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The amylose content of the mutant of autotetraploid indica rice D4063-1 is 5.23% anout, which was half of its origin diploid rice Minghui 63. The whole sequence of Waxy gene of D4063-1 was amplified and sequenced. A base was absent on the Wx of D4063-1 in exon sequence, which resulted in frameshift mutation and terminating codon occurred ahead in the 9 exon. The mutation of Wx also led to the change of some mutation in the 9 exon and terminating codon occurred early. The change of Wx also led to changes of the sites of common restriction endonuclease. The results showed that D4063-1 added two sph sites compared to indica and japonica rice; Compared to japonica rice, D4063-1decreased six Acc sites, and added 4 Xba, a Pst and a Sal restriction sites. Phylogenic analysis showed that the DNA sequence of Waxy gene of D4063-1 was closer to indica rice. We supposed that the Waxy gene of D4063-1 originated from genotype of Wxa. According to the differences of Wx in D4063-1, we deduced the absent base led to RNA splicing obstacle, which was the main cause of low amylose content and it might be related to the soft rice phenotype. Based on analysis of Wx of D4063-1, indica and japonica and according to the special sites of the three species, primers as markers-AUT4063-I were designed to distinguish D4063-1 from other rice. Combining with primer pair F5, dominant and codominant ways were established for discriminating them, and rapid and correct identification of D4063-1 from other rice could be done.

To evaluate the effect of Fuzheng Quxie granule (FQG) on immune cells and cytokines of populations susceptible to respiratory viral infection.One thousand four hundred and two subjects selected from 25 hospitals in Shanghai between May and June in 2003, were divided into the FQG group treated with FQG and the control group treated with placebo. Serum levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 4 (IL-4), gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN), blood lymphocyte subsets (CD3+ , CD4+, CD8+), B-cell count and natural killer cell (NK) percent ratio were measured in 130 of the FQG group and 120 of the control group before treatment, by the end of the 2nd week and two weeks after treatment.By the end of the 2nd week of treatment, as compared with before treatment, the levels of IL-2, gamma-IFN, and NK percent in the FQG group increased significantly (P0.05), while IL-4 and CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and B-cell count were unchanged. Besides, levels of Th1/Th2 ratio markedly increased at the end of the 2nd week and two weeks after treatment, in comparing with that before treatment and in the control group (P0.05).FQG could improve immune function of population susceptible to respiratory viral infection certain extent.

To evaluate the effect of muscle surgery on strabismus caused by extraocular muscle for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), and assess the change of vision acuity, intraocular pressure, visual field and blood flow velocity in central retinal artery that made by surgery treatment.Recession and release of the extraocular muscles were used in 17 TAO patients (20 eyes) with strabismus caused by the change of extraocular muscles. In those patients one of them was undergone superior rectus tendon resection and other one was undergone superior rectus suspension. Another patient right eye was undergone inferior rectus recession and the left one with superior rectus recession. For rest of 14 patients with 17 eyes inferior rectus recession was performed. The vision acuity, intraocular pressure, visual field, and blood flow velocity in central retinal artery were measured pre- and post-operatively.In 17 patients (20 eyes), 5 eyes vision acuity improved two or more lines and 15 eyes was unchanged postoperatively. Intraocular pressure and mean defect of visual field showed statistically significance (P0.01). The peak systolic velocity (PSV) and the end diastolic velocity (EDV) were significantly increased, and the resistance index (IR) was significantly reduced (P0.05).Muscle surgery of strabismus caused by extraocular muscle for TAO in the quiescent period can eliminate strabismus, decrease intraocular pressure, improve visual field and blood flow velocity in central retinal artery.

To investigate the effect of fuzheng quxie granule (FQG) on immune cells and cytokines in populations with respiratory viral infection.Fifty-nine patients were randomly divided into 3 groups, that is, 19 patients treated with conventional western medicine (WM) plus FQG in the treated group, 19 patients treated with conventional western medicine alone in the WM group, and 21 patients treated with FQG alone in the TCM group. The levels of T lymphocyte subsets, interleukine-2,4,6,10 (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma (INF-gamma) and Th1/Th2 were determined before treatment, and at the end of 1st and 2nd week of treatment respectively.Before treatment, levels of TNF-alpha, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and INF-gamma in all patients were significantly higher than normal range (P0.05). After being treated for 1 week, the levels of serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly decreased in all groups (P0.05), serum IL-2 and INF-gamma decreased to the normal level in the WM group, but in the treated and the FQG group by the end of the 2nd week, the two indexes still remained at the rather higher level (P0.05). The ratio of Th1 and Th2 in the treated group and the FQG group increased significantly by the end of 2nd week, reached the level higher than that in the WM group and that before treatment (P0.05). No significant difference in, T lymphocytes subsets (CD3+ , CD4+ , CD8+) and percentage of B and NK cells before and after treatment was found in all the 3 groups.FQG can positively regulate the immune function of patients with respiratory tract viral infection in certain degree.

To evaluate the effect of trabeculectomy and/or phacoemulsification surgery on blood-aqueous barrier function.Phacoemulsification with implantation of intraocular lens was performed on 46 cataract eyes of 40 glaucoma patients following previous trabeculectomy (group 1), and 64 cataract eyes of 60 patients (group 2). The aqueous flare and cells were examined preoperatively and on days 1, 7, 30, 90 postoperatively using a laser flare-cell meter (LFCM).The mean aqueous flare values were (15.12 +/- 2.87), (40.24 +/- 3.75), (24.33 +/- 3.38), (21.18 +/- 1.77), (16.51 +/- 1.70) photon counts/ms in group 1 preoperatively and on days 1, 7, 30, 90 after surgery (P0.05) respectively; and were (6.94 +/- 2.34), (26.27 +/- 10.21), (13.96 +/- 6.44), (9.07 +/- 2.67), (7.16 +/- 1.89) photon counts/ms in group 2 (P0.05) respectively.Trabeculectomy can breakdown blood-aqueous barrier permanently while phacoemulsification damage the blood-aqueous barrier transiently. Phacoemulsification combined with a previous trabeculectomy can enhance this damage.

To study the clinical values of measurement of blood flow velocity in central retinal artery in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).Thirty normal subjects without any thyroid disorders or any eye abnormalities were assigned into the control group, and 30 TAO patients were assigned into the TAO group. Color Doppler ultrasonography was done to measure the blood flow velocity in central retinal artery. Measurement results were compared between these two groups.The peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity of blood flow were significantly lower in TAO group (P0.001), while the resistance index significantly increased (P0.001).Measurement of blood flow velocity in central retinal artery with Color Doppler ultrasonography is an easy and useful way to appraise the hemodynamics of the central retinal artery in TAO patients.

To evaluate the surgical technique, feasibility, and outcome of bimanual microphacoemulsification.The preliminary clinical study included 132 senile cataract eyes. A temporal clear cornea incision was made using 19G microvitreoretinal blade with the exterior incision length of 1.4 mm, the interior incision length of 1.2 mm, and the tunnel length of 1.0 mm. A 1.2 mm x 1.0 mm clear cornea side port was created with 19G microvitreoretinal blade at 12 o'clock in the right eye or 6 o'clock in the left eye. A sleeveless titanium phaco needle with an outer diameter of 0.9 mm was inserted through the temporal clear cornea incision. An irrigating chopper was inserted through the side port as the left-hand instrument, bimanual nucleofractis and nuclear emulsification were performed using quick chop technique. The lens cortical removal was performed bimanually with the Duet Bimanual I/A System. The study parameters included phacoemulsification time, intraoperative complications and early postoperative outcome.The mean Phacoemulsification time was 0.75 +/- 0.64 min. vision acuity equal or better than 0.5 were 55.30%, 87.12% and 90.15% after surgery one day, one week and one mother respectively. Eyes with 0.5 best corrected visual acuity amounted to 90.91%, while with 0.8, amounted to 77.27% all the treated eyes 1 month postoperation. The formation of anterior chamber was successfully maintained in every case. There was various degree of nuclear hardness in all of case studied.Bimanual microphacoemulsification is a feasible, secure, and effective surgery for cataract extraction through a sub-1.5 mm clear cornea incision.

To analyze the cause of fixed intraocular lens (IOLs) pupillary capture in children and investigate the rational methods to reposit intraocular lens.Thirty-one eyes (30 cases) with fixed intraocular lens pupillary capture under 14 years old were analyzed based on clinical data; the causes and the complications were also evaluated. The IOL reposition procedure was performed in 8 cases (8 eyes) with severe complications.Different extent of secondary cataract, posterior iris synechia caused by severe postoperative uveal tract reaction were existed in all 30 cases, corecleisis was occurred in some severe cases. During reposition operation, different extent of lens cortex regeneration in the equator portion of capsule bag was found in all eight cases.Fixed pupillary capture of IOL is the common complication in children after cataract surgery. Severe postoperative uveal tract reaction and secondary cataract and lens cortex regeneration are the major causes of intraocular lens pupillary capture. The intraocular lens could be reposited through iris synechia separation, regenerated lens cortex cleaning and secondary cataract extraction.

To evaluate the clinical value in diagnosis and treatment of lens subluxation using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM).This study comprised 29 patients (32 eyes) that had cataract with subluxated lenses due to different causes admitted into our hospital between November 2000 and January 2002. All eyes received UBM examination preoperatively and postoperatively. Capsular tension ring (CTR) implantations were performed using different technique according to UBM examination. Then all patients received phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. The location of IOL and CTR and complications were evaluated postoperatively.Different kinds of subluxated lens shown different manifestations in UBM. The degree of zonular defect can be evaluated with UBM preoperatively. With UBM examination preoperatively, extent of lens subluxation less than 1/2 quadrant in 19 eyes while more than 1/2 quadrant in other 13 eyes were observed. Postoperative UBM examination in this series shown that CTRs were holding in place except one attached to the iris root. IOLs in 29 eyes were in proper position while IOLs in 3 patients were slightly tilted.The degree and extent of lens subluxation can be evaluated using UBM examinations preoperatively, which is necessary in the selection of surgical protocol. With postoperative UBM examinations, a precise observation on the actual location of CTR and IOL can be achieved to produce an objective evaluation of the surgical outcomes.

We humans have many characteristics that are different from those of the great apes. These human-specific characters must have arisen through mutations accumulated in the genome of our direct ancestor after the divergence of the last common ancestor with chimpanzee. Gene trees of human and great apes are necessary for extracting these human-specific genetic changes. We conducted a systematic analysis of 103 protein-coding genes for human, chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan. Nucleotide sequences for 18 genes were newly determined for this study, and those for the remaining genes were retrieved from the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database. The total number of amino acid changes in the human lineage was 147 for 26,199 codons (0.56%). The total number of amino acid changes in the human genome was, thus, estimated to be about 80,000. We applied the acceleration index test and Fisher's synonymous/nonsynonymous exact test for each gene tree to detect any human-specific enhancement of amino acid changes compared with ape branches. Six and two genes were shown to have significantly higher nonsynonymous changes at the human lineage from the acceleration index and exact tests, respectively. We also compared the distribution of the differences of the nonsynonymous substitutions on the human lineage and those on the great ape lineage. Two genes were more conserved in the ape lineage, whereas one gene was more conserved in the human lineage. These results suggest that a small proportion of protein-coding genes started to evolve differently in the human lineage after it diverged from the ape lineage.

To determine the status of blood-aqueous barrier after small incision phacoemulsification with implantation of foldable intraocular lens.The blood-aqueous barrier status in 64 eyes of 60 patients who underwent cataract surgery was examined using a laser flare cell meter. The protein level of anterior chamber aqueous humor was evaluated by measurement of the flare value preoperatively and postoperatively.The mean preoperative flare intensity was (6.94 +/- 0.34) photon counts/ms, which increased to (26.27 +/- 1.37), (13.96 +/- 1.05), (9.07 +/- 0.43) and (7.16 +/- 0.27) photon counts/ms on days 1, 7, 30 and 90 after the surgery, respectively. Significantly statistical differences on flare values were found between preoperative data and those on days 1, 7 and 30 after surgery. The blood-aqueous barrier was recovered on day 90 postoperatively. The variables such as age, gender, eye (left/right) had no influence on the flare value. Patients with iris prolapse had a higher flare value at day 1 and day 7 after the surgery.Blood-aqueous barrier after phacoemulsification with implantation of intraocular lens can be measured quantitatively by the laser flare cell meter. The blood-aqueous barrier disorders can be recovered shortly after phacoemulsification.

The correlation between genetic variation and recombination rate was investigated in a structured mouse population. Nucleotide sequence data from 19 autosomal DNA loci from eight inbred strains of mouse (Mus musculus) sampled from three major subspecies were analyzed. The recombination rate was estimated from the comparison of genetic and physical map distances between markers flanking a 10-cM region of each locus. The strains were categorized into four groups (subpopulations) based on geography. By partitioning the genetic diversity into within-group and among-group variation, we detected a positive correlation between the recombination rate and nucleotide diversity within groups. The level of nucleotide differentiation among groups (G S T ) showed a negative correlation with the rate of recombination. There was no significant correlation between recombination rate and nucleotide diversity when data from different subpopulations were pooled. No correlation was detected between recombination rate and nucleotide divergence of M. musculus and M. spicilegus. These patterns deviate from the strict neutral expectation under the constant nucleotide substitution rate, and they are likely to have been formed either by a hitchhiking effect of positively selected mutants or by background selection of deleterious mutants occurring in a subdivided population. Our series of comparisons show that because a real population always has some structure, incorporation of its information is important in detecting non-neutral evolution.

To observe the changes in the lens capsule after phacoemulsification and its effects on the position of intraocular lens (IOL) and to demonstrate the best position of IOL in relation to the anterior capsule.The present series comprised 141 eyes in 127 patients underwent phacoemulsification and foldable lens implantation with 5 mm continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis. The changes in the lens capsule and the position of IOL with dilated pupil were observed using slit lamp microscope 3 months after the operation.Capsular bag shrinkage and white Soemmering ring along the margin of capsulorhexis were observed in all cases. Three different kinds of relationship between anterior capsule opening and the IOL optic surface were found, including the non-capture (68 eyes), partial-capture (52 eyes) and total-capture (21 eyes) relationships. The incidence of central posterior capsule opacification (PCO) was significantly higher in the total-capture group (47.6%) than that in the non-capture (11.7%) and partial-capture (21.2%) groups (P0.01). IOL in well centered position was significantly higher in the non-capture (91.2%) and total-capture (81.0%) groups than that in the partial-capture group (42.3%) (P0.01).In the present study, various changes in the lens capsule were observed after phacoemulsification and foldable lens implantation. It is suggested that keeping the IOL in a non-capture position is a key point to avoid the occurrence of PCO and IOL decentration.

To study the in vitro antiviral effect of ribavirin combined with an oral preparation of traditional Chinese medicine "Hu Fei" (protecting the lung) on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).Cytopathic effects (CEP) of RSV on Hep2 cells were observed after adding different concentrations of ribavirin, Hu Fei and combination of both into the culture medium.The minimum concentration of ribavirin and Hu Fei for complete inhibition of CPE caused by RSV was 7.80 microg/ml and 5.00 mg/ml, respectively. When the combination of ribavirin and Hu Fei was applied, their minimum concentrations needed for complete inhibition were decreased to 0.98 ?g/ml and 0.63 mg/ml.Both ribavirin and Hu Fei showed in vitro anti-RSV effect, but the inhibitory effect of combined ribavirin and Hu Fei was more potent than either of the preparation alone.

The cylindrical-rectanglar microstrip antennas have been recently studied by many authors. The feeding mechanisms of probe-fed and micro-stripline-fed cases have been considered, and different numerical techniques using the full-wave analysis, the cavity-model method, and the generalized transmission line model (GTLM) theory have been applied. Among these numerical methods, the full-wave analysis is rather complicated and computationally inefficient. On the other hand, both the cavity-model method and the GTLM theory are much simpler and requires less computational effort. The GTLM solution also shows good agreement with the measured data for the case of a probe feed excitation. In this paper, we further apply the GTLM theory to the analysis of cylindrical-rectangular microstrip antennas with a microstrip feedline or using slot coupling. For both feeding mechanisms, the equivalent circuits are described, and the calculated input impedance results are presented.

Many computer systems, such as those for open system environments or multimedia services, need an efficient schedulability test for online admission control of new jobs. Although various polynomial-time schedulability tests have been proposed, they often fail to decide the schedulability of the system precisely when the system is heavily loaded. This paper presents efficient online schedulability tests which are are shown to be more precise and efficient than any existing polynominal-time schedulability tests. Moreover, our proposed tests can be used for the multiframe model, where a task may have different computation times in different periods. We show the performance of the proposed schedulability tests in several simulation experiments.

A prospective study was carried out in Taiwan to measure the family cost of caregiving at home for 289 patients newly diagnosed with dementia (106 with senile-type dementia, 171 with vascular-type dementia). Their families were first interviewed in the outpatient department and then followed for 1 month after the dementia diagnosis was made. Simultaneously, the costs for providing nursing home care to patients with dementia were calculated using accounting data reported from six nursing homes. Comparisons were made between the amount and type of cost encountered by families and by nursing homes to determine whether family-based care was cheaper and more appropriate than nursing home care for dementia patients with different functional levels. The results showed that higher costs were encountered for caregiving at home when the patients had severe dependence. This tendency was more evident for patients with senile dementia than for patients with vascular-type dementia. The cost of labour was an important expense for families caring for patients at home (at least 85% of family costs). Our findings suggest that, when family labour cost is considered, nursing home care is less expensive than family-based care for long-term care, especially for dementia patients with severe or moderate dependence. Nursing home care is also a better choice when patients have great need for multiple health services.

Effective arguments have been made for the importance of expanded attention to understanding how family preferences influence decisions to choose long-term care. The effects of preference on the utilization of long-term care deserve further research, especially on a longitudinal basis. The family members of 582 first-time stroke patients from the neurology departments of four teaching hospitals in Taiwan were categorized into two groups based on their attitudes toward type of long-term care, i.e., a preference for nursing home care (n 1 = 324) or a preference for home care (n 2 = 258). The consistency rate between preference and utilization of the type of long-term care was estimated by the division of number of families preferring one type of long-term care by the number of families actually utilizing the services preferred. Results indicated that the consistency rate for those with nursing home preference was 8.3% while the consistency rate for those with home care preference was 94.2%. Accessibility of nursing home facilities near family residences was significantly associated with whether those preferring nursing home services actually utilized them, and the odds ratio was 20.8. The family manpower available for caregiving at home was tremendously associated with whether families utilized home care when home care was preferred; the odds ratio was 33.3. The preference for the type of long-term care was a strong predictor of the utilization when home care was preferred, yet not when a nursing home was preferred. The low consistency between preference and utilization for nursing homes preferred is due to the low accessibility of nursing home facilities in Taiwan. How to provide sufficient support to families for caregiving at home, and how to deal with the barrier of accessibility to nursing home services should be two major concerns for those who are planning and operating the long-term care system and for those trying to design institutional services and noninstitutional services as alternatives.

The title compound, [Ni(C(12)H(9)O)Cl(C(18)H(15)P)(2)]·CH(2)Cl(2), was synthesized from the reaction between 1-acetyl-4-chloro-naphthalene, NiCl(2)·6H(2)O and triphenyl-phosphine (PPh(3)) in ethanol. The compound contains one crystallographically unique nickel ion in a pseudo-square-planar geometry.

Cytogenetical comparison was made between high seed setting restorers TP-4 and Dminghui63 with eminent maintainer line D46B of autotetraploid rice. The meiosis observation demonstrated that the genomes of our autotetraploid materials were all 2n = 48, which was the same as those in mitosis observation. Low percentages of univalent and trivalent in diakinesis-metaphase I (MI) of restorers TP-4 and Dminghui63 as well as maintainer line D46B of autotetraploid rice were observed. And the percentages of chromosome pairing were all over 99%, showing eminent cytological character. The frequency of TP-4 and Dminghui63 in diakinesis-metaphase I was 2.00/PMC (pollen mother cell) and 2.26/PMC, respectively. However, the frequency of D46B was 6.00/PMC, significantly higher than those of TP-4 and Dminghui63. It indicated that the maintainer D46B had better chromosome pairing capability in diakinesis-metaphase. While, the frequency of lagging chromosomes of the maintainer D46B in anaphase I (AI) was 10.62%, significantly lower than that of TP-4 (19.44%) or Dminghui63 (23.14%), and close to the level of diploid control (7.30%). In telophase I (TI), maintainer D46B exhibited lower frequency of microkernel, and in telophase II (TII) the frequency of normal quartered microspore of maintainer D46B was not only higher than that of TP-4 or Dminghui63 but also than that of diploid control. The percentage of the cell observed chromosome lagging in AI and the percentage of abnormal cell in TI showed a greatly significant positive correlation. That may demonstrate that chromosome separation in AI and microkernel formation in TI are controlled by the same dominant single gene or the major gene of a QTL.

We report on the source parameters of 194 earthquakes that occurred between January and December 2002, in the Taiwan region. The improved CMT inversion algorithm by Kao et al. (1998) is used to overcome the generally higher background noise and the heterogeneous velocity structure resulting from the complex tectonic interactions near Taiwan. To make the results more accessible and useful to the academic community, both the table that summarizes the reported source parameters and the complete set of inversion results are available electronically from the BATS worldwide web site at http://bats.earth.sinica.edu.tw/CMT_Solutions/cmtF2002. html.

We report source parameters of 277 earthquakes that occurred during 99.2000 in the Taiwan region, a time period dominated by the Chi-Chi earthquake sequence. We used an improved CMT inversion algorithm to handle high background noise and structural heterogeneity from complex tectonic settings near Taiwan. We also searched the best fitting solutions at an increment of 1 km of focal depths for all events that occurred after the :hi-Chi main shock on September 20, 1999. In general, central and northern Taiwan was seismically quiet before the Chi-Chi main shock. Aftershocks of this sequence dominated the regional seismicity for approximately 3 months afterward. The Chi-Chi sequence consists of a wide range of focal mechanisms, but the overall pattern is a west-verging thrust block bound strike-slip tear faults near the northern and southern termini of the surface rupture – the Chelungpu fault. Seismicity outside of the source zone of the Chi-Chi sequence generally agrees with known active tectonics from previous studies. Nonetheless, under high elevations of the eastern Central Ranges, there are several intriguing cases of changing focal mechanisms from normal faulting near the surface to thrust at depth. To facilitate further research of the Chi-Chi sequence, results of our inversion and original waveforms from the Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS) of 170 events within this sequence are ready for distribution on CD-ROM. The dataset is also online at the BATS web site (http://bats.earth.sinica.edu.tw/Chi-Chi_CMT).

Establishment of the ”Broadband Array in Taiwan for Seismology (BATS)” has enabled the systematic determination of reliable source parameters for regional earthquakes in Taiwan through waveform inversion technique. Using an improved algorithm by Kao et at (1998) to overcome the generally higher background noise as well as the heterogeneous velocity structure resulted from the complex tectonic interactions near Taiwan, we report source parameters of 46 events that occurred in 1997. The inversion quality is classified by a combination of a letter (A-F) and a digit (1-4) reflecting the waveform misfit and the compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) component, respectively. To make the results more accessible and useful to the academic community, both the table that summarizes the reported Source parameters and the complete set of inversion results are available electronically from the BATS web site at http://bats.earth.sinica.edu.tw/CMT_Solutions/cmtF1997.html.

Ambipolar carrier injection and charge retention phenomenon of gold-nanocrystal (Au-NC) memories with different tunneling oxide (TO) thickness were investigated. For the samples with thin TO (∼3 nm), the electrons were injected from the substrate at positive gate bias. With the increase of TO thickness, the holes injected from the gate became more significant. Compared with the gate injected holes in the sample with thick TO, the substrate injected electrons in the sample with thin TO show a higher charge loss. The poor charge retention can be ascribed to the direct tunneling leakage current through the thin TO. Further, the Au-NC memories with electrons exhibit lower activation energy of charge loss than that with holes, which is due to the lower electron barrier height of the Au-NC memory.