Search

Three Ag(I)-organic frameworks, [Ag5(pydc)2(CN)]n, {[Ag4(pydc)2]CH3CN}n, and [Ag(4,4′-bpy)NO3]n, were synthesized and embedded into silica gels to form metal-organic-framework (MOF)-embedded gels for the microextraction of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in soils. Despite the great differences in the structures of the organic ligands, all three Ag(I)-organic frameworks were found to effectively accumulate and concentrate PBDEs from sample solutions prepared with contaminated soil and purified water, indicating the important roles of Ag centers in PBDE extraction. Under the optimal experimental conditions (MOF mass, water volume, temperature, extraction time, and back-extraction time) for PBDE extraction from sample solutions, the detection limits of seven PBDEs (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183) ranged from 0.01 to 2.6 ng g−1 for [Ag5(pydc)2(CN)]n, 0.20–0.64 ng g−1 for {[Ag4(pydc)2]CH3CN}n, and 0.60–3.08 ng g−1 for [Ag(4,4′-bpy)NO3]n. The reproducibilities of the three methods were all satisfactory with relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the range of 2.2–9.6%, 5.3–10.4%, and 6.9–9.4% for [Ag5(pydc)2(CN)]n, {[Ag4(pydc)2]CH3CN}n, and [Ag(4,4′-bpy)NO3]n, respectively. The use of Ag(I)-organic frameworks for the microextraction of PBDEs was validated using both certified reference soils and field-contaminated soils, and the proposed methods are recommended as rapid and environmentally friendly alternatives for the extraction and determination of PBDEs in soils.

For some wafer fabrication processes, the wafers need to visit some processing modules for a number of times, which is referred to as the revisiting process. With wafer revisiting, it is very complicated to analyze the cycle time of a dual-arm cluster tool. Due to the fact that atomic layer deposition (ALD) process is a typical revisiting process in the semiconductor industry, study is conducted on cycle time analysis of dual-arm cluster tools for the ALD process with multiple revisiting times. The system is modeled by a type of Petri net. With this model, it is revealed that the system may never reach a steady state. Based on this finding, a method is presented to analyze the cycle time and analytical expressions are derived to calculate the cycle time for different cases. Several illustrative examples are given to show the applications of the proposed approach.

To determine whether hAECs can differentiate into follicle-like structure.hAECs were isolated from human term placenta and cultured sequentially in medium supplemented with 5% human follicular fluid. The morphology of the cells was examined by inverted microscope. Changes of estradiol levels and expressions of germ cell specific gene in the cultured medium were detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay and Real time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), respectively.Oocyte-like cells (OLCs) were found in those cultured in the medium supplemented with 5% human follicular fluid. The OLCs gradually aggrandized, shrunk and finally disappeared over time. However, this phenomenon was not observed in the control group. Higher expressions ofhAECs have the potential to trans-differentiate into the follicle-like structure in vitro.

To explore the expression level of membrane-associated protein Numb in epithelial ovarian carcinoma and its relationship with ovarian cancer stem cell markers CD117,CD133,acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1(ALDH1).A total of 136 patients who had ovarian tumors and 22 patients who had not ovarian tumors in Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics,West China Second University Hospital,Sichuan University were chosen as the study subjects.According to the histopathologic examination results,they were divided into epithelial ovarian carcinoma group (1 The positive expression rate of Numb protein in epithelial ovarian carcinoma group was higher than that in benign tumor or normal ovary group,also Numb protein positive expression rate in ovarian borderline tumor group was higher than that in normal ovary group,and the differences were statistically significant (The expression of Numb protein may involve in the occurrence,invasion and mechanisms of ovarian cancer,positively correlated with ovarian cancer stem cell markers ALDH1,and may affect the prognosis of patients.

Four water-stable zwitterionic zinc-carboxylate polymers are prepared by reacting N-carboxymethyl-(3,5-dicarboxy)-pyridinium bromide (H3CmdcpBr) with zinc(II) nitrate in the presence of NaOH, through adjusting the solvents and ancillary ligands. With H2O as the solvent and the absence of an ancillary ligand, a two-dimensional (2D) polymer network [Zn(Cmdcp)(H2O)]n (1) is formed. In a mixed H2O/DMF solvent and with the presence of chelating ligands 2,2′-bipyridine (bipy), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and 2-(4-pyridyl)benzimidazole (pbz), a one-dimensional (1D) polymer of {[Zn2(Cmdcp)(bipy)2(H2O)5](NO3)2·3H2O}n (2), a mononuclear ionic species of [Zn(phen)(H2O)4][Cmdcp] (3), and a 2D polymer of {[Zn(Cmdcp)(pbz)][pbz]·7H2O}n (4) are accordingly formed. Compounds 1–4 are characterized by IR, elemental analyses and single crystal X-ray crystallography. Compound 2 strongly adsorbs single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) probe (denoted as P-DNA) labeled with carboxyfluorescein (FAM) and quenches its fluorescence via a photo-induced electron transfer process. If, however, a double-stranded DNA (ds-DNA) of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1 ds-DNA) is further present, the P-DNA interacts with the major groove in HIV-1 ds-DNA via Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding to form a rigid triplex structure. This results in partial or complete fluorescence recovery depending on the concentration of HIV-1 ds-DNA. The findings are applied in fluorometric sensing of HIV-1 ds-DNA. The calibration plot is linear in the 0–60 nM target DNA concentration range, with a 7.4 nM detection limit (at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The assay is highly specific and not interfered by one base pair mutated for complementary target HIV-1 ds-DNA, complementary ss-DNA, single-base pair mutated for complementary ss-DNA, non-specific ss-DNA sequences, and higher-order dimeric G-quadruplexes.

UiO-66 analogues are good candidates as stationary phase in HPLC because of their chemical/thermal stability, large surface area, and two cage structures. Here, two UiO-66 analogues, UiO-66-NH2 and UiO-67, were synthesized and used as stationary phase in HPLC to evaluate their performance in the separation of substituted benzenes (SBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed that SBs could be well separated on UiO-66-NH2 column but not on UiO-67 column. Nonetheless, PAHs could be well separated on UiO-67 column. The separation mechanisms of SBs and PAHs on UiO-66 analogues may be involved in the pore size and functional group in the frameworks of UiO-66 analogues. Introduction of the-NH2 into UiO-66 significantly reduced its adsorption capacity for SB congeners, which resulted in less separation of SBs on UiO-66-NH2. As for the separation of PAHs on UiO-67 column, the π-π stacking effect was supposed to play a vital role.

Eleven new abietane type (1‒11), and one new kaurane (12), diterpenes, together with eleven known compounds (13–23), were isolated and identified from the stems of Tripterygium regelii, which has been used as a traditional folk Chinese medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in China. The structures of new compounds were characterized by means of the interpretation of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS), extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data and comparisons of their experimental CD spectra with calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Compound 1 is the first abietane type diterpene with an 18→1 lactone ring. Compound 19 was isolated from the plants of the Tripterygium genus for the first time, and compounds 14–17 were isolated from T. regelii for the first time. Triregelin I (9) showed significant cytotoxicity against A2780 and HepG2 with IC50 values of 5.88 and 11.74 µM, respectively. It was found that this compound was inactive against MCF-7 cells. The discovery of these twelve new diterpenes not only provided information on chemical substances of T. regelii, but also contributed to the chemical diversity of natural terpenoids.

Eight ring C-seco and ring-intact limonoids, and 25 known limonoids were isolated from the fruits of Melia toosendan (Meliaceae). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic evidence including HRMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. A total of 29 isolated limonoids was evaluated for NF-κB activities. Among them, eight compounds significantly enhanced the TNFα-induced NF-κB luciferase activity at 10μM, while 10 compounds suppressed the NF-κB activation.

Hydrogenase is the key point of H2-based biotechnology. However, the O2-sensitivity largely hinders its applications in biofuel cells and biological H2 production. Therefore, substantial breakthrough on understanding the molecular basis of O2-sensitivity and developing more O2-tolerant hydrogenases are urgently required. In this study, we found adding extra cysteines to the vicinity of the proximal Fe–S cluster to the NiFe active centre could largely enhance oxygen tolerance of hydrogen-evolving hydrogenase 3 from Klebsiella oxytoca HP1 (KoHyd3), through homologous sequence comparison and site-directed mutagenesis. Ratio of aerobic hydrogen yield to anaerobic hydrogen yield (RHH) of Gly47Cys (Gly47 was replaced with Cys47), Gly50Cys, Gly113Cys, Gly120Cys and Gly50Cys–Gly120Cys (double exchange) were increased by 46.99%, 42.15%, 59.19%, 44.74% and 78.72%, respectively, comparing with that of wild type. Moreover, TiO2-KoHyd3 (Gly47Cys, Gly50Cys, Gly113Cys, Gly120Cys and Gly50Cys–Gly120Cys) particles acted well in UV light-driven H2 production from water. These results revealed that extra cysteines nearby Fe–S clusters had significant effects on oxygen tolerance of KoHyd3. It also provided a promising way to produce O2-tolerant hydrogenase as biocatalysts in biofuel cells or H2 production by photolysis of water.

In some refineries, storage tanks are located at two different sites, one for low-fusion-point crude oil and the other for high one. Two pipelines are used to transport different oil types. Due to the constraints resulting from the high-fusion-point oil transportation, it is challenging to schedule such a system. This work studies the scheduling problem from a control-theoretic perspective. It proposes to use a hybrid Petri net method to model the system. It then finds the schedulability conditions by analysing the dynamic behaviour of the net model. Next, it proposes an efficient scheduling method to minimize the cost of high-fusion-point oil transportation. Finally, it gives a complex industrial case study to show its application.

To investigate signaling pathways for reversal of EGF-mediated multi-drug resistance (MDR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models.HCC MDR cell strain HepG2/adriamycin (ADM) and SMMC7721/ADM models were established using a method of exposure to medium with ADM between low and high concentration with gradually increasing concentration. Drug sensitivity and reversal of multi-drug resistance by EGF were determined and the cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Phosphorylation of ERK1, ERK2, ERK5 and expression of Bim were detected by Western blotting.The results showed that HepG2/ADM and SMMC7721/ADM cells were resistant not only to ADM, but also to multiple anticancer drugs. When used alone, EGF had no anti-tumor activity in HepG2/ADM and SMMC7721/ADM cells in vitro, while it increased the cytotoxicity of ADM. EGF induced cell apoptosis and G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest in HepG2/ADM And SMMC7721/ADM cells, while enhancing activity of p-ERKs and up-regulated expression of BimEL.EGF might enhance the chemosensitivity of HepG2/ADM and SMMC7721/ADM cells via up-regulating p-ERKs and BimEL protein.

Twelve new lactam-bearing limonoids, amooramides A-L (1-12), were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Amoora tsangii, and their structures fully elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. These compounds represent the first examples of rings A,B-seco-limonoids bearing unusual lactam side chains at C-17, including a 3-substituted 1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one moiety in 1-7 and a 4-substituted 1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one unit in 8-12. Compound 9 inhibited TNFα-induced NF-κB activity by 64% at a concentration of 10 μM.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Here, we identified that miR-590-5p was up-regulated in human cervical cancer. Over-expression of miR-590-5p promoted cervical cancer cell growth, cell cycle and invasion via Growth curve, Colony formation, FACS and Transwell assays in HeLa and C33A cell lines. Subsequently, CHL1 was identified as a potential miR-590-5p target by bioinformatics analysis. Moreover, we showed that CHL1 was negatively regulated by miR-590-5p at the posttranscriptional level, via a specific target site within the 3'UTR by luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein levels of CHL1 in cervical cancer cells were downregulated by miR-590-5p. And we identified the cell phenotype altered by miR-590-5p can be rescued by over-expression of CHL1. Therefore, our findings suggest that miR-590-5p acts as an oncogene by targeting the CHL1 gene and promotes cervical cancer proliferation. The findings of this study contribute to current understanding of the functions of miR-590-5p in cervical cancer.

Alistonitrine A, a new monoterpene indole alkaloid incorporating a third nitrogen atom, was isolated from the leaves of Alstonia scholaris and found to possess an unprecedented caged skeleton with a unique 6/5/6/5/5/6 ring system. Its structure and absolute configuration were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses and electron circular dichroism calculations. A plausible biogenetic pathway has been proposed for the biosynthesis of alistonitrine A from picrinine.

OBJECTIVES Accurate detection of recurrent cervical cancer remains a clinical difficulty. This study aims to assess the diagnostic value of PET or PET-computed tomography (PET-CT) using F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) in recurrent cervical cancer using a meta-analysis. STUDY DESIGN All published studies in English evaluating the diagnostic value of PET or PET-CT in detecting recurrent cervical cancer were collected. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, and summary receiver-operating characteristic curves were obtained using statistical software. Twenty studies were included in the meta-analysis. RESULTS The meta-analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity of PET and PET-CT to detect distant metastasis in recurrent cervical cancer were 0.87 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.80-0.92] and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96-0.98), respectively. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for local regional recurrence were 0.82 (95% CI: 0.72-0.90) and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99), respectively. CONCLUSION F-FDG-PET and PET-CT are valuable methods for the assessment of recurrent cervical cancer.

National Nature Science Foundation of China [31170760]; Key Project of International Collaboration of Science and Technology [2009DFA60930]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China [2011J01219, 2013J01146]; Inventions and Innovation of Fujian, China [(2009)1111]

Background This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of montelukast for the treatment of patients with pediatric allergic purpura (PAP). Methods We will retrieve the following electronic databases from inception to the present: MEDILINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, AMED, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang, and VIP database without language limitation. Two authors will carry out study selection, data extraction, and quality evaluation independently. RevMan V5.3 software will be used for statistical software. Results This study will summarize high-quality evidence-based medicine to evaluate the efficacy and safety of montelukast for the treatment of PAP. Conclusion This study will provide strong evidence to determine whether montelukast is an effective and safety treatment for PAP. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42019145472.

In plants, a promoter is essential to drive the transcription and expression of genes under stress conditions. The cold-regulated promoter is an important molecular switch involved in transcriptional regulation of a dynamic network of genes associated with cold acclimation processes. However, the structure and functions of the cold-regulated promoter are ambiguous. In this review, we first describe the common type and structures of the cold-regulated promoter, such as the core promoter and transcription factor binding sites, and then discuss the synergistic actions of promoter elements and cold-regulated genes. We also describe the transcriptional responses and cross-talk among cold-regulated genes in the ICE-CBF-COR cold-response pathway. Many stress-inducible genes are known to be regulated by endogenous abscisic acid (ABA), which accumulates during osmotic and cold stress. We discuss the regulation of promoters of cold-inducible genes in ABA-dependent and ABA-independent regulatory systems. We also describe the cross-talk among gene networks regulated by different cis-acting regulatory elements. Finally, we propose potential further research on, and practical applications of, the cold-regulated promoter.

Two new dimacrolide sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids (DMSPAs), dimacroregelines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii. The structures of both compounds were characterized by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as HRESIMS data. Compounds 1 and 2 are two rare DMSPAs possessing unique 2-(3′-carboxybutyl)-3-furanoic acid units forming the second macrocyclic ring, representing the first example of DMSPAs bearing an extra furan ring in their second macrocyclic ring system. Compound 2 showed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell (MH7A) at a concentration of 20 μM.

In semiconductor manufacturing, it is very challenging to find an optimal one-wafer cyclic schedule for a multi-cluster tool. This work aims to do so. It assumes that its bottleneck tool is transport-bound, thereby making it transport-dominant. To do so, a scheduling strategy for each individual tool is determined. Then, a Petri net model is developed to describe the dynamic behavior of the system. With the model, it is found that to coordinate the robots is to determine their waiting time. Then, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions under which a one-wafer cyclic schedule with the lower bound of cycle time exists and present an efficient algorithm to test its existence and find it if existing. One industrial example is used to show the application and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Three new triterpenoids, triregelolides A, B (1, 2), and triregeloic acid (3), were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii along with twenty known triterpene analogues (4–23). The structures of three new compounds were identified by analyzing their NMR spectroscopic and HRESIMS data. Compounds 4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 21–23 were isolated from T. regelii for the first time. Compounds 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 16 showed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human breast cancer cells MCF-7 by 24.1%, 69.6%, 72.8%, 21.6%, 23.1%, 43.3%, 25.5% and 23.5% (p, Graphical abstract Image 1

This work studies the buffer space configuration problem to obtain an optimal one-wafer cyclic schedule for single-arm multi-cluster tools with a linear topology. To do so, a Petri net model is developed to describe the dynamic behavior of the system by extending the resource-oriented Petri nets such that a schedule can be parameterized with robots' waiting time. Based on this model, conditions for the existence of a one-wafer cyclic schedule with the lower bound of cycle time are presented, and algorithm is developed to find such an optimal schedule. The algorithm requires only simple calculation to set the robots' waiting time and configure the buffer spaces between two individual tools. An example is presented to show the application and power of the proposed method.

Background Calotropis gigantea (Asclepiadaceae) (Niu jiao gua) has been used as a poultice in Chinese medicine for treating inflammatory skin diseases, e.g., neurodermatitis. This study aims to isolate the epidioxysterols from the flowers of C. gigantea, elucidate their structures and evaluate their possible inhibitory effects on the NF-κB pathway. Methods The two epidioxysterols 9,11-dehydroergosterol peroxide (1) and ergosterol peroxide (2) were isolated from the powdered flowers of C. gigantea by ultrasonic-assisted extraction, followed by the purification of the crude extract by column chromatography (i.e., silica gel and MCI-gel CHP 20P open columns). The chemical structures of these compounds were identified through a comparison of their HRMS, 1H and 13C NMR data with those in the literature. The in vitro IKK-β inhibitory activities of compounds 1 and 2 (1–100 µM) were evaluated using an IKK α and β Assay/Inhibitor Screening Kit, which is a single-site, semi-quantitative immunoassay. Berberine was used as a positive control. The IKK-β inhibitory activities between compounds 1 and 2 were compared by a two-tailed Student’s t test to summarize the structure activity relationship. Results Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory activity towards IKK-β in a similar manner to that of berberine. The IKK-β inhibitory activities of these two epidioxysterols were significantly stronger (P = 0.001 for compound 1 and P = 0.028 for compound 2) than that of berberine at the concentration of 100 µM. Furthermore, at the same concentration the suppressive effect of compound 1 towards IKK-β was greater than that of compound 2 (P = 0.041), while their activities at 10 and 50 µM were comparable. The difference in the results at 100 µM therefore suggested that the double bond between C-9 and C-11 in compound 1 could be responsible for its higher inhibitory activity towards IKK-β at this concentration. Conclusions 9,11-dehydroergosterol peroxide (1) and ergosterol peroxide (2) were isolated from the flowers of C. gigantea and exhibited in vitro inhibitory activities towards IKK-β. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-016-0081-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The treatment of difficulty and prognosis of pelvic fracture are directly related to the pelvic girdle stability. Diagnosis of pelvic fracture is mainly imaging manifestations based on biomechanics of pelvic anatomy. With the progress of biomechanics experiment technology, previousopinion has changed, such as separation of symphysis pubis 2.5 cm could not be seen as distinguishing feature of type I and II for anterior-posterior compression;displacement of sacroilliac joints less than 1 cm could cause loss of vertical stability;lateral extrusion could also cause vertical instability;part description of Young-Burgess classification is not suitable for experiment results;ligament plays an important role in restricting displacement and having proprioceptors;SPECT-CT could improve sensitivity of diagnosis, but could not evaluate stability of pelvic fractures precisely.

Soil remediation technology screening is an important procedure in the supervision of contaminated sites. The efficiency and costs of contaminated site remediation will be directly affected by the applicability of soil remediation technology. The influencing factors include characteristics of contaminants, site conditions, remediation time and costs should be considered to determine the most applicable remediation technology. The remediation technology screening was commonly evaluated by the experienced expert in China, which limited the promotion and application of the decision making method. Based on the supervision requirements of contaminated sites and the research status at home and abroad, the screening method includes preliminary screening and explicit evaluation was suggested in this paper. The screening index system was constructed, and the extension theory was used to divide the technology grade. The extension theory could solve the problem of human interference in the evaluation process and index value assignment. A chromium residue contaminated site in China was selected as the study area, and the applicable remediation technologies were suggested by the screening method. The research results could provide a scientific and technological support for the supervision and management of contaminated sites in China.

The Risk Based Corrective Action (RBCA) Tool Kit for Chemical Releases was used to develop Soil Screening Levels (SSLs) for contaminated sites assessment in Beijing. A total 88 contaminants, including inorganic compounds, volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, pesticides, polybrominated biphenyls and others, were identified as the priority compounds of concern, and a range of exposure parameters, toxicological data and site factors based on the environmental monitoring data from several contaminated sites in Beijing, were used as model inputs to derive SSLs. The proposed SSLs were evaluated and validated by comparing with corresponding values in some other countries/regions. The present study has an important guiding significance for the development of risk-based SSLs in other provinces/cities of China.

National Nature Science Foundation of China [30870051, 31170760]; Key Project of International Collaboration of Science and Technology [2009DFA60930]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China [2011J01219]; Inventions and Innovation of Fujian, China [(2009)111]

The effects of drought stress on the phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) uptake dynamics of summer maize (Zea mays L.) throughout the growth cycle were studied. Field trials were conducted under a completely randomized design with three field water capacity (FC) regimes: 75 % FC was well watered and considered to be the control, 55 % FC represented moderate stress (MS), and 35 % FC represented severe stress (SS). The water regimes were applied from the third leaf stage until maturity. Drought stress induced sharp decreases in total K and P uptake of maize organs at different developmental stages and, in particular, detrimentally affected the nutrient uptake capability of roots. SS caused more deleterious effect than MS on both total K and P uptake by plant organs. The results suggested maize plants differ in their ability to maintain nutrient uptake under drought stress, and it is highly dependent on the intensity and duration of drought stress and the developmental stage. The decrease in total K and P uptake caused by both MS and SS was accompanied by reduction in biomass production in drought-stressed tissues. The biomass allocation patterns in response to drought stress fluctuated strong mostly because of competitive changes in the shoot and roots at different stages, thus the root:shoot ratio increased at some stages and decreased at other stages. SS induced a dramatic reduction in the harvest index (HI), whereas MS slightly decreased HI. Thus, water limitation caused lower K and P uptake and HI.

Groundwater is an important component of water resources. Compared with surface water, groundwater has slower flow rate and lower capacity of diluting and self-purification. It is difficult to treat the groundwater pollution. Therefore, it is important to protect the groundwater from being polluted for planning and management of groundwater resources. It is considered as an effective method for decision makers and administrators to identify the high risk level of groundwater pollution through groundwater pollution vulnerability assessment. In this study, the most widely used DRASTIC model and GIS software were used to evaluate the groundwater vulnerability of Chengting new district in Shijiazhuang, china. The groundwater vulnerability grades of the study area were divided by the model. The research results could provide scientific basis for the new district planning and construction.

Continual overdraft of groundwater resources for many years has led to continual declining of groundwater level in large scale areas in Shijiazhuang. Groundwater in Shijiazhuang City has been contaminated in varying degrees during its development and utilization due to no appropriate protective measures taken for groundwater resources. Groundwater pollution is severe in some areas, which poses a threat to sustainable utilization of groundwater resources and economic and social development. To protect groundwater resources effectively, a study on the impacts of general planning implementation on groundwater resources was carried out, including groundwater pollution sources, groundwater quantity and groundwater quality evaluation. The research results could provide scientific reference for development planning and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources of Chengting new district.

The N-acetyl glucosaminosides of shikonin/alkannin were synthesized by chemical glycosylation, which provided an ideal approach to resolve the mixture of enantiomeric shikonin and alkannin co-existed in the Chinese herbs. The glycosylated shikonin and alkannin exhibited stronger binding activity to human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA than their parent structures. This research indicated that glycosylation of natural product with amino sugars is an effective strategy to improve their DNA-binding affinity.

Sodium compounds, Na2CO3，Na2SO4，NaCl, have been investigated with regard to their catalytic effects on chlorella pyrolysis by thermal analysis experiments. The influence of catalyst categories and dosage on chlorella pyrolysis were studied by the comparison and analysis of the TG（thermogravimetry）and DTG(derivative thermogravimetry) curves derived from tests of differential thermal balance of untreated chlorelal and chlorella mixed with three inorganic compounds of certain scale.The results show that the catalytic effect of the sodium compounds follow Na2CO3>Na2SO4>NaCl, Catalysts of Na2SO4，NaCl decreased the maximum weight loss rates while Na2CO3 increased them. And all the three additives lowered the pyrolysis temperature of chlorella，of which Na2CO3 made the highest conversion of chlorella pyrolysis. As the dosage of carbonate increased, the pyrolysis temperatures decreases and the maximum weight loss rate increases, but the conversion rate of chlorella pyrolysis decreases, considering these two factors, 5%wt is chosen as the optimal dosage of the catalysts.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of water stress on the growth, biomass partitioning, and water-use efficiency (WUE) of summer maize (Zea mays L.) throughout the growth cycle. Maize field trials were conducted under a completely randomized design with three field water capacity (FC) regimes. Water was delivered to plants as follows: 75% FC was considered low water stress and the control, 55% FC medium stress, and 35% FC high stress. The controlled irrigation was initiated from the third leaf stage until maturity. The results of 2 years of field trials indicated that maize development and grain yield responses to water stress depended on the severity of stress, including intensity and duration, but also on maize developmental stage. Medium water stress (55%) affected leaf area at the seventeenth (V17) leaf stage, tasseling and silking emergence, leaf extension, and final leaf number to a minor degree. However, 55% FC significantly decreased plant height, leaf area (except for V17), stem diameter, biomass accumulation, net photosynthesis and transpiration rates at different developmental stages. In particular, tasseling and silking, and yield parameters, including ear kernel number and 100-kernel dry weight decreased with increasing medium water stress duration. Severe water stress (35% FC) exhibited increased detrimental effects on all vegetative and yield parameters at different development stages, and resulted in a maturation period delay. Severe stress caused notable reductions in WUE at vegetative and reproductive stages, whereas moderate stress resulted in WUE increases at early and middle stages, and significant decreased WUE at late stages. Overall, these results collectively showed that the negative effects of 2 years of high stress conditions (35% FC) on maize plants were evident in vegetative and yield parameters. We recommend that water deficits or reduced irrigation, and 55% water field capacity, be considered for irrigation scheduling before the maize tasseling stage in neutral loam, meadow soil for sub-humid regions under water limited conditions.

The risk assessment model and parameter system of groundwater pollution were established in this paper. The multi-index evaluation method of groundwater pollution sources was proposed, and the GIS-based risk assessment method of groundwater pollution was produced in comprehensive consideration of groundwater vulnerability and groundwater pollution sources. The multi-index method suggested in this paper was used in the risk assessment of groundwater pollution at a plain area of a big city in North China, and the different grades of groundwater pollution risk were computed. The evaluation results show that the groundwater pollution risk is determined by the combined action of ground pollution sources and groundwater vulnerability. The established risk assessment method of groundwater pollution could give a scientific support for the regional groundwater pollution prevention and control planning.

Using RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends, two new full-length cDNAs of SAD (TaSAD1 and TaSAD2) were obtained from a hardiest winter wheat cultivar (Mironovskaya808). Sequence comparison analysis showed that the deduced amino acid sequences of TaSAD1 and TaSAD2 had high similarity to those of other reported SAD proteins. They were also different each other by some substitutions, insertions and/or deletions involving single amino acid residues or motifs. Based on evolution analysis, it was clear that all SAD genes from Poaceae were closer than those from other genus such as Arabidopsis, Glycine, Triadica, Brassica, Sesamum and Bassia. All SAD genes clustered into two major groups in Poaceae. Meanwhile, TaSAD1 and TaSAD2 were clustered into different groups. The tertiary structure prediction indicated that both TaSAD1 and TaSAD2 proteins were a compact globular protein and their model structures almost were the same.

The α-gliadins from Crithopsis delileana (Schult) Roshev (2n=2x=14, KK) were investigated by Acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE) analysis. It was indicated that the electrophoresis mobility of gliadins from C.delileana had obvious difference with those from common wheat in α, γ and ω region. Using primers designed from published sequences of α-gliadin genes, three α-gliadin genes were isolated from C. delileana, which were designated as gli-ka1, gli-ka2 and gli-ka3, respectively. Two in-frame stop codons were found in the coding sequences of gli-ka3, indicating that gli-ka3 could be a pseudogene. The gli-ka2 was a gliadin with an odd number of cysteines, resulting from a non-synonymous mutation. This change might lead to the interactive behavior of gli-ka2. Three α-gliadin genes of C. delileana had the similar but not identical primary structures to the corresponding gene sequences from other wheat related species. By the alignment of α-gliadin genes from Triticeae, phylogenetic analysis indicated that three α-gliadin genes of C. delileana clustered together with all α-gliadin genes from Ee genome of Lophopyrum elongatum by an interior paralleled branch.

Response nonuniformity is a key problem that influences the imaging performance of infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA) imaging system. A parallel processing algorithm to adaptively estimate the nonuniformity correction (NUC) parameters for IRFPA is presented. In this algorithm, a bank of the adaptive filter is applied to adaptively estimate the NUC parameters for every detector in IRFPA. The infrared image sequences are input into the bank of adaptive filter. After certain times recursion calculations are executed frame-by-frame, then the optimal coefficients of the gain and the offset of detector in IRFPA are achieved. Then the NUC is fulfilled ultimately. The algorithm reduces the influence that the response drift with time imposed on NUC effectively, and achieves good NUC effect. It was validated by real experimental imaging procedures.

For the detector in infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA) with a large dynamic range of response, a nonlinear model of response curve of the detector in IRFPA is introduced in this paper. With the model, the Kalman-filter nonuniformity correction (NUC) algorithm with linear model, developed by Torres and Hayat, is extended. In the extended algorithm, the raw image is translated into a linearized one firstly by directly employing a logarithm-based transformation. Then the linearized image is corrected by the Kalman-filter NUC algorithm with linear model, and the corrected linearized image is obtained. Finally the uniformity image of the original one is achieved by fulfilling an exponent transformation to the corrected linearized image. The presented algorithm not only inherits the advantage of the original algorithm that resolves the problem of the temporal drift in the gain and the bias in each detector by updating NUC parameters with information of the current scene, but also reduce the influence of the detector nonlinear response to the NUC performance, so it is suitable for IRFPA under large response-range. The NUC ability of the presented algorithm is demonstrated by experiments with real infrared image sequences.

Microscopic authentication is an effective method for quality control of Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) because of its speed, convenience and low cost. However, the application of modern microscopic technique in quality evaluation of Toxic and Potent Chinese Materia Medica (T/PCMM) of animal origin is seldom reported. This gap in published knowledge is increasingly serious because confusion in T/PCMM has led to serious medical problems in China and other countries in recent years. To ensure the safe and effective use of T/PCMM, an accurate and convenient method, based on macroscopic and microscopic techniques, was developed for the authentication of animal T/PCMM. The color microscopic photos of the crude drug were acquired with the light microscope, and from these their morphological and microscopic characters were described. The present method was successfully applied in the analysis of 31 T/PCMM including 17 samples originating from plants, 3 from animals, 9 from minerals, and the remaining 2 from secreta. The macro- and microscopic characters of three animal T/PCMM, namely Mylabris (Mylabris phalerata or Mylabris cichorii), Huechys (Huechys sanguinea), and Lytta (Lytta caraganae) were conclusively determined and are here presented. The results demonstrated that it was feasible to use the present microscopic characters for the authentication of the above three animal T/PCMM. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Changes of nutrient contents and heavy metal pollutions in composted sewage sludge from different municipal wastewater treatment plants (as represented by CSS-A and CSS-B, respectively) in Beijing region were investigated. The results showed that the pH values, nutrient contents, trace elements and heavy metals in CSS-A and CSS-B depended on the sludge resources and particular years. The average of organic matter content in different years (203 338.0 mg x kg(-1)) from CSS-A met both the requirement of sludge quality standard for agricultural use (CJ/T 309-2009) and land improvement (GB/T 24600-2009) in China except the permitted limit of sludge quality standards for garden or park use (GB/T 23486-2009) in China. Moreover, the average of organic matter in different years (298531.5 mg x kg(-1)) from CSS-B and the averages of pH values (7.1 and 7.2, respectively) and NPK concentrations (41 111.7 mg x kg(-1) and 65 901.5 mg x kg(-1), respectively) in different years from CSS-A and CSS-B all met the requirements of sludge quality standards for the above-mentioned disposal types of sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants. The contents of heavy metals in CSS-A and CSS-B except Hg and Ni were below the permitted limits of the A-class sludge quality standard for agricultural use (CJ/T 309-2009) , being the most stringent standards in China. It was suggested that composted sewage sludge from different municipal wastewater treatment plants in Beijing region use as a fertilizer in agriculture, land improvement, and garden or park, but the top concern about potential environmental pollution of Hg and Ni should be considered.

Oxygenated metabolites have been suggested as the major circulating metabolites of ginsenosides. In the current study, 10 oxygenated metabolites of ginsenoside Rb1 in plasma and urine of rat following iv dose were characterized by comparison with chemically synthesized authentic compounds as quinquenoside L16 (M1 and M2), notoginsenoside A (M3), ginsenoside V (M4 and M7), epoxyginsenoside Rb1 (M5 and M9), notoginsenoside K (M6), and notoginsenoside C (M8 and M10), 9 of which were detected as in vivo metabolites for the first time. After oral administration of ginsenoside Rb1, M3, M4, and M7 were observed as major circulating metabolites and presented in the bloodstream of rat for 24 h. Characterization of the exact chemical structures of these circulating metabolites could contribute greatly to our understanding of chemical exposure of ginsenosides after consumption of ginseng products and provide valuable information for explaining multiple bioactivities of ginseng products.

A simulation experiment on the responses of maize (Zea mays L.) from the third leaf stage to maturity for different soil water levels (well-watered, moderately stressed, and severely stressed) was conducted by controlling irrigation and using a mobile rain shelter in a neutral loam, meadow soil to determine the effects on leaf water status, membrane permeability and enzymatic antioxidant system for different growth stages. The results indicated that drought stress relied on drought intensity and duration, with more severe drought stress creating more serious effects on maize. Compared with well-watered conditions, during the silking and blister stages moderate stress did not significantly change the relative water content (RWC) and did change significantly the relative conductivity (RC) (P＜0.05) of the leaves; however, severe stress did significantly decrease (P＜0.01) the leaf RWC and increase (P＜0.01) membrane permeability (leaf relative conductivity). Furthermore, under severe drought stress antioxidant enzyme activities declined significantly (P＜0.01) in later stages, namely for superoxide dismutase (SOD) the tasseling and blister stages, for peroxidase (POD) the milk stage, and for catalase (CAT) during the tasseling, blister, and milk stages. Meanwhile, membrane lipid peroxidation (measured as malondialdehyde content) significantly increased (P＜0.01) in all stages.

A systematic study was conducted to determine the effects of water stress on the activities of protective enzymes and lipid peroxidation in maize. The results showed that, under water stress, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) in leaves and roots increased sharply at prophase and metaphase growth stages, such as, male tetrad stage, but then declined towards the physiological maturity. The protective enzyme activities in roots were lower than those in leaves. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased according to the severity of water stress. The content of MDA in roots was lower than that in leaves. The activities of protective enzymes and lipid peroxidation in roots were positively related to that in leaves with most of the correlation coefficients being significant. The content of soluble proteins in roots and leaves decreased with increasing drought stress. The ear characteristics deteriorated and the economic yields of maize decreased significantly under water stress. The main factors that caused reduction of yields were the decrease in the number of ear kernels and 100-kernel weight.

Groundwater is the main source of water supply in China, and China's overall situation of groundwater pollution is not optimistic at present. Groundwater pollution risk evaluation and early-warning are the effective measures to prevent groundwater pollution. At present, research of groundwater early-warning method at home and abroad is still at the exploratory stage, and the sophisticated technology has not been developed for reference. This paper briefly described the data and technological demand of the early-warning method in different scales, and the main factors influencing the early-warning results of groundwater pollution were classified as protection performance of geological medium, characteristics of pollution sources, groundwater dynamics and groundwater value. Then the main early-warning indexes of groundwater pollution were screened to establish the early-warning model of regional or watershed scale by the index overlay method. At last, the established early-warning model was used in Baotou plain, and the different early-warning grades were zoned by the model. The research results could provide scientific support for the local management department to protect the groundwater resources.

A study on binding of antitumor chelerythrine to human telomeric DNA/RNA G-quadruplexes was performed by using DNA polymerase stop assay, UV-melting, ESI-TOF-MS, UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometry and fluorescent triazole orange displacement assay. Chelerythrine selectively binds to and stabilizes the K(+)-form hybrid-type human telomeric DNA G-quadruplex of biological significance, compared with the Na(+)-form antiparallel-type DNA G-quadruplex. ESI-TOF-MS study showed that chelerythrine possesses a binding strength for DNA G-quadruplex comparable to that of TMPyP4 tetrachloride. Both 1:1 and 2:1 stoichiometries were observed for chelerythrine's binding with DNA and RNA G-quadruplexes. The binding strength of chelerythrine with RNA G-quadruplex is stronger than that with DNA G-quadruplex. Fluorescent triazole orange displacement assay revealed that chelerythrine interacts with human telomeric RNA/DNA G-quadruplexes by the mode of end- stacking. The relative binding strength of chelerythrine for human telomeric RNA and DNA G-quadruplexes obtained from ESI-TOF-MS experiments are respectively 6.0- and 2.5-fold tighter than that with human telomeric double-stranded hairpin DNA. The binding selectivity of chelerythrine for the biologically significant K(+)-form human telomeric DNA G-quadruplex over the Na(+)-form analogue, and binding specificity for human telomeric RNA G-quadruplex established it as a promising candidate in the structure-based design and development of G-quadruplex specific ligands.

With both discrete-event and continuous variables, the process of crude oil operations in a refinery is characterized as a hybrid system. The scheduling problem of crude oil operations is naturally combinatorial and challenging. Moreover, with oil type mixing requirement, it may involve nonlinear constraints. No software tools have yet been designed for industrial use due to its difficulty. By studying the problem in a control-theoretic perspective, our prior work proposed a two-level architecture and derived schedulability conditions. For cases where crude oil mixing is required, this work studies the scheduling problem at the upper level to maximize the productivity and process effectiveness in handling different types of oil by distillers. Based on the schedulability conditions, a linear programming-based approach is presented. By this approach, the discrete event and continuous variables are decoupled and the main computation involved is to solve linear programming problems. Thus, it is very efficient and applicable to industrial-size problems.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential for applications in chromatography due to their highly tailorable porous structures and unique properties. In this work, the stable MOF UiO-66 was evaluated as both a normal-phase (NP-) and a reverse-phase (RP-) stationary phase in the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to separate substituted benzenes (SBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It was found that the mobile phase composition has a significant effect on the HPLC separation. Baseline RP-HPLC separations of xylene isomers; naphthalene and anthracene; naphthalene and chrysene; and naphthalene, fluorene, and chrysene were achieved using MeOH/H2O ratios of 80:20, 75:25, 85:15, and 75:25, respectively, on the UiO-66 column. Similarly, baseline NP-HPLC separations of xylene isomers and ethylbenzene; ethylbenzene, styrene, o-xylene, and m-xylene; and several PAHs were also obtained on the UiO-66 column with different mobile phase compositions. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of retention time, peak height, peak area, and half peak width for five replicate separations of the tested analytes were within the ranges 0.2-0.4%, 0.2-1.6%, 0.7-3.9%, 0.4-1.1%, respectively. We also evaluated other critical HPLC parameters, including injected sample mass, column temperature, and the thermodynamic characters of both the RP-HPLC and the NP-HPLC separation processes. It was confirmed that the separation of SBs on a UiO-66 column was an exothermic process, controlled by both enthalpy change (ΔH) and entropy change (ΔS). The reverse shape selectivity, size selectivity, stacking effect, and electrostatic force played vital roles in the separations of these analytes. To the best of our knowledge, this method is one of the very few examples of using MOFs as the stationary phase in both NP-HPLC and RP-HPLC. MOF-based stationary phases may thus be applied in the separations and analyses of SBs and PAHs in environmental samples.