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BACKGROUND The objective of the study was to analyze the association of apelin gene (APLN) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS A total of 1966 subjects were enrolled in this study, including 168 cases (first batch), 330 cases (second batch), and 1468 nondiabetic controls. The SNPs in the HapMap-HCB of APLN were detected using Sequenom MassARRAY SNP technology and included rs2281068, rs3115757, rs2235309, and rs2235310. The related clinical characteristics with glucose metabolism were tested, including the fasting blood glucose (FPG), insulin (INS), C-peptide, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). RESULTS A correlation between rs3115757 and rs2281068 and diabetes was observed in first batch. Thus, we compared the SNPs (rs3115757 and rs2281068) between the cases and controls after more cases were enrolled. In addition, the results showed a significant correlation between APLN rs2281068 and diabetes (p

In this paper, we study Laguerre isothermic surfaces in ℝ3. We show that the Darboux transformation of a Laguerre isothermic surface x produces a new Laguerre isothermic surface \(\hat x\) and their respective Laguerre Gauss maps form a Darboux pair of each other at the corresponding point. We also classify the surfaces which are both Laguerre isothermic and Laguerre minimal and show that they must be Laguerre equivalent to surfaces with vanishing mean curvature in ℝ3, ℝ13 or ℝ03.

Li and Wang (Manuscr Math 122(1):73–95, 2007) presented Laguerre geometry for hypersurfaces in \({\mathbb{R}^{n}}\) and calculated the first variational formula of the Laguerre functional by using Laguerre invariants. In this paper we present the second variational formula for Laguerre minimal hypersurfaces. As an application of this variational formula we give the standard examples of Laguerre minimal hypersurfaces in \({\mathbb{R}^{n}}\) and show that they are stable Laguerre minimal hypersurfaces. Using this second variational formula we can prove that a surface with vanishing mean curvature in \({\mathbb{R}^{3}_{0}}\) is Laguerre equivalent to a stable Laguerre minimal surface in \({\mathbb{R}^{3}}\) under the Laguerre embedding. This example of stable Laguerre minimal surface in \({\mathbb{R}^{3}}\) is different from the one Palmer gave in (Rend Mat Appl 19(2):281–293, 1999).

Inverse gas chromatography was applied to the characterization of the surface properties of polybutadiene rubber (PBR). Four n-alkanes (C6, C7, C8 and C9-alkanes) were chosen as the apolar probes to characterize the dispersive component of surface free energy. Dichloromethane, trichloromethane, acetone, ethyl acetate, diethylether and tetrahydrofuran were chosen as the polar probes to detect the Lewis acid-base parameters. It was found that the dispersive components of surface free energy were 47.07, 46.46, 45.85, 45.60 and 45.09 mJ/m2 at 303, 313, 323, 333 and 343 K, respectively. The results showed that the surface free energy decreased linearly with the increase of temperature. The Lewise acidic number Ka of PBR was 0.34, and the basic number Kb was 1.77. The fact Kb/Ka >1 means that the surface of PBR was amphoteric with dominant basic character and the total ability of the surface to acid-base interactions was 2.11. The free energies of adsorption -deltaG(a)s and -deltaH(a)s by Lewis acid-base interaction were also figured out.

BcHSP81-4 gene, a member of heat shock proteins, was identified from a suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library in non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Makino). The deduced amino acid sequence of the BcHSP81-4 cDNA revealed that it has high homology to other plant organelle isoforms and similar homology to both cytoplasmic and prokaryotic HSP90s. To study the regulation of gene expression, BcHSP81-4 genes in maintainer and sterility lines were monitored at different development stages and at different stress treatments. Real-time PCR was used for quantification of BcHSP81-4 mRNA. These results indicate that BcHSP81-4 is not responsive to heat shock at least at 35°C, while it is very responsive to salt and cold stress. And high expression of BcHSP81-4 in the bud of sterile line suggests that it may play prominent roles in sterility of pol CMS in non-heading Chinese cabbage.

Alkyl methacrylate–maleic anhydride–alkyl methacrylate terpolymers (MR1–MA–MR2) is one of the widely used cold flow improver. In order to develop more efficient MR1–MA–MR2, it is necessary to study the crystallization behavior of n-alkanes when adding MR1–MA–MR2 into diesel fuel. In this paper, MR1–MA–MR2 is prepared by the reaction of long-chain alkyl methacrylate (MR1), maleic anhydride (MA), and short alkyl methacrylate (MR2). The diesel fuel before and after adding MR1–MA–MR2 is in situ filtrated at its cold filter plugging point (CFPP) in a manual CFPP apparatus. Extensive measurements of composition variation of n-alkanes are done by gas chromatograph and the results are compared. The experimental results show that after adding MR1–MA–MR2, the concentration distribution of n-alkanes in the filtrate is wide and arranges from 8 to 26, and mainly centralizes from 10 to 19. For the precipitate, the concentration distribution of n-alkanes gets richer in the lighter n-alkanes and poorer in the heavier n-alkanes. The concentration distribution of n-alkanes in the crystal solid shows a decreasing trend, especially with high carbon number n-alkanes (heavier than C20). About 60–70% of the residual crystal solid is composed of non-paraffins such as isoparaffin, naphthene and other components. Crystallinities of n-alkanes show a slow decrease trend from C8 to C20. When the carbon number n-alkanes are heavier than C20, the crystallinities of n-alkanes begin to sharply reduce with an increase of carbon number. The largest decline of crystallinity is C26 n-alkane from 38.39% to 7.90%.

Alkyl methacrylate−maleic anhydride (RMC−MA) copolymers are among the most widely used pour point depressants (PPD). In order to develop more efficient RMC−MA copolymers, it is necessary to study the crystallization behavior of n-alkanes when adding RMC−MA into diesel fuel. In this paper, RMC−MA is prepared by the reaction of long-chain alkyl methacrylate and maleic anhydride. The diesel fuel before and after adding C14MC−MA is in situ filtered at its cold filter plugging point (CFPP) in a manual CFPP apparatus. Extensive measurements of composition variations of n-alkanes are conducted by gas chromatography and the results are compared. The experimental results show that after adding C14MC−MA, the concentration distribution of n-alkanes in the filtrate is wide and ranges from 8 to 28 carbon atoms, mainly centralizing from 10 to 19 carbon atoms. For the precipitate, the concentration distribution of n-alkanes gets richer in the lighter n-alkanes and poorer in the heavier n-alkanes. The concentration distr...

Changes in ascorbic acid content and antioxidant enzyme activities were investigated in non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis Makino) leaves of ‘Wutacai’ and ‘Erqing’ exposed to excess copper (Cu). Cu treatment reduced the fresh weight of shoot and root by 57% and 46% in ‘Wutacai’, and 60 and 54% in ‘Erqing’, respectively. The accumulation of copper in leaves was higher in ‘Wutacai’ than that in ‘Erqing’. Compared to the control, ascorbic acid (AsA) contents were significantly decreased after copper treatment in both cultivars, while they were higher in ‘Wutacai’ than in ‘Erqing’, which may explain the higher copper-tolerance of ‘Wutacai’ with higher copper accumulation. The higher AsA contents of ‘Wutacai’ resulted from their lower activities of degrading enzymes, such as ascorbate oxydase (AAO) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), as well as the increasing activity of dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) after copper treatment compared with ‘Erqing’. Copper stimulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in both cultivars, but for catalase (CAT), there was little difference between both cultivars. Peroxidases (POD) activity was decreased after copper treatment in ‘Erqing’, while in ‘Wutacai’, it was significantly increased at 14 days, and POD activity was higher in ‘Wutacai’ than that in ‘Erqing’ at 21 and 28 days. Therefore, the induced increasing activity of POD in ‘Wutacai’ also played an important role in its copper tolerance.

A novel terpolymer, MC-MA-MCNR2, derived from tetradecyl methacrylate (MC), maleic anhydride (MA), and methacrylamide (MCNR2) was synthesized. The ability of MC-MA-MCNR2 was evaluated as a cold flow improver in diesel fuel, and the interactions of MC-MA-MCNR2 with several kinds of copolymer were studied. To provide a better understanding of the synergistic mechanism, microscopy was used to study the crystal conformation when MC-MA-MCNR2 and EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) are mixed into a diesel fuel. The results indicate that using blends of MC-MA-MCNR2 and EVA, one can obtain a satisfactory cold filter plugging point depression. Based on the microscopy experiment, the synergism mechanism was discussed.

Yujuan Fan,* Yu Zhang,* Xuesong Li,* Hui Zheng, Yuping Song, Ning Zhang, Chunfang Shen, Xiaofang Fan, Fengdong Ren, Jiayi Shen, Guoguang Ren, Jialin Yang Department of Endocrinology, Central Hospital of Minhang District, Minhang Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The objective of this study was to assess the effects of metformin monotherapy or combined treatment with a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (vildagliptin) on apelin levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Twenty-five patients with poor glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin >6.5% [48 mmol/mol]) taking 1,000 mg of metformin daily and 25 healthy controls matched for age and body mass index were enrolled in this study. Anthropometric parameters, glycemic and lipid profile, insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index), and apelin levels were measured at baseline and at 12-week and 24-week visits. Results: At baseline, apelin levels were higher in the T2DM patients than in the controls (1.93±1.81 ng/mL versus 6.09±4.90 ng/mL; P

In order to find efficient cold flow improvers for diesel fuels, a series of copolymers (C14MC-MCNR2) derivated from long chain alkyl (i.e., tetradecyl) methacrylate C14MC and methacrylamide (MCNR2) were prepared, and a series of terpolymers (C14MC-MA-MCNR2) derivated from tetradecyl methacrylate C14MC, maleic anhydride (MA), and methacrylamide (MCNR2) were also prepared. These copolymers and terpolymers were purified, and their structures were characterized by IR, 1HNMR, and GPC. Their low temperature fluidities and filterability, such as solid point depression (ΔSP) and cold filter plugging point depression (ΔCFPP), used as cold flow improvers in two diesel fuels were evaluated. The results indicate that: (1) The C14MC-MCNR2 copolymers possess good solid point depressing performance. (2) The C14MC-MA-MCNR2 terpolymers exhibit dual function both as wax dispersants and flow improvers simultaneously, and they all possess very excellent solid point depressing performance, and can attain optimum eff...

In order to find efficient cold flow improvers for diesel fuels derived from crude oil, copolymers (R1MC–MA) were prepared making use of the copolymerization of methacrylate (R1MC) of various alkyls with maleic anhydride (MA), and terpolymers (R1MC–MA–R2MC) were prepared by the reaction of long-chain alkyl methacrylate (R1MC), maleic anhydride (MA), and short alkyl methacrylate (R2MC). The additives were purified and characterized by IR, 1H–NMR, and GPC. The activities of the synthetic products as the cold flow improvers in two diesel fuels were investigated. The results indicate that: (1) the alkyl chain length of R1 in R1MC–MA copolymers significantly affects the solid point depressing performance. When the long-chain alkyl R1 is n–C14H29– and the reaction material molar ratio (R1MC/MA) is 1:2, the C14MC–2MA possesses the best ΔSP property; (2) the (C14MC–MA–R2MC) terpolymers all demonstrate excellent solid point depression properties when the short-chain alkyl R2 varies from CH3– to n–C8H17–; (3) however, all of the tested copolymers and terpolymers do not demonstrate necessary cold filter plugging point depression performance.

The basic theory on the conformal geometry of timelike surfaces in pseudo-Riemannian space forms is introduced, which is parallel to the classical framework of Burstall etc. for spacelike surfaces. Then we provide a discussion on the transforms of timelike $(\pm)-$isothermic surfaces (or real isothermic, complex isothermic surfaces), including $c-$ polar transforms, Darboux transforms and spectral transforms. The first main result is that $c-$polar transforms preserve timelike $(\pm)-$isothermic surfaces, which are generalizations of the classical Christoffel transforms. The next main result is that a Darboux pair of timelike isothermic surfaces can also be characterized as a Lorentzian $O(n-r+1,r+1)/O(n-r,r)\times O(1,1)-$type curved flat. Finally two permutability theorems of $c-$polar transforms are established., 22 pages. with minor corrections

Inverse gas chromatography was applied to the characterization of the surface properties of polybutadiene rubber (PBR). Four n-alkanes (C6, C7, C8 and C9-alkanes) were chosen as the apolar probes to characterize the dispersive component of surface free energy. Dichloromethane, trichloromethane, acetone, ethyl acetate, diethylether and tetrahydrofuran were chosen as the polar probes to detect the Lewis acid-base parameters. It was found that the dispersive components of surface free energy were 47.07, 46.46, 45.85, 45.60 and 45.09 mJ/m2 at 303, 313, 323, 333 and 343 K, respectively. The results showed that the surface free energy decreased linearly with the increase of temperature. The Lewise acidic number Ka of PBR was 0.34, and the basic number Kb was 1.77. The fact Kb/Ka1 means that the surface of PBR was amphoteric with dominant basic character and the total ability of the surface to acid-base interactions was 2.11. The free energies of adsorption -deltaG(a)s and -deltaH(a)s by Lewis acid-base interaction were also figured out.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the direct effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) on tumor growth, apoptosis and migration in vitro. To achieve this aim, a comparison was made of the differences in growth rates, apoptotic indices and cell invasive ability in the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa and the HIF-1α-blocked counterpart in a three-dimensional spheroid culture. A significant decrease in cell proliferation and invasion, and an increase in cell apoptosis were observed in HIF-1α-blocked cells in the three-dimensional culture. The data indicated that a multicellular spheroid culture is an ideal model of hypoxia in vitro and that HIF-1α is a significant regulator of adaptive processes that promote tumor cell malignant phenotypes, such as proliferation, anti-apoptosis and invasive ability.

The government of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) has announced its intention to make China a global leader in innovation by 2020. Many Chinese business leaders share this goal. The primary focus of this national strategy is to transform China into an exporter of high-technology products based on Chinese designs rather than merely a low cost, high volume manufacturer of products based on technology developed in other countries. This paper will examine the implications for this strategy with regard to the use of computerized management information systems by Chinese businesses, and its relationship to recent law reform efforts intended to promote greater use of electronic commerce among Chinese businesses. This paper considers three case studies of recent reforms of P.R.C. commercial law in light of their contributions to this strategy, and finds that the results so far are quite mixed. The first case study looks at a domestic standard for accounting software issued in 1989 that successfully removed obstacles to the greater use of computerized accounting systems by local businesses and promoted the growth of the domestic accounting software industry. The second and third case studies involve P.R.C. legislation based on model laws developed by United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) developed to assist legislators in trading nations to harmonize their national commercial laws in order to eliminate barriers to international trade. The second case study looks at the inclusion of general electronic commerce enabling legislation in the 1999 Contract Law which in theory removed impediments to the use of electronic commerce by Chinese businesses but in reality appears to be too abstract and general to provide much certainty to parties wishing to form contracts using electronic media. The third case study looks at the 2004 Electronic Signature Law which promotes the use of a specific type of technology for authentication. While it is too soon to know whether this law will achieve its intended objectives in China, evidence from other countries with similar laws suggests that it may not., Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 20 No. 2 (2007)

Caspase-3 is a critical effector caspase for apoptosis, which cleaves proteins, including cytoskeletal and associated proteins, kinases, and members of the Bcl-2 family of apoptosis-related proteins. This leads to changes in apoptotic morphology, such as membrane externalization and cytoplasm and nuclear condensation. It has been reported that pro-caspase-3 is activated in the cytosol. However, it remains obscure how caspase-3 activation correlates to serial changes in cell morphology during apoptosis. The current study was therefore undertaken to assess the relationship between caspase-3 activation and its subcellular localization and alterations in apoptotic morphology in MOLT-4 human leukemia cells exposed to X-ray irradiation. Fluorescence labeled inhibitor of caspases (FLICA) was used to detect caspase-3 activity in apoptotic cells in this project; cell morphology and caspase-3 sub-localization were determined by confocal microscopy. Our data showed that MOLT-4 cells presented typical morphological changes in apoptosis, such as membrane reversion, DNA fragmentation, and formation of apoptotic cell bodies following 10 Gray (Gy) of X-ray irradiation. Caspase-3 was activated 2 h after X-ray irradiation, and its activity increased markedly after 4-6-h exposure. Membrane reversion in MOLT-4 leukemia cells was detected by Annexin V assay at 4 h following X-ray irradiation, 2 h after the elevated caspase-3 activity was measured. Cytologically, activation of caspase-3 was first observed close to the inside surface of the cellular membrane, then transferred to the cytoplasm, and finally translocated to the nuclear region. We conclude that caspase-3 is activated in MOLT-4 cells following exposure to X-rays, and that the enhanced caspase-3 activity and its sub-localization shifting is correlated to changes in apoptotic morphology. The spatial shift of activated caspase-3 in X-ray-induced apoptotic MOLT-4 leukemia cells is a process of crucial importance for apoptosis.

Our previous studies revealed a splicing variant (lacking a 42 base pair segment) within the 5'-UTR of the ERCC1 gene, a critical component of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway that plays an important role in the development of chemoresistance in platinum-based anticancer therapy. This 42-bp segment seems to possess a regulatory function in ERCC1 expression and representing the level of clinical response to platinum-treatment in ovarian cancer patients. To confirm the existence of the 42-bp deletion and to investigate the 42-bp function, we performed several experiments and assays. Northern blot analysis and RNase protection assay provide evidence that the 42-bp deletion occurs at RNA level of ERCC1 5'-UTR in both ovarian cancer cell lines and ovarian cancer tissues. Luciferase assay suggests that this gene fragment possesses a regulatory function as an enhancer of ERCC1 gene expression in ovarian cancer cells. In Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA), a shift band present in the ovarian cancer cell line extracts is consistent with the presence of an intracellular protein that recognizes this specific 42-bp sequence. Further, specific EMSA results with 42-bp probe mutated at the site of RFX-1 indicate different putative-DNA binding proteins, rather than RFX-1. We conclude that the 42-bp sequence within the 5'-UTR influences the expression of ERCC1 and hence can influence response to cisplatin in ovarian cancer therapy.

A set of 120 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) was developed from the newly assembled pear sequence and evaluated for polymorphisms in seven genotypes of pear from different genetic backgrounds. Of these, 67 (55.8 %) primer pairs produced polymorphic amplifications. Together, the 67 SSRs detected 277 alleles with an average of 4.13 per locus. Sequencing of the amplification products from randomly picked loci NAUPy31a and NAUpy53a verified the presence of the SSR loci. When the 67 primer pairs were tested on 96 individual members of eight species in the Rosaceae family, 61.2 % (41/67) of the tested SSRs successfully amplified a PCR product in at least one of the Rosaceae genera. The transferability from pear to different species varied from 58.2 % (apple) to 11.9 % (cherry). The ratio of transferability also reflected the closer relationships within Maloideae over Prunoideae. Two pear SSR markers, NAUpy43c and NAUpy55k, could distinguish the 20 different apple genotypes thoroughly, and UPGMA cluster analysis grouped them into three groups at the similarity level of 0.56. The high level of polymorphism and good transferability of pear SSRs to Rosaceae species indicate their promise for application to future molecular screening, map construction, and comparative genomic studies among pears and other Rosaceae species. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11105-013-0586-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.