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Surgical treatment for stage IV breast cancer remains controversial. Therefore, we aimed to further explore the impact of surgery on survival in patients with stage IV breast cancer using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We selected 3,822 patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer from 2010 to 2012 in the SEER database who were divided into surgery and non-surgery groups. We assessed the breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS) of the two groups using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard regression models. In addition, we performed stratification analyses of breast subtype, tumor size and status of distant metastasis to identify the effects of these factors on surgical outcomes. The median survival times were 30 and 24 months in the surgery and non-surgery groups, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the surgery group survived longer than the non-surgery group. The hazard ratios (HR) of the surgery group were 0.504 for BCSS and 0.507 for OS (P Citation Format: Song C-G, Lin Y-X, Zhang J, Zeng Q, Chen M-Y, Chen L-L, Wang X-X, Chen Q-X. Impact of surgery on survival in patients with stage IV breast cancer: A population-based study from the SEER database [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-14-27.

2020年初，新型冠状病毒肺炎（简称新冠肺炎）在湖北省武汉市呈现集中暴发流行。疫情期间，武汉市大多医院被征用为新冠肺炎定点医院，武汉大学人民医院（本部院区）作为武汉市仅有的五家收治急危重症患者的医院之一，承担了大量急危重症患者的诊疗工作。本文阐述了武汉大学人民医院神经外科在新冠肺炎疫情期间，依据该病毒的流行病学特点，结合国家卫生健康委员会发布的新冠肺炎诊疗方案，及时制定了疫情期间神经外科急危重症患者规范化诊疗流程，包括：门急诊管理、住院患者管理、病区的改造与分区以及医护人员的防护等。该流程的制定有效地提高了神经外科急危重症患者的诊疗效率与就医体验，同时最大程度上保障了医护人员的身心健康。.

Natural rubber is one of the four major industrial raw materials in China, and the demand for it is increasing rapidly in China. However, due to geographic and climatic limitations, the rate of natural rubber production in China is significantly less than required to satisfy this demand. Therefore, to ensure the healthy development of China’s rubber industry, it is urgent to develop a method to rapidly and accurately monitor the planting and distribution of rubber forests in China. Existing studies have exploited the unique phenological characteristics of rubber plantations manifested by the spectral characteristics of the vigorous growth period and the deciduous period to identify rubber plantations through remote sensing. Unfortunately, the cloudy and rainy climate of rubber-growing regions makes it is difficult to obtain remote-sensing data in the optimal period. Therefore, the present study uses Planet images as the basic data and extracts typical spectral and textural features of rubber forests during the single vigorous growth period to construct a remote-sensing method to monitor rubber forests based on the object-oriented random forest algorithm, which uses all the spectral and texture features. The results show that the proposed random forest classification model achieves a high classification accuracy: the total classification accuracy reaches 89%, and the rubber producer’s accuracy and user’s accuracy both exceed 92%. This study can effectively solve the problem of lack image data with cloudless from deciduous period and provides a good theoretical basis for remote-sensing monitoring of China’s rubber forests, thereby facilitating the development of China’s rubber industry.

Plastic greenhouses are vital agricultural facilities to protect cash crops from disease and insects, especially in the Hainan region of China, which has high temperature and high humidity. Remote-sensing technology is an efficient means to quickly determine the spatial distribution of plastic greenhouses on the regional scale. With the rapid development of remote-sensing technology, and especially the increasing types of high-spatial-resolution remote-sensing imagery, many studies have obtained good results by using remote-sensing technology to monitor plastic greenhouses. However, the best spatial resolution of images for monitoring plastic greenhouses has yet to be studied. To address this issue, we use cantaloupe greenhouses as the research object and GF-2 images with 1m spatial resolution as data source. We then use the re-sampling method to generate images from these data with spatial resolutions of 0.5, 2, 3, and 5 m. The details of the spatial distribution (texture features and shape features) and the spectral features of the plastic greenhouses were then extracted from images of varying spatial resolution, and a remote-sensing monitoring method for cantaloupe greenhouses was constructed based on the object-oriented random forest algorithm, which combines spectral, texture and shape features, and the monitoring results are compared. The results show that the use of 2 m spatial resolution provides the highest monitoring accuracy of cantaloupe greenhouses (overall accuracy = 94.85% and KIA = 0.92). This study thus provides a theoretical basis for remote-sensing monitoring of greenhouse cantaloupes that satisfies the current demands of production accuracy.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the frequently occurring malignancies, but effective treatments are lacking. It is believed that exploring new molecular targets could help us to improve the treatment of OSCC. Therefore, we hope to find a new miRNA target to control OSCC.qPCR and Western blots were used to test the expressions of miR-802 and target gene in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Luciferase reporter assay was performed to check whether miR-802 could directly target MET. CCK-8, wound healing, cell invasion, colony formation, and tumor growth assays were used to determine the functions of miR-802 and MET in the malignant biological behavior of OSCC.The results suggested that miR-802 was low expressed in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-802 inhibited the cell viability, colony formation, migration and invasion of Tca8113 and SCC9 cells, and tumor growth in vivo. It was predicted that miR-802 might target the mRNA of proto-oncogene MET. Overexpressing miR-802 suppressed the expression of wild-type MET at both protein and mRNA levels in Tca8113 and SCC9 cells. Moreover, the expression of MET was high and significantly correlated with the low expression of miR-802 in OSCC tissues. Overexpression of MET in Tca8113 and SCC9 cells reduced the tumor-suppressive effects, which was induced by miR-802 overexpression.MiR-802 suppresses the malignant biological behavior of OSCC by targeting proto-oncogene MET. This work provides a new potential molecular target for treating OSCC.

This study was aimed to investigate the expression characteristics of ETS variant 4 (ETV4) in gastric cancer (GCa), and to further explore whether it promotes the development of GCa by regulating KDM5D.Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to examine the expression of ETV4 in 35 pairs of tumor tissue and paracancerous tissue specimens collected from GCa patients, and the interplay between ETV4 expression and clinical indexes, as well as the prognosis of GCa patients, were analyzed. Meanwhile, the expression of ETV4 in GCa cell lines was verified using qRT-PCR assay. Furthermore, ETV4 knockdown model was constructed using lentivirus in GCa cell lines including AGS and BGC-823, and then, the transwell invasion and cell wound healing assays were applied to analyze the effect of ETV4 on the biological function of GCa cells. In addition, an in-depth study of the relationship between ETV4 and KDM5D was conducted.The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression level of ETV4 in GCa tissue samples was remarkably higher than that in adjacent tissues, and the difference was statistically significant. Compared with patients with low expression of ETV4, the patients with high ETV4 expression had a higher occurrence rate of lymph node or distant metastasis and a lower overall survival rate. Similarly, the metastasis ability of GCa cells in the ETV4 expression knockdown group (sh-ETV4) was remarkably decreased when compared with the sh-NC group. In addition, qRT-PCR results indicated that the protein expression of KDM5D was significantly increased after the knockdown of ETV4. Therefore, it was demonstrated that ETV4 might be able to regulate the malignant progression of GCa via modulating KDM5D expression. Finally, the results of the cell reverse experiment confirmed that the silence of ETV4 could reverse the malignant progression of GCa induced by the downregulation of KDM5D.ETV4 expression was found remarkably elevated in GCa tissues and was significantly associated with the occurrence of lymph node or distant metastasis and poor prognosis. In addition, ETV4 might promote GCa cell metastasis by modulating KDM5D.

This paper investigates how the new concept of product service systems can be used and extended to transform, elevate, and revitalize traditional equipment manufacturing industry such as the Mold and Die (MD) sector. A mold and die production service systems (MPSS) framework is established based on recent developments within our industrial collaborators. Within the MPSS framework, MD manufacturers become more specialized in producing MD products and components while sharing and outsourcing manufacturing-oriented services (MOS) from a service provider. Typical services include collaborative order pooling and release, collaborative project progress status tracking, contractor-managed collaborative outsourcing, collaborative product design, collaborative production planning and scheduling, and after-sales technical supports. MOSs are designed, developed, and deployed as SaaS (software as application services) following the service-oriented architecture. Collectively, they form iMPSS—an Information and Collaboration Platform that enables MPSS. The use of iMPSS leads to benefits for stakeholders involved in providing mold and die functionality including better shopfloor decisions and reduced IT investments.

The phytotron was used to investigate the effect of temperature on flower-bud induction of longan. The results showed that flower bud differentiation was induced at 6-15°C for 30 d and then 9-18°C for 80 d. However, there were no flower buds at 10-20°C for 30 d and then 15-25°C for 80 d. The suitable content of soil moisture was 14-18%; there were no flower bud under 10%. It was indicated that suitable low temperature (6-15°C, daily average temperature 9.75°C for 30 d) and the amount of accumulated lower temperature (≤6°C for 125 h or ≤10°C for 812 h, or daily average temperature ≤10°C for 21 d) were the key factors of flower bud differentiation in logan.

Proteomic approaches were applied to compare the proteome changes between normal flowering buds and floral reversion buds in longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.). 18 differentially expressed proteins in floral reversion buds were detected by 2-DE. Among these proteins, 11 proteins were down-regulated and 7 proteins were up-regulated. Ten differentially expressed proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS and database searching, and the biological functions were analyzed. These included down-regulated expression of 4 Rubisco large subunit, putative anthocyanidin reductase, nucleoside diphosphate kinase I (NDK I) (NDP kinase I) (NDPK I) and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase-like protein; and up-regulated expression of L-ascorbate peroxidase, putative aspartic protease and inorganic diphosphatase/magnesium ion binding/pyrophosphatase in floral reversion buds. The mechanism of floral reversion buds was also discussed.

In order to improve the availability of phytase and probiotics together, a phytase gene from Aspergillus ficuum has been expressed in Lactobacillus. In this study, the transformed Lactobacillus with phytase gene was fed to pigs to determine its effect on pig production, feed conversion and gut microbes. Forty eight, 60-day-old, castrated pigs (DurocxLandracexPietrain) were assigned to 6 groups, 8 pigs for each group. Group I was the control, group 2 was added with chlortetracycline (500 mg/kg), group 3 was added with the transformed Lactobacillus (500 mg/kg) with 20% (w/w) of calcium monohydrogen phosphate (CMP, CaHPO 4 ) removed, group 4 was added with the natural Lactobacillus (500 mg/kg) with 20% (w/w) of CMP removed, group 5 was added with the transformed Lactobacillus (500 mg/kg) with 40% (w/w) of CMP removed, group 6 was added with phytase (500 mg/kg) with 40% (w/w) of CMP removed. The results showed: i) the average daily gain (ADG) was improved in groups 2, 3 and 4 (p 0.05).

SummaryPrunus mume (Japanese apricot) cultivars are self-incompatible and orchards require pollinator cultivars to guarantee optimal fruit production. Identification of the self-incompatibility (S) genotypes of P. mume cultivars is therefore useful for choosing pollinators and for breeding. To elucidate the S-genotypes of eleven Chinese and one introduced cultivar, PCR was performed with primers amplifying the variable second intron of the S-RNase gene. The S-genotyping results were as follows: S4S12 for ‘Dantaofen’; S3S4 for ‘Duoezhusha’; S12S13 for ‘Fubantiaozhi’; S15S16 for ‘Hongding’; S13S14 for ‘Longyanmei’; S5S11 for ‘Musashino’; S10S14 for ‘Xiaoyezhugan’; and S3S15 for ‘Qingfeng’,‘Qingjia’, ‘Xiyeqing’, ‘Dayeqing’ and ‘Changnong 17’. We identified seven new S-RNase alleles, S10-RNase to S16-RNase, deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers: DQ011150, DQ201191, DQ201192, DQ345781, DQ768219, DQ903312 and EF990750, respectively.

In the formation of dynamic virtual enterprise (VE), partner search is of prime importance. Finding potential partners in a directory is the first step of the process that might involve several interactions between the VE initiator and these potential partners in order to gather additional information and to reach agreements on the forms and terms of cooperation (Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 1999, pp. 493). Given the manufacturing requirements, the initiator or coordinator of dynamic VE should first prepare several alternative schemes that can satisfy the requirements. Next, the coordinator should evaluate these alternative schemes by means of some multi-objective analysis methodologies, such as multi-objective decision-making (MODM), data envelopment analysis (EDA), analytic hierarchy process (AHP) or fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), or statistical analysis, multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT). Then the coordinator should determine the formation scheme. The present paper deals with the search procedure of alternative schemes to form VE for the coordinator. In this paper, a logic model is first put forward to describe the relationships among the manufacturing capabilities of enterprises and the manufacturing requirements of clients within the range of the applied industry. It will suffer little change in a considerable long period because of its qualitative nature. This advantage will make it easy to maintain. Next, the procedures for the manufacturing enterprises seeking partners with this logic qualitative model are expressed mathematically. Based upon this logic model, three search algorithms are brought about for three different optimal goals, respectively: minimizing the number of enterprises, minimizing the number of redundant basic capability units in the dynamic enterprise alliances and minimizing the number of basic capability units useful to the manufacturing requirement of each enterprise. After that, theoretical analyses are made for these algorithms. It is demonstrated that these three search algorithms are all polynomial with respect to the number of enterprises belonging to a particular industry. This number is usually fairly large and represents the size of the search problem. In the end, it is shown that these three algorithms are effective and reliable with an example.

OBJECTIVE To understand the effects of HMGB1 recombinant lentivirus vector on proliferation and apoptosis on CD133 cells after transfecting a human glioma cell strain CD133. METHOD The CD133 human glioma cell strain cultured in vitro was transfected with HMGB1 lentiviral vector and empty vector, respectively, while CD133 cells cultured normally were used as the blank control. Changes in HMGB1 protein level were detected with western blot hybridization; apoptosis was detected with a flow cytometer; the cell proliferation was analysed with MTT method. RESULTS The results from the western blot hybridization indicated that the expression level of HMGB1 protein in the group infected with HMGB1 recombinant over-expressed lentiviral vector increased significantly (p

Bone morphological protein7 (BMP7), a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family, was first identified because of its ability to induce ectopic chondro-osteogenesis in vivo. It also plays a crucial role in the growth, development, and physiological functioning of the reproductive system. Among intra-ovarian growth factors, many studies have shown that BMP7 plays a pivotal role in regulating the early phases of follicular growth. We detected a 5-bp insertion-deletion at 602 bp upstream from the transcription start site of the BMP7 gene promoter among 258 pigs of 3 breeds. Along with 2 homoduplex DNAs, another 4 previously unknown bands (named A, B, C, and D) were detected by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. By DNA sequencing, we found that PCR products from heterozygotes contained 2 homoduplexes and 4 heteroduplexes. Genetic polymorphism analysis revealed 3 genotypes (AA, AB, and BB) at this site; the distribution of these genotypes followed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. A was the dominant allele (0.715), and AA was the dominant genotype (0.500). The polymorphism information content value was calculated to be 0.325, the expected heterozygosity was 0.407, and effective number of alleles was 1.688, indicating an intermediate degree of polymorphism and good potential for selection and breeding. Highly significant differences were found between different breeds and distributions of genotypes. Based on correlation analysis, the 5-bp indel site does not significantly affect porcine reproductive traits (total number of births, number of piglets born alive, litter birth weight, and litter weight at 21 days; P>0.05), which was consistent with the results of genetic variation analysis.

This paper investigates the steady-state identification of the large-scale industrial processes. Under mild conditions, the estimate of the steady-state model is formed from the estimated parameters of the approximate linear dynamic models of subsystems. To a class of nonlinear slow time-varying large-scale processes, which have many subsystems interconnected with one another, a parallel two-stage identification algorithm is put forward. The consistency of the estimate and the convergence of the parallel iteration are also proved. Simulation examples have shown that this new identification approach is efficient and reliable for the establishment of the steady-state model of the large-scale industrial process.

The discovery of highly active piezoelectric polymer materials was first reported in 1969. Since then an enormous amount of research work has been conducted, mainly aimed at discovering the structure and properties of these fascinating materials with the further aim of improving their piezoelectric and pyroelectric behaviour. An equally vast amount of literature devoted to applications of these polymers has appeared and even a cursory glance at all this shows that they have been applied as the basis for a wide range of devices. The subject has now reached a degree of maturity and in the nondestructive testing field, there is perhaps a 'niche market' emerging for transducers based on polyvinylidene fluoride and its derivatives. In certain areas such as miniature under water hydrophones, piezoelectric polymers have become the material of choice. This being so, it is appropriate to review the subject.

Clinical investigations into postoperative intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) have indicated interindividual differences in fentanyl consumption. Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is the main metabolism enzyme of fentanyl, and single nucleotide polymorphisms within the CYP3A4 gene may contribute to the variability of fentanyl analgesic efficacy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the most common genetic variation in Chinese, CYP3A4*1G, has an impact on the fentanyl consumption for intravenous PCA in Chinese Han women undergone abdominal total hysterectomy.A total of 79 female patients (American Society of Anesthesiologist physical status I or II) scheduled to undergo elective abdominal total hysterectomy were enrolled. All patients received combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia with bupivacaine. Intravenous fentanyl PCA was provided postoperatively for satisfactory analgesia. The doses of fentanyl consumption were recorded 2, 4, 24 and 48 h after the initiation of PCA postoperatively. Pain at rest and adverse effects were measured with rating scales. CYP3A4*1G was screened by means of direct sequencing and further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Forty-six patients were GG homozygotes, 27 patients were GA heterozygotes, and six patients were AA homozygotes, respectively. The distribution of the CYP3A4*1G allele was consistent with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P0·05). At 2 and 4 h, the doses of fentanyl required for patients with GA/AA genotypes were 80·0 (45·0, 112·5) μg and 120·0 (80, 173·8)μg, respectively, and significantly lower than those for GG homozygotes [91·3 (80·0, 125·0) μg and 169·0 (112·5, 226·3) μg, respectively, P0·05]. There was trend of decreasing fentanyl consumption at 24 and 48h in patients with GA/AA genotypes, relative to GG homozygotes, but the difference was not statistical significant (P0·05).CYP3A4*1G has an impact on the analgesic effect of fentanyl in Chinese Han subjects. Further validation of our results in a well-powered study would be helpful.

The asymptotic normality of the estimation error of steady-state models for industrial processes is investigated under quite mild conditions. The estimate is formed from the estimated parameters of an approximate linear model which is strongly consistent with the steady-state gain of slow time-varying linear SISO systems. In the parameter estimation, the weighted least-squares method is employed. The input signal (the system set point) is the usual step change din the optimization procedure. The rate of convergence is given. The stationarity and the distribution of the stochastic process are not demanded. It is also worth mentioning that, under some acceptable conditions, robustness to the structure of the approximate linear model is achieved. A simulation study shows that, for limited length of the sampled data, the best choice for the structure of approximate models as regards estimation precision is dependent upon the realization of the stochastic noise.

Mushroom tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) is a kind of copper-containing oxidase that catalyzes both the hydroxylation of tyrosine into o-diphenols and the oxidation of o-diphenols into o-quinones and then forms brown or black pigments. In the present paper, the effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on the enzyme activity for the oxidation of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) have been studied. The results show that low concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) can lead to reversible inactivation of the enzyme, and the IC(50) is estimated to be 2.45 M. Inactivation of the enzyme by DMSO is classified as mixed type. The kinetics of inactivation of mushroom tyrosinase at low concentrations of DMSO solution has been studied using the kinetic method of the substrate reaction. The rate constants of inactivation have been determined. The results show the free enzyme molecule is more fragile than the enzyme-substrate complex in the DMSO solution. It is suggested that the presence of the substrate offers marked protection of this enzyme against inactivation by DMSO.

Human defensin peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity have been implicated in the human defence response towards microbial invasion. Two families of defensins designated alpha- and beta-defensins, respectively, have been identified. Little is known about the expression of both defensin families in human peripheral blood. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of alpha- and beta-defensin genes in human peripheral blood.Fifty-one healthy blood donors were screened for defensin expression. Blood from defensin responders was stimulated by lipopolysaccharide or heat-inactivated Pseudomonas aeruginosa ex vivo. Levels of mRNA were assessed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Southern blot analysis and sequencing were used to confirm the identity of defensin gene transcripts. Western blotting analysis was used to detect the expression of defensin peptides.beta-defensin was undetected in human peripheral blood without stimulation. Following stimulation by lipopolysaccharide or heat-inactivated bacterial cells, the majority (88.2%) of healthy individuals had a detectable expression for beta-defensin-1 gene and 39.2% for beta-defensin-2 gene, compared with none for beta-defensin-3. beta-defensin-1 and -2 mRNAs in the stimulated human peripheral blood of responders became detectable at 3 h and showed a maximum at 6 h following induction by 100 ng mL-1 of lipopolysaccharide or bacterial cells. In contrast, human alpha-defensins 1-3 mRNA are constitutively expressed in peripheral leukocytes but not up-regulated by lipopolysaccharide or bacterial cells.In human peripheral blood, beta-defensin-1 and -2 genes were transiently transcribed and translated following the induction of lipopolysaccharide or heat-inactivated bacterial cells, whereas alpha-defensins 1-3 genes were constitutively transcribed, and beta-defensin-3 gene was not expressed. The inducible expression of beta-defensin-1 and -2 genes showed interindividual variability.

As with mammalian enzymes, green crab (Scylla serrata) alkaline phosphatase can be activated by Mg2+ through a time-dependent course. The activation is mainly a Vmax effect. Tsou's method was used to study the kinetic course of activation. The results show that the enzyme was activated by a complexing scheme that had not been previously identified: the enzyme first reversibly and quickly binds Mg2+ and then undergoes a slow reversible course to activation, with a relatively high activation energy (78 +/- 4 kJ/mol) and a slow conformational change. The activation reaction is a single molecule reaction, and the apparent activation rate constant is independent of Mg2+ concentration if the concentration is sufficiently high. The microscopic rate constants of activation and the association constant were determined from the measurements. The proposed scheme may also be applied to the Mg2+ activation mechanism for mammalian enzyme, to explain why the activation rate is time-dependent and not diffusion controlled. Substrate binding was also shown to affect the activation rate constant.

The pUC19-OMT plasmids were cut by Ssp 1 and the products in 900 bp were recovered from low-melting agarose gel and used as probes which were labeled by Digoxigenin. After being denatured, the probes were dropped on the chromosome samples which were also denatured to anneal with them. The anti-digoxigenin antibodies labeled with colloidal gold were used to act with the chromosome samples. In order to localize the exogenous pGH genes(porcine growth hormone gene) on chromosomes detected with optical microscope and improve the sensitivity, digoxigen gold signals are amplified by silver precipitation. After calculating the number of silver grains on every chromosome under the optical microscope, we analyzed the data with statistical methods. The results show that the integrating sites of exogenous pGH genes are very different among the positives. However, it is clear that the exogenous genes in one are always of the tendency to integrate in one specific site on a certain chromosome. These data are of great significance for studying the site-specific integration and the expression efficiency of exogenous genes in the future research.

Green crab (Scylla serrata) alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) is a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the nonspecific hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters. The effects of some pollutants in seawater on the activity of the enzyme will result in the loss of the biological function of the enzyme, which will affect the exuviating crab shell and threaten the survival of the animal. In the present paper, the effects of four oxodiperoxovanadate (V) complexes on the activity of green crab alkaline phosphatase have been studied. The results show that these vanadate derivatives can lead to reversible inactivation. The equilibrium constants for binding of inhibitors with the enzyme and/or the enzyme-substrate complexes have been determined. The results show that sodium (2,2;-bipyridine)oxodiperoxovanadate, pV(bipy), and potassium oxodiperoxo-(1,10-phenanthroline)vanadate, pV(phen), are competitive inhibitors, while potassium picolinato-oxodiperoxo-vanadate, pV(pic), and oxalato-oxodiperoxovanadate, pV(ox), are mixed-type inhibitors. These results suggest that pV(bipy) is a considerably more potent competitive inhibitor than pV(phen) and that the competitive inhibition effect of pV(pic) is stronger than that of pV(ox), but the non-competitive inhibition effect of pV(ox) is stronger than that of pV(pic).

Green crab (Scylla serrata) alkaline phosphatase is a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the nonspecific hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters. The kinetics of inhibition of the enzyme by vanadate has been studied. The time course of the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate catalyzed by the enzyme in the presence of different Na3VO4 concentrations showed that, at each Na3VO4 concentration, the rate decreased with increasing time until a straight line was approached, the slopes of the straight lines being the same for all concentrations. The results suggest that the inhibition of the enzyme by Na3VO4 is a slow, reversible reaction with fractional residual activity. The microscopic rate constants were determined for the reaction of the inhibitor with the enzyme. As compared with Na2HPO4 (Ki = 0.95 mM), Na2HAsO4 (Ki = 1.10 mM), and Na2WO4 (Ki = 1.55 mM), the results suggest that Na3VO4 (Ki = 0.135 mM) is a considerably more potent inhibitor than other inhibitors.

Prawn (Penaeus penicillatus) acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2) catalyzes the nonspecific hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters. The effects of some pollutants in sea water on the enzyme activity results in the loss of the biological function of the enzyme, which leads to disruption of phosphate metabolism in cells. This paper analyzes the effects of methanol on the activity and conformation of prawn acid phosphatase. The results show that low concentrations of methanol can lead to reversible inactivation. Inhibition of the enzyme by methanol is classified as non-competitive inhibition, and the inhibition constant (Ki) is 8.5%. Conformational changes of the enzyme molecule in methanol solutions of different concentrations were measured using fluorescence emission, differential UV-absorption, and circular dichroism spectra. Increased methanol concentrations caused the fluorescence emission intensity of the enzyme to increase. The ultraviolet difference spectra of the enzyme denatured with methanol had two negative peaks, at 222 and 270 nm, and a positive peak at 236 nm. The changes in the fluorescence and ultraviolet difference spectra reflected the changes of the microenvironments of tryptophan and tyrosine residues of the enzyme. The CD spectrum changes of the enzyme show that the secondary structure of the enzyme also changed some. These results suggest that methanol is a non-competitive inhibitor and the conformational integrity of the enzyme is essential for its activity.

By using isotopic and non-isotopic in situ hybridization on chromosomes, the locus on chromosomes of foreign OMT/PGH gene was analyzed in eight transgenic pigs (G0, G1,G2 and G3). The research result is as follows: (1) The foreign genes could integrated on chromosomes of pig and the foreign integrated randomly; (2) the foreign genes integrated on chromosomes were transmissible through generations; (3) the locus on chromosomes of foreign gene was relatively stable in alternation of generations in transgenic swine.

In the present investigation, the inactivation by N-bromosuccinimide of acid phosphatase from penaeus penicillatus has been studied using the kinetic method of the substrate reaction during modification of enzyme activity as previously described by Tsou [(1988, Adv. Enzymemol. Related Areas Mol. Biol. 61, 381-436]. The results show that inactivation of the enzyme by N-bromosuccinimide is a slow, reversible reaction. The results also clearly show that the modification of the tryptophan residues of penaeus penicillatus acid phosphatase by high concentrations of N-bromosuccinimide led to the complete inactivation of the enzyme. The microscopic rate constants were determined for the reaction of the inactivator with the free enzyme and with the enzyme-substrate complex. Comparison of the obtained microscopic rate constants indicates that the presence of the substrate offers marked protection of the enzyme against inactivation by N-bromosuccinimide. The above results suggest that the tryptophan residue is essential for activity and may be situated at the active site of the enzyme.

Statistics of the structure of educational level and worked years of 140 occupied nurses, analysed by ABC curvegram, showed that the key training objects are class A (1 to 10 years at work) and class B nurses. Then the goal of nurses' training at work during 3 years for class A and B was made according to the difference of their classes and need of knowledge. In order to improve the effect of 3.3 style nurse training goal a method of two-direction teaching and assessing were applied, actual effect was achieved during a three-year conduction.

1. In acutely isolated hippocampal cells, NMDA and glutamate application suppressed GABAA receptor-mediated responses. We studied the cellular events underlying the interaction between the two classes of receptors by using a whole-cell voltage-clamp approach. 2. Following an NMDA application, an outward current mediated by GABAA receptor activation (GABA response) was suppressed for up to 12 s. The suppression of the GABA response was reduced when Ca2+ in the extracellular solution was replaced by Ba2+ or when intracellular BAPTA (1,2-bis(O-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid) was increased from 1 to 10 mM. 3. Replacing ATP in the intracellular solution by adenosine-5'-O-3-thiotriphosphate reduced the suppressive effect of NMDA application on the GABA response. Okadaic acid, a phosphatase inhibitor, also prevented the NMDA-induced suppression of the GABA response. In addition, when the intracellular perfusing solution contained the calcineurin autoinhibitory fragment (50 microM), suppression of the GABA response by the NMDA current was also reduced. 4. Intracellular perfusion of an activated form of the Ca(2+)-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, suppressed GABA responses. 5. The results show that NMDA responses elicited in hippocampal neurones transiently suppressed GABA responses. The data suggest that the functional linkage of the NMDA response with the GABA response was established via a Ca(2+)-dependent dephosphorylation process.

Tuberculous meningitis cases were analyzed by an immunoblotting test based on Mycobacterium bovis BCG antigen complex A60. Anti-A60 immunoglobulin G (IgG) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) allowed early diagnosis, and concentrations decreased after recovery. In primary meningitis forms, anti-A60 IgGs were intrathecally synthesized and specific oligoclonal IgGs were present in CSF. In meningeal complications of pulmonary tuberculosis, there were matching titers of anti-A60 IgG in blood and CSF (mirror pattern). Correlation between CSF-restricted patterns and CSF pleocytosis was shown.

Recent studies show that GABAA-receptors mediated responses in the hippocampal cells are suppressed upon increases in intracellular Ca2+ [Ca2+]i. A series of experiments were carried out to evaluate the physiological significance of this modulatory action of [Ca2+]i. We show that GABAA-responses are suppressed by a preceding NMDA application in hippocampal cells. Furthermore the suppressive effect is mediated via an increase in [Ca2+]i. Additional data reveal that NMDA application suppressed the GABAA response by initiating an Ca2+ dependent dephosphorylation process and the suppression is prevented by intracellular ATP-gamma-S or okadaic acid. Our study suggest that there interactions between the excitatory synaptic responses and the inhibitory synaptic responses may be effected with intracellular Ca2+ serving as a second messenger.

The effects of intracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+i) on K+ currents in hippocampal cells were examined using acutely isolated cells obtained from adult guinea pigs. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were carried out in a configuration that allowed a continuous perfusion of the intracellular medium. Recording media were made to block inward currents and allowed selective activation of K(+)-dependent outward currents. Voltage- dependent outward currents consisted of an initial rapidly decaying component followed by a sustained component. The time constant of decay of the transient current was about 25 msec, and previous studies (Numann et al., 1987) showed that the kinetic and pharmacological properties of this current closely resembled the A current recorded in invertebrate neurons (Connor and Stevens, 1971; Thompson, 1982). Intracellular perfusion of hippocampal cells with a solution containing elevated Ca2+ (about 4.5 x 10(-4) M) elicited outward currents at the holding potential (-45 to -55 mV) and produced changes in voltage- dependent K+ currents. The transient outward current (IA) activated by depolarization was suppressed with increases in Ca2+i. Delayed, sustained K+ currents were greatly potentiated. Data also showed that, among the 3 effects elicited by Ca2+i, suppression of IA was most sensitive to Ca2+i elevation. Previous results (Numann et al., 1987) showed that IA had a lower threshold (about -45 mV) than sustained currents (about -40 mV). By using low levels of depolarization (-40 mV), IA can be selectively activated, and the suppressive effect of Ca2+i on IA was confirmed on the kinetically isolated IA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

In the present experiment, SC1001Na synthesized by West China University of Medical Sciences was used for studying to resist epilepsy induced by coriaria lactone. Forty-two normal male rabbits weighing 1.7-2.5 kg were randomly divided into four groups. The animals of the control group received coriaria lactone (3 mg/kg, i.m.). The animals in each of the experimental groups were injected separately with SC1001Na (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg, i.p.), but the control animals were not injected with SC1001Na. Thirty minutes later, the animals of the experimental groups were injected with the same dose of coriaria lactone as the control animals. The behavior of all animals before and after injection were observed continuously in 4-5 hours. The ECoG of eight animals of them were observed at the same time with telemetric method. The results of experiments indicated that SC1001Na is effective on epilepsy induced by coriaria lactone, in decreasing seizure rate, lengthening latent period, reducing seizure degree, as well as in decreasing mortality.

Seventeen normal male rabbits weighing 1.7-2.8 kg were randomly divided into 2 groups. The experimental group (ten rabbits) was injected with SC1001Na (200 mg/kg, i.p.). The control group (seven rabbits) was injected with normal saline of the same volume. Continuous observations for 6 hours were made after injection, with reference to respiratory frequency (RF), heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT) and ECoG of these rabbits. The results of experiments indicate that SC1001Na has a slight inhibitory effect on RF and RT, an obvious inhibitory effect on the activity of central nervous system, and an accelerating effect on HR in rabbits.

In this experiment, the calmative and anti-epileptic effects of SC1001A were observed in fifty-five tupaias (Tupaia belangeri Yunalis), both male and female, were divided into four groups. The animals of the first group were perfused with SC1001A (400mg/kg) into their stomach. The animals of the second group were injected with coriaria lactone (5mg/kg, i.m.) for inducing seizures. The remaining two groups received SC1001A 100 and 400 mg/kg respectively by the same way as that of the first group, and 1 min later, they were injected immediately with coriaria lactone (5 mg/kg, i.m.). After the drug being perfused, the behaviors of all the experimental animals were observed continuously for 2-3 h. The results of the experiment indicated that SC1001A was possessed of a calmative effect which appeared shortly after drug (mean 12.88 min) and did not sustain a long time (mean 98 min). In addition, SC1001A was obviously effective on epilepsy induced by coriaria lactone in tupaias, in reducing the seizure rate, the times of petit mal and grand mal, as well as the duration of grand mal.