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Xiao-nan Gao,1 Xu-yang Nie,1 Jing-lin Gao,1 Tian-fang Heng,2 Yu-qi Zhang,2 Li Hua,1 Ya-qi Sun,1 Zhang-ying Feng,1 Ming-xia Wang,1 Li Jia2 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ming-xia Wang, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, 12 Jiankang Road, Shijiazhuang, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 311-66696233, Email mxia_wang@163.com Li Jia, Department of Anesthesiology, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, 12 Jiankang Road, Shijiazhuang, People’s Republic of China, Email 281575038@qq.comPurpose: This study aimed to characterize the pharmacokinetics of nalbuphine in patients undergoing general anesthesia with varying degrees of liver dysfunction.Patients and Methods: Twenty-four patients were enrolled and divided into three cohorts based on liver function: normal liver function (n = 13), mild liver dysfunction (n = 5), and moderate/severe liver dysfunction (n = 6). During the induction of anesthesia, they received 15 mg of nalbuphine intravenously. Venous blood samples were collected from each patient. The plasma concentration of nalbuphine was determined using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The pharmacokinetic parameters of nalbuphine were calculated by non-compartmental analysis (NCA) using Phoenix WinNonlin software.Results: Compared with the normal liver function group, the plasma elimination half-life (T1/2) of nalbuphine was increased by approximately 33% in the moderate/severe liver dysfunction group (2.66 h vs 3.54 h, P< 0.05), and the volume of distribution (Vd) increased by approximately 85% (100.08 L vs 184.95 L, P< 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that weight and platelet were associated with clearance (CL); total bilirubin as an independent factor was associated with T1/2, and weight associated with area under the curve (AUC(0→∞)) independently.Conclusion: The T1/2, mean residence time, and Vd of nalbuphine in patients with moderate/severe liver dysfunction were prolonged or increased significantly compared with those in the normal liver function group. These data suggest that it may need to be used with caution when nalbuphine is administered to patients with moderate or severe liver dysfunction.Keywords: nalbuphine, intravenous, liver dysfunction, UPLC-MS/MS, pharmacokinetics

Stent implantation has been increasingly applied for the treatment of obstructive coronary artery disease, which, albeit effective, often harasses patients by in-stent restenosis (ISR).The present study was to explore the role of compound Chinese medicine Cardiotonic Pills® (CP) in attenuating ISR-evoked myocardial injury and fibrosis.Chinese miniature pigs were used to establish ISR model by implanting obsolete degradable stents into coronary arteries. Quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) was performed to confirm the success of the model.CP was given at 0.2 g/kg daily for 30 days after ISR. On day 30 and 60 after stent implantation, the myocardial infarct and myocardial blood flow (MBF) were assessed. Myocardial histology was evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome staining. The content of ATP, MPO, and the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex Ⅳ were determined by ELISA. Western blot was performed to assess the expression of ATP5D and related signaling proteins, and the mediators of myocardial fibrosis.Treatment with CP diminished myocardial infarct size, retained myocardium structure, attenuated myocardial fibrosis, and restored MBF. CP ameliorated energy metabolism disorder, attenuated TGFβ1 up-regulation and reversed its downstream gene expression, such as Smad6 and Smad7, and inhibited the increased expression of MCP-1, PR S19, MMP-2 and MMP-9.CP effectively protects myocardial structure and function from ISR challenge, possibly by regulating energy metabolism via inactivation of RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway and inhibition of monocyte chemotaxis and TGF β1/Smads signaling pathway.

Anaerobic digestion is used to treat diverse waste classes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of refractory compounds that common in wastes treated using anaerobic digestion. In this study, a microbial consortium with the ability to degrade phenanthrene under methanogenesis was enriched from paddy soil to investigate the cometabolic effect of glucose on methane (CH4) production and phenanthrene (a representative PAH) degradation under methanogenic conditions. The addition of glucose enhanced the CH4 production rate (from 0.37 to 2.25mg⋅L−1⋅d−1) but had no influence on the degradation rate of phenanthrene. Moreover, glucose addition significantly decreased the microbial α-diversity (from 2.59 to 1.30) of the enriched consortium but showed no significant effect on the microbial community (R2=0.39, p=0.10), archaeal community (R2=0.48, p=0.10), or functional profile (R2=0.48, p=0.10). The relative abundance of genes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds showed a decreasing tendency with the addition of glucose, whereas that of genes related to CH4 synthesis was not affected. Additionally, the abundance of genes related to the acetate pathway was the highest among the four types of CH4 synthesis pathways detected in the enriched consortium, which averagely accounted for 48.24% of the total CH4 synthesis pathway, indicating that the acetate pathway is dominant in this phenanthrene-degrading system during methanogenesis. Our results reveal that achieving an ideal effect is diffcult via co-metabolism in a single-stage digestion system of PAH under methanogenesis; thus, other anaerobic systems with higher PAH removal efficiency should be combined with methanogenic digestion, assembling a multistage pattern to enhance the PAH removal rate and CH4 production in anaerobic digestion.

Soil methane generation mainly driven by soil prokaryotic microbes can be coupled with the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs); however, the relationship between prokaryotic community structure and methane production activity in soil with the potential risk of PHC contamination is seldom reported. In this study, 3 soil samples (CS-1 to CS-3) in the area nearby an exploratory gas well and 5 soil samples (DC-1 to DC-5) in a drill cutting dump area were obtained from the Fuling shale gas field (Chongqing City, China). Then, the prokaryotic community structure was examined by Illumina Miseq sequencing, and the linkage between soil methane production rate (MPR) and prokaryotic community composition was analyzed. The results indicated that 2 samples (DC-4 and DC-5) collected from the drill cutting dump area had significantly higher MPR than the other samples, and a significant and positive relationship (r = 0.44, P

Soil autotrophic bacteria are important for sequestrating atmospheric CO2 and thus contribute to the global carbon cycle. However, information is limited on how chemical fertilization can alter the composition of soil autotrophic bacteria. In this study, the cbbL gene (a key gene in the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle that encodes the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, RubisCO) was used to study the abundance and composition of autotrophic bacteria in an entisol with 26 years of continuous fertilization. In this process, five chemical fertilization regimes were examined: without fertilization control (CT), nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization (NP), N and potassium fertilization (NK), PK fertilization (PK), and NPK fertilization (NPK). The results showed that after the 26-year (1991–2017) period, the CT with a neutral pH (7.55) had a higher RubisCO activity than did the chemical fertilizer treatments, but the cbbL abundance was the lowest under CT. Soil RubisCO activity positively correlated with soil pH (R2 = 0.67, P

The development of a vaccine based on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (Env) that elicits potent protective antibodies against infection has been challenging. Recently, we compared the antibody production patterns of HIV-1 Env gp120 and hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) to provide insights into how we may improve the protective efficacy of Env-based immunogens. Our previous study showed that HIV Env and HBsAg display different mechanisms of antibody elicitation and that T cells facilitate the responses to repeated immunizations. Here, to elucidate the detailed roles of primary immunization in immune memory response formation and antibody production, we immunized C57BL/6 mice with each antigen and evaluated the development of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, germinal centers, and the memory responses involved in prime and boost immunizations. We found that after prime immunization, compared with HBsAg, gp120 induced higher frequencies of Tfh cells and programmed death (PD)-1+ T cells, greater major histocompatibility complex II expression on B cells, comparable activated B cells, but weaker germinal center (GC) reactions and memory B cell responses in the draining lymph nodes, accompanied by slower antibody recall responses and poor immune memory responses. The above results suggested that more PD-1+ T cells arising in primary immunization may serve as major contributors to the slow antibody recall response elicited by HIV-1 Env. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12250-018-0074-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The issues of corporate social responsibility occur frequently in China. The implementation of corporate social responsibility is a complicated project in which various social factors are interrela...

Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) degradation under methanogenesis is an ideal approach to remediating PAH-polluted soil, the contribution of methanogenesis to soil PAH elimination and the relationships between microbial ecological characteristics and PAH degradation during this process remain unclear. Here, we conducted a short-term (60 days) incubation using a paddy soil amended with phenanthrene and examined the effects of a specific methanogenic inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate, BES) on this process. As treatment assessments, the methane production activity (MPA), phenanthrene degradation rate (PDR), and microbial ecological characteristics were determined. The results indicated that BES significantly inhibited both soil MPA and PDR, and we detected a positive relationship between MPA and PDR. Furthermore, BES significantly altered the soil microbial community structure, and it was the microbial community structure but not α-diversity was significantly correlated with soil MPA and PDR. BES decentralized the co-occurrence of bacterial genera but intensified the co-occurrence of methanogens. Moreover, certain bacterial taxa, including Bacteroidetes-vadinHA17, Gemmatimonas, and Sporomusaceae, were responsible for the MPA and PDR in this paddy soil. Collectively, these findings confirm the role of methanogenesis in PAH elimination from paddy soil, and reveal the importance of microbial co-occurrence characteristics in the determination of soil MPA and pollutant metabolism.

It has previously been confirmed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could be degraded by soil microbes coupling with denitrification, but the relationships among soil denitrifiers, PAHs, and nitrate under obligate anaerobic condition are still unclear. Here, co-effects of pyrene and nitrate on the activity and abundance of soil denitrifiers were investigated through a 45-day incubation experiment. Two groups of soil treatments with (N30) and without (N0) nitrate (30 mg kg−1 dry soil) amendment were conducted, and each group contained three treatments with different pyrene concentrations (0, 30, and 60 mg kg−1 dry soil denoted as P0, P30, and P60, respectively). The pyrene content, abundances of denitrification concerning genes (narG, periplasmic nitrate reductase gene; nirS, cd 1-nitrite reductase gene; nirK, copper-containing nitrite reductase gene), and productions of N2O and CO2 were measured at day 3, 14, 28, and 45, and the bacterial community structures in four represented treatments (N0P0, N0P60, N30P0, and N30P60) were analyzed at day 45. The results indicated that the treatments with higher pyrene concentration had higher final pyrene removal rates than the treatments with lower pyrene concentration. Additionally, intensive emission of N2O was detected in all treatments only at day 3, but a continuous production of CO2 was measured in each treatment during the incubation. Nitrate amendment could enhance the activity of soil denitrifiers, and be helpful for soil microbes to sustain their activity. While pyrene seemed had no influence on the productions of N2O and CO2, and amendment with pyrene or nitrate both had no obvious effect on abundances of denitrification concerning genes. Furthermore, it was nitrate but not pyrene had an obvious influence on the community structure of soil bacteria. These results revealed that, under anaerobic condition, the activity and abundance of soil denitrifiers both were insensitive to pyrene, but nitrate could improve the activity of soil denitrfiers and induce the shifts in soil bacterial community structure.

China is one of the countries with serious forest fires. Besides the methods of strengthening management of fire source and increasing forest fire monitoring and rescue efforts, improving the ability of forest itself to resist fire is also the key to prevent forest fires. In this study, we examined the characteristics of the bark across 11 main tree species in Korean pine broad-leaved forest at Jiaohe Forestry Experimental Area in Jilin Province. Fire resistance of bark acorss the tree species was evaluated comprehensively with four indices of water content, ash content, calorific value and oxygen index, using the methods of entropy weight, variance analysis and cluster analysis. Results showed that water content of bark was the highest in Phellodendron amurense. Calorific value of bark was the lowest and ash content was the highest in Ulmus davidiana. Oxygen index of bark was the highest in Fraxinus mandshurica. Bark fire resistance of 11 tree species followed the order of U. davidianaAcer monoAcer triflorumAcer mandshuricumF. mandshuricaQuercus mongolicaP. amurenseTilia amurensisJuglans mandshuricaPinus koraiensisBetula costata. The tree species in Korean pine broad-leaved forest could be classified to five categories according to bark fire resistance: U. davidiana belonged to the category of strongest fire-resistance; A. mono and A. triflorum belonged to the category of strong fire-resistance; A. mandshuricum, F. mandshurica, Q. mongolica, P. amurense, T. amurensis belonged to the category of common fire-resistance; J. mandshurica and P. koraiensis belonged to the category of weak fire-resistance; and B. costata belonged to the category of poor fire-resistance.我国是森林火灾较为严重的国家之一,在森林防火工作中,除加强火源管理、加大森林火灾的监测和扑救力度等手段外,提高林分自身抵抗火灾的能力也是预防森林火灾发生的关键。本研究以吉林省蛟河林业实验区管理局内红松阔叶林11种主要树种树皮为研究对象,根据含水率、灰分、热值、氧指数4个指标,使用熵权法、方差分析、聚类分析等方法对各树种树皮抗火性进行综合评价。结果表明: 黄檗树皮的含水率最高,春榆树皮的热值最低且灰分含量最大,水曲柳树皮的氧指数最高;11种树种树皮抗火性大小依次为:春榆色木槭拧筋槭白牛槭水曲柳蒙古栎黄檗紫椴胡桃楸红松枫桦。红松阔叶林主要树种树皮的抗火性可分为5类,春榆的抗火性强;色木槭、拧筋槭的抗火性较强;白牛槭、水曲柳、蒙古栎、黄檗、紫椴的抗火性一般;胡桃楸、红松的抗火性差;枫桦的抗火性极差。.

Longshengzhi capsule consisting of 12 herbs is widely used in clinically treating cerebral ischemia during recovery period.In this study,in order to investigate the consistency of different batches of Longshengzhi capsules,a high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method(HPLC-QQQ/MS) was developed for the determination of 19 representative components in Longshengzhi Capsules within 9 min. Methodology validation indicated this method was simple,rapid,accurate,highly sensitive and reproducible,and it could be used for the content determination of components in Longshengzhi Capsules. The consistency analysis results showed that paeoniflorin and calycosin-7-glucoside in Longshengzhi Capsules had the highest content; RSD value of total content of 19 compounds was 5. 2% and the RSD value of main compounds such as astragaloside and calycosin-7-glucoside was all less than 15%,reflecting good consistency among different batches. This study has provided a scientific method and basis for the quality control and consistency evaluation of Longshengzhi Capsules.

Agricultural soils in oilfields have high risk for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution. In this study, from the Jianghan Oilfield (Hubei Province, China) with a history of >50 years, 7 soil samples (OS-1 to OS-7) were collected. Subsequently, the bacterial, archaeal, and fungal community structures were investigated by Illumina MiSeq sequencing, and the relationship between microbial community structure and soil PAH content was analyzed. The results indicated that bacterial and archaeal Chao 1 indices showed a significantly negative relationship with soil PAH content, and only the bacterial Shannon index had a significantly negative relationship with soil PAH content. Moreover, the community structure of bacteria (r 2 = 0.9001, p = 0.013) showed a stronger correlation with PAH content than that of fungi (r 2 = 0.7357, p = 0.045), and no significant relationship was found between archaeal community structure (r 2 = 0.4553, p = 0.262) and soil PAH content. In addition, the relative greater abundances of some bacterial genus belonging to Actinobacteria (Mycobacterium and Micromonospora) and Proteobacteria (Pseudomonas, Lysobacter, Idiomarina, Oxalobacteraceae, and Massilia), fungal genus belonging to Ascomycota (Sordariales and Pleosporales), and archaeal phylum (Euryarchaeota) were detected in the soil samples (OS-3 and OS-5) with greater PAH content. In summary, soil PAHs showed an obvious influence and selectivity on the soil microbiota. Furthermore, compared with fungi and archaea, bacteria was more sensitive to soil PAH pollution, and the diversity indices and community structure of bacteria both might be suitable indicators for assessment of soil PAH stress on the soil ecosystem.

The halotolerance protein HAL3, also known as SIS2, is a yeast protein that regulates the cell cycle and tolerance to salt stress through inhibition of the Ppz1 type 1 protein phosphatase. Although the roles of HAL3 have been demonstrated during the growth, development, and stress adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum, the function of HAL3 in other plant species, including soybean (Glycine max), has not been elucidated. In this study, GmHAL3a and GmHAL3b were isolated from Glycine max, and their roles were analyzed. GmHAL3a and GmHAL3b transcripts were detected in the roots, stems, leaves and seeds, with higher levels in the roots, and were induced by sodium chloride (NaCl), lithium chloride (LiCl), sorbitol, cold and ABA treatment. Overexpression of GmHAL3a or GmHAL3b in Arabidopsis accelerated the onset of flowering and resulted in more vigorous seed germination and increased tolerance to NaCl, LiCl, and sorbitol stress in seedlings, compared with wild type (WT) and empty vector control (VC) plants. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants accumulated proline and eliminated superoxide radical (O2−) in response to the stress. In addition, transcription levels of the stress-related genes RD22 and P5CS1 were substantially higher in transgenic Arabidopsis than in WT and VC plants. Taken together, the data indicate that GmHAL functions as a positive regulator of the response to salt, lithium cations and sorbitol stress.

To investigate the coupling mechanism between naphthalene degradation and denitrification using a liquid media containing naphthalene (sole carbon source) and nitrate, a naphthalene degradation bacterial consortium under denitrification was enriched from a soil with potential risk of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) contamination. The bacterial community composition of the enriched consortium was analyzed by Illumina MiSeq Sequencing. Subsquently, the enriched consortium was cultured under anaerobic conditions for 9 days, and the concentrations of electron acceptors (nitrate and nitrite) for denitrification, gaseous reduction products (N

Agricultural soils in the oilfields have the potential risk of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) pollution, and the denitrification process with nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor might be important for soil PAHs elimination under anaerobic condition. In this study, 9 soil samples listed as JH-1 to JH-9 were collected from the JiangHan oilfield with a history of more than 50 years. Using the functional genes (

The degradation of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under denitrification is one of the most important pathways for anaerobic PAH elimination, but little is known about the effect of nitrate (the terminal electron acceptor for denitrification) on soil denitrification activity and PAH degradation under anaerobic conditions. In this study, the effect of nitrate on soil anthracene anaerobic degradation and denitrification activity was investigated through an anaerobic microcosm experiment. Two groups of treatments without (N

Soil pH has been suggested as one of the most important factors affecting the ecological characteristics of soil ammonia-oxidizers (AO), which mediate the conversion of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite and contribute significantly to the leaching of nitrate to groundwater and the production of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O). However, the dynamics of the AO community in acidic purple soils, which are widely distributed in Southwest China, remain largely unknown. In this study, two typical purple soils with different pH values (acidic: ACI; alkaline: ALK) were collected and studied. The abundance of amoA (gene encoding ammonia monooxygenase) of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) and that of the cbbL gene (encoding ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) were determined by real-time PCR, and the community structures of AOB and AOA were investigated by cloning and sequencing. The results revealed that abundances of AOB and AOA were significantly lower in the ACI purple soil sample than in the ALK sample, but a higher ratio of AOA to AOB was found in the ACI purple soil sample. No significant difference in the abundance of cbbL was found between the two soils, but the ratio of AOB and AOA amoA to cbbL genes in the ACI soil samples was higher than that in the ALK sample. Moreover, the ALK and ACI soils harbored contrasting community compositions of AO. AOB in the ALK were dominated by cluster 3a (87 %), while the percentage of cluster 3a decreased and clusters 9 and 10 accounted for almost 77 % of the AOB community in the ACI soil. Nitrososphaera and Nitrosotalea were the major AOA phylotypes in the ALK and ACI soils, respectively. In conclusion, our results revealed the potential relations among pH, AO, and total chemoautotrophic bacteria in soil and that pH might have an essential impact on the adaptation and selection of AO in purple soils.

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) contribute to synovial hyperplasia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Smoothened (Smo) is a key component of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling and contributes to tumor cell proliferation. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of Smo in RA synoviocyte proliferation. FLSs were isolated from RA synovium. Shh signaling was studied using a Smo antagonist (GDC-0449) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting the Smo gene in FLSs. Cell proliferation was quantified by using kit-8 assay and cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry. Cell cycle-related genes and proteins were detected by real-time PCR and western blot. FLSs treated with GDC-0449 or Smo-siRNA showed significantly decreased proliferation compared to controls (P < 0.05). Incubation with GDC-0449 or transfection with Smo-siRNA resulted in a significant increase of G1 phase cells compared to controls (P < 0.05). Cell cycle arrest was validated by the significant increase in cyclin D1 and E1 mRNA expression, decrease in cyclin-dependent kinase p21 mRNA expression in Smo-siRNA transfected cells (P < 0.05). Protein expression of cyclin D1 was also downregulated after Smo gene knockdown (P < 0.05). The results suggest that Shh signaling plays an important role in RA-FLSs proliferation in a Smo-dependent manner and may contribute to synovial hyperplasia. Targeting Shh signaling may help control joint damage in patients with RA.

Through a 60-day microcosm incubation, the effect of 3, 4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on the activities and abundances of ammonia-oxidizers and denitrifiers in phenanthrene-polluted soil was investigated. Five treatments were conducted for clean soil (CK), phenanthrene added (P), phenanthrene and DMPP added (PD), phenanthrene and urea added (PU), and phenanthrene, urea, and DMPP added (PUD) soils. The results indicate that the potential nitrification rate (PNR) in the P treatment was significantly higher than that in the PD treatment only on day 7, whereas the PNR in the PU treatment was significantly higher than that in the PUD treatment on each sampling day. The abundance of soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the PU treatment was significantly higher than that in the PUD treatment on each sampling day. Moreover, the abundance of AOB but rather than the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) had significantly positive correlation with soil PNR (P 0.05). DMPP showed no obvious effect on the soil denitrification enzyme activity (DEA), which could have inhibited the abundances of denitrification-related narG, nirS, and nirK genes. The results of this study should provide a deeper understanding of the interaction between soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination, ammonia oxidization, and denitrification, and offer valuable information for assessing the potential contribution of denitrification for soil PAH elimination.

Mycelial pellets prepared using a marine-derived Penicillium janthinellum sp. strain (P1) were applied as biosorbents to remove dyes from aqueous solutions. Nine different dyes were studied and the effects of pH and salt concentration on the decolorization processes were investigated. The results showed that the mycelial pellet was effective in removing dyes from their water solutions. Moreover, it was found that pH was an important factor of the decolorization process and the best dye removal performance was achieved when pH = 5.0. The adsorption process of the live mycelial pellets was not affected by high salt concentrations. In addition, the mycelial pellets retained 91.3% of the original decolorization activity after five reusing cycles without any desorption treatments. The adsorption isotherms indicated that the biosorption process agreed well with the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum biosorption capacity of 344.83 mg g(dry)−1 and the kinetic adsorption results showed that the biosorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Pro-active head restraint is a new automotive safety device. It can make a pre-estimation of the occurrence possibility of rear-end collision. Thus, the whiplash injury can be effectively reduced or even prevented. One of the key elements in rear-end collision avoidance system is to establish an effective safety distance mathematical model. Based on the running state of front car, the related calculation models of safety distance are established by means of dynamical and kinematical analysis of vehicle braking process and following process. Taken randomness of parameters into consideration, the fuzzy relations between these parameters should be validated by means of fuzzy theory. By using the MATLAB software, the study shows that safety distance model and the methods used to determine parameters are reasonable, and the false alarm can be effectively minimized.

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi could form symbiosis with plant roots and participate in nutrient absorption; however, many EM species commonly found in forest soils, where phosphorus (P) concentration and availability are usually very low, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas, have not yet been investigated for their efficiencies to mobilize soil P. In this study, fungal growth, P absorption, efflux of protons and organic acids, and soil P depletion by four isolates of EM fungi isolated either from acidic or calcareous soils were compared in pure liquid culture using soil as a sole P source. Boletus sp. 7 (Bo 7), Lactarius deliciosus 3 (Ld 3), and Pisolithus tinctorius 715 (Pt 715) from acidic and P-deficient soils of southwestern China showed higher biomass and P concentration and accumulation than Cenococcum geophilum 4 (Cg 4) from a calcareous soil of Inner Mongolia, northern China, after 4 weeks of liquid culture. Oxalate, malate, succinate, acetate, and citrate concentrations in the culture solutions varied significantly with fungal species, and oxalate accounted for 51.5%–91.4% of the total organic acids. Organic acids, particularly oxalate, in the culture solutions may lead to the solubilization of iron-bound P (Fe-P), aluminum-bound P (Al-P), and occluded P (O-P) from soil phosphates. Fungal species also varied greatly in proton efflux, which decreased the culture solution pH and may dissolve calcium-bound P (Ca-P) in soil. This could be the reason for the increment of both inorganic P in the culture solutions and Olsen P in the soil when EM fungi were present. Total inorganic P, the sum of Al-P, Fe-P, O-P, and Ca-P, in the culture solutions was positively correlated with the total concentration of organic acids in the culture solutions (r = 0.918*, n = 5), but negatively with both the total inorganic P in soil (r = −0.970**, n = 5) and the culture solution pH (r = −0.830*, n = 5). These suggested variable efficiencies of EM fungal species to mobilize inorganic P fractions from soil, which could make EM trees to utilize inorganic P in the same way like EM fungi and adapt to the soils with various P concentrations and availabilities.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Rhynchophylline (Rhy) is a major ingredient of Uncaria rhynchophylla (UR) used to reduce blood pressure and ameliorate brain ailments. This study was to examine the role of Rho kinase (ROCK) in the inhibition of Rhy on contraction of cerebral arterioles caused by endothelin 1 (ET-1). Materials and methods Cerebral arterioles of male Wistar rats were constricted with ET-1 for 10 min followed by perfusion of Rhy for 20 min. Changes in the diameters of the arterioles were recorded. The effects of Rhy on contraction of middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) were determined by a Multi-Myograph. Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining were used to examine the effects of Rhy on RhoA translocation and myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) phosphorylation. Results In vivo, Rhy (30–300 µM) relaxed cerebral arterioles constricted with ET-1 dose-dependently. In vitro, Rhy at lower concentrations (1–100 µM) caused relaxation of rat MCAs constricted with KCl and Bay-K8644 (an agonist of L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (L-VDCCs)). Rhy at higher concentrations (>100 µM) caused relaxation of rat MCAs constricted with ET-1, which was inhibited by Y27632, a ROCK׳s inhibitor. Western blotting of rat aortas showed that Rhy inhibited RhoA translocation and MYPT1 phosphorylation. Immunofluorescent staining of MCAs confirmed that phosphorylation of MYPT1 caused by ET-1 was inhibited by Rhy. Conclusions These results demonstrate that Rhy is a potent inhibitor of contraction of cerebral arteries caused by ET-1 in vivo and in vitro. The effect of Rhy was in part mediated by inhibiting RhoA–ROCK signaling.

Carrier transport in AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light emitting diodes (LEDs) with the wavelength of 273 nm has been investigated by introducing polarization modulated electron blocking layer (EBL) that adopts an Al composition and thickness graded multiple quantum barriers (MQB) structure. The experimental result shows that the maximum light output power and external quantum efficiency for the proposed structure at the current of 250 mA are 9.6 mW and 1.03% respectively, severally increasing by 405% and 249% compared to traditional one, meanwhile, the efficiency droop at 250 mA is also dramatically reduced from 42.2% to 16.6%. Further simulation analysis indicates that this graded MQB-EBL enhances the potential barrier height for electrons and meanwhile reduces that for holes, hence effectively suppresses the electron leakage, and at the same time significantly improves the hole injection efficiency. As a result, the whole performance of the LED with the proposed MQB-EBL is dramatically improved.

High-temperature (HT) annealing effects on the evolution of strain in AlN films grown on sapphire have been investigated. It is found that there is a significant transition behavior from tensile to compressive strain in AlN before and after HT annealing at an optimal temperature of 1700 °C. Based on a microstructural analysis, it is clarified that the HT annealing will result in the (1) disappearance of grains that account for the tensile stress before HT annealing, (2) generation of a new interface that has little influence on the lattice constant upper/below this interface, and (3) regular 8/9 arrangement of misfit dislocation at the AlN/sapphire interface that relieves almost all stress associated with lattice mismatch. It is thus deduced that the remnant compressive strain in AlN after HT annealing mainly comes from the cooling down process due to thermal mismatch between sapphire and AlN. This understanding of the annealing effect is certainly of great significance in AlN materials science and technology.

Objective Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Emodin is a major ingredient of Rheum Palmatum, a Chinese herb that is widely used in China for treatment of endotoxemia-related diseases. This study intended to examine the effect of Emodin on LPS-induced rat mesenteric microcirculatory disturbance and the underlying mechanisms. Methods The male Wistar rats received LPS (5 mg/kg/hr) for 90 min, with or without administration of Emodin (10 mg/kg/hr) by enema 30 min before (pre-treatment) or after (post-treatment) LPS infusion, and the dynamics of mesenteric microcirculation were determined by inverted intravital microscopy. Expression of adhesion molecules and TLR4, NF-κB p65, ICAM-1, MPO, and AP-1 in mesentery tissue was evaluated by flow cytometry and Western-blot, respectively. Results Pre or post-treatment with Emodin significantly ameliorated LPS-induced leukocyte emigration, reactive oxygen species production and albumin leakage, and the expression of TLR4, NF-κB p65, ICAM-1, MPO and AP-1 in mesentery. Conclusions These results demonstrate the beneficial role of Emodin in attenuating the LPS-induced microcirculatory disturbance, and support the use of Emodin for patients with endotoxemia.

Controlled alternate furrow irrigation is one of the new irrigation methods. In order to research the adaptation of soybean, soil water movement and water utilization efficiency under controlled alternate furrow irrigation in the north China, the experiment was done with Lysimeter in Kaifeng. The results show that compared with conventional furrow irrigation (CFI), the controlled alternate furrow irrigation has suitable irrigation quantity that is not only helpful for enhancing water use efficiency, increasing yield, but also helpful for reducing deep percolation. Therefore, the controlled alternate irrigation is a feasible irrigation method in Kaifeng. However, the quantity of controlled alternate furrow irrigation can be too low to enhance the yield of soybean and economic benefit.

Dysfunction of energy metabolism is involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study was designed to investigate the potential of astragaloside IV (ASIV), an active ingredient of Radix Astragalus, to ameliorate colonic mucosal injury, with focusing on the implication of energy restoration in the underlying mechanism. Experimental colitis model was established in rats by injecting 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) through anus. After 24 hours, ASIV was administrated once daily by gavage for 6 days. On day 1 and day 7, colon tissue was collected for macroscopic and histological examination, ELISA, Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. TNBS impaired colonic mucosa with an injured epithelial architecture, increased inflammatory cell infiltration, and decreased colonic blood flow. Lgr5 positive cell number in crypt and β-catenin nuclear translocation were down-regulated by TNBS treatment. TNBS induced epithelial F-actin disruption and junctional protein degradation. Furthermore, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and ATP synthase subunit β expression in the colon tissue were significantly decreased after TNBS stimulation. All of the aforementioned alterations were relieved by ASIV post-treatment. The present study revealed that ASIV promoted mucosal healing process in TNBS-induced colitis, which was most likely attributed to regulating energy metabolism.

To date, we still lack an ideal strategy for designing envelope glycoprotein (Env) vaccines to elicit potent protective antibodies against HIV-1 infection. Since the human hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) is representative of effective vaccines that can induce ideal humoral immune responses, knowledge of how it elicits antibody responses and T helper cells would be an useful reference for HIV vaccine development. We compared the characteristics of the HIV-1 Env gp120 trimer and HBsAg in antibody elicitation and induction of T follicular helper (Tfh) and memory B cells in immunized Balb/c mice. Using the strategy of protein prime-protein boost, we found that HIV-1 gp120 induced slower recall antibody responses but redundant non-specific IgG responses at early time after boosting compared to HBsAg. The higher frequency of PD-1hiCD4+ T cells and Tfh cells that appeared at the early time point after gp120 boosting is likely to limit the development of memory B cells, memory T cells, and specific antibody recall responses. These findings regarding the different features of HIV envelope and HBsAg in T helper cell responses may provide a direction to improve HIV envelope immunogenicity.

Objective This study was designed to examine the effect of KDZ, on the BBB disruption in rat underwent MCAO and reperfusion. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats (260-280 g) were subjected to 60 minutes MCAO followed by reperfusion. KDZ (4 mL/kg) was administrated before ischemia. The Evans blue extravasation, albumin leakage, brain water content, TJ proteins, caveolin-1, p-caveolin-1, Src, and p-Src were evaluated. Neurological scores, cerebral infarction, and CBF were assessed. The binding affinity of KDZ to Src was examined. Results I/R evoked a range of insults including Evans blue extravasation, albumin leakage, brain water content increase, CBF decrease, cerebral infarction, and neurological deficits, all of which were attenuated by KDZ. Meanwhile, KDZ inhibited TJ proteins down-expression, expression of caveolin-1, phosphorylation of caveolin-1 and Src after I/R. In addition, SPR revealed binding of KDZ to Src with high affinity. Conclusions KDZ protects BBB from disruption and improves cerebral outcomes following I/R via preventing the degradation of TJ proteins, caveolin-1 expression, and inhibiting p-caveolin-1 and p-Src, which were most likely attributable to the ability of its main ingredients to bind to Src and inhibit its phosphorylation.

Multipartite quantum entanglement is a key resource for ensuring security in quantum network. We show that by using a unified parameter in terms of reduced noise variances one can determine different types of tripartite entanglement of a given state generated in a hybrid optomechanical system, where an atomic ensemble is located inside a single-mode cavity with a movable mirror, with different thresholds for each type. In particular, the special quantum states which allow both entanglement and steering genuinely shared among atom-light-mirror modes can be observed, even though there is no direct interaction between the mirror and the atomic ensemble. We further show the robustness against mechanical thermal noise and damping, the relaxation time of atomic ensemble, as well as the effect of gain factors involved in the criteria. Our analysis provides an experimentally achievable method to determine the type of tripartite quantum correlation in a way.

A practical scheme for the demonstration of perfect one-sided device-independent quantum secret sharing is proposed. The scheme involves a three-mode optomechanical system in which a pair of independent cavity modes is driven by short laser pulses and interact with a movable mirror. We demonstrate that by tuning the laser frequency to the blue (anti-Stokes) sideband of the average frequency of the cavity modes, the modes become mutually coherent and then may collectively steer the mirror mode to a perfect Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen state. The scheme is shown to be experimentally feasible, it is robust against the frequency difference between the modes, mechanical thermal noise and damping, and coupling strengths of the cavity modes to the mirror., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Growth inhibitory effect and apoptosis induced by extracellular ATP and adenosine on human gastric carcinoma cells: involvement of intracellular uptake of adenosine

Multilayered ZrAlN/ZrB2 coatings were synthesized using a multi-cathode dc magnetron sputtering technique. Effects of substrate bias and N2 gas partial pressure on structural, mechanical properties, as well as thermal stability were investigated. Low bias was beneficial to synthesis of nanolayers with weak internal stress. The nanolayers deposited at lower N2 partial pressure and substrate bias exhibited good high-temperature stability in the crystalline and layer structure, and hardness values were increased significantly after high-temperature annealing.

This study was to explore the protective effects of Deepure tea against insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis and elucidate the potential underlying molecular mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were fed with a high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks to induce the metabolic syndrome. In the Deepure tea group, HFD mice were administrated with Deepure tea at 160 mg/kg/day by gavage for 14 days. The mice in HFD group received water in the same way over the same period. The age-matched C57BL/6 mice fed with standard chow were used as normal control. Compared to the mice in HFD group, mice that received Deepure tea showed significantly reduced plasma insulin and improved insulin sensitivity. Deepure tea increased the expression of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS-2), which plays an important role in hepatic insulin signaling pathway. Deepure tea also led to a decrease in hepatic fatty acid synthesis and lipid accumulation, which were mediated by the downregulation of sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthesis (FAS), and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) proteins that are involved in liver lipogenesis. These results suggest that Deepure tea may be effective for protecting against insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis via modulating IRS-2 and downstream signaling SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC.

Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is a clinical problem occurred for diverse causes with high mortality. The present study was to explore the role of Notoginsenoside R1 (R1), a major component form Panax. Notoginseng, in management of intestinal I/R injury. Intestinal I/R was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by clamping the superior mesenteric artery for 90 min followed by reperfusion for 60 min or 3 days. R1 (10 mg/kg/h) was administered either 20 min before ischemia or 20 min after reperfusion. Intestinal microcirculation was evaluated by intravital microscopy over 60 min reperfusion. Sixty min or 3 days after reperfusion, rats were killed for histological examination of the jejunum tissue and immunohistochemical localization of myeloperoxidase and CD68. ATP, ADP and AMP content in jejunum tissue was assessed by ELISA. Activation of NF-κB, expression of ATP5D and tight junction proteins were determined by Western blotting. The results demonstrated that R1 is capable of attenuating intestinal ...

α-Chloromethyl-α-methyl-β-propiolactone (CMMPL) was synthesized by dehydrohalogenation of α,α-dichloromethyl-β-propionic acid which was obtained by chlorination of α,α-hydroxymethyl-β-propionic acid (DMPA). Due to high strain of the four-numbered ring, CMMPL can be polymerized by ring-opening with or without an initiator. Both electrophiles like trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA) and nucleophiles like triethylamine (TEA) and pyridine, as well as organometallic compounds such as stannous octoate [Sn(Oct) 2 )], aluminium triisopropoxide [Al(O 1 Pr) 3 and tetrabutyl orthotitanate [Ti(OC 4 H 9 ) 4 ], were found to be effective initiators. The polymerization can be conducted by either solution or bulk polymerization. P(CMMPL) is insoluble in almost all organic solvents at room temperature. An endothermic peak (ca. 214 ∼ 250°C) attributed to the melting transition of P(CMMPL) was observed in DSC curves. P(CMMPL) tends to have high crystallinity (40% ∼ 60%) as demonstrated by its X-ray diffraction patterns, and the crystallinity was found to vary with the types of initiator used.

Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is a clinical problem occurred for diverse causes with high mortality. Prophylaxis and treatment of intestinal I/R remains a challenge for clinicians. The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of Notoginsenoside R1 (R1), a major component form of Panax notoginseng, in management of intestinal I/R injury. Intestinal I/R was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by clamping the superior mesenteric artery for 90 min followed by reperfusion for 60 min or 3 days. R1 (10 mg·kg−1·h−1) was administered either 20 min before ischemia or 20 min after reperfusion. Intestinal microcirculation was evaluated by intravital microscopy over 60 min reperfusion. Sixty minutes or 3 days after reperfusion, rats were killed for histological examination of the jejunum tissue and immunohistochemical localization of myeloperoxidase and CD68. ATP, ADP, and AMP content in jejunum tissue was assessed by ELISA. Activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and expression of ATP5D and tight junction proteins were determined by Western blotting. The results demonstrated that R1 is capable of attenuating intestinal I/R-induced microvascular hyperpermeability, inflammatory cytokine production, NF-κB activation, and loss of tight junction proteins, as well as improving energy metabolism during I/R. The results of the present study suggest R1 as an option in protecting against intestinal I/R injury.

In order to investigate the function of Ca2+ in the alleviation of Al3+ stress in ectomycorrhizal fungi, four strains (Bo 02, Bo 15, Pt 715 and Sl 08) were grown in liquid culture media to study the Al resistance of different strains and the effect of exogenous Ca2+ (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mmol x L(-1)) on the activity of antioxidative protective enzymes under Al3+ stress. It was showed that ectomycorrhizal fungal species varied in resistance to Al3+ stress. Pt 715 and Sl 08 were more tolerant to Al3+ than Bo 02 and Bo 15 in vitro. The activities of CAT and SOD in Bo 02, SOD in Bo 15, CAT and POD in Sl 08 increased significantly under Al3+ stress. It was showed that the activities of these enzymes in ectomycorrhizal fungi had a close relationship with Al3+ stress. The enzymes in Bo 02 were most sensitive to exogenous Ca2+ and the function of Ca2+ in resisting Al3+ stress was the best in the four strains. A high concentration of Ca2+ (or = 0.5 mmol x L(-1)) could alleviate or offset the increased activities of antioxidative protective enzymes by Al3+ stress in Sl 08.

Cochinchina momordica seeds (CMS) have been widely used due to antitumor activity by Mongolian tribes of China. However, the details of the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, we found that an EtOAc (ethyl ester) extract of CMS (CMSEE) induced differentiation and caused growth inhibition of melanoma B16 F1 cells. CMSEE at the concentration of 5-200 μg/ml exhibited strongest anti-proliferative effects on B16 F1 cells among other CMS fractions (water or petroleum ether). Moreover, CMSEE induced melanoma B16 F1 cell differentiation, characterized by dendrite-like outgrowth, increasing melanogenesis production, as well as enhancing tyrosinase activity. Western blot analysis showed that sustained phosphorylation of p38 MAP accompanied by decrease in ERK1/2 and JNK dephosphorylation were involved in CMSEE-induced B16 F1 cell differentiation. Notably, 6 compounds that were isolated and identified may be responsible for inducing differentiation of CMSEE. These results indicated that CMSEE contributes to the differentiation of B16 F1 cells through modulating MAPKs activity, which may throw some light on the development of potentially therapeutic strategies for melanoma treatment.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Chlorogenic acid (CA) exits widely in those Chinese herbal injections that have antibacterial and antiphlogistic effects and belongs to the ethnopharmacological family of medicines. Chinese herbal injections containing high levels of CA have been reported to increase the adverse drug reactions, but the mechanism for which is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of the CA derived adverse drug reactions. Aim of the study The present study was to explore the potential role of CA in initiating inflammatory reaction and the underlying mechanism. Materials and methods Male Wistar rats were treated with different dosages of CA for different time period. The variables examined included microcirculation by intravital microscopy, histology of ileum tissue, expression of adhesion molecules CD11b and CD18 on leukocytes by flow cytometry, myeloperoxidase activity and maleic dialdehyde content in ileum tissue by spectrophotometry, activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase in serum by ELISA, and expression of NADPH oxidase subunits by PCR and Western blot. Results High-dose CA increased the number of adherent leukocytes, generation of peroxides in the venular walls and induced albumin leakage from mesentery venules. High-dose CA induced changes also included an increase in maleic dialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, inflammatory cytokines and NADPH oxidase activities, and a decline in activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Conclusion High-dose, but not Low-dose CA induced inflammation reaction, and in this process an imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant mechanism may be involved, providing more information for better understanding the rationale behind the adverse effects of CA.

Through a systematic study of bulk cargo inventory process, the article discovers the change law of bulk cargo inventory cost with the moving weighted average method, analyses the primary causes of financial variance from the view of planned cost, and then proposes a solution to the question of how to analyze and control financial variance.

Cancer of the colon and rectum is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and accounts for approximately 10% of all cancer-related deaths. Although surgical resection or radiotherapy are potentially curative for localized disease, advanced colon cancer is currently associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, the development of a new and effective chemotherapeutic agent is required to target critical pathways to induce responsiveness of colon cancer cells to death signals. Dysregulation of the beta-catenin/TCF pathway plays a central role in early activities of colorectal carcinogenesis. In this study, human colon cancer SW480 cells were used to investigate the effect of CPP (periplocin from Cortex periplocae) on the modulation of the beta-catenin/TCF signaling pathway. Our research results showed that CPP caused a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cell growth as assessed by MTT assay and an induction in apoptosis as measured by flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the CPP- treated cells were characterized by a decreased expression of beta-catenin protein in the total cell lysates and cytosolic and nuclear extracts. This expression alleviates the binding activity of T-cell factor (Tcf) complexes to its specific DNA-binding sites. Thus, the protein expression of the downstream elements survivin and c-myc was down-regulated. To determine the precise inhibitory mechanisms involved, further in-depth in vivo studies of CPP are warranted. In conclusion, our data suggest that CPP wields a multi-prong strategy to target the beta-catenin/Tcf signaling pathway, leading to the induction of apoptosis and inhibition of growth of colon cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, CPP may become a potential agent against colon cancer.

The Wnt signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in cellular developmental processes and human carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quercetin on the growth of the colon carcinoma cell line and the regulation effect of quercetin on the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway.MTT assay was used to determine the reduction of cell viability of quercetin on SW480 cells and clone 26 cells. The apoptotic rate and cell-cycle analysis after treatment with quercetin was determined by flow cytometry. Effects of quercetin on mRNA expression of cyclin D(1) and survivin were detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR. After treatment with quercetin, the protein expression of cyclin D(1) and survivin in SW480 cells was analyzed by Western blot analysis. We built a Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway reporter gene model. The regulation effect of quercetin on the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling transcription was investigated by using this reporter gene model.Quercetin reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner in SW480 and clone 26 cells. The percentages of SW480 cells and clone 26 cells at G(2)/M phase were increased significantly after treatment with 40 approximately 80 micromol/L quercetin for 48 hours. Quercetin induced the apoptosis of SW480 cells in a dose-dependent manner at the concentration of 20, 40, 60, anf 80 micromol/L. However, quercetin only induced the apoptosis of clone 26 cells at the concentration of 80 micromol/L. Quercetin downregulated transcriptional activity of beta-catenin/Tcf in SW480 cells transiently transfected with the TCF-4 reporter gene. Within 24 hours of treatment, a 160-mumol/L concentration of quercetin reduced beta-catenin/Tcf transcriptional activity by about 18-fold. Cyclin D(1) and the survivin gene were downregulated markedly by quercetin in a dose-dependent manner at both the transcription and protein expression levels.The results indicate that the molecular mechanism underlying the antitumor effect of quercetin in SW480 colon cancer cells is related to the inhibition of expression of cyclin D(1) and survivin as well as the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Therefore, the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway could be qualified as one of the promising targets for innovative treatment strategies of colorectal cancer.

To study the growth inhibitory and apoptotic effects of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine (ADO) on human gastric carcinoma (HGC)-27 cells in vitro and the mechanisms related to the actions of ATP and ADO.MTT assay was used to determine the reduction of cell viability. The morphological changes of HGC-27 cells induced by ATP or ADO were observed under fluorescence light microscope by acridine orange/ethidium bromide double-stained cells. The internucleosomal fragmentation of genomic DNA was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. The apoptotic rate and cell-cycle analysis after treatment with ATP or ADO was determined by flow cytometry.ATP, ADO and the intermediate metabolites, ADP and AMP, and the agonist of purinergic receptors, reduced cell viability of HGC-27 cells at doses of 0.3 and 1.0 mmol/L. The distribution of cell cycle phase and proliferation index (PI) value of HGC-27 cells changed when exposed to ATP or ADO at the concentrations of 0.1, 0.3 and 1 mmol/L for 48 h. ATP and ADO both altered the distribution of cell cycle phase via G0/G1- phase arrest and significantly decreased PI value. Under light microscope, the tumor cells exposed to 0.3 mmol/L ATP or ADO displayed morphological changes of apoptosis; a ladder-like pattern of DNA fragmentation obtained from HGC-27 cells treated with 0.1-1 mmol/L ATP or ADO appeared in agarose gel electrophoresis; ATP and ADO induced the apoptosis of HGC-27 cells in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations between 0.03-1 mmol/L. The maximum apoptotic rate of HGC-27 cells exposed to ATP or ADO for 48 h was 13.53% or 15.9%, respectively. HGC-27 cell death induced by ATP or ADO was significantly inhibited by dipyridamole (10 mmol/L), an inhibitor of adenosine transporter, but was not affected by aminophylline, a broad inhibitor of P1 receptors and pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2, 4-disulphonic acid tetrasodium salt (30 micromol/L), a non-selective antagonist of P2 receptors.Extracellular ATP and ADO reduced the cell viability, arrested cell cycle and induced apoptosis in HGC-27 cell line by intracellular uptake of ADO. One of the main routes of ATP-induced apoptosis in HGC-27 cells is through the breakdown to adenosine.