Search

The pattern of genetic differentiation between diverging species receives much attention as one of the key observable features of speciation. It has often been suggested that introgression between closely related species occurs commonly where their distributions overlap, leading to their becoming more morphologically and genetically similar, but there are a few opposite results. However, most of these studies have been carried out with animals and separate species; few have looked at intraspecific cases, especially in plants. Here, we conduct a comparative study on patterns of genetic differentiation among populations of two varieties of Oreocharis benthamii in allopatry and sympatry based on ISSR data for 754 individuals from 26 populations, in order to understand the processes leading to speciation. Contrary to expectations, the facultative xenogamy (mixed mating) species O. benthamii has a relatively low genetic diversity within populations (H = 0.1014, I = 0.1528) and high genetic differentiation among populations (G ST = 0.5867, ФST = 0.659), as is typically found for selfing species. Genetic variance between the two varieties in sympatric populations (44%, ФST = 0.444) is significantly more than that in allopatric populations (14%, ФST = 0.138). Consistent with the taxonomical delimitation of the two varieties, all sampled individuals of O. benthamii clustered into two genetic groups. Moreover, the genetic structures of populations of both varieties are correlated with their different geographical origins. Our studies show that significant divergence between sympatric populations of the two varieties could be attributed primarily to reinforcement by genetic divergent selection in sympatry where secondary contact had occurred. The major proportion of the genetic variation in outcrossing and mixed mating plants may exist among populations when the populations are distributed in fragmented habitats, due to the paucity of suitable habitat combined with inefficient seed dispersal mechanism and limited pollinator foraging area that may limit the gene flow., Introgression between closely related species occurs commonly where their distributions overlap, leading to their becoming more morphologically and genetically similar. However, few of these studies have looked at intraspecific cases, especially in plants. Here, we report a reverse situation that the genetic variance between two varieties of Oreocharis benthamii in sympatric populations is significantly more than that in allopatric populations.

Surface waters from five districts in the inner city of Beijing were collected for analysis of 43 target compounds of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to understand the spatial distribution patterns of different groups of PPCPs in the central urban area of a metropolitan city characterized by many hospitals and public parks. The total concentrations of PPCPs showed large spatial variability, ranging from 71.1 to 2400 ng/L. The x-ray contrast medium iopromide was the compound with the highest concentrations. Pharmaceuticals showed similar spatial distributional patterns with large hospitals. Positive correlations between iopromide and pharmaceuticals were observed. In contrast, in general there is no correlation between iopromide and personal care products. The concentrations of PPCPs in the landscape waters were not high but were characterized by high proportions of acidic, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with low or even negative removal efficiencies in the WWTP in Beijing, suggesting that the reclaimed water irrigation can be another source of PPCPs in surface waters in the inner city of Beijing.

How mating system impacts the genetic diversity of plants has long fascinated and puzzled evolutionary biologists. Numerous studies have shown that self-fertilising plants have less genetic diversity at both the population and species levels than outcrossers. However, the phylogenetic relationships between species and correlated ecological traits have not been accounted for in these previous studies. Here, we conduct a comparative population genetic study of two closely related selfing and outcrossing Zingiber species, with sympatric distribution in Hainan Island, and obtain a result contrary to previous studies. The results indicate that selfing Z. corallinum can maintain high genetic diversity through differentiation intensified by local adaptation in populations across the species’ range. In contrast, outcrossing Z. nudicarpum preserves high genetic diversity through gene exchange by frequent export of pollen within or among populations. Contrary to expectations, the major portion of genetic variation of outcrossing Z. nudicarpum may exist among populations, depending on the dispersal ability of pollen and seed. Our results also reveal that the main factor affecting population structure of selfing Z. corallinum is mountain ranges, followed by a moist climate, while that of outcrossing Z. nudicarpum is likely moisture, but not mountain ranges, due to gene flow via pollen.

High levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were observed in rural areas near a fluorochemical industrial park (FCIP) in the Yangtze River Delta region. The concentrations of total PFAS (∑PFASs) in soil, surface water, groundwater, and rainwater were in the range of 0.6-64.6 ng/g dry weight, 15.6-480.9, 4.8-614.6, and 13.4-542.2 ng/L, respectively. PFASs in rainwater and groundwater were higher than in surface water. The influence of the FCIP on rural soils extended to a distance of approximately 4 km based on the changes in PFAS compositions. The impact on surface water is mainly through direct river flow connected with contaminated sources, which may extend farther than 7 km in the case of unrestricted flow but much shorter distance for unconnected rivers. The penetration of PFASs in groundwater aquifers can extend as far as ca. 6 km, while direct water flow is the main transport route for PFASs. The influence radius of the FCIP can be as far as 60 km due to atmospheric precipitation.

Little research on perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) has been conducted in rural areas, although rural PFC sources are less complicated than in urban and industrial areas. To determine the levels and geographical distribution of 17 PFC compounds, samples of soil, surface water, and groundwater were collected from eight rural areas in eastern China. The total PFC concentrations (∑PFCs) in soils ranged from 0.34 to 65.8 ng/g ∑PFCs in surface waters ranged from 7.0 to 489 ng/L and ∑PFCs in groundwater ranged from 5.3 to 615 ng/L. Ratios of perfluorononanoic acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFNA/PFOA), perfluoro-n-butyric acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFBA/PFOA), and perfluoroheptanoic acid/perfluorooctanoic acid (PFHpA/PFOA) in rainwater increased due to the fluorine chemical plants in the surrounding rural and urban areas, suggesting that atmospheric precipitation may carry PFCs and their precursors from the fluorochemical industrial area to the adjacent rural areas.

Flexistyly in Plagiostachys was first reported by Takano et al., while they provided no detailed study on pollination biology and breeding system. In this study, we tested this suspicion in one species of Plagiostachys (Plagiostachys austrosinensis). Field observations suggested that flexistyly was present in this species, and stigmatic behavior was similar to that reported for Alpinia and Amomum species. Two phenotypes (anaflexistylous and cataflexistylous) occurred in a ratio of 1:1 in natural populations. Anthesis began around 1530–1600 h and lasted for about 24 h. Pollen viability and stigma receptivity remained high throughout the flowering process. Mean nectar volume (4.15–11.30 μL) and mean sugar concentration (>32%) also remained at a high level during the flowering process. No fruit set occurred in unpollinated bagged plants. Two pollinators (Bombus pyrosoma and Vespidae spp.) and one pollen robber (Mutillidae spp.) were found as flower visitors. Fruit set following self-pollination and cross-pollination did not differ significantly in the cataflexistylous morph. Partial self-incompatibility was apparent in the anaflexistylous morph. These results provide the concrete evidence of flexistyly in Plagiostachys and a more thorough understanding of its evolutionary origin in gingers.

The Yangtze River drainage basins are China’s most important economic development zones and also the locations of several large-scale fluorine chemical industries. In order to reveal the contribution from the tributaries at the dividing point between the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River with respect to perfluorinated substances (PFASs), 17 PFAS compounds in surface water, groundwater, and tap water samples were analyzed in the tributary system of the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River. The total concentrations of PFASs in the surface waters ranged from 7.8 to 586.2 ng/L. High proportion of short-chain compound PFBS in surface waters in Nanchang City, Poyang Lake, and the Yangtze River was observed which is likely of WWTPs’ origin.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are widely used as multi-purpose surfactants or water/oil repellents. In order to understand the contamination level and compositional profiles of PFAAs in aqueous environment in textile, leather, and paper making industrial areas, surface waters and tap waters were collected along the watershed of the Qiantang River where China's largest textile, leather, and paper making industrial bases are located. For comparison, surface water and tapwater samples were also collected in Hangzhou and its adjacent areas. 17 PFAAs were analyzed by solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results show that the total concentrations of PFAAs (ΣPFAAs) in the Qiantang River waters ranged from 106.1 to 322.9 ng/L, averaging 164.2 ng/L. The contamination levels have been found to be extremely high, comparable to the levels of the most serious PFAA contamination in surface waters of China. The PFAA composition profiles were characterized by the dominant PFOA (average 58.1% of the total PFAAs), and PFHxA (average 18.8%). The ΣPFAAs in tap water ranged from 9.5 to 174.8 ng/L, showing PFAA compositional pattern similar to the surface waters. Good correlations between PFAA composition profiles in tap waters and the surface waters were observed.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequently occurring malignant brain tumor in adults. Despite treatment strategies that combine neurosurgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the median patient survival is 14.6 months,1 underscoring the aggressive growth properties of GBM. High-grade gliomas are highly vascular tumors that typically recur even after complete surgical excision. GBM is characterized by endothelial cell proliferation and prominent vascularization2,3 arising from a combination of blood vessel co-option and tumor angiogenesis,4,5 the latter being a fundamental aspect of tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Laminins are a family of large, extracellular, heterotrimeric basement membrane (BM) glycoproteins.6,7 Members of this family have a tissue-specific distribution as a result of the combinatorial diversity of laminin α, β, and γ chains.8 Laminins have important roles in many fundamental biological processes including embryogenesis, tumor invasion, tissue differentiation, and wound healing.9 Laminin-8 (α4β1γ1) is the predominant isoform expressed in vascular endothelial cell BMs.10–12 Along with its receptor integrin α6β1, laminin-8 has been shown to be important for BM function and the maintenance of the blood-brain barrier.13,14 Low expression levels of the α4 chain containing laminin-9 were observed in capillary BMs in the normal human brain. During the progression of human gliomas to GBM, the expression of capillary BM laminins containing the α4 chain is upregulated, and laminin-9 (α4β2γ1) expression is supplanted by laminin-8 (α4β1γ1),15 which is distinguished by having a β1 subunit. The factors regulating the switch to laminin β1 expression in gliomas are still unknown. The microRNA (miRNA) miR-124 is abundantly expressed in the embryonic and adult cortex in various mammalian species,16,17 suggesting an essential role in normal functioning of the brain. Indeed, expression profiling of various human brain tumors has shown that miR-124 is among the most dramatically downregulated miRNAs in brain neoplasias. Overexpression of miR-124 can lead to cell cycle arrest in human glioma cells18 and inhibit cell migration and invasion.19 MiR-124-3p (known as miR-124 or miR-124a) and miR-124-5p (known as miR-124*) are both mature forms of miR-124 (A putative miR-124-5p binding site in the 3'UTR of LAMB1 was mutated by replacing the cytosine with guanine [marked by an asterisk]. *P < .05; **P < .01). Restoring miR-124 expression in gliomas may slow tumor progression by repressing various miR-124 targets such as laminin γ1 and integrin β1.19–25 Based on the reduced miR-124-5p expression and high levels of laminin β1 protein that were observed in GBM cell lines and tissues, the present work investigated the potential regulation of laminin β1 by miR-124-5p. The effects of miR-124-5p overexpression and LAMB1 knockdown on cell proliferation, colony formation, and tumor growth and angiogenesis were also assessed in glioma cell lines to verify a possible interaction between these 2 factors. The results revealed the posttranscriptional, negative regulation of LAMB1 by miR-124-5p and the importance of this association in the regulation of angiogenesis in GBM. These findings suggested that miR-124-5p could represent a potential target for therapeutic strategies designed to inhibit the progression of gliomas to GBM.

Research in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is mainly focused on applications for treatments of brain and spinal cord injury as well as mechanisms underlying effects of MSCs. However, due to numerous limitations, there is little information on selection of appropriate sources of MSCs for transplantation in clinical applications. Therefore, in this study we compared various properties of human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (HUCMSCs) with human placenta-derived MSCs (HPDMSCs), including cell proliferation, apoptosis, cellular morphology, ultrastructure, and their ability to secrete various growth factors (i.e. vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factors-1, and hepatocyte growth factor), which will allow us to select appropriate MSC sources for cellular therapy. Cell culture, flow cytometry, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used for assessment of HUCMSCs and HPDMSCs. Results showed that the two types of cells appeared slightly different when they were observed under AFM. HUCMSCs appeared more fibroblast-like, whereas HPDMSCs appeared as large flat cells. HUCMSCs had higher proliferative rate and lower rate of apoptosis than HPDMSCs (p

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been isolated from a variety of human tissues (eg, bone marrow, peripheral blood, muscle, fat, umbilical blood, amniotic fluid, embryonic tissues, and placenta). Placenta-derived MSCs (PDMSCs) have received considerable interest because of their wide availability and absence of ethical concerns. The authors characterized the biological properties, ultrastructure, growth factor production, and osteoblastic differentiation of PDMSCs and investigated their potential as seed cells for bone tissue engineering.

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/Pb-Sn composite coatings and ordinary Pb-Sn alloy coatings were prepared by electrodeposition technique, respectively. The morphology images of the coatings in different growth time were observed by SEM at high and low magnifications. The results showed that composite coatings had a compacter and refiner surface than ordinary Pb-Sn alloy coatings; the addition of CNTs increased the number of crystal cores and changed the directions of crystal orientation, which resulted in a fine network structure.

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/Pb-Sn composite coatings were prepared by electrodeposition technique. Friction coefficient and wear weight losses were investigated on a double rings apparatus using carbon steel (C: 0.45%) rings as counterparts under wet friction condition. Tribological characteristics were compared among the samples as carbon nanotubes concentration was changed in the bath. The results indicate that the composite coatings had smaller friction coefficient and weight loss than that of ordinary Pb-Sn coatings under the same work conditions. In addition, the wear performance of Pb-Sn-CNTs composite coating was optimized when the CNTs concentration in bath was 2 g L-1.

We demonstrated the growth profile of stimulated Raman anti-Stokes scattering (SRS) of carbon disulfide (CS2) influenced by fluorescence seeding of all-trans-β-carotene and rhodamine-B (RhB) in liquid-core optical fiber (LCOF). The pump energy which was needed to build up the first-order anti-Stokes radiation of CS2 solutions with the fluorescence seeding was lower than that of CS2 solutions without fluorescence seeding because of the fluorescence enhancement effect on the intensity of the first-order Stokes radiation. The first-order anti-Stokes radiation of the RhB solution (10−8M) was built up at a lower pump energy than that of the all-trans-β-carotene solution (10−6M), and the intensity of the first-order anti-Stokes radiation of the RhB solution was higher than that of the all-trans-β-carotene solution. Simultaneously, the coupled wave differential equations were obtained by the theoretical derivation, and the growth profile of the first-order anti-Stokes radiation was theoretically calculated with and without the fluorescence seeding by these equations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

β-carotene with double fluorescence characteristics and large third-order optical nonlinearities, which is dissolved in the carbon disulfide (CS2) as the core medium of a liquid core optical fiber (LCOF), is applied in the study of the CS2 stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). The results of this study show that when the concentrations of solution are more than 3.72×10−7 mol/L, the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of β-carotene is the main factor influencing the threshold and intensity of Stokes lines; when the concentrations of solution are lower than 3.72×10−7 mol/L, the ASE disappears and the fluorescence plays the key role: The high-order Stokes lines may be observed at very low input-laser power, and the Stokes thresholds decrease as the solution concentration increases. The result may be widely used in the study of broadband stimulated radiation laser and seeding laser.

Aggregates of the diacid form of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) were formed by evaporating organic solutions on quartz substrate. The effect of counterions on TPP aggregates, which were obtained through adding various kinds of acids HX(X = HSO4, NO3, Br and Cl) to TPP dichloromethane solution, has been investigated through the combined use of UV–vis absorption and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The protonated TPP and the resulting aggregates exhibited spectroscopic features that were remarkably influenced by the nature of counterions. For all the aggregates, split of the B state absorptions with components red- and blue-shifted relative to their diacid solution values indicated the J-type arrangement of TPP molecules was formed in the aggregates, and the magnitude of this shift was markedly influenced by the nature of the counterions; the (Cb − H) in-plane bending vibrational bands in the Raman spectra of the aggregates also showed dependence on counterions. A model for TPP J-aggregates has been proposed on the basis of the angle between transition moment along the chain and the projected line connecting the centers of porphyrins onto the porphyrin plane, and the extended evidence was also obtained by investigation of the Raman spectra of the aggregates from the sulfuric diacid TPP organic (toluene, dichloromethane, acetone and chloroform) solutions, and T(4-NO2P)P, T(4-MeOP)P dichloromethane solutions.

High-pressure Raman scattering studies at ambient temperature are performed on Tpp J-aggregates up to 13 GPa. It can be concluded that all the vibrational frequencies upshift linearly with increasing pressure which indicate that no obvious phase transition occurs during compression. In particular, the fact that the relative intensity of phenyl psi3 C-C in-plane stretching vibration shows monotonic enhancement with pressure future indicates that the dihedral angle between the porphyrin ring and phenyl groups decreases with increasing pressure. And all the transformation is reversible during decompression. The combined analysis of scanning election microscopy (SEM) image and the high-pressure behavior of Tpp J-aggregates makes it an ideal candidate for future potential applications as pressure-driven molecular spring washers.

We demonstrate stimulated Raman Stokes (SRS) scattering of carbon disulfide (CS2) influenced by a natural dye named all-trans-β-carotene in a liquid-core optical fiber (LCOF). These Stokes emissions can acquire the extra effects of seeding or suppression, both of which result from the optical properties of the carotenoids. Then, the efficient control of the selective developments of the Stokes lines by the natural dyes is available in LCOFs. Especially, the low threshold of the high-order Stokes lines, such as the 2nd Stokes line of CS2, can be more easily obtained through the seeding effect. The saturation intensity of the 1st Stokes line can be suppressed more when the concentration of all-trans-β-carotene in CS2 becomes high. Simultaneously, the threshold of the 1st Stokes line increases with the addition of the carotenoids. This result is expected to be worthy of new SRS-based fiber light sources for bio-medicine applications such as photodynamic therapy.

Applying Teflon-AF waveguide cell, we determined the absolute resonance Raman cross sections (RCS) for C=C and C-C stretching modes of β-carotene in aqueous solution at low concentrations (10-6–10-10 M) by measuring Raman intensity. It was unexpected that the RCS increased rapidly with the decrease of concentration at extremely low concentration range (10-8–10-10 M), and it reached the value of 1.22×10-21 cm2 molecule-1Sr-1 at 2.5×10-10 M larger than general RCS (10-30 cm2 molecule-1Sr-1) for 109 times. Additionally, we give the tentative theory exploration for the experimental results that the large RCSs at low concentrations attributed to both resonance Raman effect and dipole-induced dipole interactions between solute and solvent molecules.

A new organic-inorganic hybrid γ-octamolybdate complex, (NH4)4[(C3H7NO)2Mo8O26]·2CH3CH2OH·2H2O was synthesized from the mixture of ethanol, DMF, 4-aminobenzoic acid, (NH4)6Mo7O24·4H2O, HCl and H2O. The structure was determined by X-ray crystallography. It crystallizes in monoclinic P21/n space group with the crystal cell parameters of a = 8.8825(4), b = 21.1608(10), c = 11.1343(6) A, β = 104.7720(10)°, V = 2023.64(17) A3 and Z = 2. The crystal X-ray analysis shows that two DMF molecules are bound to γ-octamolybdate anion. The molecular structure is stabilized by the complex hydrogen bonding.

The compatibility Teflon-AF 2400 liquid core optical fibre with resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS-LCOF) was used to detect aqueous biomolecules. The maximum sensitivity enhancement factor for concentrations greater than the detection limit in a conventional cell was 10, and detection limit reduction of about 1000-fold have been achieved for the measurement of aqueous absorbing sample using Teflon-AF 2400 fibre Raman cell compared to the conventional cell. We were able to collect spectra of 2.5 × 10 −9 and 2.5 × 10 −10 M aqueous β-carotene using 16.2 mW of laser power and 10 s integration time. This volume of a 2.5 × 10 −10 M aqueous solution corresponds to only 1.5 fmol or 830 fg of β-carotene. The results of this preliminary study indicate that RRS-LCOF has potential in bioanalytical and biomedical applications.

Using the liquid-core optical fiber technique, we measured the Raman spectral intensities of CCl4 in CS2 at concentrations ranging from 90 to 0.05% (v/v). Raman scattering cross-sections (RSCSs) of the 459, 314 and 218 cm−1 CCl4 bands were calculated using Onsager's theory with the 656 cm−1 Raman band of CS2 as an internal standard. The results show that the RSCSs of the three CCl4 bands increase with decreasing concentration of CCl4 over the whole range measured. It was unexpected that the RSCSs show different changes in various ranges, that is, a flat linear change at higher concentrations and a strong change at lower concentrations. With decrease in CCl4 concentration from 90 to 0.05% (0.1% for the 314 cm−1 band), the RSCSs of the 459 and 314 cm−1 bands show large increases. The RSCS of the 218 cm−1 band shows a relatively small change in the measured range. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We present continuous wave stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of benzene (C6H6) influenced by the fluorescent dye m-cresol purple in a hollow fused silica fiber (HFSF). Because of the transmission loss of the HFSF filled with C6H6, the SRS occurs when the Stokes gain equals the transmission loss, with the loss taken at the Stokes wavelength. The 992 cm−1 stimulated Stokes line has been obtained at the pump wavelength 658 nm, which cannot be obtained at 532 nm because the Stokes wavelength (562 nm) does not locate in the transmission loss. Also, the pump power is 35 mW with m-cresol purple which is much lower than 800 mW without the dye. The profile of the 992 cm−1 stimulated Stokes is changed, and the weak shoulders of the profile are amplified by fluorescence. These results are expected to be of relevance in applications on the tunable Raman laser at new wavelengths. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We present a simple analytical model to describe the stimulated Raman Stokes scattering (SRS) linear polarization spectroscopy of fluorescent dye solutions in liquid-core optical fibers (LCOFs). In this scheme, the linear polarization direction of the pump pulse is set parallel to the y-axis through a straight polarization-maintaining LCOF, in which the energy of the total optical field is kept invariant, and different fluorescence dyes are used to generate different first-order Stokes intensities. We demonstrate the SRS of all-trans-β-carotene and fluorescein in carbon disulfide (CS2) solutions due to the optical field-induced reorientation effect, which makes the first-order Stokes polarization direction rotate by an angle of 88° or 61°, respectively. This demonstrates the good agreement between the theory presented and the experiment. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A previous report has confirmed the existence and clinical significance of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) in glioma. However, its conclusions about the negative clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma are based on a small group of patients and, thus, might be unconvincing. The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the clinical significance of VM in glioblastoma. Patients were classified as VM-positive or VM-negative according to CD34 and periodic acid-Schiff staining. The association between VM and the clinical characteristics of the patients was analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to identify the independent prognostic factors for overall survival using the Cox regression hazard model. Survival times were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Of all 86 glioblastomas, 23 were found to have VM. The presence of VM in glioblastoma was not associated with gender, age, Karnofsky performance status, hydrocephalus, tumor burden, microvessel density, tumor relapse, or the extent of tumor resection. The univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that VM is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. The median survival time for patients with VM was 11.17 months compared with 16.10 months for those without VM (P = 0.017). In addition to VM, an age of 65 years or older, a KPS of 60 or less, a large tumor burden are significant prognostic factors for patient survival. Our data suggest that VM might be an independent adverse prognostic factor in newly diagnosed GBM, further prospective studies are needed to answer this question.

Human placental decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DBMSCs) have been identified as valuable sources for cell transplantation. In this study, we found that DBMSCs could be induced to form neural stem cells in the form of neurospheres. These neurospheres were further differentiated into dopamine neuron-like cells with a cocktail of cytokines. The differentiated DBMSCs were verified through the presence of a neuron-like morphology, the expression of specific dopamine neuron makers, and the production of dopamine. In addition, this differentiation capacity of DBMSCs was not affected by long-term culture, and the cells maintained a normal karyotype in vitro. The dopamine neuronal differentiation and the relative safety transplantation potential of DBMSCs may facilitate stem cell therapeutic approaches to Parkinson's disease.

Human placental decidua basalis originates from the maternal side of the placenta and has been described as a source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, for its application in tissue regeneration and repair, the transplantation-potential-related biological properties of decidua-basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DBMSCs) remain to be elucidated. We obtained DBMSCs through enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation and confirmed their capacity to differentiate into cell types of the mesodermal lineage, such as osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondroblasts. Karyotype analysis showed that the isolated DBMSCs maintained chromosomal stability after long-term culture in vitro. Growth kinetics and ultrastructural observation revealed a high level of DBMSC proliferative activity. In addition, DBMSCs showed immunosuppressive properties by suppressing both mitogen- and alloantigen-induced peripheral lymphocyte proliferation. All of these properties suggest that DBMSCs, which are abundant and easily accessible, are a novel potential source of seed cells for cell transplantation treatments.

To investigate the biological features of human decidua basalis-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PDB-MSCs) in vitro and identify their capacity of multilineage differentiation.PDB-MSCs were harvested from the decidua basalis of term placental by enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation, and the growth characteristics and morphological changes of the MSCs were observed by inverted microscope. The proliferative ability of the cells was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8. The cell cycle and expressions of the surface markers (CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD34, CD45, and CD14) of the MSCs were identified by flow cytometry. Multilineage differentiation capacity of the cells was tested by inducing their differentiation toward osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondroblasts in vitro.MSCs isolated from human decidua basalis of term placental exhibited a morphology similar to that of bone marrow-derived MSCs, and grew into colonies in in vitro culture, where the cells proliferated rapidly after passage with a cell doubling time of 2.21∓0.21 days. More than 70% of the cells stayed in the resting stage (G(0)/G(1)) and showed positivity for CD29, CD44, CD73 and CD90, but not for CD14, CD34 or CD45. After induction, the cells showed positive results of alizarin red staining, oil red O staining and Alcian blue staining.Human decidua basalis contains a rich source of MSCs, which can be easily isolated and cultured without affecting their capacity of multilineage differentiation. The PDB-MSCs may have the potential as a novel source of stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells are capable of differentiating into dopaminergic-like cells, but currently no report has been available to describe the induction of human umbilical vein mesenchymal stem cells (HUVMSCs) into dopaminergic-like cells. In this study, we induced HUVMSCs in vitro into neurospheres constituted by neural stem-like cells, and further into cells bearing strong morphological, phenotypic and functional resemblances with dopaminergic-like cells. These HUVMSC-derived dopaminergic-like cells, after grafting into the brain of a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD), showed a partial therapeutic effect in terms of the behavioral improvement. Nerve growth factor was reported to improve the local microenvironment of the grafted cells, and we therefore further tested the effect of dopaminergic-like cell grafting combined with nerve growth factor (NGF) administration at the site of cell transplantation. The results showed that NGF administration significantly promoted the survival of the grafted cells in the host brain and enhanced the content of dopaminergic in the local brain tissue. Behavioral test demonstrated a significant improvement of the motor function of the PD rats after dopaminergic-like cell grafting with NGF administration as compared with that of rats receiving the cell grafting only. These results suggest that transplantation of the dopaminergic-like cells combined with NGF administration may represent a new strategy of stem cell therapy for PD.

The Raman scattering coefficients of the fundamental v1 (992 cm(-1)) of C6 H6 and the fundamental v1 (656 cm(-1) ) of CS2 changed dramatically with relative concentration of the binary solution of CS2 and C6 H6. The Raman spectra of the binary solution with different relative concentrations were measured. The results show that both the v1 fundamentals intensities changed dramatically with the relative concentration of the solution and the fundamental v1 of C6 H6 has little effect on the Fermi resonance v1 +v6-v8. On the contrary, the change in the v1 fundamental intensity of the CS2 changed which has more effect not only on the Fermi resonance v1 - 2v2 but also on the v2 fundamental. In this report, the experimental results were analyzed based on the J. F. Bertran theory and group theory.

To construct the eukaryotic expression vector pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha and observe its expression in the mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.SDF-1alpha gene sequence with XhoI, EcoRI restriction enzyme cutting site was amplified from the total RNA of mouse smooth muscle cells by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pDsRed2-N1 encoding red fluorescent protein gene, and the insertion was verified by endonuclease digestion and DNA sequencing. Mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells identified with immunofluorescence assay for vimentin expression were transfected with the constructed plasmid pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha, and the expression of sdf-1alpha was detected using immunofluorescence assay.The DNA fragment amplified by PCR from the total RNA was identical to SDF-1alpha from the gene library, and an identical DNA fragment was also amplified from the recombinants. Sequence analysis confirmed the successful insertion of SDF-1alpha into the pDsRed2-N1 vector and the eukaryotic expression vector pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha was successfully constructed. The cultured mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells positive for vimentin protein showed SDF-1alpha expression 24 h after transfection with the recombinant vector.The pDsRed2-N1-SDF-1alpha eukaryotic expression vector constructed is capable of expression of SDF-1alpha fusion protein in the mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Lycopene and beta-carotene are two important nutritional components in tomato. The main Raman spectrum group of lycopene and beta-carotene abundant in tomato is identical and difficult to be distinguished through fundamental frequency. With excitation wavelength of 514.5 nm, the excited light was just present in the half width range of the main absorption bands of Lycopene and beta-carotene, so the resonance Raman effect can occur. Based on resonance Raman spectra, by on-body measuring the second harmonic of stretching vibration of carbon-carbon conjugated double bond in lycopene and beta-carotene, the content of lycopene and beta-carotene can be obtained according to the integrated intensity of each component calculated by software. And this provides a method for on-body determining the content of the components with the homologous group.

Raman spectra of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea in 20 solvents were obtained to investigate the solute-solvent interactions and to correlate solvent properties such as the Kirkwood-Bauer-Magat (KBM)equation, the solvent acceptor number (AN)and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER), respectively, with the Raman shifts of carbonyl group. There is little linear relation between dielectric constants and the Raman shift. These solvents were divided into two sections by the acceptor number. The two sections exhibit a good correlation with AN, respectively. These frequencies show a better correlation with LSER than the solvent AN. How the solvents interacts with the C==O can be obtained from the regression coefficients.

Fermi resonance is one of the general and important phenomena in vibration spectra. The method of solvent variation is one of the main methods to study Fermi resonance. In the present paper, FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the Fermi resonance of p-benzoquinone in thirteen solvents. The results show that there are some function relationships between the dielectric constant of solvent and the intensity ratio of Fermi resonance. And the empirical formula was obtained by curve fitting. The equation of Kirkwood-Bauer-Magat was applied to the study of Fermi resonance. And the authors obtained the relation between the intensity ratio R and the dielectric constant epsilon. This result is in accordance with the empirical formula. In order to confirm our result, the infrared data of R. A. Nyquist and J. K. Seehra were analyzed. These results are in accord with that of p-benzoquinone.

Raman spectra of acetone's carbonyl stretching in 16 solvents were measured, and were also calculated by self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) method in Gaussian03. The frequency shift in experiment was analyzed by donor-acceptor model, Kirkwood model and SCRF model respectively. Among them, the donor-acceptor model can explain the shift very well. The SCRF method can do it also, while not as well as the donor-acceptor model, but is better than Kirkwood model. Correlating the mechanisms of the 3 methods, it was found that the donor-acceptor model is powerful in explaining the vibrational spectra of molecular bond, which is nucleophilic reagent. The SCRF model considers not only the influence of dielectric constant epsilon, but also the influence of the bulk and the structure of molecule etc. Although the model is complex and difficult to calculate, but it takes many factors into account, so the calculated results accord with experiment better than the Kirkwood model. The main parameter of the Kirkwood model is epsilon, so it is very simple and easy to calculate, nonetheless the trend of frequency shift can still be reflected, indicating that the dielectric constant epsilon is a main character affecting the frequency shift.

Cartilage of youth and elder was measured by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Area integrations were done on the major composition of organic and inorganic substance's infrared bands processed using OMNIC 5. 2. Calculation of the ratio of the integrated areas under the organic and inorganic substance's peaks allowed the comparisons of the ratio brtween organic and inorganic substance's contents. As indicated from the results, the ratio of organic to inorganic substance in youth is 5-7 times larger than that in elder, but there was a big difference in the content of lipids between youth and elder. Calculating the ratio of the integrated areas under lipids peaks (1 747 cm(-1)) to that under inorganic phosphates peaks, the authors can see that the content of lipids in the bone of elder is significantly higher than that of youth. The authors admitted that with the increment of age, less organic substance (collagen) (but more lipids) and more inorganic substance (phosphate, carbonate etc) is a symbol of the degeneration of cartilage. Therefore, makes the cartilage more brittle, less elastic and less wearable. This can result in the disease of bone and injuring the bone easily.

Constitutional full trisomy 21 is a common disorder in which abnormal spermatogenesis has been previously described. However, constitutional mosaic trisomy 21 in an otherwise normal but infertile male has not been explored. We report a case with low level mosaic trisomy 21 in a non-syndrome but azoospermic patient. We also propose that the patient's azoospermia may be related to the constitutional mosaic trisomy 21 and thus resulting in a late onset of testicular failure.

Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (tAML) is one of the two forms of secondary acute myeloid leukemia, with one derived from de novo myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and the other from exposure to environmental or therapeutic agents such as radiation and toxins. There has been a marked increase in the number of incidences of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia. It has become a distinctive disease because of its etiology and genetic tumorigenesis. The majority of tAML resulting from the use of cytotoxic agents can be divided into two groups based on the drugs administered to the patient. The first group includes the use of alkylating agents, and the second group includes agents that bind to the enzyme DNA-topoisomerase II. Due to the unfavorable outcome of the disease and the need for prompt intensive treatment, a timely accurate diagnosis of tAML is critical to patient care. Cytogenetic study can detect abnormalities most commonly associated with tAML and thus providing important diagnostic information. However, utilizing cytogenetic analysis alone cannot guarantee prompt and accurate results. In this study, an interesting case with therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (tMDS/tAML) will be presented. A laboratory diagnostic strategy for tAML laboratory diagnosis will also be proposed.

Environmental contextA total of 21 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) including PFOS were quantified in river waters, sewage, sea waters, shallow ground waters as well as fish and domestic poultry, focussed on the main river basins in Shenyang and the Yangtze River Delta areas, China. The distribution characteristics of PFCs in the aquatic environment and evaluation of the potential risk for human health via the diet of fish was discussed. Comprehensive research was carried out using the world leading knowledge about PFOS-related chemicals in AIST, Japan to enable reliable evaluation of PFOS risk in Chinese environments, supported by ISO25101. AbstractA total of 21 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were quantified in water and biota samples collected from Shenyang in North-east China and the Yangtze River Delta area in East China. The human health risk owing to intake of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) via fish and domestic poultry dietary was evaluated. The total PFC concentration (∑PFC) in water samples from the rivers in Shenyang averaged 5.32 ng L–1, with PFOS and PFOA as the predominant compounds. The urban sewage could be the source of PFOS and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) in the surface waters. The total PFCs in water samples from the Yangtze River Delta area ranged from 42.4 to 170 ng L–1. The highest concentrations of most PFCs were observed in waters from the Shanghai section of the Yangtze River. In the biota samples, PFOS and PFUnDA (perfluoroundecanoic acid) were the most abundant. The acceptable daily intake (ADI) and hazard ratio (HR) values for PFOS and PFOA intake through the diet of fish and poultry in the studied areas were calculated, and showed that the HR values for PFOS and PFOA are all less than 1.0 for both the areas.