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To explore the relationship between Lactobacillus and prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and its correlation with clinical parameters.Consecutive patients with AMI in the coronary care unit of Tianjin Chest Hospital in China who received emergency PCI between July 2017 and December 2018 were enrolled. Subjects' fecal 16S rDNA gene sequencing data were analyzed and subjects were categorized into low, medium and high level groups according to stool Lactobacillus measurements. The primary endpoints were major adverse cardiac events. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between Lactobacillus and prognosis. Spearman correlation analysis and trend tests were used to assess the relationship between Lactobacillus and the clinical indicators.The data of 254 patients were included in the analysis. Mean age was 65.90 ± 11.56 years, and 152 patients (59.84%) were male. Follow-up time was 652 (548.25-753.00) days. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiac events in patients with Lactobacillus7.1 copies/g [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.216, 95% CI: 0.094-0.493,This study is the first to reveal the correlation between Lactobacillus and inflammation and myocardial damage after STEMI. STEMI patients, especially male smokers aged over 60 years with severe impairment of cardiac function, have better outcomes with high levels of Lactobacillus, suggesting new therapeutic strategies for improving the prognosis and quality of life of AMI patients.

Introduction Identifying target oncogenic alterations in lung cancer represents a major development in disease management. We examined the association of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) gene amplification with pathological characteristics and geographic region. Material and methods We conducted a meta-analysis of studies published between January 2010 and October 2016. Relative risks (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated regarding the rate of FGFR1 amplification in different lung cancer types and geographic region. Results Twenty-three studies (5252 patients) were included. There was heterogeneity between studies. However, in subgroup analyses for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), studies using the same definition of FGFR1 amplification, and those from Australia, no significant heterogeneity was detected. The prevalence of FGFR1 amplification in these studies ranged from 4.9% to 49.2% in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 5.1% to 41.5% in SCC, 0% to 14.7% in adenocarcinoma, and 0% to 7.8% in SCLC. The prevalence of FGFR1 amplification was significantly higher in SCC than in adenocarcinoma (RR = 5.2) and SCLC (RR = 4.2). The prevalence of FGFR1 amplification ranged from 5.6% to 22.2% in Europe, 4.1% to 18.2% in the United States, 7.8% to 49.2% in Asia, and 14.2% to 18.6% in Australia. The rate of FGFR1 amplification was higher in Asians than in non-Asians (RR = 1.9) in NSCLC. Conclusions These results suggest that FGFR1 amplification occurs more frequently in SCC and in Asians. FGFR1 amplification may be a potential new therapeutic target for specific patients and lung cancer subtypes.

Increasing evidence has linked ambient fine particulate matter (ie, particulate matter no larger than 2.5 μm [PMProspective cohort study.72,425 participants (age ≥18 years) without CKD were recruited from 121 counties in Hunan Province, China.Annual mean PMIncident CKD during the interval between the baseline examination of each participant (2005-2017) and the end of follow-up through 2018.Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the independent association of PMOver a median follow-up of 3.79 (IQR, 2.03-5.48) years, a total of 2,188 participants with incident CKD were identified. PMLack of information on participants' activity patterns such as time spent outdoors.Greater long-term ambient PMExposure to a form of air pollution known as fine particulate matter (ie, particulate matter ≤2.5 μm [PM

To investigate the clinical efficacy of ALL-2005 and ALL-2009 regimen and factors influencing prognosis of newly diagnosed ALL patients aged between 10-18 years old to provide some reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.The clinical data including baseline clinical characteristics, induction chemotherapy effect, long-term clinical efficacy, recurrence rate and mortality of induction therapy of 119 newly diagnosed ALL patients aged between 10-18 years old from January 2008 to December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively, and the influencing factors of clinical prognosis were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis.The complete remission rate at the 5th week after induction therapy was not significantly different between ALL-2005 and ALL-2009 regimen groups (P＞0.05). The cumulative event-free survival rate and overall survival rate of 119 cases after 5-year follow-up were (63.41±3.65)% and (68.95±4.01)% respectively, and after 7-year follow-up were (61.86±3.72)% and (67.22±3.59)% respectively. The cumulative event-free survival rate and overall survival rate were not significantly different between ALL-2005 and ALL-2009 regimen groups (P＞0.05). The total recurrence rate, extramedullary recurrence rate, recurrence time and survival rate were not significantly different between ALL-2005 and ALL-2009 regimen groups (P＞0.05). The survival rate of extramedullary recurrence group was significantly higher than bone marrow recurrence group (P＜0.05). The survival rate in late term recurrence group was significantly higher than in early term recurrence group (P＜0.05). The mortality of ALL-2005 regimens was not significantly different from that of ALL-2009 regimen group (P＞0.05). Univariate analysis showed that age, sex, induction therapy, risk and fusion gene all were the factors influencing clinical prognosis (P＜0.05). Multivariate analysis by Cox regression model showed that male, non-remission after induction therapy and high risk were the independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients (P＜0.05). The survival rate of patients with BCR-ABLThe survival rate of newly diagnosed ALL patients aged between 10-18 years old treated with ALL-2009 regimen was slightly higher than that of ALL-2005 regimen, it is more suitable for the ALL patients with BCR-ABLALL-2005和ALL-2009治疗方案对10-18岁新诊断ALL患者的临床疗效及预后影响因素探讨.探讨10-18岁新诊断急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）患者的临床疗效及预后影响因素, 为临床选择治疗方案提供依据。.回顾性分析济南市第二妇幼保健院2008年1月-2015年12月收治119例10-18岁新诊断ALL患者的临床资料, 包括基线临床特征、诱导治疗缓解效果、远期疗效、复发及死亡情况, 并对临床预后影响因素进行单因素和多因素评价。.接受ALL-2005方案与ALL-2009方案治疗的患者经诱导治疗后第5周达完全缓解比例比较无显著性差异（P＞0.05）。119例患者随访5年累积无事件生存率和总生存率分别为（63.41±3.65）%和（68.95±4.01）%、7年分别为（61.86±3.72）%和（67.22±3.59）%。接受ALL-2005方案和ALL-2009方案治疗的患者随访累积无事件生存率和总生存率、总复发率、髓外复发率、复发时间及存活率比较均无显著性差异（P＞0.05）；髓外复发组存活率显著高于骨髓复发组（P＜0.05）；晚期复发组存活率显著高于早期复发组（P＜0.05）。单因素分析结果显示, 年龄、性别、诱导治疗效果、危险度及融合基因是患者临床预后影响因素（P＜0.05）；而Cox回归模型多因素分析结果显示, 男性、诱导治疗未缓解及高危是患者预后不良独立危险因素（P＜0.05）。合并BCR-ABL10-18岁新诊断ALL患者采用ALL-2009方案治疗后较ALL-2005方案的生存率略有提高, 更适用于合并BCR-ABL

The performance of cross flow hollow fiber membrane contactors (HFMCs) used for gas absorption is greatly influenced by module characteristics. In this study, a comprehensive investigation has been conducted on the module design and its impact on the performance of cross flow HFMCs using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. For modules operated with liquid solvent flowing through the shell-side, the overall mass transfer coefficient is a strong function of shell-side flow behavior which in turn is determined by shell geometries. Shell-side liquid flow behavior is difficult to predict and therefore often overlooked. In this work, a CFD simulation of a lab scale cross hollow fiber membrane contactor was developed to estimate shell-side flow and overall mass transfer performance. The CFD model was validated with experimental data from the lab scale module for CO 2 absorption. The validated model was then used to investigate the geometric effect of module design on the shell-side flow and consequent absorption performance. A few design factors were examined such as the shell configurations, inlet geometries, fiber bed height and packing density. This work shows that a properly designed CFD simulation can be used as a useful tool to optimize module design for cross flow membrane contactors and improve absorption performance.

A dual membrane contactor containing two types of membranes (polypropylene membrane and silicone rubber membrane) was designed and constructed for gas absorption process. The module performance was evaluated based on permeation flux experiments. The experimental results were compared with the predictions from a numerical model developed in our previous studies. Furthermore, the mass transfer resistance in the fabricated module was investigated using resistance-in-series model. An empirical correlation was developed to describe mass transfer coefficient under different operational conditions. The performance tests completed with the proposed novel dual membrane design shows that by simultaneously stripping gaseous component from the solvent through nonporous membrane along with absorption process, permeation flux was improved by 12–78%, compared to conventional modules containing only one type of porous membrane. The enhancement can be further improved by optimizing the membrane design and operational conditions. The effect of various operational conditions on absorption performance of dual membrane module was also examined. The experimental results were found in good agreement with those generated by simulation model. It was found that mass transfer resistance in the dual membrane module existed mainly in the liquid phase while membrane's resistance contribution to the total mass transfer resistance was about 7%. Higher permeation flux was achieved when the module was operated with lower gas flow rates, higher liquid flow rates and a low vacuum pressure in nonporous membrane. When compared to dilute feed gas (solute concentration ≤5%), removal efficiency with concentrated gas is much higher when other operational conditions were kept the same. The proposed novel membrane design holds great potential for gas processing at remote locations such as offshore platforms.

Background To describe the study design, methodology and baseline characteristics of the Dongguan Eye Study. Design Population-based, cross-sectional study Participants A total of 8952 rural-dwelling residents aged 40 years or older in Hengli, Dongguan. Methods The Dongguan Eye Study was conducted from September 2011 to February 2012. The interview covered demographic data, socio-economic status and health- and vision-related quality of life. Physical measurements included height, weight, waist and hip circumference, heart rate and blood pressure. Laboratory tests included fasting blood glucose, haemoglobin A1c, oral glucose tolerance, serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid. Ophthalmic examinations included visual acuity and autorefraction testing, intraocular pressure measurement, slit-lamp examination, ocular biometry, gonioscopy, fundus photography, retinal nerve fibre layer imaging and visual field testing. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence and risk factors for visual impairment, blindness, eye diseases and their associations with systemic medical indicators or health-related lifestyles, as well as epidemiological data on diabetic subjects. Methodology, response rates and baseline characteristics are presented. Results Of the 11 357 individuals eligible for the Dongguan Eye Study, 8952 (78.82%) subjects participated. All participants were self-identified Han Chinese. The average age was 54.0 years, 59.9% were female, 48.4% were farmers and 77.2% had elementary or junior middle school educational levels. The average body mass index and waist–hip ratio were 24.6 ± 3.9 kg/m2 and 0.9 ± 0.2. Conclusions Data from the Dongguan Eye Study provide information concerning the prevalence, risk factors and impacts of eye diseases in rural residents undergoing urbanization in southern China.

Objective. To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors in patients with lung cancer and COPD. Materials and Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 282 patients with lung cancer, including 174 and 108 patients with and without COPD, respectively. Information on age, sex, smoking status, and histologic type was obtained from medical records. Results. Lung cancer patients with COPD and those with the chronic bronchitis (CB) phenotype had higher smoking indices compared to those without COPD (723.95±631.48 and 920.95±712.93 versus 418.40±506.84; P=0.010; P=0.001, resp.), and current smokers accounted for significantly higher proportions of lung cancer patients with COPD and the CB phenotype versus without COPD (51.15% and 63.74% versus 35.19%; P=0.009; P=0.001, resp.). Adenocarcinoma was significantly more common in lung cancer patients without versus with COPD (48.15% versus 35.63%; P=0.037), whereas small cell lung cancer was more common in patients with COPD (23.56% versus 13.89%). Among patients with COPD, male sex (odds ratio [OR], 19.946; P<0.001), current smokers (OR: 6.588; P=0.001), and age ≥ 75 years (OR: 2.670; P=0.008) were identified as high-risk factors. Conclusion. The risk factors for COPD among lung cancer patients were age ≥ 75 years, current smokers with the CB phenotype, and male sex.

Automatic estimation of symbol parameters plays a prominent role in electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare systems. How to estimate the code width without prior knowledge is an important problem in modulation recognition. Hilbert transform can effectively extract the instantaneous mutation characteristics of digital communication signals. In this paper, in order to demodulate MPSK underwater acoustic communication signals without pre-code-width knowledge, a code-width estimation algorithm is proposed by detecting the phase-angle jumps between two adjacent symbols, which is obtained by Hilbert transform. In matlab simulation, the Hilbert transform magnitude of digital communication signals will peak at the time where phase changes occur, and the peak interval is an integer multiple of the symbol period. In this paper, we establish a channel of marine environment, and added different level noises. The theoretical analysis and the actual signal processing show that this algorithm can effectively detect the symbol transition, thus estimating the code width.

A time synchronization algorithm for hidden mobile node (HMB), which can only receive signals, joining an existing synchronized underwater Acoustic (UWA) sensor network (UASN) is proposed. In order to obtain the location of the HMB or communicate with it, the local time of the HMB should synchronize with the UASN. However, the propagation delay in UWA channels could not be ignored compared to electromagnetic radio channels. In the proposed algorithm, the HMB do the uniform linear motion in a certain direction, and the clock drift could be solved. After the derivation of the solution equations and the MATLAB simulation, it was proved that this algorithm is useful to reduce time error and improve the node localization accuracy in specific underwater circumstance.

With the rapid development of information technology and people’s relying on information technology, a growth trend geometry has been showing by all kinds of electronic document format , a full-text retrieval system of multi document we was needed to be designed and implemented in order to retrieve the required information quickly and accurately among those vast amounts of information. During the design and implementation process in the system, it played a crucial role in the link to design and realize the database. The design and implementation of database development process part in the full-text retrieval system of multi document was mainly introduced in this paper.

An efficient synthetic method for bisindolyl propanoates has been developed. Ga(DS)3-catalysed double hydroarylation of acetylenic esters with indoles in water afforded regioselective products with up to 99% yield.

Two single gene cassettes, each containing one of the individual gene (γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase gene GSH1 or glutathione synthetase gene GSH2), were constructed under the control of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1) promoter and their respective native terminators. The recombinant plasmids constructed with Kan (r) or Hyg (r) as the selective markers and were transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae separately and jointly. Three engineered strains, GSH1-enhanced strain S.TS013/GSH1, GSH2-enhanced strain S.TS013/GSH2 and GSH1+GSH2 double-enhanced strain S.TS013/GSH1+GSH2, were constructed. Glutathione production using the recombinant strains to improve was then determined. By the cell dosage proportions of two engineered strains (S.TS013/GSH1, S.TS013/GSH2) and a two-stage reaction, GSH productivity increased by 84 and 59 % over that of the host strain and the S.TS013/GSH1+GSH2 strain, respectively.

To discuss whether nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS2002) is appropriate for nutritional risk screening for leukemia patients before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and whether there are risk differences in other conditions, such as age, gender and matching degree; to find the methods and indicators of nutritional risk screening for these patients before and after HSCT, in order to give timely intervention to guarantee the successful completion of the entire transplantation process.Nutritional risk of 99 leukemia patients was screened with NRS2002 before and after HSCT. The (χ) (2) test was applied to compare the risk differences between groups such as age, gender and matching degree, while the differences of other enumeration data, such as recent (1-3 months) weight loss, reduced food intake within one week and BMI, were compared by continuity correction.Of the 99 leukemia patients, 22 cases (22.2%) had nutritional risk before HSCT, while all patients had nutritional risk after HSCT; there is no significant difference in nutritional risk between male and female, and patients of less than 30 years old, not-full matched, recent (1-3 months) weight loss, reduced food intake within a week or BMI18.5 were more likely to have nutritional risk; and 77 cases (77.8%) had weight loss, among which 49 patients (63.6%) had more than 5% weight loss within one month.This study showed that leukemia patients should receive the nutritional risk screening conventionally before and after HSCT, and NRS2002 was only appropriate for nutritional risk screening before HSCT. More attention should be paid to the patients less than 30 years old or not-full matched. Weight change was one of the important nutritional indicators for patients after HSCT.

Based on Gibbs sampling technology, this paper puts forward a new semi-blind joint channel estimation and equalization algorithm that used in signal carrier coherent underwater acoustic communication system. First of all, we estimate the channel by using the train sequence with a loop structure before the data, and according to the sparse characteristics of underwater acoustic channel, this paper uses the sparse learning via iterative minimization (SLIM) algorithm which improves the accuracy of channel estimation under low SNR, and results in an accurate estimation with accurate SNR. Second, in dealing with the data frame, based on the time-varying characteristics of the underwater acoustic channel, the data frame is divided into specific length of overlapping pieces for processing. In overlapping blocks, based on the channel estimation results, we will get the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability of the send data, at the same time; we will use the new information to update the channel at the same time, tracking the change of the channel. We analyzed the data getting in the ocean experiment of Xiamen sea area of 10 km, the results show that compared with traditional frequency domain linear equalization and time domain of decision feedback equalizer (DFE) algorithm, the algorithm is robust and the bit error rate is significantly reduced.

Hollow fiber membrane contactors are advantageous in natural gas processing where the required equipment foot-print is small. Hollow fiber membrane contactors used for gas–liquid have typically had separate absorption and regeneration system, which may not be practical for offshore gas treating due to limited space. Based on our previous work, one membrane hollow fiber modules with two sets of membranes for absorption and regeneration are proposed which combines the absorber and stripper into one unit operation. In this design, the gas flows through the porous membrane hollow fibers immersed in a solvent and the solvent strips the gas of the contaminant. Nonporous membrane hollow fibers with a low pressure inside are in the same shell. They partially regenerate the solvent by stripping the contaminant out. The proposed modules and an ordinary single hollow fiber membrane contactor were modeled using partial differential equations based on a single component absorption scheme. A numerical model based on mass balance was developed to predict the performance of the dual contactor modules and also concentration change in both gas and liquid phase in the modules. The predictions of the developed numerical model were found to be in good agreement with the previous experimental results presented by Dindore et al. Simulation results show that the nonporous membranes in the dual hollow fiber membrane contactor can partially regenerate the solvent during the absorption and result in a better gas removal efficiency than the ordinary module. In addition, the baffles increased the mass transfer by minimizing shell-side bypass and increasing liquid velocity.

In longhorn beetles and many other internally feeding insects, oviposition choice by females is critical to the survival of their offspring because their larvae are incapable of moving between hosts. Here we report on the complex host selection and colonization strategies of a longhorn beetle, Glenea cantor (F.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), which is an important pest of kapok trees [Bombax ceiba L. = Gossampinus malabaricus (DC.) Merr.] in southern Asia. It attacks weakened trees, eventually killing them. The typical oviposition behavioral sequence in the laboratory includes the following: oviposition site search and recognition using antennae and palpi, oviposition slit preparation with mandibles, turning body direction 180°, egg deposition with the ovipositor, and oviposition wound covering with a jelly-like material from the ovipositor. Bark moisture content significantly increases from the upper to lower sections in kapok trees. In accordance with this variation female adults select the upper section of trees first for oviposition. As infestation continues and the host becomes more weakened, ovipositing females move further down the tree for oviposition. Consequently, the larvae kill the hosts from the top down. We show that the jelly-like material or eggs or both have an olfactory role in attracting females to oviposit nearby. Our findings are important in terms of increasing our understanding of host selection and colonization mechanisms of internally feeding insects, particularly cerambycids, and the development of environmentally friendly pest management measures.

Scygonadin is an anionic antimicrobial peptide recently identified from the seminal plasma of Scylla serrata. To gain more detailed information on its antimicrobial activity, scygonadin mature peptide was expressed in Escherichia coli in order to obtain a large quantity of biologically active product. An approximately 43 kDa fusion protein CKS-scygonadin was obtained in a highly stable and soluble form. The soluble component of the fusion CKS-scygonadin was purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). A single 11 kDa recombinant scygonadin was cleaved from CKS-scygonadin and purified from the cleavage mixture using an affinity chromatography column with a yield of 10.6 mg/L. Alternatively, a recombinant scygonadin was purified from pET28-scygonadin by one-step Ni(2+) affinity chromatography and 65.9 mg/L pure recombinant scygonadin was obtained which was higher than that purified from pTrc-CKS/scygonadin in bacteria culture. The recombinant scygonadin was confirmed using SDS-PAGE analysis and MS-fingerprinting. Both recombinant products of scygonadin from different expressed plasmids showed the activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but no activity against yeast and fungi tested. The kinetic studies showed that the recombinant scygonadin was strong active against Staphylococcus aureus and the killing of S. aureus appeared time and dose dependent. Considering the quantity of recombinant product and the applicability of purification, the pET28-scygonadin expression system is a better choice to produce large quantities of recombinant scygonadin for commercial use in future. This is the first report on the heterologous expression of antimicrobial peptide scygonadin in E. coli.

Hepcidin gene is widely expressed in various fish, suggesting that this antimicrobial peptide is a very important component in the innate immune system. Large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) is one of the important economic species of marine-cultured fish but knowledge of its innate immune mechanism is lacking. In this study, we characterize a P. crocea hepcidin gene named as PC-hepc. It consists of an open reading frame of 258 bases encoding 85 amino acids and has a conserved sequence in common with other known hepcidins. The genomic DNA of PC-hepc contains three exons and two introns, the same organization as other reported hepcidins, indicating that PC-hepc is one member of the hepcidin family in fish. The tissue-specific expression of PC-hepc gene in normal fish and the expression pattern in LPS-challenged fish at the time course of stimulation were investigated. The expression of PC-hepc mRNA was significantly increased in the spleen, heart and stomach but not significantly induced in the liver after LPS challenge. An interesting finding is the demonstration of high amounts of PC-hepc transcripts in the kidney in normal fish and their maintenance through 48 h exposure to LPS challenge. The synthetic PC-hepc demonstrated a rather wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity in vitro against bacteria and fungi tested, and particularly showed strong activity against the principal fish pathogens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Vibrio parahaemloyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio harvryi. The study indicates that PC-hepc may play a role with a tissue-specific mode in the innate immunity of P. crocea.

Gallium(III) triflate-catalyzed reactions of phenylene-1,2-diamines and 1,2-diketones produce quinoxalines in excellent to quantitative yields. The reactions proceed with 1 mol % catalyst in ethanol at room temperature. The catalyst can be recycled for at least 10 times.

A novel protein was isolated from the seminal plasma of the mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forskal, 1775). It exhibited an antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacterium Micrococcus leteus with IC90 of 0.125 mg/ml. The extraction procedure for the protein included techniques of acid extraction, ion-exchange chromatography on SP-Sepharose Fast Flow and reverse-phase liquid chromatography on Source 5R RPC. It showed a molecular mass of 10.8 kDa by SDS-PAGE. A partial 20 residue NH2terminal sequence was determined by Edman degradation and MS-fingerprint of the protein was conducted. Similarity search in protein databases (BLAST) revealed that the protein exhibited no significant homology to any other reported antimicrobial peptides. We propose the name Scygonadin (from the gonad of S. serrata) for this antibacterial protein. © 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Abstract A study was conducted to better understand the hydraulic and thermal behaviour of dead-legs within a stacked spool arrangement designed to produce two well streams from a single manifold. The study included scenarios under different rigid spool orientations and active line flow conditions. The ultimate goal of the study was to optimize inhibitor injection procedures with respect to loss of inhibitor and contamination of the production fluids. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique was employed to simulate the flow and thermal conditions within the flow lines and dead-legs. The results of the simulations were validated with two sets of experiments and in two different scales (sizes). The findings of the study suggest that the thermal and/or hydraulic status of the dead-legs during long shut-in periods pose little risk of hydrate formation. Introduction A dead-leg is defined as an inactive portion of the pipe where the flow is stagnant or has very low velocity. This inactive pipe is normally connected to an active pipe that carries the main flowing stream. Due to the low or stagnant flow created in dead-legs, there is a risk of cool-down and hydrate formation. The stagnant conditions within the dead-legs could also promote corrosion. The formation of hydrates is a well known phenomenon in the oil and gas production and processing systems. Hydrates can form under low temperature and high pressure when water is present in contact with gaseous or live crude oil and light liquid hydrocarbons. The fluids present in the well-stream contain a certain amount of gas which is saturated with vaporized water. Free produced or condensed water can collect in the low-points of the pipeline including pipe segments within dead-legs. Hydrates can be formed as a solid block when the line is left inactive and can potentially plug the pipeline. When hydrate formation happens, the hydrate plug in the pipeline may be either removed by depressurization or injection of inhibitor. By depressurizing one or even two sides of the plug, the hydrate plug starts to melt and can potentially move with high velocity, which could cause severe damage to subsea components. The formation of hydrates in the rigid spools connecting the subsea trees to the main subsea production manifolds could result in complex consequences. The manifold-subsea tree interconnecting spool is connected to the manifold from one side and can be relatively easily depressurized; however the tree side of the spool cannot be depressurized readily and may require costly subsea intervention and an extended loss of production. Addition of hydrate inhibitor will reduce the melting temperature and reduce the thermodynamic potential for hydrate formation. Flushing dead-legs with inhibitors such as methanol can protect them from hydrate formation during shut-in periods.

Recently, two hepcidin variant genes (Om-hep1 and Om-hep2) were identified in a model fish marine medaka and both were highly induced in vivo with bacterial challenge, suggesting that the medaka hepcidin may have a similar function to other reported teleostean hepcidins. In the present study, the antibacterial, antiviral and antitumor activities of Om-hep1 were determined using its synthetic and recombinant pro-peptides. The recombinant pro-hepcidin1 was expressed in Escherichia coli and an effective method to produce recombinant Pro-Omhep1 was developed in order to obtain a right folded structure. The results showed that both the synthetic mature peptide and recombinant pro-peptide had similar antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. In particular, both the synthetic mature Om-hep1 and recombinant Pro-Omhep1 inhibited the viral replication of white spot syndrome virus in the hematopoietic tissue cells of the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus. Om-hep1 also presented antitumor activity on the cultured human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. In addition, the antimicrobial mechanism of Om-hep1 was measured and it was found that Om-hep1 was likely to be non-membranolytic. The recombinant Pro-Omhep1 performed better biological activity compared to the synthetic mature Om-hep1. This study suggested that Om-hep1 was likely to be an important multifunction protein involved in various resistance actions in the marine medaka immune system.

To evaluate whether microbubbles targeted to vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) (CD106) coupled with a magnetic guidance system could improve the efficacy of contrast-enhanced molecular ultrasonography (US) of atherosclerosis in the aorta.The animal research committee at Southern Medical University approved all experiments. Adherence of magnetic VCAM-1-targeted microbubbles, control inactive magnetic microbubbles, and nonmagnetic VCAM-1-targeted microbubbles to VCAM-1-Fc was determined in vitro by using a flow chamber at variable shear stress (1-24 dyne/cm(2)) under magnetic field guidance. Attachment of microbubbles under magnetic field guidance was determined in vivo with fluorescent microscopy and contrast-enhanced US of the abdominal aorta in wild-type (C57BL/6) or apolipoprotein E (APOE)-deficient mice on a regular or hypercholesterolemic diet. General factorial analysis of variance was used to compare the targeted effect of the microbubbles among different animal groups to identify significant differences.Attachment was noted for magnetic and nonmagnetic microbubbles but not for inactive magnetic microbubbles; firm attachment at high shear stress (16-20 dyne/cm(2)) was achieved only with magnetic microbubbles. Fluorescence intensity and video intensity were significantly higher in magnetic microbubbles with magnetic field guidance than in inactive magnetic microbubbles and nonmagnetic microbubbles (P.05). Video intensity from retained magnetic microbubbles in APOE-deficient mice was significantly greater than that in wild-type mice (mean video intensity for APOE-deficient mice: 28.25 [interquartile range, or IQR, 26.55-29.20] with a hypercholesterolemic diet and 16.10 [IQR, 14.15-18.75] with a regular diet; mean video intensity for wild-type mice: 9.55 [IQR, 8.85-10.5] with a hypercholesterolemic diet and 2.90 [IQR, 1.25-3.85] with a regular diet; P.001).Use of a magnetic targeted microbubble system results in greater attachment to endothelial VCAM-1 in atherosclerotic aortas in conditions of high shear stress and improved detection of early inflammatory changes of atherosclerosis.

To assess the feasibility of usage of microbubbles conjugated with RGD peptides and contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEU) in detection of tumor angiogenesis.Lipid microbubbles (MB) were prepared, and the RGD peptides were covalently conjugated to the lipid shell of MB (MB(RGD)). Six nude mice with tumor created by dorsal inoculation of HepG2 tumor cells were used as the test group. Six nude mice without tumor were served as the control group. 10 minutes after bolus injection of MB and MB(RGD) randomly (30 min interval) via a tail vein catheter, CEU was performed on the tumors of the test group and the thigh skeletal muscles of control group. The video intensity (VI) of tumors and the skeletal muscles were measured. The tumors and the skeletal muscles were harvested for immunohistochemical examination.Only a slight contrast enhancement of the tumor was seen with MB, and the VI was 5.33 ± 1.71. While a remarkable enhancement of the tumor was observed after injection of MB(RGD). The VI was up to 17.03 ± 3.58, 3.18 folds higher as compared with that obtained by injection of MB (P0.05). As expected, there were no obvious contrast enhancement of the skeletal muscles with both MB(RGD) and MB. There was a high expression of αvβ3-integrin in tumor neovascular endothelium, however, no apparent expression of αvβ3-integrin was observed in the skeletal muscle vascular endothelium.CEU with MB(RGD) can be used to effectively evaluate the angiogenesis of tumors, and it may greatly contribute to the early judgement of the nature of tumor.

There are more diversified isoforms of the hepcidin gene that exist in fishes than in mammals, and elucidating the differences between these isoforms should provide insight into the functioning of hepcidin in fishes. In our study, AS-hepc2 and AS-hepc6 hepcidin isoforms from black porgy were characterized for their in vivo expression patterns following bacterial challenge, and their in vitro antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi. As a result, two isoforms were observed to be widely distributed in all the tissues tested. AS-hepc2 was a liver-expressed hepcidin peptide which was always highly more expressed in the liver than in the other tissues tested no matter whether this was before or after bacterial challenge. AS-hepc6 was detected mainly in the head kidney and trunk kidney of normal fish, but, in the challenged fish, its expression involved more tissues than just the kidneys. The mature peptides of AS-hepc2 and AS-hepc6 were modeled for 3D structure and then synthesized for antimicrobial assay. AS-hepc6 had a wider antimicrobial spectrum than AS-hepc2 and, in particular, had more potent antifungal activity. Our study indicated that the two hepcidin isoforms had different characteristics in terms of their expression patterns and antimicrobial activity, and they were assumed to play an overlapping role in the innate immune system of black porgy against invading pathogens.

Gallium(III) triflate-catalyzed [4+2+1] cycloaddition of o-phenylenediamines and 2 equiv of alkynoate under solvent-free and ultrasonic irradiation conditions afforded novel 3,4-disubstituted-1,5-benzodiazepines in 82–90% yields.

To assess the binding ability of microbubbles targeted to alphavbeta3-integrin (MBp) for thrombus-targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound.Targeted microbubbles were prepared by conjugating the monoclonal antibody against alphavbeta3-integrin to lipid shell of the microbubble via the avidin-biotin bridges. Equivalent isotype control microbubbles (MB) or targeted ultrasound microbubbles (MBp) were randomly added into the flow chamber. After a 30-min incubation with the thrombus fixed in an agarose flow chamber model, the thrombus was washed with a continuous flow of PBS solution (15 cm/s) for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 min, followed by thrombus imaging using contrast-enhanced ultrasound and measurement of the video intensity (VI) values of the images.The VI of the thrombus in MBp group was reduced by 28%-66%, while that in control MB group was decreased by 87%-94%, and the VI values of the thrombus group were significantly greater in former group at each of the time points (P0.05).MBP has good targeting ability to the thrombus with resistance to the shear stress after adhesion to the thrombus. In vitro evaluation of the thrombus-binding capability of the targeted microbubble (MBp) by simulating the shear stress in vivo can be helpful for predicting the in vivo effects of ultrasonic molecular imaging using MBp.

Gallium(III) triflate-catalyzed reactions of phenylene-1,2-diamines and 1,2-diketones produce quinoxalines in excellent to quantitative yields. The reactions proceed with 1 mol % catalyst in ethanol at room temperature. The catalyst can be recycled for at least 10 times.