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To analyze the correlation between contrast-enhanced ultrasound image features and axillary lymph node metastasis of primary breast cancer and its diagnostic value. In this study, 64 patients with axillary lymph node metastasis of primary breast cancer diagnosed and treated in our hospital from February 2011 to March 2013 were collected as an observation group, and 54 patients without axillary lymph node metastasis were collected as a control group. All patients underwent a contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination, and the correlation between the contrast-enhanced ultrasound image features and axillary lymph node metastasis and its diagnostic value were analyzed. They were divided into two groups according to their survival conditions: the group with good efficacy and group with poor efficacy, and the prognostic factors of breast cancer in the two groups were analyzed. There were statistical differences in the peripheral acoustic halo, blood flow classification, ratio of length to diameter (L/D), maximum cortical thickness, and enhancement mode of lymph nodes between the two groups (p

To analyze the correlation between contrast-enhanced ultrasound image features and axillary lymph node metastasis of primary breast cancer and its diagnostic value.In this study, 64 patients with axillary lymph node metastasis of primary breast cancer diagnosed and treated in our hospital from February 2011 to March 2013 were collected as an observation group, and 54 patients without axillary lymph node metastasis were collected as a control group. All patients underwent a contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination, and the correlation between the contrast-enhanced ultrasound image features and axillary lymph node metastasis and its diagnostic value were analyzed. They were divided into two groups according to their survival conditions: the group with good efficacy and group with poor efficacy, and the prognostic factors of breast cancer in the two groups were analyzed.There were statistical differences in the peripheral acoustic halo, blood flow classification, ratio of length to diameter (L/D), maximum cortical thickness, and enhancement mode of lymph nodes between the two groups (p 0.05). The area under ROC curve for diagnosis of axillary lymph node metastasis by contrast-enhanced ultrasound was 0.854, sensitivity was 83.33%, and specificity was 87.5%; L/D and enhancement mode were independent prognostic factors for breast cancer.Contrast-enhanced ultrasound image features have diagnostic and prognostic value for axillary lymph node metastasis of breast cancer.

We investigate the transport properties of ultranarrow zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) with edge vacancies by using recursive Green's function method. Transport gaps are observed when the vacancies are distributed uniformly on both sides. In addition, ZGNRs with symmetrical structure have much larger transport gaps than the asymmetrical ones. This phenomenon results from the different band structures between them. We also calculate the conductance of ZGNRs with edge vacancies distributed randomly. It shows that transport gaps decrease exponentially with the increasing of ZGNRs width because the symmetry of structure is broken by the random edge vacancies. Localization analysis reveals that the electronic transport channels around Fermi energy are blockaded so that they are not responsible for electron transmission.

A bacterial consortium, constructed from the oil contaminated soil, mainly consisting of Pseudomonas sp., together with fertilizing, rice husk application, and plowing, was used for the field in situ bioremediation of oil contaminated site in Jianghan Oil field, where the temperature and humidity are very suitable for bioremediation. The variation of total petroleum hydrocarbon, n-alkanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the bioremediation process showed that more than 95% petroleum hydrocarbons could be efficiently removed. The composition analysis results demonstrated that n-alkanes with long carbon chain and PAHs with 5–6 rings were also degraded in the bioremediation process.

A conventional single null divertor geometry has been proposed for Chinese fusion engineering testing reactor (CFETR) with fusion power up to gigawatt level. Modeling using the SOLPS5.0 code package shows promising results for divertor power exhaust by seeding with neon (Ne) and deuterium (D2). Partial detachment for both inner and outer divertor targets can be achieved with a peak heat load lower than 3 MW/m2. The effective ion charge number, Zeff, at the core boundary is below three, which can be further reduced by increasing the upstream D2 puffing rate. A higher D2 puffing rate helps to increase electron density (ne) in scrape-off layer (SOL) and the impurity screening ability. Based on the SOLPS modeling results, the lifetime of tungsten (W) divertor targets has been estimated by using the DIVIMP code, which indicates that W sputtering is mainly contributed by Ne ions at a far SOL region due to high electron and ion temperature (Te and Ti) there. Upstream D2 puffing can reduce the W erosion rate and W impurity concentration inside the separatrix due to decreasing Te and Ti at the far SOL region. The modeling results show a viable operation regime for the CFETR divertor.

We study the effect of edge methylene on transport properties in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) using the recursive green’s function method. The concentration of methylene (w) is defined as the substituted probability of edge dangling bonds. Due to the antiresonance of quasilocalized states, some conductance dips are found when single absorption (w = 0.005 in this work) sits on the edge. Localization analyses of wave functions also confirm this. With w increasing, the conductance is suppressed significantly and transport gap develops near E = 0.0 eV. Conductance suppression is induced by antiresonances between edge scattering centers. Meanwhile, these scattering centers prevent the formation of edge extended states which play an important role in the electronic transport at low energy and consequently the transport gaps develop. We found that a stable gap can be obtained at w = 0.3 and it becomes small as the width of the GNRs increases. An interesting oscillation at transport gaps for armchair edge GNRs is observed and it relates to the geometric symmetry of sample. The physical mechanisms behind the novel phenomenon are still unclear.

A new HPLC–UV method has been developed, validated and applied for the determination of isocorydine (CAS 475-67-2) in rat plasma after oral or intravenous (i. v.) administration. Caffeine was used as the internal standard (IS). The analyte and IS were extracted from rat plasma by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) with methyl tert-butyl ether and they were separated on an XTerra C18 column (250×4.6 mm, 5 µm, pH 1–12) with UV detection at 264 nm. The mobile phase consisted of methanol and 0.02 mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate–phosphoric acid buffer solution (pH 3.2) (30:70, v/v) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min for 8.5 min. The retention times of isocorydine and caffeine were approximately 6.5 and 5.1 min, respectively. The good linearity of the calibration curves was observed over the concentration range of 0.05–8 µg/mL (n=8, r 2≥0.9995). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.05 µg/mL [signal to noise ratio (S/N)≥10], and the limit of detection (LOD) was demonstrated as 0.01 µg/mL (S/N≥3). The mean extraction recovery ranged from 83.7% to 89.5% at 3 quality control (QC) concentrations. Intra-day and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation, RSD%) were within 4.7% and accuracy (relative error, RE%) ranged from −1.2% to 4.5%. The developed method was successfully applied to determination of the pharmacokinetic properties of isocorydine in rats after oral administration at a dose of 20 mg/kg and i. v. injection at 5 mg/kg.

A new binary watermark embedding method is proposed in this paper based on chaotic mixing and singular value decomposition (SVD) for copyright protection and authenticity. We used the chaotic mixing to mix binary watermark image and SVD transformation to extract the left orthogonal matrix of host image at the same time. Other than traditional watermarking algorithms based on SVD, the binary watermark bits are embedded in the left orthogonal matrix instead of the singular values (SVs) of the host image’s sub-blocks, because the orthogonal matrices contain the texture and detail information of the host image, while the SVs only contain the energy information of host image. This greatly enhances the safety of watermark because the SVs can be easily replaced without much damage to the host image, whereas the orthogonal matrix cannot. Compared with another watermarking method based on modifying the orthogonal matrix, our method maintains the orthogonality of the modified orthogonal matrix. Experimental...

Aims: To investigate the effects of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade on islet structure and function in diabetic rats, and its mechanisms. Methods: Diabetic rat models were created by high-fat high-caloric laboratory chow plus small dose (30 mg/kg) streptozotocin ip injection. After 8-week intervention with perindopril (AE, no.=10) or valsartan (AR, no.=10), all the animals’ islet function was evaluated by iv glucose tolerance test. Pancreases were stained by immunohistochemistry technique to qualitative and/or quantitative analysis the content of insulin, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), transforming growth factors-β1 (TGF-β1) in islets. The apoptosis of islet cells was detected by transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). The expression level of angiotensinogen (AGT) and insulin mRNA in islets were detected by RT-PCR. Results: Compared with normal control group (NC, no.=10), area under the curve of insulin from 0 to 10 min (AUCI0–10) of diabetes group (DM, no.=8) was decreased by 66.9%, the relative expression of local AGT was increased by 69.2%, the insulin relative concentration (IRC) of β-cell and the expression of insulin mRNA were decreased significantly, the amount of apoptotic cells in unit islet area was increased by 2.1 times, the relative content of iNOS and TGF-β1 positive cell relative volume (TRV) was increased by 23.0% and 2.52 times, respectively (all p

The total length of mitochondrial DNA sequence of the Bagarius yarrelli from the Honghe river of China is determined in this paper. The total length of the circular molecule is 16524 base pair which denoted a similar gene order to that of the other bony fishes, which include a non-coding control region, a replicated origin, two ribosome RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes as well as 13 protein-coding genes. Its whole base constitution is 31.4% for A, 26.9% for C, 15.7% for G and 26.0% for T, with an A+T bias of 57.4%. Those mitochondrial data would contribute to further study molecular evolution and population genetics of this species.

Effects of carotid artery stenting (CAS) on patients with chronic internal carotid artery occlusion are unknown.This study included 21 patients who underwent successful CAS treatment and 41 patients who received optimal medical therapy. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and cardiocerebral vascular events were compared between CAS and medical therapy group.The mRS in CAS group was lower than in control group during a 2-year follow up (P0.05 or 0.01). The combined cerebrovascular events and mortality in study group was lower than in the control group (33.4% vs. 56.1%, P=0.045), but there was no statistically significant difference in the cerebrovascular event (28.6% vs. 46.3%, P=0.088) or mortality rate (4.8% vs. 9.8%, P=0.247) between the two groups. Cox regression analysis revealed that smoking (RR=3.189, 95% CI 1.020-9.968, P=0.046), diabetes (RR=2.717, 95% CI 1.113-6.631, P=0.028), and baseline National Institute of Health stroke scale (RR=2.984, 95% CI 1.049-8.485, P=0.040) were independent risk factors for major cerebrovascular events following CAS.CAS was superior to drug therapy in achieving better functional outcomes in patients with chronic internal carotid artery occlusion. However, CAS was not associated with a statistically significant reduction in cerebrovascular events or mortality. Larger and randomized clinical trials are required to ascertain the long-term benefits of CAS in patients with chronic internal carotid artery occlusion.

CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for the peripheral immune tolerance. Understanding the signals for the generation of Tregs is important for the clinical immunotherapy, but only limited progress has been made on obtaining enough peripheral Tregs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of trichosanthin (Tk) extracted from Chinese medicinal herb Trichosanthes kirilowi on the function of Tregs in vitro and in vivo. We reported here that Tk is needed for the expansion of freshly isolated CD4(+)CD25(+)Tregs (nTregs) into Tk-expanded CD4(+)CD25(+)Tregs (Tk-Tregs) through up-regulating CD25 and Foxp3 expression. The dose-response analyses indicated that 100 ng/ml Tk was the most appropriate dose. The result of real-time PCR showed that Tk-Tregs expressed 1.5-fold higher levels of Foxp3 than those observed in nTregs. Tk-Tregs markedly suppressed activation of effector T cells at a suppressor/responder ratio of 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, 1:8 or 1:16, and their effect was dose dependent. Moreover, Tk-Tregs secreted more immunosuppressive cytokines interleukin (IL)-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 after stimulating with antigen and antigen-presenting cells (APC). Transwell experiments showed that not only cell-to-cell contact but also soluble cytokines were involved in suppressive mechanism of Tk-Tregs. And Tk-Tregs were more efficient in suppressing CD25(-)T cell response to specific antigen than to irrelative antigen. Most importantly, it was revealed for the first time that Tk-Tregs could prolong the survival duration of mice with acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD). In conclusion, the study suggests a possible therapeutic potential of Tk-Tregs for clinical treatment on aGVHD.

The fatty acid patterns of oils, blood plasma and erythrocyte lipids from 28 children in the Shaanxi province of the People's Republic of China were determined by capillary gas liquid chromatography. The main source of fat in this region is rapeseed oil. The analysis of locally available rapeseed oil shows a high erucic acid content (mean 43.83%, range 33.91-50.48%). According to protocol data, about 3% of the daily nutrient energy is provided by erucic acid. Despite a low fat intake in Chinese children, the composition of the fatty acids of the fractions analyzed showed normal patterns. However, erucic acid was found in all fractions analyzed. Data on erucic acid in human tissue are scarce. Although there are no indications of erucic acid toxicity in man, it is known to cause cardiac lipidosis and necrosis in rats. The question remains open if erucic acid aggravates selenium deficiency symptoms which are known to be associated with Keshan disease, an endemic cardiomyopathy.

The joint spaces and synovium of the lumbar facet joints extend beyond the articular surfaces of the joint in the majority of adults. The authors correlated magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, computed tomographic (CT), and axial cryomicrotome sections of 66 facet joints in nine cadavers. Extensions of the synovium and joint space along the superior and inferior articular processes, under the ligamentum flavum, and into the ligamentum flavum could be recognized with use of MR and, less successfully, CT. The injection of a paramagnetic contrast medium into the facet joint facilitated visualization of the capsule on MR images. On the ventral aspect of the lumbar facet joint, MR images showed regions of high signal intensity where the joint space extended into the ligamentum flavum or between the ligamentum flavum and lamina. On the dorsal aspect of the joint, MR demonstrated prominence of the fibrous joint capsule where the joint space extended under it along the inferior articular process or along the superior articular process. The variable appearance of the ventral and dorsal aspects of the lumbar facet joint on CT and MR images is due to extension of the synovium and joint space.

Cytosine methylation is a common form of post-replicative DNA modification seen in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Modified cytosines have long been known to act as hotspots for mutations due to the high rate of spontaneous deamination of this base to thymine, resulting in a G/T mismatch. This will be fixed as a C--T transition after replication if not repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathway or specific repair enzymes dedicated to this purpose. This hypermutability has led to depletion of the target dinucleotide CpG outside of special CpG islands in mammals, which are normally unmethylated. We review the importance of C--T transitions at non-island CpGs in human disease: When these occur in the germline, they are a common cause of inherited diseases such as epidermolysis bullosa and mucopolysaccharidosis, while in the soma they are frequently found in the genes for tumor suppressors such as p53 and the retinoblastoma protein, causing cancer. We also examine the specific repair enzymes involved, namely the endonuclease Vsr in Escherichia coli and two members of the uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) superfamily in mammals, TDG and MBD4. Repair brings its own problems, since it will require remethylation of the replacement cytosine, presumably coupling repair to methylation by either the maintenance methylase Dnmt1 or a de novo enzyme such as Dnmt3a. Uncoupling of methylation from repair may be one way to remove methylation from DNA. We also look at the possible role of specific cytosine deaminases such as Aid and Apobec in accelerating deamination of methylcytosine and consequent DNA demethylation.

This paper describes the development and characterization of a micro-fluidic system which comprises of a micro-pump, passive micro-valve and its control circuit. Some applications for such a system include micro-coolant systems, micro-chemical analysis systems and fluid handling systems. Micro-fluidic systems are generally application specific and the focus of the proposed system is for drug delivery. The micro-pump is of the reciprocating membrane type and is based on piezoelectric actuation. It can be manufactured using MEMS fabrication technology such as silicon micro-machining. The pump utilizes check valves made of photosensitive polyimide as the rectifying unit and a O10 mm piezoelectric diaphragm as the actuator unit. The theoretical analysis for the actuator and valve characteristics is presented in this paper. The resulting effects on the flow characteristics and performance are also presented. Results obtained from experiments are also described. Based on these characteristics, a controller circuit is designed and fabricated. The controller uses a single-chip-computer as the processor unit. A liquid crystal display (LCD) is used to display the pump status and settings. The driver is powered by dry cells and it can provide a 200 V square wave input for the pump by utilizing a built-in transformer and regulator circuit. There are two modes of control, namely, frequency and voltage driving to control the pump performance characteristics such as flow rate and pump head. For this system, a maximum pump head and pump rate of 3.28 mH/sub 2/O and 900 /spl mu/L/min respectively are obtained.

The article shows the author's exploratory opinion about the processing method of infrared thermography for the diagnosis of diabetes.

Objective. To study the effects of the Experimental Closed Suit (ECS) with no active ventilation on human physiological functions and its anti-asphyxic role. Method. Five young healthy male subjects, aged 18-21 years, were tested in the ECS with no active ventilation and no oxygen supply (NAVANOS) when the gas regulatory valve switch was placed on A or B position respectively. Result. (1) Under 1 atm air pressure, each subject could endure at least 15 min while they were aware and resting in the ECS with NAVANOS; (2) There was a balancing period or plateau of the oxygen and the carbon dioxide pressure in the vicinity of the mouth in 5 to 7 min after the sealed helmet was closed, and this period lasted to the end of each test; (3) During the 8-10 min balancing period, the oxygen partial pressure in the vicinity of the mouth ranged from 15.0 to 16.4 kpa, which was slightly hypoxic, and the range of the carbon dioxide partial pressure was 5.21 to 6.49 kPa, which was within the CO2 concentration-time curve of human physiological endurance; (4) No significant difference in human physiological parameters was found when the regulatory valve was placed on A or B position. Conclusion. The anti-asphyxic time of ECS with NAVANOS could at least last 15 min under 1 atm air pressure while the subjects were aware and resting.

The design, fabrication and characterization of a micro-pump for drug delivery are presented in this paper. A low cost metallic micro-pump capable of handling low fluid volumes and having the potential for application in drug delivery is described. The pump is of the reciprocating displacement type and is driven by a piezoelectric diaphragm actuator. The main parts of the pump are made of stainless steel and can be readily fabricated using precision casting technology. The check valves are made form a polyamide membrane using photolithography. Equations presented in this report are useful for predicting the behavior of the actuation unit as well as the valve unit. Based on the analysis, a prototype of the micro-pump is designed and fabricated, from which a maximum pump rate of 255ul/min for water was achieved.

Selenium supplements were not able to restore the ultrastructural changes in the myocardium of latent Keshan disease patients taken by using cardiac catheter endomyocardial biopsy. Observations on the changes of selenium status and the incidence of Keshan disease showed that new latent and naturally-occurring chronic cases were found in the endemic area even after selenium levels had been elevated in the residents to the levels typical in the non-endemic area. These results indicate that although selenium deficiency might be a primary pathogenetic geogen in the occurrence of Keshan disease, it is rather a conditional predisposing factor than a specific or initiative aetiologic factor for the occurrence of Keshan disease. Selenium supplementation could apparently alleviate the higher platelet responsiveness of residents in the endemic area, which might contribute to eliminating the basis for the occurrence of the multifocal perivascular necroses in myocardium of acute and subacute Keshan disease.

A spliced leader-associated (SLA) RNA recently identified in Trypanosoma brucei has been proposed as a U5 RNA analog in trans-splicing, based on in vivo psoralen cross-linking to the spliced leader (SL) RNA and a short stretch of homology to a conserved U5 RNA sequence. Here we show that the SLA RNA is in the form of an RNP containing common proteins that also occur in the known trans-spliceosomal snRNPs of T. brucei, the SL, U2, and U4/U6 snRNPs. Therefore the SLA RNP is a member of a larger family of related RNPs. The immunoprecipitation of the SLA RNA by antibodies against common proteins does not require an association between the SLA RNA and the SL RNP. To identify sequences of potential functional importance and to establish a secondary structure model, we have sequenced the SLA RNA and cloned its gene from a related trypanosomatid, Leptomonas seymouri. A sequence comparison between the T. brucei and L. seymouri SLA RNAs reveals that the U5-homologous sequence element is not conserved.

The sugar moiety detected from rectal mucus by the Galactose oxidase-schiff (Shams' test) is considered a substitutive test for immunological fecal occult blood test (FOBT) in screening colorectal carcinoma. Two strategies of screening were applied in 6480 subjects over 40 years of age, and 130 cm flexible colonoscope used for sigmoidoscopy or pancolonoscopy. Of them, 3820 were taken for immune FOBT (SPA test) and Shams' test. Only those who showed positive tests were chosen for 60 cm flexible sigmoidoscopy, while another 2660 subjects for both sigmoidoscopy and tests at the same time. Additionally, 130 cm flexible pancolonoscopy was carried out in 103 individuals with positive Shams' test for evaluating the false positive rate. Shams' test showed a sensitivity of 85.7% for colorectal cancer, 47.1% for adenomas in preselected patients, while the positive rate of SPA test were 90.5% and 41.2% respectively. In 3820 asymptomatic subjects undergoing sequential screening (aged 45 years and higher), Shams' test showed 9.1% positive, SPA showed 11.2% and 620 (16.2%) subjects were selected for sigmoidoscopy based on their positive galactose oxidase result or positive FOBT result. Two early stage carcinomas and 33 adenomas (0.32% and 4.2% respectively in sigmoidoscopy) were found. Another 2 660 subjects were taken for sigmoidoscopy screening. Four carcinomas and 78 adenomas were found. Of them, only two carcinoma (50%) and 17 (21.8%) or 22 (28.2%) adenomas were positive in Shams' or SPA test. But both tests combined in screening showed a rate of 61.3% in adenomas and 75.0% in cancers. 103 subjects with positive Shams' test were taken for pancolonoscopy. 82.5% showed no lesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Six groups of weanling rats were fed a low-selenium based diet containing less than 0.01 mg/kg of Se in the diet or the basal diet supplemented with five levels of selenium as selenite (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mg/kg) for at least 16 to 18 weeks. For determination of the effect of selenium on ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis in rat liver, rats of each dietary group were injected with a single dose of (5-3H)-uridine, and 3 hours later their livers were removed and subjected to cell fractionation. The radioactivities in the nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA were taken as a measure of the RNA synthesis rate. With selenium supplementation between 0.2 and 0.5 mg/kg diet, the radioactivities, amounts of RNA, as well as RNA/DNA ratios in both nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of rat liver all increased significantly. In addition, at similar levels of selenium supplementation, statistically significant increments of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and reductions in lipid peroxide in liver were also observed. For assessment of RNA degradation, activities of ribonucleases (RNase) and RNase inhibitor in rats fed the low-selenium diet or a selenium-supplemented diet were determined. The activities of acid RNase and both free and latent alkaline RNase in liver homogenate were not affected by selenium deficiency; however, the level of RNase inhibitor present in the supernatant fraction increased significantly with selenium supplementation at 0.2 mg/kg diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-IgG, IgM antibodies were detected by indirect ELISA in 103 serum specimens from women with history of abnormal pregnancy. The results showed that the positive rates of HCMV-IgG and IgM of abnormal pregnant women were 90.29% and 13.59% respectively. The positive rate of HCMV-IgM in abnormal pregnancies was higher than that of normal pregnancies (4.07%, P less than 0.001). This suggested that the probability of abnormal pregnancy in HCMV-IgM positive women was higher than the negative ones. Thus detecting HCMV-IgM by ELISA could be used not only in early diagnosis of active HCMV infection in pregnant women, but also a way to prevent this delivery of malformed babies.

In order to investigate the effect of selenium supplementation on RNA in the rat pancreas, the rate of in vitro incorporation of [3H]uridine into RNA by pancreas slices derived from two groups of rats fed either a low-selenium diet or a diet supplemented with 0.25 mg/kg selenium as selenite was examined. The RNA and lipid peroxide contents and glutathione peroxidase activity in homogenates from the pancreas were also determined. After feeding for 12-14 weeks, the rates of [3H]uridine incorporation were significantly higher in the pancreatic tissue from the selenium-supplemented diet group. Concomitantly, an increase in glutathione peroxidase activities and RNA content, and a reduction of lipid peroxides, were also found in the pancreatic tissue of the selenium-supplemented group. The results suggest that selenium supplementation at a level of 0.25 mg/kg selenium could promote RNA synthesis with an increase in glutathione peroxidase activity and a decrease of lipid peroxides.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is common in human, and exerts harmful effects during pregnancy upon fetuses. In order to get a clear knowledge of CMV infection rate in pregnant women and their infants and of the relationship between maternal infection and congenital infection in our city, we tried to detect the CMV specific IgG and IgM in 199 paired serum samples of mother and infant. The results showed that 183 maternal serum samples and 179 umbilical cord serum samples were CMV-IgG positive, a positive rate of 92% and 90% respectively. While 6 maternal serum samples and 7 umbilical cord serum sample were CMV-IgM positive, a positive rate of 3.0% and 3.5% respectively. The close correlation of CMV-IgM levels between mothers and their babies indicates that the infant may acquire congenital infection from his CMV-IgM positive mother.

This paper describes an experimental study of continuous fermentation of saccharified starch solution to produce ethanol with yeast particles of a highly flocculent strain of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which were treated as immobilized microbial cells. Observations were initially made on yeast floccule characteristics during fermentation. An aeration-type fluidized-bed bioreactor that retained virtually all the yeast particles was built and operated continuously for 3 months. Bioreactor operation was found to be quite favorable for this fermentation system. The yeast concentration exceeded 40 g (dry mass)/liter; delivery of a limited amount of supplementary oxygen enhanced throughput to give levels as high as 20-24 g/liter.hr. The kinetic equations were also determined.

The activity of platelet glutathione peroxidase, of platelet and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase and the concentration of plasma selenium and vitamin E were measured in two groups of residents in the Kashin-Beck disease affected area and in three from a non-affected area. Average plasma selenium levels and platelet glutathione peroxidase activity were significantly lower in the endemic area than in the non-endemic area, indicating that the residents in the endemic area are indeed in a low selenium status. There existed a significantly positive correlation, r = 0.94, n = 78, p less than 0.001, between platelet glutathione peroxidase activity and plasma selenium concentration over a range from 2 to 79 micrograms/L (mean values 5 to 66 micrograms/L). Platelet glutathione peroxidase also correlated well with plasma selenium in each group of residents with varying plasma selenium levels, demonstrating that determination of glutathione peroxidase activity in platelets can be used as an indicator for assessing low selenium status in humans. No significant difference of vitamin E levels was observed between the residents in the endemic and non-endemic areas. There were no statistically significant differences in the activity of superoxide dismutase between each two groups studied, showing that superoxide dismutase does not undergo a compensatory increase in the residents of low selenium status.

For over 50 years a cardiomyopathy is known to occur endemically in distinct regions of China. In the 1970s the low selenium content of soil, food and tissues was discovered and since then the prevention of Keshan disease by selenium supplementation is known. Still the pathogenesis of Keshan disease is not fully explained by selenium deficiency alone, as in other parts of the world healthy or diseased people with low selenium intake seldom suffer from cardiomyopathy. It remains questionable whether an additional environmental, infectious or nutritional factor may contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Mostly children of peasants who only live on locally grown food are affected. Knowing some of the nutritional habits we tried to find an additional factor which accentuates selenium deficiency and estimated in a pilot study the fatty acids in plasma of healthy children from Keshan areas.

A preliminary measurement of R = F (K± → e ±ν̄e)/ F (K± → μ±ν̄μ) at the KLOE experiment is discussed. The result, R = (2.55 ± 0.05 ± 0.05)x 10-5, is based on 1.7 fb-1 of luminosity integrated on the ��-meson peak at the Frascati e +e- collider DAPdblNE, corresponding to ���8000 observed K�� ��� e�� �� ��e events. Perspectives on the methods planned to improve both the statistical and the systematic errors are briefly outlined.