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This study compares the present status and traits of urology residency programs in the United States and China.The flow path, structure, curriculum, operative experience, scholarly activities, evaluation systems and other aspects of training were comparatively evaluated between China and the United States.Urology residency training programs are different between China and the United States in many aspects. Admission requirements for the United States urology residency program are more rigorous, and the specialty training program in the United States is more concentrated. Furthermore, residency programs in USA have much more practical clinical and research training, and their evaluation process is more diverse, and it has been designed to assess competencies. Moreover, job opportunities after residency substantially differ between these two countries. Becoming an independent urologic surgeon is not the specific goal of the Urology residency training program in China, and it would require more training time than in the United States.Urology residency training programs in the United States and China have a unique format and characteristics. The training programs in China are focused on general techniques and procedures, while training programs in USA follow a more standardized curriculum. Both USA and China may complement each other to create training programs that would ultimately provide high-quality patient care.

There has been a long-standing debate about the mechanism of the unusual superconductivity in alkali-intercalated fulleride superconductors. In this work, using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we systematically investigate the electronic structures of superconducting K3C60 thin films. We observe a dispersive energy band crossing the Fermi level with an occupied bandwidth of about 130 meV. The measured band structure shows prominent quasiparticle kinks and a replica band involving high-energy Jahn-Teller active Hg(8) phonon mode, reflecting strong electron-phonon coupling in the system. The electron-phonon coupling constant is estimated to be about 1.2, which dominates the quasiparticle mass renormalization. Moreover, we observe an isotropic nodeless superconducting gap beyond the mean-field estimation. Both the large electron-phonon coupling constant and large reduced superconducting gap suggest a strong-coupling superconductivity in K3C60, while the electronic correlation effect is indicated by the observation of a waterfall-like band dispersion and the small bandwidth compared with the effective Coulomb interaction. Our results not only directly visualize the crucial band structure of superconducting fulleride but also provide important insights into the mechanism of the unusual superconductivity., Accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett

EuTe4 is a newly-discovered van der Waals material exhibiting a novel charge-density wave (CDW) with a large thermal hysteresis in the resistivity and CDW gap. In this work, we systematically study the electronic structure and transport properties of EuTe4 using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), magnetoresistance measurements, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We observe a CDW gap of about 200 meV at low temperatures that persists up to 400 K, suggesting that the CDW transition occurs at a much higher temperature. We observe a large thermal hysteretic behavior of the ARPES intensity near the Fermi level, consistent with the resistivity measurement. The hysteresis in the resistivity measurement does not change under a magnetic field up to 7 T, excluding the thermal magnetic hysteresis mechanism. Instead, the surface topography measured with STM shows surface domains with different CDW trimerization directions, which may be important for the thermal hysteretic behavior of EuTe4. Interestingly, we observe a large negative magnetoresistance at low temperatures that can be associated with the canting of magnetically ordered Eu spins. Our work shed light on the understanding of magnetic, transport, and electronic properties of EuTe4.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with sub-micrometer spatial resolution ({\mu}-ARPES), has become a powerful tool for studying quantum materials. To achieve sub-micrometer or even nanometer-scale spatial resolution, it is important to focus the incident light beam (usually from the synchrotron radiation) using X-ray optics such as the zone plate or ellipsoidal capillary mirrors. Recently, we developed a laser-based {\mu}-ARPES with spin-resolution (LMS-ARPES). The 177 nm laser beam is achieved by frequency doubling a 355 nm beam using a KBBF crystal and subsequently focused using an optical lens with a focal length of about 16 mm. By characterizing the focused spot size using different methods and performing spatial-scanning photoemission measurement, we confirm the sub-micron spatial resolution of the system. Compared with the {\mu}-ARPES facilities based on synchrotron radiation, our LMS-ARPES system is not only more economical and convenient but also with higher photon flux (> 5E13 photons/s), thus enabling the high-resolution and high-statistics measurements. Moreover, the system is equipped with a two-dimensional spin detector based on exchange scattering at a surface-passivated iron film grown on a W(100) substrate. We investigate the spin structure of the prototype topological insulator Bi2Se3 and reveal a high spin-polarization rate, confirming its spin-momentum locking property. This lab-based LMS-ARPES will be a powerful research tool for studying the local fine electronic structures of different condensed matter systems, including topological quantum materials, mesoscopic materials and structures, and phase-separated materials., Comment: To appear in RSI

Recently, magnetic topological quantum materials have attracted substantial research attention due to their great application potential. Here, using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio calculation, we systematically investigate the electronic structure of antiferromagnet Dirac semimetal candidate GdIn3. According to our ab initio calculation, there exist two and one pair(s) of Dirac fermions in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic state, respectively. In the antiferromagnetic state, the magnetic Dirac semimetal phase is protected by C4z rotation symmetry in the type-IV magnetic space group. Our experiment above the Néel temperature is well reproduced by the calculated band structure in the paramagnetic state, from which we identify a pair of Dirac fermions at 1.5 eV below the Fermi level. However, we do not observe the signature of electronic reconstruction in the antiferromagnetic state, suggesting a weak interaction between the localized Gd 4f states of spin configuration S=7/2μB and the itinerant conduction electrons. Our results confirm the Dirac semimetal nature of the paramagnetic GdIn3 and provide important insights into its antiferromagnetic Dirac semimetal phase.

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease during pregnancy. Studies of risk factors are of great significance to maternal and fetal outcomes in patients with TOF.To identify predictive risk factors for maternal and perinatal complications in women with TOF.78 patients with TOF who delivered at Shanghai Obstetrical Cardiology Intensive Care Center between January 1993 and December 2017 were retrospective reviewed. A logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors for maternal and perinatal complications.There was no maternal death, five patients developed cardiac failure, sustained arrhythmias requiring treatments were recorded among 2 patients. Factors identified for maternal complications included previous cardiac events and oxygen saturation90%. Oxygen saturation90% was found to be independent predictor of maternal cardiac complications (RR = 21.455, 95%CI 2.186-210.572, P = 0.009). The perinatal survival rate was 87.18%, there were 52 term deliveries (66.67%). Perinatal poor outcomes include 9 therapeutic abortions (11.54%), 1 neonatal death (1.28%), 16 premature births (20.51%), 18 small for gestational age children (23.08%), 3 neonatal asphyxia (3.85%), and 3 neonatal cardiac malformations (3.85%). Factors identified for perinatal complications included without cardiac surgery, higher hemoglobin values, higher hematocrit values, oxygen saturation90%, right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary stenosis, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonary hypertension. Oxygen saturation90% was found to be independent predictor of perinatal complications (RR = 8.270, 95%CI 1.374-49.790, P = 0.021).Oxygen saturation90% is associated with maternal and perinatal risks. Women with TOF whose oxygen saturation90% are not recommended for pregnancy because of high maternal and perinatal complications.

For precipitation-strengthened heat-resistant steels, property degradation resulted from phase coarsening is always one of the most critical challenges, and therefore, knowledge regarding the long-term influence of temperature on mechanical properties and microstructure is prerequisite for their applications. In this work, long-term thermal aging up to 10,000 h of typical alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels was conducted, and evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of these promising heat-resistant alloys were studied systematically. It was found that mechanical performance of the steel strengthened by secondary nanosized NbC showed not only much enhanced creep resistance, superior to that of most traditional heat-resistant steels, but also stable high-temperature strength even after long-term aging. The spheroidal secondary NbC particles showed extreme coarsening resistance with a low coarsening kinetic constant (almost six orders of magnitude smaller than that of the Laves Fe2Nb phase). The low interfacial energy of nanosize NbC, which was resulted from the cube-on-cube orientation relationship and semi-coherent interfacial structure with the matrix, gave rise to its sluggish coarsening kinetics. Our current findings not only confirm that the AFA alloys strengthened by dense precipitated, nanosized semi-coherent NbC is a promising structural material for long-term high-temperature applications, but also sheds new insights into understanding precipitation hardening mechanism for high-temperature materials in general.

The effects of alloying additions on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Ti alloys based on Ti-6Al-4V were systematically investigated through a combination of thermodynamic calculations and experimental verifications. New cast titanium alloys with significantly improved properties were developed through combining thermodynamic calculations and physical metallurgy principles, which achieve an optimum combination of high strength and high ductility at both room and elevated temperatures. Our analysis indicates that the improved strength is due mainly to the α colony and lath size refinement induced by both macro- and micro-alloying of Cr, Fe, B and C elements, whereas the mechanisms for such property optimization include: (1) an increased volume fraction of ductile β phase in the cast state, (2) a refined α colony and lath size by the Cr, Fe, B and C alloying additions, and (3) an enhanced grain-boundary cohesion and refined grain size of prior-β grains induced by proper amount of B additions. The newly developed cast Ti alloys with substantially enhanced mechanical properties for engineering applications.

To investigate the correlations of Homocysteine (Hcy), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and serum gastrin 17 (G17) with gastric cancer and precancerous lesions.A total of 56 patients with gastric cancer (gastric cancer group) and 53 patients with precancerous lesions (precancerous lesion group) admitted to Heze Municipal Hospital from January 2017 to October 2018 were selected, and 50 healthy subjects undergoing the physical examination in the same period were selected as control group. The levels of serum Hcy, VEGF, and G17 in the three groups were compared, and the relations of each index with clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer were analyzed.The levels of serum Hcy, VEGF-A, VEGF-C, VEGF-D, and G17 in gastric cancer group and precancerous lesion group were higher than in control group, and those in gastric cancer group were higher than in precancerous lesion group (p0.05). Besides, the high expression levels of serum Hcy, VEGF, and G17 had evident correlations with the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, Lauren type, infiltration depth, and lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer (p0.05).Hcy, VEGF, and G17 can exhibit different levels of expressions in precancerous lesions. They are also highly expressed in gastric cancer. Besides, they are involved in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer and can be regarded as crucial indexes with clinical significance for the differential diagnosis of gastric cancer and precancerous lesions in the early stage.

Ras mutations and overexpression of the Ras protein, p21Ras, are main causes of cancer development and progression, which has made the Ras gene and p21Ras important targets for therapy of Ras-driven cancers. We previously prepared recombinant adenovirus KGHV100 based on replication-defective adenovirus type 5, which could intracellularly express anti-p21Ras single chain fragment viable antibodies (scFv) and repress tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. However, the anti-tumor effects of this anti-p21Ras scFv were limited by short-term scFv expression due to a replication defect of KGHV100. To enhance the anti-tumor efficacy and safety of anti-p21Ras scFv, the present study constructed a dual-promoter-regulated recombinant adenovirus KGHV300 that carried anti-p21Ras scFv. In KGHV300, the expression levels of the essential replication genes E1a and E1b, were controlled by the human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter and the hypoxia response element, respectively, and the anti-p21Ras scFv gene was controlled by the cytomegalovirus promoter. The conditional replication of KGHV300 and its antitumor efficacy were characterized in several tumor cell lines in vitro and in xenograft models of human breast cancer in nude mice. TCID50 assay demonstrated that KGHV300 could replicate in tumor cell lines but not in normal cell lines. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated that the growth of tumor cells was effectively inhibited by KGHV300 infection. In MDA-MB-231 tumor xenograft models, KGHV300 effectively and significantly inhibited tumor growth and induced apoptosis of tumor cells. We concluded that the recombinant adenovirus KGHV300 may be a more potent and safer antitumor therapeutic for Ras-driven cancer biotherapy.

Athetis lepigone (Moschler) is a new agronomic pest which has caused serious damages to summer maize in China. In order to effectively monitor it, it is necessary to carry-out a worldwide investigation on its potential geographical distribution. In this study, we give two ecological niche models, Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), to predict the potential geographical distribution of A. lepigone. The results indicate that the suitable areas for A. lepigone are mainly in China (Beijing, Tianjin, central and southern Hebei, northern Jiangsu, Shandong, most of Henan, northern Anhui, central and southern Shanxi, central and southern Shaanxi, small parts of north-west in Hubei, eastern Gansu, parts of Ningxia, western of Xinjiang and Dandong, and Liaoning) and other Asian countries (South Korea, North Korea and Japan). Parts of Europe (south-western Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, parts of Austria, western Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, northern Italy, Denmark, western Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, southern Finland and Sweden) are also highly suitable for A. lepigone. In addition, in the states of the USA including Michigan, New York, Chicago, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana are also favourable for its occurrence although till now no reports about of this species has been recorded. A jackknife test in MaxEnt showed that the mean temperature of the driest quarter was the most important environmental variable affecting the distribution of this pest.

In this paper, the dynamic evolution of precipitates and its influence on the high-temperature mechanical properties of newly developed AFA steels were systematically investigated. At 1023 K or abo ...

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy performed using continuous-wave (CW) lasers has been investigated and developed by Willig et al. (Nature Methods, 2007, 4(11):915) for nearly a decade. Kuang et al. (Review of Scientific Instruments, 2010, 81:053709) developed the CW STED microscopy technique with 405 nm excitation and 532 nm depletion beams. In their research, Coumarin 102 dye was adopted and was found to be depletable. In this study, a parametric investigation of the depletion of Coumarin 102 dye is carried out experimentally. The influence of the excitation and depletion beam intensities and dye concentrations on the depletion efficiency are studied in detail. The results indicate the following: (1) The highest depletion occurs for the 100 μM Coumarin 102 solution, with a 1.4 μW excitation beam and a 115.3 mW depletion beam. (2) The minimum saturation intensity (Is) of STED, that is 13 MW cm

The adhesion strength between acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) resin and electroless copper can be improved significantly by a low environmental pollution etching system containing H2SO4–MnO2–Na4P2O7–H2O colloid as a replacement for conventional chromic acid etching solutions. In this paper, the effects of the H2SO4 concentration and Na4P2O7 content on the surface topography, surface roughness and the adhesion strength were studied. When the H2SO4 concentration was 12·9M, good etching performance was obtained. The average adhesion strength between the electroless copper and ABS substrate reached 1·30 kN m−1. The surface contact angle measurement indicated that the ABS surface became hydrophilic and the contact angle decreased from 92·1 to 31·2°.

Summary Phytophthora species were surveyed by collecting soil samples and placing bait leaves in selected streams during June–October in the years 2005, 2006 and 2010 at three sites in oak forests in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of NW Yunnan province, China. Seventy-three isolates of Phytophthora spp. were recovered from 135 baited leaf samples and 81 soil samples. Eight Phytophthora species were identified by observation of morphological features and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA sequence analysis. The eight taxa included two well-known species P. gonapodyides and P. cryptogea, two recently described species P. gregata and P. plurivora, two named but as yet undescribed taxa, P. taxon PgChlamydo and P. taxon Salixsoil, and two previously unrecognized species, Phytophthora sp.1 and P. sp.2. The most numerous species, P. taxon PgChlamydo, and the second most abundant species, P. taxon Salixsoil, were recovered at all three sites. Phytophthora cryptogea was detected only once at site Nixi. Phytophthora gregata and P. sp.2 were isolated from a stream only at site Bitahai, while the other three species were each found at two sites. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to three ITS clades, one species including six isolates in clade 2, six species including 66 isolates in clade 6 and one species in clade 8. There was a relatively rich species and genetic diversity of Phytophthora detected in the investigated regions where the forest biotic and abiotic factors affecting the growth and evolution of Phytophthora populations were diverse.

The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma is growing rapidly. Especially in young patients, the patients have high demand for better cosmetic effect and less psychological trauma. The application of laparoscope technique in papillary thyroid carcinoma surgery should meet the needs of patients. The development of needle assisted technique make it easy to access the neck potential fascial spaces, and provide the basic instrument for laparoscope modified neck dissection. The application of needle assisted techniques mainly include suture suspension and V type needle retractor, MiniLap, 3 mm laparoscopic apparatus. Indications of this procedure is very important, and it is necessary to make full use of the "critical points" , "mark lines" and "fascia layers" to precise positioning in the operation. Furthermore, the levels of dissection must be determined based on the pattern of cervical lymph node metastasis in differentiated thyroid carcinoma, that will make the surgical procedures more safety.

A large scale low-profile traveling-wave narrow-wall slotted waveguide array with 2160 slots is analyzed by parallel method of moments (MoM) out-of-core solver based on the higher order basis functions (HOBs). Its accuracy is validated through comparison with the finite element method (FEM) adopted in the commercial software Ansoft HFSS. An out-of-core two-dimensional block-cyclic distribution scheme for the large dense full matrix filling and an out-of-core LU (lower/upper) decomposition matrix equation solver are utilized under the message passing interface (MPI). Numerical results are shown to demonstrate the memory cost effectiveness, time efficiency of the proposed method and its applicability. The method presented in this paper is able to solve challenging realistic problems in large scale.

A practical electron gun including the cathode, the grid, the anode, the insulator, the joint flange, and the gun chamber was developed to build a 90 keV microfocus x-ray source with high performance. Based on the electron emission theory at metal surface, the cathode, the grid, and the anode were optimized to achieve fine crossover, high maximum brightness, and high effective brightness with 1 mA beam current. In order to improve stability of the gun, the grid, the anode, the insulator, the joint flange, and the gun chamber were designed and fabricated to eliminate discharge at the peak and the creepage along insulator. Results show that the effective brightness of this model is 1.05×105A/(cm2 sr) with 1 mA beam current, and the microfocus x-ray source has a resolution below 4 μm when the target current is 100 μA. The practical electron gun can improve the beam current quality of the microfocus x-ray source.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) Collaboration has observed exclusive pair production of D_s mesons at the Beijing Electron-Positron Collider (BEPC) at a center-of-mass energy of 4.03 GeV. The D_s mesons are detected in the φπ^+, K¯^(*0)K^+, and K¯^0K^+ decay modes; two fully reconstructed events yield the value (3.9_(-1.9-1.1)^(+5.1+1.8))% for the D_s branching fraction to φπ. This is the first direct, model-independent measurement of this quantity.

To establish a new method for labeling of procollagen gene probe and the detection of procollagen mRNA expression in HSC.According to gene sequences from NCBI Gene Bank, the primers for the amplification of type I, III and IV procollagen genes were designed by OLIGO software, the procollagen genes were amplified by RT-PCR and were labeled by PCR and DIG-dUTP, and the probes were applied to detect procollagen mRNA expression in cultured hepatic stellate cells by in situ hybridization.The procollagen genes were successfully amplified by the Primers and RT-PCR and were labeled by DIG-dUTP and PCR, the procollagen mRNA expression in cultured hepatic stellate cells was detected by the probes.A new simplified method for labeling of procollagen genes is successfully found and it can be used for other gene amplification and labeling.

To observe the effect of Huangqi Zengmian Powder (HQZMP) on interstitial response of esophageal cancer at peri-operational period.Thirty-seven patients of esophageal cancer were treated with HQZMP for 4 weeks peri-operationally. The pathological interstitial changes (including mastocyte, microvessels and lymphocytic response) in resected esophageal cancer sample were observed using toluidine blue stain.As compared with the non-HQZMP treated control group, quantity of interstitial mastocyte, focal lymphocytic aggregation and interstitial microvessel damage in the HQZMP treated group were more obvious (P0.01).HQZMP could improve the immune function of esophageal patients in peri-operational period.

ZnWO4 nanowires array was prepared on the titanium substrate by a facile hydrothermal synthesis, in which the average length of ZnWO4 nanowires is about 2um and the diameter of individual ZnWO4 nanowire ranges from 50 to 70 nm. The bipolar resistive switching effect of ZnWO4 nanowires array was observed. Moreover, the performance of the resistive switching device is greatly improved under white light irradiation compared with that in the dark.

Separated longitudinal and transverse structure functions for the reaction 1H(e,eprime pi+)n were measured in the momentum transfer region Q2=0.6-1.6 (GeV/c)**2 at a value of the invariant mass W=1.95 GeV. New values for the pion charge form factor were extracted from the longitudinal cross section by using a recently developed Regge model. The results indicate that the pion form factor in this region is larger than previously assumed and is consistent with a monopole parameterization fitted to very low Q2 elastic data., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

To explore the mechanism of Zhiganle capsule (ZGLC) in treating fatty liver of Phlegm-Dampness Stagnation type.One hundred and forty-six patients were treated with ZGLC, the effects were observed and compared with those treated with Dongbao Gantai (DBGT,) tablets as control. The effect of ZGLC on ethionine induced hyperlipemia model rats was also observed.The effect of ZGLC was obviously better than those of DBGT in relieving or removing symptoms, normalizing the ultrasonic abnormal findings, lowering the serum levels of lipid and enzyme and improving hemorrheologic properties. Experimental study showed that ZGLC could reduce the blood lipids, inhibit the lipid deposition in liver. As compared with the model group, level of triglyceride in the ZGLC treatment group were much lowered (P0.01) and the effect was better than those in the control group.ZGLC has the effect of reducing blood triglyceride level, inhibiting lipid deposition in liver and improving hemorrheologic properties.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) experiment has observed purely leptonic decays of the D_s meson in the reaction e^+e^-→D_s^+D_s^- at a c.m. energy of 4.03 GeV. Three events are observed in which one D_s decays hadronically to φπ, K̅ ^(*0)K, or K̅^0K, and the other decays leptonically to μν_μ or τν_τ. With the assumption of μ-τ universality, values of the branching fraction, B(D_s→μν_μ) = (1.5_(-0.6-0.2)^(+1.3+0.3))%, and the D_s pseudoscalar decay constant, f_D_s = (4.3_(-1.3-0.4)^(+1.5+0.4))×10^2 MeV, are obtained.

This paper reports fourteen cases of advanced and recurrent gynecologic cancers treated with prolonged arterial perfusion chemotherapy by catheterization of both internal iliac arteries through femoral arteriopuncture under X-ray. The immediate effective rate was 78.5%, follow-up rate 100%. By this technique anticancer drugs can be selectively injected into vessels supplying the tumors. The drug is concentrated within the tumor resulting in longterm better local effects, and fewer general side reactions, and a much higher dose than that which could be given conventionally. This technique is considered as a new route of treatment in gynecologic tumors.

Diagnosis is an essential prerequisite for the control programs of schistosomiasis. Chinese scientists have been making efforts for decades towards the development of immunological approach in an attempt to offer alternatives of or supplements to parasitological diagnosis. The authors outline briefly the main advances in the research of immunodiagnosis for schistosomiasis japonica in China in two catalogues: antibody detection and antigen detection. A number of immunodiagnostic assays based on antibody detection, which have been used widely in the control programs in China, are appraised in terms of sensitivity and specificity, and the achievements in the development of immunodiagnostic assays based on antigen detection are introduced. Readers will find some information concerning the efforts so far made by Chinese scientists in the improvement of immunodiagnosis by use of molecular approach, including search for biochemically and/or immunochemically isolated and/or purified antigens, recombinant antigens and anti-idiotypic reagents of diagnostic interest to construct defined antigen-antibody systems for diagnosis, and development of monoclonal antibody-based assays for antibody or antigen detections.

In this study the ability of the monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibody NP30 was tested as a substitute of diagnostic antigen in detecting antibody of Schistosoma japonicum from human sera by use of ELISA. The results showed that the seropositive rate was 98% with NP30 in the group of acute infection, which was comparable to 94% with gut associated antigens (GAA) and 98% with the soluble egg antigens (SEA); 87% with NP30 in the group of chronic infection which was comparable to 86% with GAA but lower than that of 98% with SEA. The false positive rate was about 3% for all three diagnostic antigens. The results also showed that the geometric mean titer (GMT) of antibody to NP30 was higher than that to GAA but lower than that to SEA in the acute infection group and the GMT of antibody to NP30 was lower than both those to GAA and to SEA in the chronic infection group, suggesting that the antibody to NP30 appeared earlier and decayed more quickly during the process of infection. The authors suggested that NP30 could be used for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica.

Analysis on the protein/polypeptide in Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae) caught from the resting or overwintering places during the 3rd ten-day of September, the 2nd ten-day of December and the 1st ten-day of March in next year in Zhengzhou (34 degrees 43' N, 113 degrees 39' E) during hibernation by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicated that there were 153, 118 and 169 protein/polypeptide spots in unoverwintering, overwintering and recovering mosquitoes respectively. The molecular weight (MW) of most of the spots was less than 43.0 kDa, with isoelectric points (pI) between 5.65-7.34. The comparisons between each two types of mosquitoes during hibernation revealed that the variant rate of protein/polypeptide spots between overwintering and recovering mosquitoes (31.01%) was significantly higher than that between unoverwintering and recovering females (21.12%) (P0.05). The variant spots were 13 in unoverwintering, 7 in overwintering and 27 in recovering mosquitoes respectively. The comparisons among three types of mosquitoes during hibernation showed that the variant rate was significantly higher in recovering females (15.98%) than in unoverwintering (8.50%) (P0.05) and overwintering females (5.93%) (P0.01). The total variant rate of protein/polypeptide spots of all these three types of mosquitoes was 10.68%. Because the blood meal of all the mosquitoes used for homogenization was at Sella 1 (empty), and the ovary development was under Christophers II (resting stage), the experimental results were not affected by blood meal and the later ovary development (Christophers II-V).

Eight murine monoclonal antibodies against surface determinants of Schistosoma japonicum (Chinese mainland strain) schistosomula were generated, of which only one monoclonal IgM antibody (N15D9) gave protection at level ranging from 14 to 39% in experiments of passive transfer or inhibition of infectivity while the others did not exhibit significant levels of passive protection. Further characterization of N15D9 antigen specificity showed that 96 and 14 kDa antigen molecules in cercaria, and 132 and 10 kDa in schistosomula could be recognized by N15D9 in Western blot assay. Furthermore, the 96 and 132 kDa molecules could also be recognized by pooled infected human sera while 14 kDa and 10 kDa only by sera from mice vaccinated with 3-hour schistosomula. The molecules recognizable by N15D9 were surface epitopes repeatedly expressed on cercaria, in vitro 3-hour mechanically transformed schistosomula and 5 day lung-stage schistosomula, as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence surface binding assay.

A hybridoma cell line secreting an IgM monoclonal antibody designated NP30 was obtained from a fusion of SP2/o and spleen cells of a BALB/c mouse chronically infected with schistosoma japonicum for one and a half year and identified by screening with immunized rabbit sera against gut-associated antigen (GAA) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) of S. japonicum, indicating that the NP30 was an anti-anti-antigen or anti-antibody. NP30 was further determined to be an anti-idiotypic antibody (anti-id) which was serologically and functionally identical to GAA, so that it could be portrayed as the internal image of GAA, which might have the potential to be used as an antigenic reagent in immunodiagnostic assays of schistosomiasis japonica.

Different methods of ovum pick-up were used in an IVF program from January 1, 1988 to January 31, 1989. In the initial stage of the program, laparotomy ovum pick-up with surgical treatment of pelvic diseases resulted in two cases of clinical pregnancy in 1987 with full-term delivery of two healthy babies. Transvaginal ovum pick-up with a needle using an ultrasonic endovaginal transducer was started in late 1987. In 1988-1989 the transvaginal method was employed more frequently than laparotomy, and it has become a routine practice in the IVF program. The ultrasonic endovaginal approach seemed to give a low ovum recovery rate (70.99%), but the fertilization rate was high (85.10%, P less than 0.05), and the rate of embryo transfer was 89.33%. The average number of pre-embryo per transfer was 2.26. These figures were quite similar in the two groups. The ultrasonic transvaginal approach for egg retrieval was noninvasive, easily accepted by patients. We suggest that it can be done repeatedly on one patient to improve the cumulative pregnancy rate. However, the laparotomy for ovum pick-up has shown some special merits and is still indicated in some cases.

Forty-four infertile women in 44 cycles were stimulated by CC/hMG/hCG (39 cycles) and by CC/hCG (5 cycles) for the purpose of in vitro fertilization (IVF, 37 cases with 35 transfers) and gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT, 7 cases). Intraoperative ovum pick-up was performed 32-36 hours after hCG injection. Blood E2 and P levels were determined. Blood E2 was found to be proportional to the number of mature and intermediate oocytes obtained, and correlated with the number of follicles (greater than 10 mm) and the total follicular fluid volume. Altogether 213 follicles aspirated were analyzed. There was a highly significant linear correlation (r = 0.72, P less than 0.01) between the follicular diameter (X cm) on the operation day and the aspirated follicular fluid volume (FFV, Y). The equation of the line was Y = 3.8 X-4.4. The higher concentrations of follicular E2, P, FSH, LH and lower T concentration were crucial to the maturing process of oocytes. It was found that mature oocytes could be retrieved from 26.5% of the small follicles, so it is worthwhile to aspirate the small ones. The fertilization rate was much higher with the mature oocytes than the immature ones. But the morphologically mature oocytes might function differently, i.e. the mature oocytes retrieved from the small follicles or from follicles with unbalanced hormonal microenvironment usually give a low fertilization rate.

The polyclonal antibodies to juveniles of Paragoniums westermani (PwJ-PcAbs) from sera of Wistar rats infected with Paragoniums westermani (P.w.) were purified by Sephadex G 200 chromatography. Next the shared serological antigens of P.w. metacercaria and juveniles (PwMJ-SAg) from the crude antigens of the metacercariae (M-NS-Ag) were purified with immuno-affinity chromatography on cyanogen bromide-activated cross-linked Sepharose 4B beads coupled with PwJ-PcAbs. PwMJ-SAg, a group of glycoprotein molecules shown by the staining test, were specific serological antigens of P.w. metacercariae and juveniles, identified by the immunoabsorb test and immunoelectrophoresis. By SDS-PAGE, PwMJ-SAg were fractionated to seven bands, including major bands A (27.5 K) and Bi (19.5 K), the two major serological antigen molecules. 20 sera samples from the patients with the nonpulmonary type of P. w. paragonimiasis were detected using PwMJ-SAg and M-NS-Ag by Dot-ELISA, and the difference of sensitivity between two antigens was highly statistically significant (P less than 0.001). BALB/c mice, in the early stage of infection with P. w. metacercaria, were immunized with PwMJ-SAg. The spleen cells of the mice were isolated and fused with SP2/o, a murine myeloma cell line. After three subclonal cultures, eight cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies (McAbs) to PwMJ-SAg were prepared from 384 wells of hybridoma cells. All McAbs were IgG1 subclass.