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Synthetic drugs such as allopurinol and benzbromarone are commonly used to treat the complex pathogenesis of gout, a metabolic disease that results from an inflammation of the joints caused by precipitation of uric acid. We seek to discover novel phytochemicals that could treat gout, by targeting the xanthine oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2 enzymes. In this study, we report the screening of nine compounds of flavonoids from the ZINC and PubChem databases (containing 2092 flavonoids) using the IGEMDOCK software tool against the xanthine oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2 3D protein structures. Each compound was also evaluated by an in vitro bioassay testing the inhibition of xanthine oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2. Myricetin and luteolin were found to be the potential dual inhibitors of xanthine oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2 as demonstrated by IC(50): 62.7 and 3.29 μg/mL (xanthine oxidase)/70.8 and 16.38 μg/mL (cyclooxygenase-2), respectively. In addition, structure-activity relationships and other important factors of the flavonoids binding to the active site of xanthine oxidase and cyclooxygenase-2 were discussed, which is expected for further rational drug design.

Current bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., control usually involves insecticide applications that pose a high risk of insecticide exposure to residents and applicators. To minimize these risks and the amount of insecticides used, we designed and evaluated a dust band treatment technique. The laboratory assay showed that 1% cyfluthrin dust treated bands are highly effective in killing bed bugs. We further evaluated this technique in bed bug infested apartments. The "dust band" treatment consisted of installing a 3.8-cm-wide fabric band on furniture legs and brushing Tempo dust (1% cyfluthrin) (Bayer Environmental Science, Research Triangle Park, NC) onto the bands. In addition, interceptors were installed under furniture legs. Alpine (0.5% dinotefuran) aerosol spray was applied directly to live bed bugs found on furniture during biweekly inspections. This treatment was compared with two other treatments: "integrated pest management" (IPM) and "control." The IPM treatment included dust bands plus the following: applying hot steam to infested furniture and surrounding areas, installing mattress encasements, applying 1% cyfluthrin dust around room perimeters, and installing interceptors under furniture legs. Alpine aerosol was applied to live bed bugs found during biweekly inspections. In the control group, the apartments received cursory treatment with insecticide sprays by the existing pest control contractor hired by the property management office. Bed bug numbers before and after treatments were determined based on biweekly interceptor counts or a combination of interceptor counts and visual inspections. From 0 to 12 wk, mean bed bug counts of the dust band, IPM, and the control treatment decreased by 95, 92, and 85%, respectively. Both dust band and IPM resulted in higher bed bug reduction than the control. There was no significant difference in the final counts between dust band and IPM treatments. An additional field experiment showed installing 1% cyfluthrin dust band and interceptors in lightly infested apartments prevented bed bug population rebound. Results indicate applying insecticide dust bands to furniture legs is an effective bed bug control technique.

Sketching education is a hot topic in design and this paper presents an exploration on the elements of sketch to develop its quality. It focused on the relationship between text description in sketch and sketch quality. By monitoring the sketch process and recording the sketch data, the relationship was chiefly explored by coding the creative points in sketch process and comparing the behavioral properties of creative points in sketches. Sketches are also divided into text sketches and graphic sketches according to their description form. The analysis showed that behavioral patterns related to text description were the same between high quality group and low quality group, but high quality sketches had more text description around the creative points. It also presented that high quality sketches with text description sketched slower in creative points. We advise that emphasis on combination of textual and graphic thinking maybe more proper in designers' sketching education.

The effect of meat protein in situ oxidation on the formation of N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) was investigated. Fresh minced pork was untreated (Con) or treated with 700mg/kg α-tocopherol (Toc) or 300mg/kg tea polyphenols (PPE), packaged in a HiOx atmosphere (78.8% O2, 18.8% CO2, 2.4% N2), then stored at 2±1°C for up to 10days. Crude myofibrillar (MP) or sarcoplasmic (SP) protein (20mg/mL) extracted from stored meat was reacted with 43μM sodium nitrite at 80°C for 1h. Lipid oxidation was totally inhibited in PPE pork but increased in Con and Toc samples after 10days. There was significant protein oxidation (losses of sulfhydryls, formation of protein carbonyls) in both MP and SP in all samples during storage. However, the Con group suffered more extensive protein oxidation than Toc and PPE and produced more NDEA (P

Streptomyces sp. TD-1 was identified as Streptomyces alboflavus based on its morphological characteristics, physiological properties, and 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. The antifungal activity of the volatile-producing S. alboflavus TD-1 was investigated. Results showed that volatiles generated by S. alboflavus TD-1 inhibited storage fungi Fusarium moniliforme Sheldon, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillum citrinum in vitro. GC/MS analysis revealed that 27 kinds of volatile organic compounds were identified from the volatiles of S. alboflavus TD-1 mycelia, among which the most abundant compound was 2-methylisoborneol. Dimethyl disulfide was proved to have antifungal activity against F. moniliforme by fumigation in vitro.

A recombinant plasmid, pGMF, containing a gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase gene (GSH-I) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was constructed with a copper-resistance gene as the selection marker and was introduced into S. cerevisiae YSF-31. The glutathione content of the recombinant strain was 1.5-fold (13.1 mg g dry cells(-1)) of that in the host strain.

We evaluated the residual efficacy of four liquid sprays and four ready-to-use aerosols that are commonly used in the U.S. against a field-collected bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., strain with moderate resistance level to pyrethroids. The four liquid sprays were: Tandem (0.1% thiamethoxam, 0.03% lambda-cyhalothrin), Temprid SC (0.05% imidacloprid, 0.025% cyfluthrin), Transport GHP (0.05% acetamiprid, 0.06% bifenthrin), and Demand CS (0.03% lambda-cyhalothrin). The four aerosols were: Alpine (0.5% dinotefuran), Bedlam (0.4% sumithrin, 1.6% MGK 264), Bedlam Plus (0.4% sumithrin, 1% MGK 264, 0.05% imidacloprid), and Phantom (0.5% chlorfenapyr). Bed bugs were confined for 4 h to treated substrates (aged 24 h). Four substrates were tested: fabric, unpainted wood, painted wood, and vinyl. Bedlam, Demand CS, and Temprid SC resulted in ≤70% mortality on all tested substrates. Among the other five products, substrate type significantly affected their residual efficacy, except for Transport GHP, which caused ≥89.7% mortality regardless of the substrate. The effect of exposure time (5 min, 4 h, and 24 h) on the efficacy of Transport GHP and Phantom aerosol also was evaluated. A 4 h continuous exposure to Phantom aerosol or Transport GHP residue caused similar mortality to 24 h exposure and higher mortality than 5 min exposure.

In this study Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) was employed to extract total flavonoids (TF) from the Toona sinensis leaves (TSL). Single factor experiments to evaluate the effects of the process parameters (extraction duration, solvent-solid ratio, ethanol volume fraction, and extraction times) on TF yield of TSL was performed, and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to optimize the extraction parameters. The analysis of variance indicated that the linear coefficients extraction duration, the quadratic terms of extraction duration and solvent-solid ratio, had highly significant effects on the TF yield (P

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has a crucial role in inflammation and is synthesized by cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), of which the expression is induced in inflammatory site by inflammatory stimuli like lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the present study, nine flavonoids were tested for their effects on prostaglandin E2 production and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. All the nine compounds, including apigenin, lute Olin, scutellarein, quercetin, myricetin, isoquercitrin, genistein, hyperoside, rutin effectively inhibited the LPS-induced PGE2 production but only isoquercitrin showed the significant inhibitory effect on the COX-2 expression. It was found that isoquercitrin exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibition of PGE2 production and COX-2 expression with the estimated IC50 values of 25 µM and 65 µM, respectively. The results introduce isoquercitrin as a good compound capable of down regulating the expression of COX-2.

To determine the antioxidization and antiproliferation of extract from leaves of Toona sinensis (LTS).The total phenolic extract of LTS was obtained by solvent and polyamide resin to determine the content. The antioxidization of the LTS extract was measured by TOSC assay. Antiproliferation was studied in vitro with different human cancer cells.The total phenolic content in the LTS was (427.53±4.31) mg/g and antioxidization was 807.64 μmoL vitamin C equivalents/g in the sample. The extract significantly inhibited the colon cancer cell Caco-2, human liver cancer cell HepG(2) and breast cancer cell MCF-7 proliferation with EC(50) (4.00±0.39), (153.16±13.49) and (193.46±14.68) μg/mL, respectively. The bioactivity index (BI) of the LTS extract was nearly 283. Caco-2 was more sensitive than MCF-7 and HepG(2).Extract from LTS has anticancer properties useful for preventing chronic diseases.

Synthetic drugs such as allopurinol and benzbroarone are commonly used to treat the complex pathogenesis of gout, a metabolic disease that results from an inflammation of the joints caused by preci ...

In this study, antioxidant peptides from scallop were prepared through enzymatic hydrolysis using scallop skirt as the material. Firstly, the trypsin was one of the hydrolysis of scallop skirt. The content of AN was the standard of choosing the suitable enzyme for the hydrolysis. Finally, the aim of the study is to search the proper condition of trypsin and prospect for the future work.

To enhance the rate of reuse of seafood by-product,we choose discarded oyster shells and Glycine as the main raw material, using water-phase synthesis to prepare chelate. The mass ratio of ash and Glycine, add water and the reaction time are the three factors, The reaction under the conditions of aqueous phase in the 90∼100 centigrade, with stirred tank reactor. Through the single factor experiments and orthogonal test and analysis, finding the most suitable conditions for chelation, according to primary and secondary in the order: Glycine and ash ratio of 1∶3, Glycine concentration of 2.5%, reaction time is 30min.

Through domestication and enrichment culture, 53 bacterial strains were screened from polluted soil of different sources, among which 2 strains with strong degradation ability were identified.T-2 Strain belongs to Flavobacterium, M-4 Strain, Fusarium . Study on the optimal conditions of T-2 and M-4 for degradating castor-based lubricant was made. The optimal condition of T-2 strain is : 30 °C, pH 7.0, while the best condition for M-4 strain is : 30 °C, pH 6.5 .Research on degradation characteristics of castor-based lubricant of T-2 and M-4 strain shows that adding appropriate nitrogen source prompting degradation of castor-based lubricant ,among which ammonium sulfate is better. Low concentration of surfactants could promote the growth of microorganisms and the degradation of castor-based lubricant, and the optimal concentration of Tween-80 were 600 mg / L and 900 mg / L. Co-substrate culture showed that 0.02% glucose increased the degradation rate of T-2 strain.

For hundreds of years, safflower seed oil has been used in folk medicine for inflammatory skin disorders. In its natural state, the oil contains high levels of essential fatty acids (EFA), particularly linoleic acid (LA), which has several pharmaceutical properties. Safflower seed oil is a nice resource of linoleic acid with a content of 69.5% of the total fatty acids. Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid, whose absence in a normal diet has been described as responsible for the development of a wide variety of diseases. Highly purified LA is required on pharmaceutical products and it can be produced through urea inclusion and column chromatography. This work reports as recovery of highly purified linoleic acid from safflower seed oil by means of a process, which involves safflower seed oil saponification, followed by concentration of the fatty acids by urea inclusion adducts method. Thereafter, the fatty acids were methylated and linoleic acid methyl ester was purified by using argentated silica gel column chromatography. The recovery in the combined process was 77%, and the final purity was 96.7% The suitability of a single procedure without urea inclusion fractionation was also studied and compared.

Natamycin is a safe polyene antifungal compound. This paper investigated the inhibiting effect of natamycin on Saccharomyces cerevisiaes. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations of natamycin on Saccharomyces cerevisiae S101 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae S201 were 9ppm and 7ppm, respectively. Natamycin was used to detect the beer spoilage bacteria in the process of beer production. The results indicated that natamycin could be used as antifungal in the determination of beer-spoilage bacteria of brewing.

In this work, the optimum culture for Monacolin K generaion by Monascus was investigated using rice, sweet potato, potato and dioscorea as the substrates, respectively, and the effect of citric acid on the secondary metabolism of Monascus was also evaluated. Results showed that the production of Monacolin K reached to 4.209 mg/g with dioscorea as the substrate, which was 45.6% higher than that using rice as the substrate. Furthermore, the production of Monacolin K could elevate to 5.26 mg/g by adding 1% citric acid to dioscorea substrate, which was 28% higher than that without citric acid supplementation, while the generation of citrinin declined by 62% with a content of to 3.56 μg/g. According to adjusting pH by lactic acid to the same level as that by adding 1% citric acid, lower production of Monacolin K was obtained with a concent of 4.098 mg/g, that is, a decreasement of 23.3%, indicating that citric acid could affect the secondary metabolite throught regulating the metabolism of Monascus.

The bed bug resurgence in North America, Europe, and Australia has elicited interest in investigating the causes of the widespread and increasing infestations and in developing more effective control strategies. In order to extend global perspectives on bed bug management, we reviewed bed bug literature in China by searching five Chinese language electronic databases. We conducted telephone interviews of staff from 77 Health and Epidemic Prevention Stations in six Chinese cities in November 2010. We also conducted telephone interviews of 68 pest control firms in two cities during March 2011. Two species of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L. and Cimex hemipterus (F.)) are known to occur in China. These were common urban pests before the early1980s. Nationwide "Four-Pest Elimination" campaigns (bed bugs being one of the targeted pests) were implemented in China from 1960 to the early 1980s. These campaigns succeeded in the elimination of bed bug infestations in most communities. Commonly used bed bug control methods included applications of hot water, sealing of bed bug harborages, physical removal, and applications of residual insecticides (mainly organophosphate sprays or dusts). Although international and domestic travel has increased rapidly in China over the past decade (2000-2010), there have only been sporadic new infestations reported in recent years. During 1999-2009, all documented bed bug infestations were found in group living facilities (military dormitories, worker dormitories, and prisons), hotels, or trains. One city (Shenzhen city near Hong Kong) experienced significantly higher number of bed bug infestations. This city is characterized by a high concentration of migratory factory workers. Current bed bug control practices include educating residents, washing, reducing clutter, putting items under the hot sun in summer, and applying insecticides (pyrethroids or organophosphates). There have not been any studies or reports on bed bug insecticide resistance. Difficulties of control were noted in our surveys of dormitories in which crowded living, seasonal worker migration, and financial constraints contributed to control failures. This study supports the following conclusions: (1) the bed bug infestation in China dramatically decreased following the campaigns from 1960 to the early 1980s; (2) In our survey of Health and Epidemics Prevention Stations, no bed bug cases were reported in Beijing and Shanghai for the past 12 months, but complaints were reported in Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Urumqi, and Shenzhen; (3) Current bed bug infestations primarily are reported in crowded living environments or transient environments such as worker dormitories and military dormitories. These findings suggest that community-wide bed bug monitoring and control campaigns are necessary for effective control of bed bug infestations as a societal response.

The antioxidant activities and contents of total phenols of 33 plants were evaluated using the ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay and Folin-Ciocalteu method. Significant linear correlation between the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content was found. The results show that a number of Chinese medicinal and edible plants, especially Flos Caryophylli, are important raw materials of the antioxidant functional foods or ingredients.

Recently chemoradiotherapy becomes a standard treatment of un-resectable advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) instead of radiotherapy alone. This study is to evaluate the clinical effect and toxicities of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage III NSCLC after 2 cycles of induction chemotherapy with cisplatin-based regimens.Ninety-two patients with stage III NSCLC were divided randomly into two groups: forty-seven patients received concurrent chemoradiotherapy (chemoradiotherapy group), the other 45 patients received only radiotherapy (radiotherapy group). For both groups, the same radiation technic was given with the conventional fraction. The total dose was 60-65Gy/30-33Fr/6-6.5Wk. For the chemoradiotherapy group, the patients were also given with concurrent chemotherapy (navelbine 15-18mg/m² on the 1st and 8th day, cisplatin 60mg/m² on the 1st day).The response rate in the chemoradiotherapy group was similar to that in the radiotherapy group (59.6% vs 51.5%, P0.05), but the complete response rate in the chemoradiotherapy group was significantly higher than that in the radiotherapy group (14.9% vs 6.7%, P0.05). The 1- and 2-year survival rates in the chemoradiotherapy group were similar to those in the radiotherapy group (65.9% and 42.5% vs 53.3% and 33.3%, P0.05). The 1- and 2-year local control rates in the chemoradiotherapy group were significantly higher than those in the radiotherapy group (63.8% and 53.2% vs 51.1% and 44.4%, P0.05). The incidences of grade III-IV radiation esophagitis and leukopenia in the chemoradiotherapy group were significantly higher than those in the radiotherapy group (21.2% and 12.7% vs 4.4% and 0, P0.01).Concurrent chemoradiotherapy has the potential of improving the survival rate of stage III NSCLC, it can also increase the acute toxic effect, but all patients can tolerate this treatment regimen.

Pinus armandi franch is a special local plant in China and its seed oil is a nice resource of linoleic acid (LA) with a content of 63% of the total fatty acid. LA is an essential fatty acid and it exerts a variety of physiological functions. The absence of LA in the diet is responsible for the development of various abnormal disorders. Highly purified LA is required on pharmaceutical applications. This work reports recovery of highly purified LA from Pinus armandi franch seed oil by means of a process including Pinus armandi franch seed oil saponification and concentration of the fatty acids by urea inclusion fractionation method. Afterward, PUFA were methylated, and the urea-concentrate methylated was purified by using silver-silica gel column chromatography. Silver-silica gel chromatography yields high purity LA in the procedure in Pinus armandi franch seed oil. The recovery for the combined procedure was 79%, with a final purity 97.03%. Therefore, highly pure PUFA linoleic acid could be obtained by silver-silica gel chromatography column.

Lactobacillus acidophilus La-1 was encapsulated as freeze-dried culture and its survival rates under various extreme conditions were investigated in this work. The survival rate of the freeze-dried bacteria remained at 87.1% with the viable counts of 2.26×108 cfu/mL, while keeping at pH 2.5 for 2 h, and the micronized culture was also tolerant to 6% NaCl. In 0.1% bile salt medium, the viable counts of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-1 reached to 3.39×109 cfu/mL, and it could also grow exposing to 0.5% bile salt medium. The viable counts were 9.33×107 and 1.03×108 cfu/mL, with survival rates of 44.64% and 49.28%, after keeping in simulated gastric or intestinal juice for 2 h, respectively. These results indicated that the encapsulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-1 as lyophilized culture could be quite effective for the bacteria to survive in extreme conditions, and the freeze-dried culture powder might be thus appropriate to be applied in foods or nutritious supplements.

The pickled Chinese cabbage is one of the traditional fermented vegetables in China. In this article, the spontaneous and Lactic acid bacteria(LAB) inoculated fermentation methods were compared. The nitrite peak came forth at the middle stage of natural fermentation, but did not appear at the LAB starter fermentation. The pickled Chinese cabbage with natural and inoculated processing was safe, as no nitrite was monitored at the end of the fermentation. The acid milieu was meritorious in eradicating the cumulated nitrite in pickled Chinese cabbage.

Toona sinensis, whose young leaves and shoots are edible and nutritious, is a perennial deciduous tree vegetable. In this paper, the volatile constituents of dehydrated fresh young leaves of Toona sinensis obtained by different drying methods were micro-extracted in solid-phase, and then analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major flavor components include caryophyllene, aromadendrene, nonadecane, and phytol. Comparing with convection oven drying and natural solar drying, vacuum drying and microwave drying can preserve most of the original flavors of Toona sinensis.

The cost and effectiveness of two bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) integrated pest management (IPM) programs were evaluated for 10 wk. Sixteen bed bug-infested apartments were chosen from a high-rise low-income apartment building. The apartments were randomly divided into two treatment groups: diatomaceous earth dust-based IPM (D-IPM) and chlorfenapyr spray-based IPM (S-IPM). The initial median (minimum, maximum) bed bug counts (by visual inspection) of the two treatment groups were 73.5 (10, 352) and 77 (18, 3025), respectively. A seminar and an educational brochure were delivered to residents and staff. It was followed by installing encasements on mattresses and box springs and applying hot steam to bed bug-infested areas in all 16 apartments. Diatomaceous earth dust (Mother Earth-D) was applied in the D-IPM group 2 d after steaming. In addition, bed bug-intercepting devices were installed under legs of infested beds or sofas or chairs to intercept bed bugs. The S-IPM group only received 0.5% chlorfenapyr spray (Phantom) after the nonchemical treatments. All apartments were monitored bi-weekly and retreated when necessary. After 10 wk, bed bugs were eradicated from 50% of the apartments in each group. Bed bug count reduction (mean +/- SEM) was 97.6 +/- 1.6 and 89.7 +/- 7.3% in the D-IPM and S-IPM groups, respectively. Mean treatment costs in the 10-wk period were $463 and $482 per apartment in the D-IPM and S-IPM groups, respectively. Bed bug interceptors trapped an average of 219 +/- 135 bed bugs per apartment in 10 wk. The interceptors contributed to the IPM program efficacy and were much more effective than visual inspections in estimating bed bug numbers and determining the existence of bed bug infestations.

Monascus pigment, one kind of natural food colorants made from Monascus fermentation, is usually accompanied with citrinin contamination more or less. In this paper temperature influence on citrinin accumulation was investigated. Two strains, Monascus aurantiacus (CGMCC AS 3.4384, a citrinin producer), and Monascus sp. M108 (a pigments producer) were examined. The citrinin production of two strains decreased dramatically when the culture temperature increased from 27 o C to 37 o C. The results also demonstrated that the citrinin can be metabolized by Monascus itself. A simple and effective method was found to reduce citrinin content by manipulating the fermentation at proper high temperature without decreasing the pigment production. As a result, we acquire a safety pigment production offered by Monascus.

In order to obtain high quantity and quality of pigment, we investigated the blue light effects on pigment and citrinin production of Monascus in submerged fermentation. Our study showed that at the 6 th day of the fermentation, the pigment production enhanced 28.5% upon blue light illumination whereas the citrinin content decreased 79.0% when comparing with that in dark. The degradation effects of blue light on pigment and citrinin were also investigated. The degradation of pigment and citrinin were followed a first-order reaction kinetics. The half lives of citrinin and pigment were 4.7% and 47% of those under the darkness, respectively. Although the pigment was unstable under blue light illumination, the production of pigment still increased dramatically, which further implied that the blue light, maybe as a signal factor, stimulated the pigment accumulation. Higher degradation rate upon blue light seems to be the dominant factor that contributed to the lower citrinin content obtained from blue light assisted fermentation.

The relationship between alcohol consumption and onsets of breast cancer (BC) keeps obscure. A local gene network (LGN) was constructed using 24 breast cancer susceptibility genes that participate in known signal transduction pathways. It was found that the LGN was able to directly link several genes (ALDH, ADH1B and HDAC1) that have approved functions in alcohol metabolism. Further analysis indicated that the above three genes were associated with each other by other genes and metabolic molecules. Microarray data from 106 individual breast cancer patients and 4 normal people indicated that several key alcohol metabolism related genes were de-regulated and would induce genotypic combinations with the BC-specific LGN.

X-band ( approximately 9.5 GHz) EPR measurements on a single crystal of Cu2+-doped K2C2O4.H2O (POM) have been carried out over the temperature interval 4.2-393 K. The data indicate the presence of four magnetically inequivalent Cu2+ sites, consisting of two pairs of physically equivalent sites. A study of the angular variation of the EPR line positions, and the variation of the EPR spectra with temperature reveal that Cu2+ ions belonging to one physically equivalent pair of sites exhibit pseudo-static and dynamic Jahn-Teller effects below and above 172 K, respectively, indicating that their local environment is nearly octahedral. The Cu2+ ions belonging to the other pair of physically equivalent sites do not exhibit a Jahn-Teller effect. An attempt has been made to determine the positions of the Cu2+ ions in the unit cell of POM. The principal values of the g and A matrices, as well as the orientations of their principal axes, for the two sets of physically equivalent Cu2+ ions, are evaluated from the positions of the allowed EPR hyperfine lines at 295, 77 and 4.2 K. In addition, the spin-lattice relaxation times of the Cu2+ ion in POM have been estimated from the EPR linewidths at various temperatures.

Toona Sinensis leaves were dehydrated by osmosis. The effects of temperature, immersion time, sucrose and salt concentration on water loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration were investigated by response surface methodology. Consequently, second order polynomial models were developed for water loss and solid gain as a function of the experimental parameters. By applying Excel’s Solver feature, an optimal solution for maximum water loss and minimum solid gain was given at temperature of 30oC, sucrose concentration of 50%, salt concentration of 10%, and immersion time of 4 hours.

PURPOSE: Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) were reviewed to determine if there is an advantage of the two modalities when treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: 24 stage I NSCLC patients who underwent proton-beam therapy (PBT) from June 2003 to May 2007 were included in this study. Based on the same clinical target volumes (CTVs), treatment planning was made to cover CTV within 90% isodose lines. Each patient was evaluated by two sets of DVHs, one for PBT and the other for three-dimensional conformal X-ray therapy (3D-CRT). RESULTS: For all patients, the 95% isodose line covered 86.4% of the CTV for PBT, and 43.2% for 3D-CRT. PBT was associated with significantly lower mean doses to the ipsilateral lung, total lung, heart, esophagus, and spinal cord than 3D-CRT. PBT offered reduced radiation doses to the lung when evaluated in terms of percentage lung volumes receiving > or = 5 Gy (V(5)), > or = 10 Gy (V(10)), and > or = 20 Gy (V(20)) when compared to 3D-CRT. CONCLUSION: PBT is advantageous over 3D-CRT in reducing doses to the lung, heart, esophagus, and spinal cord in treating stage I NSCLC.

The objective of this trial was to compare the effectiveness of Advion cockroach gel bait (0.6% indoxacarb) and Borid powder (99% orthoboric acid) for control of GC in apartments. The trial was conducted in low-income apartments in Indianapolis, Indiana during October 18 – December 14. GC infested apartments were randomly divided into two groups with similar GC infestation levels. Apartments in the same buildings were placed in the same group. We did not include an untreated check because previous trials showed GC populations in apartments remained stable when left untreated during this time of year. Treatments were applied on October 20 (15 apartments) and November 8 (12 apartments). Advion gel bait was applied using a baiting gun to cockroach harborages such as under the sink, kitchen cabinet door hinges, closet door corners, behind the refrigerator, in the bathroom. Borid powder was applied using a bellow duster to cracks and crevices, the perimeter of the floor, and behind cabinets and furniture. Six sticky traps were placed in each apartment for 1 d to estimate GC population levels. Locations of the traps were: 1) in the cabinetry under the kitchen sink, 2) in the cabinetry above the kitchen sink, 3) beside the stove, 4) beside the refrigerator, 5) beside the furnace, and 6) on the floor behind the toilet seat. GC population levels were estimated immediately before treatment and at 2-wk and 1-month after treatment. Log transformed trap count reduction data were analyzed by ANOVA and the means at each sampling period were separated by LSD at P = 0.05.

The phase transitions undergone by a NH 4 Nd(SO 4 ) 2 ·4H 2 O (ANST) single crystal have been studied via the EPR of the Gd 3+ ion between 3.8 and 304 K. Three first-order phase transitions, at 280±0.5 K, at 176±0.5 K and at 19±1 K have been found to occur, as indicated by the behaviour of the overall splittings of EPR lines and that of the EPR linewidths. The spin-Hamiltonian parameters for Gd 3+ at room temperature have been evaluated from the positions of the allowed EPR lines by the use of a least-squares fitting procedure. The local symmetry of the Gd 3+ ion in an ANST host lattice has been deduced to be monoclinic, with the two-fold symmetry axis parallel to the magnetic z axis. The absolute sign of the zero-field splitting parameter b 0 2 for the Gd 3+ ion in ANST has been determined to be positive by using the superposition model of Newman; the intrinsic parameters, b 2 and b 4 , for Gd 3+ in the ANST crystal have been calculated to be -5.263 and 0.021 GHz, respectively, with t 2 = 8.5, t 4 = 14.0, associated with an angular distortion of Δθ = 1.5° of the ligand ion positions.

X-band EPR spectra of the VO2+ ion in cesium oxalate monohydrate (Cs2C2O4 · H2O) single crystal have been recorded at 295, 80, 42 and 4.2 K, indicating the presence of two VO2+ sites in the unit cell. The principal values, and the direction cosines of the principal axes, of the g2 and A2 tensors have been evaluated from a simultaneous fitting of the positions of the hyperfine lines, observed for the external magnetic field orientations in three mutually perpendicular planes, in a least-squares-fitting computer program. The principal values indicate that the local symmetry of the VO2+ ion, in the host lattice of Cs2C2O4 · H2O crystal, is predominantly C4v, with a small C2v component. The data indicate that the VO2+ ion, upon entering the Cs2C2O4 · H2O lattice, substitutes for two cesium ions interstitially. The room-temperature optical-absorption spectrum of the VO2+ -doped Cs2C2O4 · H2O, recorded in the 190 to 820 nm wavelength range, is exploited to study the energy levels of the VO2+ ion. The optical-absorption data, in conjunction with the EPR data, have been used to estimate the bonding coefficients of the V4+ ion with its nearest neighbours.

Toona sinensis leaves were pretreated by osmotic dehydration. The effects of temperature, immersion time, sucrose and salt concentration on water loss and solid gain during osmotic dehydration were investigated by response surface methodology. Consequently, second order polynomial models were developed for water loss and solid gain as a function of the experimental parameters. The optimal conditions for maximum water loss and minimum solid gain were temperature of 36C, sucrose concentration of 47%, salt concentration of 10%, and immersion time of 4 hours.

Trophallaxis and feeding relationships in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), were examined using a novel marking technique, rabbit IgG protein coupled with an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the marker. Transfer experiments in small dishes evaluated the trophallactic transfer of the marker from donor workers fed IgG-treated paper to recipient workers or larvae. Worker donors rapidly acquired the marker, and 100% of donors tested positive within 24 h. Trophallactic transfer from donors to recipients was relatively inefficient, and 51 +/- 2% of recipient workers and 31 +/- 2% of recipient larvae tested positive at 72 h. Based on the mean optical density counts, approximately 27% of marker ingested by the donors was passed on to the recipient workers in the first 24 h, 14% to recipient larvae, and 26% to recipient soldiers. The ability of soldiers to feed independently of workers was examined in dish assays. Soldiers showed no significant uptake of the marker when isolated from the workers, and uptake increased significantly when workers were present. The distribution of the marker was further studied in larger colony fragments composed of workers, soldiers, nymphs, and larvae. Marker acquisition by the different castes/developmental stages was highly variable, with workers and nymphs acquiring the marker at a faster rate than soldiers and larvae. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the foraging ecology and social behavior in R. flavipes. In addition, they may help design improved control programs for subterranean termites based on baits.

This study assessed the cost and effectiveness of a building-wide cockroach integrated pest management (IPM) program compared with bait alone treatment in public housing. In total, 12 buildings (66 apartments) were treated and monitored for cockroach infestations over 7 mo. The buildings were divided into two groups: bait treatment and IPM. Apartments in the bait alone group were treated with Maxforce FC Select (0.01% fipronil) during the first 12 wk and Maxforce Roach Killer Bait Gel (2.15% hydramethylnon) from 16 wk when necessary. For the IPM group, cockroaches were flushed and vacuumed at the beginning of the study; sticky traps were placed in all apartments to monitor and reduce cockroach numbers; educational materials were delivered to the residents; and Maxforce FC Select and Maxforce Roach Killer Bait Gel were applied to kill cockroaches. Two seminars were presented to the manger, and Community Service Program staff of the Gary Housing Authority to help gain tenant cooperation in the program. Effects of the treatments were monitored using sticky traps (six per apartment) at 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 29 wk after treatment. More treatments were applied during each monitoring visit when necessary. Those apartments with high levels of infestations (or =12 cockroaches in six traps) before treatment were used to compare the IPM and bait only treatments. IPM resulted in significantly greater trap catch reduction than the bait treatment. The IPM (n=12) and bait only treatment (n=11) resulted in 100.0 and 94.6%, respectively, reduction in trap catch after 16 wk. At 29 wk, only one apartment in the IPM group had a high level (12 cockroaches) of cockroach infestation. In contrast, five apartments in the bait treatment group had high level infestations at 29 wk based on overnight trapping counts; thus, IPM is a more sustainable method of population reduction. Sanitation levels in the IPM group significantly improved at 29 wk (n=11) compared with that at the beginning of the study. The sanitation levels in the bait treatment group remained similar throughout the experiment (n=9). The cumulative cost of IPM was significantly higher than that of the bait treatment. The median costs per apartment during 29 wk were 64.8 dollars and 35.0 dollars for the IPM and bait treatment, respectively. The median amount of bait used per apartment in the IPM and bait treatment was 45.0 and 50.0 g, respectively. The cost of the IPM group for the 29 wk service was similar to that of the bait treatment group. We expect that IPM will provide better control at similar cost compared with bait treatment beyond 29 wk.

A benzoylphenyl urea insect growth regulator with the common name noviflumuron was evaluated for efficacy and residual activity on the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.). In laboratory studies evaluating residual activity, 0.05% noviflumuron suspension concentrate produced 100% nymphal mortality 120 d after application to steel and masonite substrates. Residual activity of noviflumuron was more variable on painted plywood substrates compared with stainless steel and masonite. In bioassay arenas, population reductions caused by noviflumuron were significantly greater than Archer and the untreated populations. After 16 wk, populations exposed to 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2% noviflumuron were reduced by 51.9 +/- 19.8, 62.2 +/- 6.5, and 62.6 +/- 18.4%, respectively. Control cockroach populations and populations exposed to 1.3% pyriproxyfen at labeled rate (Archer, 0.61 g/m2) increased by 1286.3 +/- 125.1 and 937.2 +/- 137.1%, respectively, at the end of 16 wk. A field study in multifamily housing complexes showed noviflumuron (0.2 and 0.5%) to provide 73.3 +/- 8.0 and 90.6 +/- 3.6% trap catch reduction at 4 wk posttreatment, respectively. There were no significant differences in the performance of noviflumuron, Maxforce FC Roach Bait Stations (0.05% [AI] fipronil), and Avert dust bait (0.05% [AI] abamectin B1). Noviflumuron shows excellent potential for use in cockroach management programs.