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Tianxi Gao,1 Xiaoli Li,2 Juan Hu,1 Weijun Ma,1 Jingjing Li,1 Na Shao,1 Zhenghui Wang1 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China Abstract: This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of sea buckthorn oil patches in treating traumatic tympanic membrane (TM) perforations. We enrolled 370 patients with traumatic TM perforations of different sizes. These patients were randomly assigned to control group and treatment group. In the treatment group, a sterile cotton patch with sea buckthorn oil was used to cover the TM perforations. In the control group, patients were treated with a sterile cotton patch. The healing rate and time were compared between the two groups. We found that the overall healing rate was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group. For middle and large TM perforations, sea buckthorn oil treatment led to a significant increase in the healing rate. At 2 months after injury, the duration of healing was, generally, shorter in the treatment group than in the control group (P

Background: Spontaneous low-frequency oscillations (LFOs) have been widely studied in cerebrovascular disease, but little is known about their role in moyamoya disease (MMD). The objective of this study was to assess the value of spontaneous LFOs in MMD based on wavelet analysis of near-infrared spectroscopy signals., Methods: Sixty-four consecutive idiopathic adult patients were prospectively enrolled. The regional tissue oxygenation index (TOI) obtained from continuous near-infrared spectroscopy signals. Five frequency intervals of spontaneous LFOs (I, 0.0095-0.02 Hz; II, 0.02-0.06 Hz; III, 0.06-0.15 Hz; IV, 0.15-0.40 Hz; and V, 0.40-2.00 Hz) were extracted based on wavelet analysis. The data were compared between the patients and healthy control groups. Clinical features, cognitive function, and disease progression of MMD were analyzed using TOI and frequency interval data., Results: Compared with the healthy control group, patients with MMD had a higher cerebral TOI in both hemispheres. Based on wavelet analysis, the spontaneous LFO of TOI was found to be significantly lower for patients with MMD in frequency intervals II to IV than that for the controls. The spontaneous LFO of TOI is also related to the Suzuki stages in intervals II to IV, stroke in interval III, and cognitive impairment in intervals III to Ⅳ., Conclusions: There were significant differences in spontaneous LFO between patients with MMD and healthy controls. The change in spontaneous LFO in MMD is related to Suzuki stage, cerebral infarction, and cognitive impairment. This might be an effective method for evaluating the severity and monitoring the progression of MMD., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the role of peripheral neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in the progression and severity of the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)., Methods: 47 GBS patients and 50 age and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were retrospectively included. Demographic and clinical assessment data were reviewed and abstracted. NLR, MLR, and PLR were calculated based on the peripheral blood tests by reviewing clinical data. The relationship between the Hughes' score and NLR, MLR, PLR levels was investigated., Results: The GBS patients had higher NLR levels (P < 0.001), MLR levels (P = 0.001) and PLR levels (P < 0.001) than those in HC. And patients with severe disability score (Hughes' score ≥ 3) had significantly higher NLR (P = 0.007), MLR (P = 0.04), PLR (P = 0.013). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that NLR was positively associated with the Hughes' score (r = 0.331, P = 0.023). In the patients with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), Spearman correlation analysis indicated that NLR, MLR and PLR were positively associated to the Hughes' score (r = 0.825, P = 0.001 for NLR, r = 0.727, P = 0.005 for MLR, and r = 0.723, P = 0.005 for PLR)., Conclusions: NLR, MLR, and PLR may be indicators of disease activity in patients with GBS or AIDP. These parameters may benefit the active treatment of GBS patients with a high degree of disability., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder whose main symptoms are muscle weakness and fatigue. Irisin is a novel skeletal muscle-derived myokine participating in several physiological and pathological processes. The initial objective of the project was to explore serum levels of irisin in patients with MG, as well as its correlation with disease severity., Methods: We retrospectively evaluated serum levels of irisin in 77 MG patients and 57 healthy controls (HCs) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Further, clinical parameters were measured properly., Results: Serum irisin levels were significantly elevated in MG patients compared with HCs (p < 0.001). Furthermore, serum irisin levels were associated with the myasthenia gravis activities of daily living score in ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) patients (r = 0.476, p = 0.004), but there was no relationship to be considered of any relevant value in generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) patients. Acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive MG patients had higher serum irisin levels compared with HCs. Thymoma, endotracheal intubation, or intensive care unit treatments subsequently were not found to have effect on serum levels of irisin, but tendencies of increase were observed in negative ones., Conclusions: Serum irisin levels were elevated in patients with MG, suggesting its possible involvement in MG. And irisin is expected to be a signal to evaluate the activities of daily living of OMG patients, while its effect needs further study., (© 2021. Fondazione Società Italiana di Neurologia.)

Objective: To analyze the correlation between loss of smell/taste and the number of real confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide based on Google Trends data, and to explore the guiding role of smell/taste loss for the COVID-19 prevention and control. Methods: "Loss of smell" and "loss of taste" related keywords were searched in the Google Trends platform, the data were obtained from Jan. 1 2019 to Jul. 11 2021. The daily and newly confirmed COVID-19 case number were collected from World Health Organization (WHO) since Dec. 30 2019. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 23.0 software. The correlation was finally tested by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: A total of data from 80 weeks were collected. The retrospective analysis was performed on the new trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases in a total of 186 292 441 cases worldwide. Since the epidemic of COVID-19 was recorded on the WHO website, the relative searches related to loss of smell/taste in the Google Trends platform had been increasing globally. The global relative search volumes of "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" on Google Trends was 10.23±2.58 and 16.33±2.47 before the record of epidemic while 80.25±39.81 and 80.45±40.04 after ( t value was 8.67, 14.43, respectively, both P <0.001). In the United States and India, the relative searches for "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" after the record of epidemic were also much higher than before (all P <0.001). The correlation coefficients between the trend of weekly new COVID-19 cases and the Google Trends of "loss of smell" in the global, United States, and India was 0.53, 0.76, and 0.82 respectively (all P <0.001), the correlation coefficients with Google Trends of "loss of taste" was 0.54, 0.78, and 0.82 respectively (all P <0.001). The lowest and highest point of loss of smell/taste search curves of Google Trends in different periods appeared 7 to 14 days earlier than that of the weekly newly COVID-19 confirmed cases curves, respectively. Conclusions: There is a significant positive correlation between the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and the amount of keywords, such as "loss of smell" and "loss of taste", retrieved in Google Trends. The trend of big data based on Google Trends might predict the outbreak trend of COVID-19 in advance.

Objective: To explore the genotype mutation characteristics of patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase(G6PD) deficiency in Wuhan., Methods: A total of 1 321 neonates with positive screening and outpatients were received G6PD mutation detection, 12 kinds of common G6PD mutation in Chinese people was detected by using multicolor melting curve analysis (MMCA) method, for those with negative results, the enzyme activity and clinical information were analyzed, sequencing was recommended after informed consent when it is necessary., Results: Among 1321 patients, a total of 768 mutations were detected out, with a detection rate of 58.1%. A total of 18 types of G6PD genotypes were identified, including c.1388G>A, c.1376G>T, c.95G>A, c.1024C>T, c.871G>A, c.392G>T, c.487G>A, c.1360C>T, c.1004C>A, c.517T>C, c.592C>T, c.94C>G, c.152C>T, c.320A>G, c.1028A>G, c.1316G>A, c.1327G>C and c.1376G>C, including 683 male hemizygotes, 3 female homozygotes, 80 female heterozygotes and 2 female compound heterozygous., Conclusion: A total of 18 types of G6PD mutations are identified in the reaserch, and c.94C>G, c.1028A>G and c.1327G>C are first reported in Chinese population. The most common G6PD mutation types in Wuhan are c.1388G>A, c.1376G>T, c.95G>A.

The genetic adaptations of various organisms to heterogeneous environments in the northwestern Pacific remain poorly understood. Heterogeneous genomic divergence among populations may reflect environmental selection. Advancing our understanding of the mechanisms by which organisms adapt to different temperatures in response to climate change and predicting the adaptive potential and ecological consequences of anthropogenic global warming are critical. We sequenced the whole genomes of Japanese whiting ( Sillago japonica ) specimens collected from different latitudinal locations along the coastal waters of China and Japan to detect possible thermal adaptations. Using population genomics, a total of 5.48 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from five populations revealed a complete genetic break between the Chinese and Japanese groups, which was attributed to both geographic distance and local adaptation. The shared natural selection genes between two isolated populations (i.e., Zhoushan and Ise Bay/Tokyo Bay) indicated possible parallel evolution at the genetic level induced by temperature. These genes also indicated that the process of temperature selection on isolated populations is repeatable. Moreover, we observed natural candidate genes related to membrane fluidity, possibly underlying adaptation to cold environmental stress. These findings advance our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying the rapid adaptations of fish species. Species distribution projection models suggested that the Chinese and Japanese groups may have different responses to future climate change, with the former expanding and the latter contracting. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of genetic differentiation and adaptation to changing environments.

A new Sillago species, the black-banded sillago, Sillago nigrofasciata sp. nov. , is described based on 302 specimens sampled from the southern coast of China. Morphological comparisons have been conducted between the new species and ten other Sillago species. The results show that the new species is characterized by a black mid-lateral band below the lateral line when fresh; other characteristics are similar to those of Sillago sihama but subtle differences exist on the swim bladder between Sillago nigrofasciata sp. nov. and S. sihama . A detailed description and illustrations are provided for the new species. The validity of this new species is also supported by a genetic comparison using sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene., (Jia-Guang Xiao, Zheng-Sen Yu, Na Song, Tian-Xiang Gao.)

Acanthogobius ommaturus is one of the suitable species to study the genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution, but there are few reports on its genetics. In the present study, the genomic survey sequencing method was used to analyze the genome characters of A. ommaturus. A total of 50.50 G high-quality sequence data were obtained in the present study. From the 19-mer distribution frequency, the estimated genome size was 928.01 Mb. The calculated sequence repeat rate was about 38.31%, the heterozygosity was approximately 0.17%, and the GC% content was approximately 40.88%. Moreover, 475,724 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified. Among them, dinucleotide repeats were the most (53.70% of the total SSRs), followed by tri- (35.36%), hexa- (4.59%), tetra- (4.57%) and penta- (1.77%) nucleotide repeats type. This is the first genome-wide feature of this species to be reported., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

The marbled rockfish Sebastiscus marmoratus is an ecologically and economically important marine fish species distributed along the northwestern Pacific coast from Japan to the Philippines. Here, next-generation sequencing was used to generate a whole genome survey dataset to provide fundamental information of its genome and develop genome-wide microsatellite markers for S. marmoratus. The genome size of S. marmoratus was estimated as approximate 800 Mb by using K-mer analyses, and its heterozygosity ratio and repeat sequence ratio were 0.17% and 39.65%, respectively. The preliminary assembled genome was nearly 609 Mb with GC content of 41.3%, and the data were used to develop microsatellite markers. A total of 191,592 microsatellite motifs were identified. The most frequent repeat motif was dinucleotide with a frequency of 76.10%, followed by 19.63% trinucleotide, 3.91% tetranucleotide, and 0.36% pentanucleotide motifs. The AC, GAG, and ATAG repeats were the most abundant motifs of dinucleotide, trinucleotide, and tetranucleotide motifs, respectively. In summary, a wide range of candidate microsatellite markers were identified and characterized in the present study using genome survey analysis. High-quality whole genome sequence based on the "Illumina+PacBio+Hi-C" strategy is warranted for further comparative genomics and evolutionary biology studies in this species., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Patients with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) treated by conventional chemotherapeutic drugs usually require a long recovery period. However, metronomic combination chemotherapy (MCC) enhances therapeutic efficacy and decreases side effects in the treatment of NHL. In this study, we tested and compared the effects of metronomic chemotherapy (MC) using podophyllotoxin derivative etoposide (VP-16) alone and that of MCC using both VP-16 and everolimus (RAD001) in the treatment of NHL. Two types of NHL cells, OCI-LY-10 and SU-DHL-6, were employed for the experiments. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell senescence were measured to test the effects of drugs in each experiment. In addition, the influences of MC and MCC on the cell cycle and autophagy pathway were evaluated to study the functional mechanisms behind their effects. Finally, we conducted analyses of the growth inhibitory effect and synergistic activity for different MCC. The results showed that MC using low-dose VP-16 alone demonstrated strong treatment effects in terms of inducing apoptosis, cell senescence, and reducing tumor cell proliferation, and this treatment also led to changes of the cell cycle. Compared with MC, MCC using VP-16 and RAD001 together demonstrated even stronger treatment effects, with both the cell cycle and autophagy-related proteins being affected. Considering the synergistic activity, our results showed the MCC of VP-16 48 hours + RAD001 24 hours is the optimal method for treating NHL., (© 2019 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Japanese whiting (Sillago japonica) is a commercially important demersal fish distributed along the coasts of East Asia and becomes recently an aquaculture species. Despite its commercial importance, the levels and patterns of population genetic variation remain poorly understood. In this study, 346 specimens were collected from 14 localities along the coastal waters of China, Korea and Japan and their genetic variation was analyzed with mtDNA control region (D-loop) sequences. A total of 131 polymorphic sites were detected which determined 294 haplotypes. A pattern with high levels of haplotype diversity (h = 0.999 ± 0.001) and nucleotide diversity (л = 0.030 ± 0.015) was detected in the examined range. Analyses of analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and F st showed that no significant genetic differentiation existed among China, Korea and Japan populations, excepting for the populations between Ise Bay (IBP) sample and the other ones. Minimum spanning tree (MST), neutrality tests, mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline analyses indicated that the species along coastline of China, Korea and Japan have experienced population expansions originated in its most recent history at about 106-423 kya during the late Pleistocene glaciations and deglaciations periods.

Pampusargenteus is a broadly exploited pelagic fish species, commonly misidentified as Pampusechinogaster . Genetic variation and population structure in Pampusargenteus was studied based on seven microsatellite loci. The observed high average allele number, heterozygosity values, and polymorphism information content of P.argenteus suggested high genetic diversity. No population genetic differentiation was detected based on the results of pairwise F st , three-dimensional factorial correspondence analysis (3D-FCA) and STRUCTURE analysis, which implied continuous gene flow. Wilcoxon signed rank tests did not indicate significant heterozygosity excess, and recent genetic bottleneck events were not detected. Coupled with previous mitochondrial DNA results, the findings presented here indicate that high gene flow characterizes the current phylogeographic pattern of the species.

Jia-Guang Xiao, Na Song, Zhi-Qiang Han, and Tian-Xiang Gao (2016) Reliance only on morphology to identify fishes to the species level is challenging when the diagnostic characters are similar among related taxa. Within the genus Sillago , differences among some nominal species are generally small and restricted to a few characters. In this study, a new species of Sillago ( Sillago shaoi sp. nov.) was described using morphology and genetic analysis of DNA barcoding. The morphological results differentiated S . shaoi sp. nov. from eight other Sillago spp. Genetic analysis verified both the validity of the current taxonomy and the relationships between the new species and other Sillago species. S . shaoi sp. nov. formed a monophyletic group as a distinct phylogenetic species and showed strong genetic divergence from others. The present study also revealed that the COI gene was an effective molecular marker for identifying Sillago species.

Objective: To investigate whether recuperating lung decoction (RLD) can modulate the composition of gut microbiota in rats during asthma treatment., Methods: Fifteen Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly and equally into control group, model group, dexamethasone (DEX) group, RLD medium-dose group, and RLD high-dose group. The asthma model was established in all groups, except for the control group. The rats in the DEX and RLD groups were treated orally with DEX and RLD, respectively. The rats in the control and model groups were treated orally with 0.9% saline. The intestinal bacterial communities were compared among groups using 16S rRNA gene amplification and 454 pyrosequencing., Results: The microbial flora differed between the control and model groups, but the flora in the RLD groups was similar to that in the control group. No significant differences were observed between the RLD high-dose and medium-dose groups. RLD treatment resulted in an increase in the level beneficial bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp., Conclusion: Oral administration of RLD increased the number of intestinal lactic acid-producing bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, in asthma model rats., (Copyright © 2016 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.)

Twenty-four polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized for Liza affinis using a (GT)13-enriched genomic library. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 9, with a mean number of 6.250. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.417 to 1.000 and from 0.550 to 0.861, with an average of 0.859 and 0.779, respectively. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg proportions was detected at three loci. Evidence of null alleles was found at two loci. These markers will be useful in further studies investigating the genetic variation and population structure of this species, and may provide insights into the maintenance and efficient management of eastern keelback mullet resources.

The spatial distribution of genetic diversity has been long considered as a key component of policy development for management and conservation of marine fishes. However, unraveling the population genetic structure of migratory fish species is challenging due to high potential for gene flow. Despite the shallow population differentiation revealed by putatively neutral loci, the higher genetic differentiation with panels of putatively adaptive loci could provide greater resolution for stock identification. Here, patterns of population differentiation of small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) were investigated by genotyping 15 highly polymorphic microsatellites in 337 individuals of 15 geographic populations collected from both spawning and overwintering grounds. Outlier analyses indicated that the locus Lpol03 might be under directional selection, which showed a strong homology with Grid2 gene encoding the glutamate receptor δ2 protein (GluRδ2). Based on Lpol03, two distinct clusters were identified by both STRUCTURE and PCoA analyses, suggesting that there were two overwintering aggregations of L. polyactis. A novel migration pattern was suggested for L. polyactis, which was inconsistent with results of previous studies based on historical fishing yield statistics. These results provided new perspectives on the population genetic structure and migratory routes of L. polyactis, which could have significant implications for sustainable management and utilization of this important fishery resource.

Sillago sinica is a newly identified species belonging to Sillaginidae, Perciforms, and was found along the coast of China in 2011. In the present study, 81 microsatellite loci were isolated from an enriched genomic library, and 24 positive clones containing microsatellite repeats had adequate flanking sequences for the development of PCR primers. Sixteen of these primers were monomorphic or would not amplify. Eight were polymorphic in an examined population with the number of alleles per locus ranging from 2 to 14. The number of observed and expected heterozygosities per locus varied from 0.125 to 0.958 and from 0.120 to 0.904, respectively. The polymorphism information content ranged from 0.110 to 0.721. All loci conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05) after Bonferroni correction. There was no significant linkage disequilibrium between the eight polymorphic loci. These results suggest that these markers may be very useful for the characterization of natural populations of this species.

The Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus is a demersal, economically important fish in the family Gadidae. Population genetic differentiation of Pacific cod was examined across its northwestern Pacific range by screening variation of eight microsatellite loci in the present study. All four populations exhibited high genetic diversity. Pairwise fixation index (Fst) suggested a moderate to high level of genetic differentiation among populations. Population of the Yellow Sea (YS) showed higher genetic difference compared to the other three populations based on the results of pairwise Fst, three-dimensional factorial correspondence analysis (3D-FCA) and STRUCTURE, which implied restricted gene flow among them. Wilcoxon signed rank tests suggested no significant heterozygosity excess and no recent genetic bottleneck events were detected. Microsatellite DNA is an effective molecular marker for detecting the phylogeographic pattern of Pacific cod, and these Pacific cod populations should be three management units.

Objective: Using the model of young rats with intermittent hypoxia, to study the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in liver, and to provide objective evidence for the possible existence of growth retardation in children with OSAHS. Method: Divided 24 rats randomly into three groups, as control group and the mild and severe hypoxia group. Normally fed control group, without treatment, the other two groups were kept in the cabin has been simulated mild and severe intermittent hypoxia conditions of OSAHS in children. 8-hour day cycle of intermittent hypoxia, a total of 35 days. To the last day, animals were sacrificed and fresh liver tissues were fixed in liquid nitrogen, stored in the -80°C refrigerator, then took the molecular biology experiment of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in the liver. Result: The expression of IGF-1 mRNA in liver, semi-quantitative analysis showed that the difference of mRNA expression of IGF-1 among the three groups was statistically significant ( P <0.05), pairwise comparison, mild hypoxia group was higher than control and severe group, there were significant differences ( P <0.05), the control group and severe hypoxia had no significant difference ( P >0.05). The expression of IGFBP-3 mRNA in liver showed that, differences between the three groups was not significant ( P >0.05). IGF-1 expression in liver tissue analysis showed that, differences between the three groups was statistically significant ( P <0.05), pairwise comparisons, its expression in the control group was lower than mild hypoxia group and severe group, there were significant differences ( P <0.05), mild hypoxia and severe hypoxia group had no significant difference (P>0.05). IGFBP-3 expression in liver tissue analysis showed that, differences between the three groups was statistically significant ( P <0.05), pairwise comparisons, the control group was higher than mild and severe hypoxic group, there were significant differences ( P <0.05), mild hypoxia and severe hypoxia group had no significant difference ( P >0.05). Conclusion: IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in the liver of mild hypoxia group, severe hypoxic group and control group showed that their transcription levels and the severity of hypoxia had no significant correlation., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

In order to ascertain the taxonomic status of the Ariake Sea population of Japanese grenadier anchovy, Coilia nasus, and assess the contemporary possible genetic barrier between the west and east coastal waters of the East China Sea, we used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to detect the genetic structure of C. nasus, in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. Eighty-one individuals of C. nasus were collected from five locations and 12 individuals of Coilia mystus were sampled from the Yangtze River Estuary. A total of 371 loci were detected by five primer combinations, 310 of which were polymorphic (83.56%). Analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA) and pairwise fixation index (FST) revealed significant genetic differentiation among five samples, indicating limited gene flow among populations. The dendrogram for populations by neighbor-joining (NJ) cluster analysis provided evidence of a clear relationship between genetic and geographic patterns, supporting significant genetic differentiation between China coastal populations and Ariake Sea populations. Compared to the genetic divergence between C. nasus and C. mystus, the level of genetic differentiation between China and the Ariake Sea populations of C. nasus is obvious below the species level, indicating isolated populations of C. nasus in the Ariake Sea. Isolation by distance analysis revealed that direct ocean distance with deep-water at the continental slope and high salinity between west and east coastal waters of the East China Sea served as major physical barrier to C. nasus, supporting the coastal dispersal pattern in this estuarine species, and rejecting offshore dispersal strategy.

Marine pelagic fishes are usually characterized by subtle but complex patterns of genetic differentiation, which are influenced by both historical process and contemporary gene flow. Genetic population differentiation of chub mackerel, Scomber japonicus, was examined across most of its range in the Northwestern Pacific by screening variation of eight microsatellite loci. Our genetic analysis detected a weak but significant genetic structure of chub mackerel, which was characterized by areas of gene flow and isolation by distance. Consistent with previous estimates of stock structure, we found genetic discontinuity between Japan and China samples. Local-scale pattern of genetic differentiation was observed between samples from the Bohai Sea and North Yellow Sea and those from the East China Sea, which we ascribed to differences in spawning time and migratory behavior. Furthermore, the observed homogeneity among collections of chub mackerel from the East and South China Seas could be the result of an interaction between biological characteristics and marine currents. The present study underlies the importance of understanding the biological significance of genetic differentiation to establish management strategies for exploited fish populations.

A size-based blood cell sorting model with a micro-fence structure is proposed in the frame of immersed boundary and lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM). The fluid dynamics is obtained by solving the discrete lattice Boltzmann equation, and the cells motion and deformation are handled by the immersed boundary method. A micro-fence consists of two parallel slope post rows which are adopted to separate red blood cells (RBCs) from white blood cells (WBCs), in which the cells to be separated are transported one after another by the flow into the passageway between the two post rows. Effected by the cross flow, RBCs are schemed to get through the pores of the nether post row since they are smaller and more deformable compared with WBCs. WBCs are required to move along the nether post row till they get out the micro-fence. Simulation results indicate that for a fix width of pores, the slope angle of the post row plays an important role in cell sorting. The cells mixture can not be separated properly in a small slope angle, while obvious blockages by WBCs will take place to disturb the continuous cell sorting in a big slope angle. As an optimal result, an adaptive slope angle is found to sort RBCs form WBCs correctly and continuously.

Hepatic oval cells (HOCs) are recognized as facultative liver progenitor cells that play a role in liver regeneration after acute liver injury. Here, we investigated the in vitro proliferation and differentiation characteristics of HOCs in order to explore their potential capacity for intrahepatic transplantation. Clusters or scattered HOCs were detected in the portal area and interlobular bile duct in the liver of rats subjected to the modified 2-acetylaminofluorene and partial hepatectomy method. Isolated HOCs were positive for c-kit and CD90 staining (99.8% and 88.8%, respectively), and negative for CD34 staining (3.6%) as shown by immunostaining and flow cytometric analysis. In addition, HOCs could be differentiated into hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells after leukemia inhibitory factor deprivation. A two-cuff technique was used for orthotopic liver transplantation, and HOCs were subsequently transplanted into recipients. Biochemical indicators of liver function were assessed 4 weeks after transplantation. HOC transplantation significantly prolonged the median survival time and improved the liver function of rats receiving HOCs compared to controls (P = 0.003, Student t-test). Administration of HOCs to rats also receiving liver transplantation significantly reduced acute allograft rejection compared to control liver transplant rats 3 weeks following transplantation (rejection activity index score: control = 6.3 ± 0.9; HOC = 3.5 ± 1.5; P = 0.005). These results indicate that HOCs may be useful in therapeutic liver regeneration after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Polystyrene micro-spheres aqueous suspensions were obtained by an emulsifier-free polymerization method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and laser particle size distribution were used to characterize the colloidal solutions. Results indicate that the polystyrene micro-spheres colloidal solution has a good dispersion and the micro-spheres have a uniform size and smooth surface. The as-prepared polystyrene micro-spheres colloidal solution was spun onto glass substrates and then the coated sample was heated at 70 degrees C for 1 h to form close-packed monolayer polystyrene microspheres arrays, which are used as a master. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphological properties of the polystyrene micro-spheres array. A relative good result can be easily obtained by a spinning speed of 2000 rpm for 30 second, when the solution concentration is around 10 wt.%. Furthermore, the polydimethylsiloxane soft mold was replicated from the-fabricated polystyrene micro-spheres array master and was then imprinted onto the photosensitive hybrid film under UV-irradiation and thus the micro-lens arrays built in the photosensitive hybrid sol-gel film were obtained.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the spinyhead croaker Collichthys lucidus was determined using long-PCR and primer walking methods. It is a circular molecule of 16,451 bp in length with a standard set of 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes as well as a non-coding control region in the same order as those of the other bony fishes. C. lucidus mitogenome exhibited a clear strand-specific bias in nucleotide composition, as evidence by a GC- skew of the H-strand of -0.319. The strand-specific bias was also reflected in the codon usage of genes oriented in opposite directions. All tRNA genes except for tRNA( Ser(AGY)) harbored the typical cloverleaf secondary structures and possessed anticodons that matched the vertebrate mitochondrial genetic code. Contrary to the typical structure of control region consistig of TAS, central, and CSB domains, there were no central conserved blocks available in C. lucidus mitogenome. Despite extensive studies based on both morphology and molecules, phylogenetic position of C. lucidus with Sciaenidae is still controversial. Our phylogenetic results provided more evidence to support previous morphological studies and consistently placed C. lucidus as a sister taxon to Collichthys niveatus, with both of these taxa forming the monophyletic Collichthys.

The monophyly and phylogenetic relationships of Pseudosciaeniae have long been controversial. Here we describe the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequence of Collichthys niveatus. It is a circular double-stranded DNA molecule of 16,450 base pairs (bp) in length with a standard set of 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 13 protein-coding genes as well as a non-coding control region. The mitogenome of C. niveatus shared common features with those of other bony fishes in terms of gene arrangement, base composition, and tRNA structures. The C. niveatus mitogenome exhibited pronounced strand-specific asymmetry in nucleotide composition, which was also reflected in the codon usage of genes oriented in opposite directions. Contrary to the typical structure of the control region, the central conserved blocks (CSB-D, -E, and -F) could not be detected in C. niveatus mitogenome. Phylogenetic analysis based on whole mitogenome sequences provided strong support for the monophyly of Pseudosciaeniae, and sister-group relationships of C. niveatus+Collichthys lucidus and Larimichthys crocea+Larimichthys polyactis, which was consistent with the traditional taxonomy. Unexpected divergence was found in two C. niveatus mitogenomes and several hypotheses were proposed to explain this observation including misidentification and introgressive hybridization between C. niveatus and L. polyactis, and polyphyletic origin of C. niveatus. We considered species misidentification to be the main hypothesis. However, additional data is essential to test these proposed hypotheses., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To investigate the genetic diversity and describe the population structure in Gadus macrocephalus, a 452 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region was analysed in 259 individuals. The results showed remarkably low nucleotide diversity and a lack of genealogical structure. Small but significant genetic differentiations, however, were detected among north-western Pacific populations, but no large-scale regional differences were detected. These results indicate that populations of G. macrocephalus in the north-western Pacific are genetically subdivided and represent evolutionary lineages that should be managed individually., (© 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

Larval dispersal may have an important effect on genetic structure of benthic fishes. To examine the population genetic structure of spottedtail goby Synechogobius ommaturus, a 478 base pair (bp) fragment of the hypervariable portion of the mtDNA control region was sequenced and used to interpret life-history characteristics and larval dispersal strategy. Individuals (n = 186) from 10 locations on the coasts of China and Korea were analysed and 44 haplotypes were obtained. The levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversity were higher in East China Sea populations than in other populations. Both the phylogenetic tree and the minimum spanning tree showed that no significant genealogical structures corresponding to sampling locations existed. AMOVA and pair-wise F(ST) revealed significant genetic differentiation between populations from Korea and China. A significant isolation by distance pattern was observed in this species (r = 0.53, P < 0.001). Both mismatch distribution analysis and neutrality tests showed S. ommaturus to have experienced a recent population expansion. These results suggest that the Pleistocene ice ages had a major effect on the phylogeographic pattern of S. ommaturus, that larvae might avoid offshore dispersal and that dispersal of larvae may maintain a migration-drift equilibrium.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently encountered malignant tumors of women. Early detection can save lives successfully. A safe, effective detection method is needed. The detection of breast cancer based on the laser-tissue interactions is an international research focus. The prototype of the detection system in the authors' lab uses a 780 nm low frequency modulated laser to penetrate breast tissue. Two-dimensional scan is processed under the control of computer. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is used to get the penetrated light and convert it to electrical signal. The signal of light intensity is sampled by the system and used to get the near infrared penetrating image of breast after data processing. In the present paper the signal processing method is discussed and the data processing results in the lab experiments are given. Clinical trials were carried out in the Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, using NIR (near infrared light) breast scanner developed by the authors' lab. The investigations were performed after approval by the ethic committee of Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject. None of the patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers was used in this paper. Fifty patients underwent the examination. Thirty four of them were malignant, and 13 were benign. The other 3 lacked pathology results. Analysis and comparison were executed to evaluate the result. NIR images, mammographs, and the ultrasound images were compared with both the pathology results and each other. The accuracy percentage of NIR image reaches 72.5%, which is between the accuracy percentage of ultrasound (77.50%) and that of mammography (71.88%). In this paper, the characteristics of different breast diseases were found in NIR images, which offers criterion for NIR diagnosis method in detail. The typical NIR images of different diseases, such as papillomatosis with local cancer and cancer, were shown. The clinical trial verified the validity of tumor diagnosis with the special absorption of NIR light by hemoglobin. Both the position and the benign/malignant property of tumor can be detected by NIR method. The improving aspects of the prototype were proposed. A new approach was put forward to the optical method.

Objective: To probe the mechanism of acupuncture at Sifeng (EX-UE 10) for treatment of infant anorexia., Methods: Healthy rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group and an acupuncture group. The model rats were made by intramuscular injection of Reserpine. The acupuncture group were treated with pricking at Sifeng (EX-UE 10) once daily for 2 weeks. After that, the gastric emptying rate and contents of Zn in the red cell and serum were observed in all the groups., Results: Compared with the model group, the gastric emptying rate was accelarated, and the serum Zn content was increased in the acupuncture group (P<0.01, P<0.05)., Conclusion: Acupuncture at Sifeng (EX-UE 10) has significant therapeutic effect on the rat with spleen deficiency, accelerating the gastric emptying rate and increasing the serum Zn content.

The Northwestern Pacific has a unique tectonic and geographical history with several marginal seas separating Asia from the Pacific Ocean. During low sea level periods of Pleistocene glaciations, populations might have been isolated in three marginal seas: the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and South China Sea. Following postglacial sea level rise, we would expect the populations isolated in the three regions to have been homogenized by high dispersal potential. To assess these hypotheses, we explore the intraspecific phylogeographical patterns in redlip mullet, Chelon haematocheilus. Fragments of 435 bp at the 5' end of mitochondrial DNA control region were sequenced for 272 individuals from nine localities over most of the species' range. Three distinct lineages were detected, which might have diverged in the three marginal seas during Pleistocene low sea levels. Contrary to homogenization expectation, there were strong differences in the geographical distribution of the three lineages. Analyses of molecular variance and the population statistic Phi(ST) also revealed significant genetic structure among populations of the three marginal seas. These results indicate that gene flow in Chelon haematocheilus is far more restricted spatially than predicted by the potential dispersal capabilities of this species. The lack of phylogeographical structure in East China Sea may reflect a recent range expansion after the last glacial maximum and insufficient time to attain migration-drift equilibrium.

Climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene ice ages produced great changes in species' geographical distribution and abundance, which could be expected to have genetic consequences. Living in the temperate upwelling zones of the northwestern Pacific, Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) might have been affected by these severe climatic oscillations. To investigate the effects of Pleistocene climatic changes on the evolution in Japanese anchovy, fragments of 522 bp at the 5' end of mitochondrial DNA control region were sequenced for 241 individuals from 13 localities and 37 individuals of Australian anchovy. Japanese anchovy and Australian anchovy are reciprocally monophyletic and a late Pleistocene transequatorial divergence between the two species was indicated. High levels of haplotype diversity (>0.99) were found for all samples, indicating a high level of genetic diversity. Analyses of molecular variance and the conventional population statistic F(ST) revealed no significant genetic structure throughout the range of Japanese anchovy. Both mismatch distribution analyses and neutrality tests suggested a late Pleistocene population expansion for both Japanese anchovy (79,000-317,000 years ago) and Australian anchovy (45,000-178,000 years ago).

The Quaternary cold periods in the Northwestern Pacific are thought to have heavily influenced the amount and distribution of intraspecific genetic variation in marine fishes. To estimate the demographic history and genetic structure of Lateolabrax maculatus and L. japonicus in the Northwestern Pacific, 256 individuals were sampled from 19 localities throughout the distribution range of the two species. Mitochondrial DNA variation was analyzed using DNA sequence data from the cytochrome b gene and control region. Nucleotide diversity was much higher in L. japonicus (0.030) than in L. maculatus (0.012). The demographic history of the two species was examined using neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses and results indicated Pleistocene population expansion in both species. Estimates of population expansion time suggested earlier population expansion in L. japonicus than in L. maculatus. Molecular variance analyses showed differential genetic structuring for these two closely related species. The results indicated that L. japonicus is panmictic throughout its range. In contrast, populations of L. maculatus showed statistically significant levels of genetic structuring. Pattern of isolation by distance was observed in L. maculatus, suggesting that L. maculatus is in genetic equilibrium. In contrast, L. japonicus did not exhibit isolation by distance.

Aim: To investigate the secondary metabolites of the mangrove plant Ceriops tagal., Methods: Column chromatography techniques including HPLC were used for the separation and purification, and extensive spectral analysis including various 2D NMR spectra were employed for structure elucidation., Results: Nine compounds, namely, tagalsins A (1), ent-5alpha-dolabr-4 (18) -ene-15S,16-diol (2), squalene (3), betulinic acid (4), lup-20 (29) -en-3-on-28-oic acid (5), betulin (6), lup-20 (29) -en-3-on-28-ol (7), beta-sitosterol (8), n-hexacosanylferulate (9) were obtained. Of which 1 and 2 belong to dolabrane diterpene., Conclusion: Compound 1 is a new compound, and 2 to 9 are isolated from this species for the first time.

The bone marrow puncture fluid of human multiple myeloma was inoculated subcutaneously in BALB/C/nu nude mice. After passage of the xenograft from nude mice in vitro, a murine malignant lymphosarcoma cell line was unexpectedly established, which was named NLB-SK. The murine NLB-SK cell line has been cultivated in vitro over 72 passages for 10 months. Repeated cryopreservation showed that the murine NLB-SK cell line revived satisfactorily. Based on cell biological characteristics the malignant transformation might be attributed to horizontal oncogenesis between human malignant tumor cells and nude mouse normal somatic cells.