate efficiency value. When the ZrO2 content in the alloy was 0.2 wt%, the optimal microstructure, electrochemical properties and as high as 70% the efficiency value was obtained.

Background: Although C-reactive protein (CRP) is significantly increased in patients with diabetic nephropathy, whether CRP exerts direct proinflammatory effects on human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cells) is still unclear. Methods: HK-2 cells were incubated with purified CRP at clinically relevant concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 µg/ml). The protein and transcript levels of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by ELISA and RT-PCR. Phosphorylation of p38MAPK was investigated through Western blot analysis in HK-2 cells induced by CRP. The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-ĸB) was studied via EMSA. A specific p38MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) and an NF-ĸB inhibitor (PDTC; pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate) were used to analyze the signal transduction in CRP induction. To explore the direct or indirect role of CRP in HK-2 cells, IL-6 or TSP-1 antibodies were used. The expression of IL-6, TSP-1 and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were determined through Western blot analysis in HK-2 cells. Results: In HK-2 cells, purified CRP significantly induced protein release and mRNA expression of IL-6 and TSP-1 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. TGF-β1 protein was overexpressed in HK-2 cells induced by CRP, which cannot be inhibited by IL-6 or TSP-1 antibodies. CRP triggered phosphorylation of p38MAPK and activation of NF-ĸB-mediated signal transduction. SB203580 (5 µM) and PDTC (50 µM) efficiently suppressed those effects of CRP in HK-2 cells. Conclusions: CRP induces IL-6 and TSP-1 protein release and mRNA expression from HK-2 cells via activation of the p38MAPK and NF-ĸB signaling pathways and TGF-β1 was highly expressed in HK-2 cells, suggesting that CRP plays an important role in the propagation and prolongation of inflammation in renal fibrosis.

The present article reports the results of studies related to the synthesis of nanocrystalline ceria powder by combustion process using salt combustion aid. Cerium nitrate as oxidant and urea as fuel were used as reagents, Sodium Chloride was compared as combustion aid. The phase analysis and particle size were compared. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that employment of starting fuel with combustion aid resulted in synthesizing nanocrystalline ceria powder with fine agglomerates. By using combustion aid, the energetics of the combustion reaction and particle characteristics have been changed.

Based on process optimizing, in this article the dust was made a extraction analysis to investigate the ratio of lipophilic substances, which was collected in shanghai different traffic concentration areas. Also, the samples was made a infrared spectroscopy analysis to investigate the organic groups contained. It illustrates that the ratio of lipophilicity in traffic-intensive areas is higher up to 90.1 percent than in living area which is 33.5 percent, those of Shanghai suburb is the littlest, only 12.3 percent. the main functional groups of dust in Shanghai traffic-intensive areas are amino, associating hydroxyl, benzene ring, alkyl and-SH, which is similar to the main component of organic pollutants in motor vehicle exhaust.

Workmen for the wastewater treatment advocated wastewater reusing in the conference which the technically development and strategic research of China are main topic.Biofilter is useful as tertiary biofilm reacter.However, it often accrues clogging during cold period and needs frequent backwashing. Backblowing and partial backwashing can slow it. The average flux rised from 2.65 m3/m2.h to 2.84 m3/m2.h. The removal of NH3-N of cocurrent-flow and counter-flow biofilter can be improved. The parameter of partial backwashing depended on the rate of expanding.of counter-flow biofilter.The effect of different backblowing parameters on flux of cocurrent-flow biofilter would be described in this paper. From the parameters studied the bioifiltration time is the most important factor affecting the flux. The results show that the best flux is obtained when backblowing was made for 60s every 12h during 72h where the air pressure was 63 m3/m2.h and water pressure was 25.2 m3/m2.h.

The phytoalexin elicitor β-(13)-branched β-(16)-linked glucohexatose has been regio-and stereospecifically synthesized by coupling of the 3, 6-branched gluco-trisaccharide Schmidt reagent 10 with a mixture of multiol) 3, 6-branched gluco-trisaccharides 13 which consists of free 5, 6′-OH trisaccharide, free 5,2′, 6′-OH trisaccharide, free 5,3′,6′-OH trisaccharide and so on. The compounds 10 and 13 were prepared from 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-α-D-glucofuranose, 2, 3, 4, 6-tetra-O-ben-zoyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate, and 2, 3, 4, 6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate through regio-and stereoselective manners.

In this study, we evaluated SEA-H61D, a staphylococcal enterotoxin A mutant without emetic activity, as an antitumor agent in vitro and in vivo. It showed that SEA-H61D could significantly inhibit the growth of many cancer cell lines in vitro at very low concentrations by activating human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes could be activated at a dose between 125 and 500 μ g/kg. Systemic administration of SEA-H61D in vivo significantly inhibited tumor growth, with the treated group undergoing tumor necrosis and showing a strong infiltration of lymphocytes to the tumor area.

A promising seeding strategy of internally generated seeds in producing ceftriaxone sodium with a uni-modal crystal size distribution (CSD) was experimentally investigated in batch anti-solvent crystallization. Effects of different seeding policies on product CSDs, both external seeding and internally generated seeding, were experimentally determined. A uni-modal product CSD was obtained without obvious nucleation at high external-seed loadings, while a bi-modal CSD was obtained with plenty of secondary nuclei at low external-seed loadings. The internally generated seeds, prepared by adding pure acetone into the non-seeded saturated solution of ceftriaxone sodium, were fine crystals with a uni-modal, narrow CSD, irrespective of the amount of the added diluent. These fine crystals were grown continuously as seeds by slowly adding a relatively low concentration diluent. The product CSD was uni-modal with relatively large mass-weighted mean size, and the product quality was as good as the one obtained by external seeding. Therefore, such an internally generated seeding policy is expected to be a favorable seeding technology to hopefully substitute for the external seeding policy in the pharmaceutical industry, where external seeding is not welcome because the external seeding policy would destroy the axenic conditions in crystallizer and lead to unstable quality of different batches.

According to complexity and multiplicity of the post-earthquake fire, the loss forecasting model of earthquake fire is established by using radial basis function neural network with adaptability, self-learning and fault-tolerant based on the historical information. The applicability and validity of the model is manifested through testing and discussion. A simple and available method is provided for the prediction of losses of other natural disaster.

Isoquercetin has exhibited a wide range of therapeutic properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of isoquercetin on rats with 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and evaluate the neuroprotective effect of isoquercetin on a primary culture of rat hippocampal neuronal cells subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation followed by reoxygenation (OGD/R). In vivo, the rats treated with isoquercetin exhibited a lower degree of neurological dysfunction and smaller infarct volume than the vehicle-treated rats. In vitro, it was found that isoquercetin prevented the OGD/R-induced increase in apoptosis, lactate dehydrogenase release and reduction in cell viability. Additionally, isoquercetin induced the upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 gene and protein expression, and increased extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation. This indicates that the ERK1/2 pathway may contribute to the neuroprotective effect of isoquercetin against OGD/R-induced oxidative damage in rat hippocampal neurons. These findings suggest the potential importance of isoquercetin in the treatment of ischemia/reperfusion-related brain injury and associated diseases.

Background Inflammation plays a critic role in atherosclerosis and C-reactive protein (CRP) may directly facilitate the development of a proinflammatory and proatheroscleroitc phenotype. The nuclear factor-+A7o-B (NF-+A7o-B) signal transduction is known to play a key role in the expression of these proatherogenic entities including tumor necrosis factor-+A7E (TNF-+A7E). Much data suggest that statin possess a potential anti-inflammatory effect. However, the effects of statin on the expression of TNF-+A7E and activation of NF-+A7o-B in endothelial cells stimulated by CRP are less studied. We determined the effects of CRP in inducing inflammatory response and the effect of fluvastatin on CRP-dependent inflammatory activation in human cultured endothelial cells. Methods Human vascular endothelial cells were cultured and stimulated by concentrations of CRP (5+IBMAkw-100 +A7w-g/ml) for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 h. Also 10 +A7w-mol/l of fluvastatin was pre-incubated for 2 h with cells in the presence of CRP. The activity of transcription factor NF-+A7o-B was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Measurements of TNF-+A7E were performed from supernatants of cultured medium in duplicate, using commercial assay kits. Results CRP increased the release of TNF-+A7E rapidly as a dose-and time-dependent manner. Induction of TNF-+A7E was detected at 5 +A7w-g/ml and reached a maximum at 100 +A7w-g/ml of CRP. The CRP also significantly induces the activation of NF-+A7o-B in endothelial cells, and those effects were apparently inhibited by 10 +A7w-mol/l of fluvastatin, but not complete. Conclusions CRP stimulation result in induction of TNF-+A7E and activation of NF-+A7o-B, and this effect could be significantly inhibited by fluvastatin, suggesting that CRP may play a direct role in atherogenesis by activating endothelial cells, and statins inhibit this response, which may provide an insight into the mechanisms of anti-inflammatory or anti-atherosclerotic actions of statins.

Previous studies showed that monocytes from patients with unstable coronary disease exhibit a greatly enhanced production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in response to lipopolysaccharide and artery injury. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggest that C-reactive protein (CRP) may have direct proinflammatory effects on the cells of vascular wall. Whether this enhanced inflammatory response also exists, however, in cultured monocytes from patients with unstable angina, in response to CRP, has not been investigated.Monocytes were isolated from blood of 15 healthy volunteers (normal control), 15 patients with stable angina, and 15 patients with unstable angina by Ficoll density gradient and were stimulated by 20 microg/ml of CRP for 24 h. Measurements of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-a (tnf-alpha) were performed from supernatants of cultured medium in duplicate, using a commercial assay kit.the data showed that IL-6 and tnf-alpha concentrations of spontaneous secretion (baseline) were higher in patients with unstable angina than in patients with stable angina and normal control (IL-6: 179+/-19 vs. 87+/-6 and 89+/-8 pg/ml, p0.05, respectively; tnf-alpha: 69+/-13 vs. 30+/-4 and 27+/-3 pg/ml, p0.05, respectively). CRP induced the enhanced release of IL-6 and tnf-alpha by 17-fold and 23-fold increase, respectively, in patients with unstable angina, while it did about 11-fold and 19-fold increase in patients with stable angina and normal group (IL-6: 3129+/-333 vs. 991+/-134 and 987+/-102 pg/ml, p0.01, respectively; tnf-alpha: 1554+/-784 vs. 560+/-135 and 558+/-152 pg/ml, p0.01, respectively).Increased baseline concentrations of IL-6 and tnf-alpha can be a marker of the hyperresponsiveness of the inflammatory system in patients with unstable coronary disease. CRP could enhance even further this response, suggesting that a persisted and enhanced inflammatory responsiveness to CRP may be involved in the pathogenesis of unstable coronary disease.

The ZnO powder with hexagonal-pyramids structure was prepared by the low-temperature combustion process. Ammonium acetate was used as the fuels, whereas zinc nitrate acted as the oxidant. The effect of different ration between fuel and oxidant on the morphology and photoluminescence (PL) characteristic was studied. The formation of hexagonal-pyramids structure was discussed. The optimum preparing parameter for fine morphology is that the ratio of zinc nitrate and ammonium acetate is 1:5, and ignition temperature is 500 °C. The PL measurement indicates all samples have the strong blue and yellow emission peak. The changes of surface energy of the polar surfaces result in the formation of micro-pyramids structure.

Evacuation is the key aspect to fire performance-based design. In this paper, the landmark building in commercial center of Guangzhou Tianhe is chose for research, and the high-rise building evacuation model in fire scene is established based on Pathfinder. Combined the evacuation behavior and smoke spread velocity, temperature, CO concentration and visibility variation, it is found that: 1) The evacuation process clearly divided into two stages and the second phase plays a decisive role. In the middle stage of the process, as appropriate for induction and avoid congestion or choose to move a large space again depart from the export direction which is fit for people escape. 2) In the beginning stage, because of path planning, and according guidance mechanism combined with collision processing to control personnel movement speed, so the evacuation is slow. But as time goes on, the congestion reduces, the evacuation speed increase, also with the evacuation efficiency. Thus, induction of personnel evacuation must be implemented, and to ensure the smooth evacuation elevators in case of fire.

Transient x-ray diffraction, also called time-resolved x-ray diffraction and dynamic x-ray diffraction, is one novel diagnostic technique for probing shocked solids. It can provide direct information about microscopic mechanisms governing shock-induced deformation and structural changes at atomistic scales with nanosecond and picoseconds resolution, and lately, it has become possible to measure the structure of transients with sub-picoseconds and sub–Angstrom resolution with the development of ultrafast lasers which can produce femtosecond electron and x-ray pulses in the form of characteristics emission lines as well as x-ray continua in the keV range. In this paper, we detect and measure directly the dynamic response of lithium fluoride single crystal shocked compressed by laser irradiation in SHENGUANG II. In our experiments, high-intensity lasers irradiated a thin Cu foil to generate helium-like rays as x-ray source. Film (IP--image plate) recorded x rays diffracted from multiple lattice planes both perpendicular and oblique angles to the shock loading direction [100]. We gained the diffraction signals of the lattice planes (200) shocked and unshocked, what’s more, other lattices (113), (1-13). The positions of the diffraction lines associated with the (200) lattice plane indicated compression of the lattice along [100] direction by 13%. In the experiment, a large-angle detector consists of two films-one rectangular in shape,one triangular in shape that are positioned to record x rays diffracted from a shocked single crystal nearly within a full π steradian. The experiment shows that transient x-ray diffraction can diagnose the dynamical response of solid with higher resolution.

To analyze the value of automated acid-base mapping on diagnose and treatment of patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in emergency department.According to medical history, pulmonary function test, diagnosing guideline of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 111 patients with CAP were divided into two groups: single CAP group (n=56) and COPD complicated with CAP group [acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) group, n=55]. After enquiring medical history, arterial blood samples were drawn for blood gas analysis and automated acid-base mapping was analyzed.Arterial blood gas analysis showed arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO(2)), HCO(3)(-), base excess of AECOPD group were obviously higher than those in CAP group (PaCO(2): 7.714±2.414 kPa vs. 5.896±1.308 kPa, HCO(3)(-): 30.767±7.185 mmol/L vs. 25.014±3.043 mmol/L, BE: 4.345±5.371 mmol/L vs. -0.354±3.180 mmol/L, all P0.01). Automated acid-base mapping showed acid-base disturbance of AECOPD group was 89.1% and CAP group was 66.1%. Chi-square analysis were done for patients of normal (10.9%, 33.9%), acute respiratory acidosis (12.7%, 14.3%), chronic respiratory acidosis (49.1%, 10.7%), respiratory alkalosis (7.3%, 14.3%), metabolic acidosis (12.7%, 17.9%), metabolic alkalosis (12.7%, 8.9%) between AECOPD group and CAP group, and statistical significance was found between AECOPD group and single CAP group (χ (2)=24.421, P=0.001). Advanced Chi-square analysis for patients of normal, acute respiratory acidosis, respiratory alkalosis, metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis were done and showed no statistical difference (χ (2)=5.280, P=0.260). It is indicated chronic respiratory acidosis occurrences rate in AECOPD patients was higher than single CAP patients.Our study demonstrated that automated acid-base mapping may be helpful for emergency physician to rapidly recognize multi-acid-base disturbance in patients with CAP, and to promptly identify acute or chronic phase of respiratory disease.

Four different types of molten metal fire marks were studied through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and 3D image processing software (Image-pro). As a result, the microstructure, average grain size, phase composition and its distribution was obtained. The results showed that on the surface of molten metal fire marks there mainly existed cubic crystal of Cu2O, cellular crystals of Cu and columnar crystals of Cu. And in four different modes of fire, the microstructure and composition of molten metal marks was of significant difference, that is: (1) the average grain size of molten marks by a short circuit fire was about 3 - 5 microm, and its Cu2O was the lowest; melt marks by circuit overload had an average grain size similar to short-circuit, but their Cu2O content was about 30%; (2) melt marks by secondary short-circuit contained a certain number of larger diameter microhole, and their average grain size was about 30 microm; broadening and splitting provision of the diffraction peaks of Cu and Cu2O showed that their ablation was the deepest; (3) melting marks by fire showed the equiaxed maximum intensity of Cu2O diffraction peaks, and there was almost no micro-holes.

In the title compound, {[Tb(C12H8NO2)3(H2O)2]·H2O}n, the TbIIIcation is in an eight-coordinate environment, ligated by six carboxylate O atoms from five 3-(pyridin-4-yl)benzoate (L) ligands and by two O atoms from water molecules. The cations are bridged by the carboxylate O atoms of theLligands to form a two-stranded polymeric chain which is assembled into a three-dimensional supramolecular network through regular interchain O—H...N hydrogen bonding. On excitation at 320 nm, the title compound displays a series of emissions, which were assigned to the characteristic electronic transitions of TbIII.

In the title compound, [Co(C(12)H(8)NO(2))(2)(H(2)O)(4)], the Co atom lies on a twofold rotation axis and has an N(2)O(4) octa-hedral coordination environment formed by four O atoms of water mol-ecules in the equatorial plane and two apical N atoms of pyridine groups. An intricate three-dimensional supra-molecular network is formed by multiple O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the coordinated water mol-ecules and the uncoordinated carboxyl-ate groups.

The high expression of tissue factor (TF) is related to the coagulation disorder in acute leukemia. TF in blood circulation is mainly expressed in cells, microparticles (MP) and alternatively spliced human tissue factor (asHTF). To elucidate the role of TF in the coagulation disorder of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), RT-PCR was performed on 6 common AML cell lines NB4, HL-60, Kasumi-1, U937, K562 and THP-1. The results showed that only NB4 and U937 cells expressed baseline full-length TF and asHTF which were proved by sequencing. The flow cytometric detection, TF activity and TF antigen tests in NB4 and U937 cells revealed that the asHTF was expressed in trace amount and almost had no activity, while the TF antigen and activity in microparticles were significantly higher than that in asHTF. It is concluded that asHTF may play an unimportant role in the coagulation disorder of AML. Microparticle associated tissue factor (MP-TF) is the predominant source of TF activity released from AML cells.

There are few reports of a biological role for glycosyltransferases in the infiltration of osteoarthritic synovitis. The aim of this research was to investigate the expression and cellular location of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase I (β-1,4-GalT-I) in a surgically-induced rat model of knee osteoarthritis (OA), and explore the role of β-1,4-GalT-I in the pathogenesis of OA.Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: OA group, sham group and normal group. The model of OA was established in the right knees of rats by anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT) with partial medial meniscectomy. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) obtained from normal rat synovial tissue were cultured. The expression of β-1,4-GalT-I mRNA in the synovial tissue, articular cartilage and FLSs treated with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were assayed by real-time PCR. Western-blotting and immunohistochemisty were used to observe the expression of β-1,4-GalT-I at the protein level. Double immunofluorescent staining was used to define the location of the β-1,4-GalT-I with macrophage-like synoviocytes, FLSs, neutrophils, and TNF-α in the OA synovium. The alteration of TNF-α in FLSs which were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and β-1,4-GalT-I-Ab were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The mRNA and protein expression of β-1,4-GalT-I increased in synovial tissue of the OA group compared with the normal and sham groups at two and four weeks after the surgery, however, no significant difference appeared in the articular cartilage. Immunohistochemistry also indicated that the β-1,4-GalT-I expression in OA synovium at four weeks after surgery increased sharply compared with the control group. β-1,4-GalT-I co-localized with macrophage-like synoviocytes, FLSs, neutrophils and TNF-α in rat OA synovitis. Moreover, in vitro β-1,4-GalT-I mRNA in FLSs was affected in a dose- and time-dependent manner in response to TNF-α stimulation. ELISA revealed that the expression of TNF-α was attenuated in FLSs in vitro when treated with anti β-1,4-GalT-I antibody.β-1,4-GalT-I may play an important role in the inflammation process of rat OA synovial tissue which would provide the foundation for further researching into the concrete mechanism of β-1,4-GalT-I in OA synovitis.

To compare the clinical effect of acupuncture treatment and western medicine Carbamazepine for thalamic pain.Crossover trial design was used, 11 cases diagnosed as thalamic pain were randomly divided into two groups according to the mini-unbalance-index method, group I (with 6 cases received acupuncture first and then western medicine) and group II (with 5 cases received western medicine first and then acupuncture). When the effects were evaluated, the two groups were named as acupuncture group and western medicine group, 11 cases in each group. The method of clearing away the heart fire, regulating the spirit, activating blood and relieving pain was adopted in acupuncture treatment, Ximen (PC 4), Yinxi (HT 6), Xuehai (SP 10) and Zhaohai (KI 6) were selected; the western medicine group was treated with oral administration of Carbamazepine, and one course as well as the eluting period were both 10 days. The effects were evaluated with visual analogue scale (VAS) and evaluation scale of Anderson Cancer Center pain in US (MD Pain Evaluation value) respectively.The VAS and MD value in two groups were obviously decreased after treatment (both P0.05), while there was no significant difference between two groups; the markedly effective rate of pain relieving in acupuncture group was 63.6% (7/11), which was higher than that of 36.4% (4/11) in western medicine group, but there was no significant difference between two groups.Acupuncture treatment of regulating spirit, activating blood and relieving pain has a better therapeutic effect for thalamic pain, and can reach to the same therapeutic effect with western medicine Carbamazepine.

Commercial DSA electrode was employed for photoelectrochemical degradation of a model pollutant 1,4-benzoquinone. The effect of electrolyte, electrical field intensity and solution pH conditions were investigated. The results proved that the TOC removal by photoelectrochemical oxidation was 1.25 times that of photocatalytic oxidation and electrocatalytic oxidation alone, indicating a synergetic effect. Addition of electrolyte and application of external electrical field have effectively enhanced the photoelectrochemical oxidation efficiency within a certain range of concentration and intensity. Acidic and neutral pH conditions are favorable for ring opening of 1,4-Benzoquinone.The photoelectrochemical oxidation mechanism is also discussed. It suggests that the efficiency of electrochemically assisted photoelectrochemical oxidation process can be manipulated, accompanied by the generation of hydroxyl radicals, which will be more adaptable for water and wastewater treatment.

To explore the expression spectra of apoptosis-related gene pnas-2 in normal tissues and acute leukemia (AL) patient tissues, the expressions of pnas-2 gene in tissues including heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, pancreas, spleen, lymph node, thymus, leukocyte, bone marrow and fetal liver were detected by Northern blot. The expressions of pnas-2 in samples including 44 de novo, 9 non-CR, 27 CR and 12 relapsed AL patients were measured by real-time RT-PCR and Northern blot, and the expression levels of pnas-2 in normal and tumor tissues from 31 patients with malignancies were also detected. The results showed that pnas-2 was not expressed in the most tissues except in placenta. The results of real-time PCR indicated that pnas-2 expressions in samples of de novo, non-CR and relapsed patients ware significantly higher than that in CR, tumor tissues and normal tissues. In serial monitoring of 7 AL patients, the expression level of pnas-2 was high at first visit examination, but remarkably decreased after remission, and the pnas-2 expression level increased again when relapsed. It is concluded that the pnas-2 is specifically up-regulated in acute leukemia patients, which might be an oncogene and participate in leukemogenesis.

The objective of study was to investigate the role of the polymorphisms and protein expression of CYP3A5 gene in the therapy and prognosis of acute leukemia (AL) patients, the polymorphisms of CYP3A5 gene and the expression of protein CYP3A5 were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and immunohistochemistry method respectively. The results showed that there were three CYP3A5 genotypes in the 88 cases, namely CYP3A5*1/*1, CYP3A5*1/*3 and CYP3A5*3/*3 with frequencies of 26%, 50% and 24%, respectively. There were no significant differences in clinic data between the three groups, but the expressions of CYP3A5 of three groups were (36.6+/-19.2)%, (7.8+/-9.2)%, (0.5+/-0.9)%, the OS were (11.6+/-2.1) months, (30.5+/-12.2) months, (52.3+/-8.5) months, and the DFS were (7.5+/-1.8), (27+/-15.8), (52.3+/-8.1) months, respectively (p0.05). It is concluded that the polymorphism of CYP3A5 gene is not related with the morbidity of AL, but closely associated with the expression of CYP3A5 in AL patients, and the latter are closely associated with the chemotherapeutic effect and prognosis. CYP3A5 genotype may be used as a new predictor to the chemotherapeutic effect and prognosis in AL cases.

Superantigens tremendously activate T lymphocytes by recognizing the particular region on TCR Vbeta, by which cytotoxic T cells can be well armed to kill tumor cells. However, the obstacle exists in the fact that immunosuppression is induced adversely. Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are pyrogenic superantigens who invoke T lymphocytes cytotoxicity at a very low dosage where their endotoxic activity diminishes. Despite that the elaborate mechanisms are largely unknown, tumoricidal capacity of SEA and SEB has been well studied. In this study, we devoted our attention to evaluate Staphylococcal Enterotoxin C (SEC) regarding its tumoricidal activity versus immunosuppression. We proved with flow cytometry that SEC treatment on C57 mice resulted in a boost of the differentiation of T lymphocytes into CD4(+), CD8(+) subpopulations. In vitro, SEC causes increased IFNgamma release from human PBMC. Furthermore, in coculture SEC-treated human PBMC led to more death of cancer cell lines from a variety of origins. Systemic SEC treatment in mouse and rabbit models significantly decreases tumor growth. In tumor-bearing rabbits, tumor necrosis and strong infiltration of lymphocytes into tumor tissue were observed; the rabbits also benefit with less metastasic cancer cells in the lung. In the meantime, the induced cell immune responses, both T cell differentiation and PBMC IFNgamma release, declined as SEC concentration rose. Tumor growth data obtained from animal models are in accordance with the changes in immunity, in which tumor growth ceased to respond to high dosage SEC as it did to lower dosage. These observations on SEC investigation, particularly in aspect of dosage-related immunosuppression, are of significance to SEC therapeutic potential to cancer. Molecular mechanism underlying these findings warrants further intensive investigation.

To explore whether daunorubicin (DNR) combined with cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and DNR alone have similar effect on acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4 and acute myeloblastic leukemia cell line HL-60 in vitro.Cell morphology, cells viability, and cell apoptosis (Annexin-V by flow cytometry assay) were analysed.After incubation with DNR plus Ara-C for 24 hours,NB4 cell viability [(36.75 +/- 3.82)%] (n = 6) and cell apoptosis rate [(21.24 +/- 5.82)%] (n = 3) did not change significantly compared to that treated with DNR alone for 24 hours [(35.73 + 6.28 )%, (22.55 +/- 3.26)%, respectively] (P0.05). However, HL-60 cell viability [(67.17 +/- 2.07)%] and cell apoptosis rate [(48.05 +/- 0.92)%] changed significantly in DNR plus Ara-C group compared with DNR alone [(63.31 +/- 1.80)% ,(41.51 +/- 0.89)%, respectively] (P0.01 and0.05, respectively).DNR plus Ara-C and DNR alone have similar effect on NB4 cells, but have different effect on HL-60 cells.

The study was purposed to explore the correlation between apoptosis-related gene pnas-2 and leukemia. The RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression levels of pnas-2 gene in NB4, K562, U937 cells before and after treatment with AS(4)S(4), and to analysis the expression change of pnas-2 gene in bone marrow cells from patients with acute leukemia before and after chemotherapy. The results showed that the expression of pnas-2 gene in arsenic sulfide treated NB4 cells was down regulated in time-dependent manner, but the same outcome in K562 and U937 cells after being treated with AS(4)S(4) was not found. The positive expression rate of pnas-2 in cells from untreated patients with acute leukemia was 100%, and was significantly higher than that in normal control group. After chemotherapy, the expression was negative in complete remission patients, whereas in no-remission patients there were no significant differences of expression of pnas-2 before and after treatment. It is concluded that the pnas-2 gene may be closely related with apotosis of arsenic sulfide treated APL cells, and may consider as a molecular biological remission marker in acute leukemia.

In polyethylene glycol 2000 (PEG)-(NH4)2SO4-edible pigment two-phase aqueous systems, the spectroscopic behaviour of the complexes of edible pigment and human serum albumin in PEG phase was investigated. Effects of different acidity, quantities of PEG and salt, reaction time, and coexistent matter on the determination of systems were discussed. Experimental results show that compared to BS spectra, the maximum wavelength of the complex of human serum albumin shifted to the red by 13 nm in buffer solution at pH 8, the maximum binding number of 40 was measured by molar ratio method, and the apparent molar absorptivity was 9.4 x 10(4) L x mol(-1) x cm(-1). The linear range was 0-21.07 mg x L(-1). With different surfactant, the interaction mechanism of protein and edible pigment was discussed.

To investigate the effects of quercetin on cell morphology and VEGF expression of acute myeloblastic leukemia cells NB4 in vitro.The cytomorphology of NB4 cells was assessed by Wright-stain, apoptosis rate by apoptotic marker Annexin V, and VEGF secretion level by ELISA.Typical apoptosis was found in NB4 cells after treatment with quercetin. Apoptotic marker Annexin V analysis showed that the apoptotic rate of NB4 cells was increased after treatment with quercetin. The secretion of VEGF of NB4 cells was significantly decreased after treatment with quercetin.Quercetin can induce apoptosis and inhibit secretion of VEGF in NB4 leukemia cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most common and malignant tumors worldwide, is unresponsive to any of the available therapies. Using intact HCC cells as therapeutic targets, we isolated a novel peptide, denoted HCC79 (KSLSRHDHIHHH), from a phage display peptide library. HCC79 can bind to hepatoma cell membranes with high affinity and specificity. Remarkably, competitive binding assays demonstrated that HCC79 competed with HAb25, a specific antibody for HCC, in binding to hepatoma cells. The corresponding synthetic peptide did not inhibit tumor proliferation directly, but repressed tumor invasion significantly in a cell migration assay. Moreover, we explored the potential of the selected peptide to deliver a superantigen (SAg) to cancer cells, to attain a significant cell-targeting effect. When the peptide is fused to the TSST-1 SAg, the resulting fusion protein could bind to hepatoma cells with high affinity in vitro and improved the tumor inhibition effect by activating T lymphocyte cells in vitro and in vivo, compared with TSST-1 alone. Taken together, our results indicate that this peptide and its future derivatives may have the potential to be developed into highly specific therapeutic agents against cancer.

Inflammation plays a critic role in atherosclerosis and C-reactive protein (CRP) may directly facilitate the development of a proinflammatory and proatheroscleroitc phenotype. The nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) signal transduction is known to play a key role in the expression of these proatherogenic entities including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Much data suggest that statin possess a potential anti-inflammatory effect. However, the effects of statin on the expression of TNF-alpha and activation of NF-kappaB in endothelial cells stimulated by CRP are less studied. We determined the effects of CRP in inducing inflammatory response and the effect of fluvastatin on CRP-dependent inflammatory activation in human cultured endothelial cells.Human vascular endothelial cells were cultured and stimulated by concentrations of CRP (5-100 microg/ml) for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 48 h. Also 10 micromol/l of fluvastatin was pre-incubated for 2 h with cells in the presence of CRP. The activity of transcription factor NF-kappaB was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Measurements of TNF-alpha were performed from supernatants of cultured medium in duplicate, using commercial assay kits.CRP increased the release of TNF-alpha rapidly as a dose-and time-dependent manner. Induction of TNF-alpha was detected at 5 microg/ml and reached a maximum at 100 microg/ml of CRP. The CRP also significantly induces the activation of NF-kappaB in endothelial cells, and those effects were apparently inhibited by 10 micromol/l of fluvastatin, but not complete.CRP stimulation result in induction of TNF-alpha and activation of NF-kappaB, and this effect could be significantly inhibited by fluvastatin, suggesting that CRP may play a direct role in atherogenesis by activating endothelial cells, and statins inhibit this response, which may provide an insight into the mechanisms of anti-inflammatory or anti-atherosclerotic actions of statins.