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Three new indole alkaloids, flueindolines A-C (1-3), along with nine known alkaloids (4-12), were isolated from the fruits of Flueggea virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Voigt. Compounds 1 and 2 are two new fused tricyclic indole alkaloids possessing an unusual pyrido[1, 2-a]indole framework, and 3 presents a rare spiro (pyrrolizidinyl-oxindole) backbone. Their structures with absolute configurations were elucidated by means of comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, chemical calculation, as well as X-ray crystallography. Chiral resolution and absolute configuration determination of the known compounds 4, 10, and 11 were reported for the first time. The hypothetical biogenetical pathways of 1-3 were herein also proposed.

Three pairs of Securinega alkaloid epimers with a piperidin-2-yl moiety (1-6) were isolated from Flueggea suffruticosa, and their structures including absolute configurations were definitely characterized. An interconvertible C-2' epimerization process within each pair of epimers was observed. The following comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigations demonstrated an unusual stereochemical inversion mechanism of an N-substituted carbon stereogenic center, which was evidenced to be a protic solvent mediated process involving a tandem 1,4-elimination/1,4-addition as the key step.

Three pairs of

Diatom frustules record the variations of seawater Ge/Si, a ratio related to continental weathering, early diagenesis, and biological productivity. To investigate the geochemistry of germanium and the possibility of using opal Ge/Si as a proxy of changes in Ge and Si budgets in high latitude Antarctic marginal sea, nine surface sediment samples and one sediment core were collected from Prydz Bay during Chinese Antarctic Expeditions from 2005 to 2009. Diatom opal was separated and purified from sediment samples, and opal Ge/Si was determined. The results showed that (Ge/Si)opal ranged from 0.48 to 0.78 μmol mol−1 (0.60 ± 0.09 μmol mol−1) in Prydz Bay. (Ge/Si)opal from sites in the open sea and at the edge of the Amery Ice Shelf are comparable to modern oceanic seawater, while it is relatively low on the continental shelf. The variations in (Ge/Si)opal were not significantly influenced by biological fractionation during diatom uptake, but were related to changes in external input or authigenic loss of Ge. An authigenic sink of Ge was detected at all sites and accounted for 20% ~ 52% of Ge in bulk sediments. Authigenic precipitation of Ge is generally controlled by precipitation of Fe-rich minerals, but is also influenced by biogenic opal delivery in the centre of the bay where siliceous productivity is extremely high. The higher (Ge/Si)opal relative to those on the continental shelf is suggested to be caused by Ge supplementation from oceanic water in the open sea area and by high input of glacial debris from ice-melting at the edge of the Amery Ice Shelf.

In the original publication of the article, the deposit accession numbers of strain 15181T in the acknowledgment section were incorrectly provided as "KCTC 62172T and MCCC 1K03442T".

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, orange-pigmented, rod-shaped and non-motile bacterium, designated strain A6B8T, was isolated from seawater of the Mariana Trench. The isolate grew at 4–50 °C (optimum 30–35 °C), at pH 6.5–8.0 (optimum pH 7.5) and with 0.5–4.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1.0–2.0 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain A6B8T was related most closely to the genus Muriicola and shared highest sequence similarity of 97.7 % with Muriicola jejuensis EM44T. Chemotaxonomic analysis showed menaquinone 6 (MK-6) was the predominant isoprenoid and iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH were the major cellular fatty acids. The polar lipid profile of strain A6B8T included phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified aminolipids and four unidentified lipids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 47.1 mol%. The DNA–DNA relatedness value (23.3 %) clearly demonstrated that strains A6B8T and M. jejuensis EM44T were representatives of two different species. Based on the phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic characterizations, A6B8T ( = CGMCC 1.12606T = KCTC 32436T) is considered to be the type strain of a novel species of the genus Muriicola , for which the name Muriicola marianensis sp. nov. is proposed.

A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterium, strain WSY08-1(T), was isolated from a salt mine in Wensu county, Xinjiang province, China. Spherical to ellipsoidal endospores were observed to be formed in terminal swollen sporangia. Strain WSY08-1(T) was found to be able to grow at 20-45 °C (optimum 37 °C), 0-10 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 4 %, w/v) and pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum 7.0). Catalase and oxidase activities were observed to be positive. The cell-wall peptidoglycan of strain WSY08-1(T) was found to contain meso-diaminopimelic acid. Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) was identified as the predominant isoprenoid quinone. The polar lipids were found to consist of phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, an unknown glycolipid, two unknown phospholipids and an unknown lipid. The major cellular fatty acids were identified as anteiso-C15:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The DNA G+C content was determined to be 36.9 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain WSY08-1(T) is closely related to Aquibacillus halophilus B6B(T), Aquibacillus koreensis BH30097(T) and Aquibacillus albus YIM 93642(T) (97.6, 96.9 and 96.5 % similarity, respectively). The level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strains WSY08-1(T) and A. halophilus B6B(T) was 31.4 %. On the basis of its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, strain WSY08-1(T) is considered to represent a novel species in the genus Aquibacillus, for which the name Aquibacillus salifodinae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WSY08-1(T) (=JCM 19761(T) = CGMCC 1.12849(T)).

Inertial fusion energy (IFE) has been considered a promising, nearly inexhaustible source of sustainable carbon-free power for the world’s energy future. It has long been recognized that the control of hydrodynamic instabilities is of critical importance for ignition and high-gain in the inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) hot-spot ignition scheme. In this mini-review, we summarize the progress of theoretical and simulation research of hydrodynamic instabilities in the ICF central hot-spot implosion in our group over the past decade. In order to obtain sufficient understanding of the growth of hydrodynamic instabilities in ICF, we first decompose the problem into different stages according to the implosion physics processes. The decomposed essential physics pro- cesses that are associated with ICF implosions, such as Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI), Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), convergent geometry effects, as well as perturbation feed-through are reviewed. Analyti- cal models in planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries have been established to study different physical aspects, including density-gradient, interface-coupling, geometry, and convergent effects. The influence of ablation in the presence of preheating on the RTI has been extensively studied by numerical simulations. The KHI considering the ablation effect has been discussed in detail for the first time. A series of single-mode ablative RTI experiments has been performed on the Shenguang-II laser facility. The theoretical and simulation research provides us the physical insights of linear and weakly nonlinear growths, and nonlinear evolutions of the hydrodynamic instabilities in ICF implosions, which has directly supported the research of ICF ignition target design. The ICF hot-spot ignition implosion design that uses several controlling features, based on our current understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities, to address shell implosion stability, has been briefly described, several of which are novel.

A novel bacterial strain, NH131T, was isolated from deep-sea sediment of South China Sea. Cells were strictly aerobic, Gram-stain negative, short rod-shaped and motile with a single lateral flagellum. Strain NH131T grew optimally at pH 6.5–7.0 and 25–30 °C. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain NH131T belonged to the genus Devosia , sharing the highest sequence similarity with the type strain, Devosia geojensis BD-c194T (96.2 %). The predominant fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c, 11-methyl C18 : 1ω7c, C18 : 0 and C16 : 0. Ubiquinone 10 was the predominant ubiquinone. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phospholipid, three glycolipids and two unknown lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain NH131T was 63.0 mol%. On the basis of the results of polyphasic identification, it is suggested that strain NH131T represents a novel species of the genus Devosia for which the name Devosia pacifica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NH131T ( = JCM 19305T = KCTC 32437T).

A novel extremely halophilic archaeon KCY07-B2T was isolated from a salt mine in Kuche county, Xinjiang province, China. Colonies were cream-pigmented and cells were pleomorphic rod-shaped. Strain KCY07-B2T was able to grow at 25–50 °C (optimum 37–45 °C) and pH 6.0–8.0 (optimum 7.0). The strain required at least 1.9 M NaCl for growth. MgCl2 was not required. Cells lysed in distilled water. Polar lipid analysis revealed the presence of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, derived from both C20C20 and C20C25 glycerol diethers, together with five glyolipids. The bis-sulfated glycolipid S2-DGD-1 was present. The DNA G+C content was 62.5 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain KCY07-B2T was closely related to Halopiger xanaduensis SH-6T and Halopiger aswanensis 56T (95.8 % and 95.5 % similarity, respectively). On the basis of its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, strain KCY07-B2T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Halopiger , for which the name Halopiger salifodinae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KCY07-B2T ( = JCM 18547T = CGMCC 1.12284T).

Optimization of chemically defined medium has been a critical way to produce monoclonal antibody. Usually, amount of glutamine was added into the feed medium, but a half of asparagine was added. Our study found that asparagine was important in the antibody production phase. Increasing the ratio of asparagine to glutamine in feed medium for enhancement of antibody production in CHO-DHFR cell culture would be an efficient way. We optimized the total amount and the ratio of the two vital amino acids in feed medium to increase antibody production. In this work, we have demonstrated that feeding medium of high ratio between asparagine and glutamine (FB-H) can enhance the cell density after reaching the stationary phase. Moreover, FB-H was shown to improve cell maintenance, and increased the antibody production. The metabolic flux analysis proved that ratio of asparagine to glutamine had little influence on glycolysis. Furthermore, the TCA cycle of FB-H was enhanced by 20 % compared to that of low ratio of asparagine to glutamine (FB-L). And the energy metabolism of FB-H was 22.6 % higher than that of FB-L. For the later, lactate can be less produced in FB-H. We should improve the ratio between asparagine and glutamine in feed medium properly under the premise of no influence on cell growth to achieve high mAb producing goal.

A novel aerobic bacterium, KC1(T), was isolated from a salt mine in Kuche county, Xinjiang province, China. Cells were observed to be Gram-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming and motile with flagella. Strain KC1(T) was found to grow at 25-45 °C (optimum 37 °C), pH 6.5-9.0 (optimum 8.0) and NaCl 0-10 % (v/v) (optimum 4 %). The major fatty acids were identified as anteiso-C15:0 and anteiso-C17:0. Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) was found to be the predominant isoprenoid quinone. The cell-wall diamino acid was found to be meso-diaminopimelic acid. Polar lipid analysis revealed the presence of phosphatidylglycerol and a glycolipid. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain KC1(T) showed low similarity (96 %) to other validly named species. The phylogenetic trees showed that strain KC1(T) is closely related to Bacillus azotoformans DSM 1046(T) and Bacillus methanolicus DSM 16454(T). Both these type strains showed 95.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to strain KC1(T). The DNA G+C content of strain KC1(T) was determined to be 39.0 mol%. On the basis of its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, strain KC1(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus salitolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KC1(T) (=JCM 19760(T) = CGMCC 1.12810(T)).

The intumescent fire retardant polypropylene (IFP/PP) filled with ammonium polyphosphate (APP), melamine (M), and PA6 (charring agent) is discussed. Intumescing degree (ID) and the char yield were determined. Only when the three main components of IFR coexist at appropriate proportions, it has optimal ID and higher char yield. The appropriate proportion is PA6 : APP : M = 10 : 10 : 5. A new compatibilizer, carboxylated polypropylene (EPP), was added to PP/PA-6 blend. Flow tests indicated that the apparent viscosity increased with the addition of EPP, thermal characterization suggested that EPP has reacted with PA6, PA6-g-EPP cocrystallized with PA6, and EPP-g-PA6 cocrystallized with PP; SEM micrographs illustrated that the presence of EPP improved the compatibility of PP and PA6. All the investigations showed that EPP was an excellent compatibilizer, and it was a true coupling agent for PP/PA6 blends. Using PA6 as a charring agent resulted in the IFR/PP dripping, which deteriorated the flammability properties. The addition of nano-montmorillonite (nano-MMT) as a synergistic agent of IFR enabled to overcome the shortcoming. The tensile test testified that the addition of nano-MMT enhanced the mechanical strength by 44.3%. SEM showed that nano-MMT improved the compatibility of the composites. It was concluded that the intumescent system with nano-MMT was an effective flame retardant in improving combustion properties of polypropylene. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 739–746, 2006

Basal medium design is considered one of the most important steps in process development. To optimize chemically defined (CD) media efficiently and effectively for the biopharmaceutical industry, a two-step rational strategy was applied to optimize four antibody producing Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines. In the first step, 48 of 52 components of our in-house medium were divided into three groups according to their characteristics. In the next step, these groups were optimized by spent medium analysis, response surface methodology and mixture design. Because these steps in our strategy involved dividing medium components into groups and subsequently adjusting the concentration of the components, we termed this medium development strategy "divide and conquer". By applying the strategy, we were able to improve the titers of CHO-S, CHO-DG44 and two CHO-K1 cell lines 1.92, 1.86, 2.92 and 1.62-fold, respectively, in 8 weeks with fewer than 60 tests. This divide-and-conquer strategy was efficient, effective, scalable and universal in our current study and offered a new approach to CD media development.

Background: Molecular Adsorbents Recirculating System (MARS) is a new promising artificial liver support therapy, the aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of MARS to remove nitrous oxide (NO) and cytokines insevere liver failure patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Methods: Sixty single MARS treatments were performed with length of 6-24h on 24 severe liver failure patients (18 males/6 females) with MODS. Results: The MARS therapy was associated with a significant removal of NO and certain cytokines such as TNF-a, IL-6, IL-8, and INF-γ, together with marked reduction of other non-water-soluble albumin bound toxins and watersoluble toxins, these were associated with a improvement of the patients' clinical conditions including hepatic encephalopathy, deranged hemodynamic situation and as well as renal and respiratory function, thus resulted into marked decrease of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and improved outcome: nine patients were able to be discharged from the hospital or bridged to successful liver transplantation, the overall survival of 24 patients was 37.5%. Conclusion: We can confirm the positive therapeutic impact and safety to use MARS on liver failure patients with MODS associated with elevated levels of NO and cytokines.

A weakly nonlinear model is established for incompressible Rayleigh–Taylor instability with surface tension. The temporal evolution of a perturbed interface is explored analytically via the third-order solution. The dependence of the first three harmonics on the surface tension is discussed. The amplitudes of bubble and spike are greatly affected by surface tension. The saturation amplitude of the fundamental mode versus the Atwood number A is investigated with surface tension into consideration. The saturation amplitude decreases with increasing A. Surface tension exhibits a stabilizing phenomenon. It is shown that the asymmetrical development of the perturbed interface occurs much later for large surface tension effect.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) leads to pressure overload in the right ventricle (RV) and induces right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH). GPR91 is an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that has been characterized as a receptor for succinate, which increases in RVH; however, its role remains unknown. Methods and results: We studied succinate-GPR91 signaling in a pulmonary arterial banding (PAB) model of RVH in the SD rats due to pressure overload. We report that GPR91 was located in cardiomyocytes. We found that the expressions of GPR91 and p-Akt in the RV significantly increased in the PAB model compared with the sham. In the PAB rats, the treatment of succinate further increased the p-Akt levels and aggravated RVH in vivo. In in vitro studies, succinate stimulated the up-regulation of the hypertrophic gene marker anp. All these effects were inhibited by the antagonist of PI3K, wortmannin, both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, we found that the GPR91-PI3K/Akt axis was also up-regulated compared with the sham in human RVH. Conclusions: Our results suggest that succinate-GPR91 is involved in RVH via PI3K/Akt signaling in vivo and in vitro. GPR91 may be a novel therapeutic target for RVH induced by pressure overload.

Two strictly aerobic, extremely halophilic archaea, strains WSY15-H1T and WSY15-H3T, were isolated from a salt mine in Wensu county, Xinjiang province, China. Cells of the two strains were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and pleomorphic. Colonies were pink- and red-pigmented, respectively. Strain WSY15-H1T grew at 20–45 °C (optimum 37–42 °C), 1.6–5.4 M NaCl (optimum 3.4–3.9 M), 0–2.0 M MgCl2 (optimum 0.1–0.5 M) and pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum 7.0), whereas strain WSY15-H3T grew at 20–50 °C (optimum 37 °C), 1.9–5.4 M NaCl (optimum 3.4 M), 0.02–2.5 M MgCl2 (optimum 0.5-1.0 M) and pH 6.0–7.5 (optimum 6.5). The minimal NaCl concentrations to prevent cell lysis were 9 % (w/v) for strain WSY15-H1T and 8 % (w/v) for strain WSY15-H3T. The major polar lipids of the two isolates were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester and phosphatidylglycerol sulfate, as well as nine glycolipids for strain WSY15-H1T and seven glycolipids for strain WSY15-H3T; two of these glycolipids (GL1 and GL3) were chromatographically identical to bis-sulfated diglycosyl diether (S2-DGD-1) and sulfated diglycosyl diether (S-DGD-1), respectively. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strains WSY15-H1T and WSY15-H3T were 65.4 and 66.2 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strains WSY15-H1T and WSY15-H3T shared 97.0 % similarity with each other and showed respectively 98.4 and 97.6 % sequence similarity to Halolamina pelagica TBN21T, which was the only type strain that had higher than 91 % sequence similarity with the two isolates. Analysis of phylogenetic relationships and DNA–DNA relatedness indicated that strains WSY15-H1T and WSY15-H3T represent two novel lineages with closest affinity to H. pelagica TBN21T. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, two novel species of the genus Halolamina are proposed, Halolamina salifodinae sp. nov. (type strain WSY15-H1T = JCM 18548T = GCMCC 1.12371T) and Halolamina salina sp. nov. (type strain WSY15-H3T = JCM 18549T = GCMCC 1.12285T).

A thermotolerant, extremely halophilic archaeon, BC12-B1T, was isolated from a salt mine in Baicheng county, Xinjiang province, China. Colonies were off-white–grey. The cells stained Gram-negative, were motile and irregularly long-rod-shaped (variation in both width and length) with abundant gas vesicles. The strain was able to grow at 20–55 °C (optimum, 48 °C), at pH 6.0–8.0 (optimum, 7.0–7.3), with 1.8–6.0 M NaCl (optimum, 3.0–3.5 M) and with 0.02–2.2 M Mg2+ (optimum, 0.1–0.2 M). Cells lysed in distilled water and the minimal NaCl concentration to prevent cell lysis was 8 % (w/v). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain BC12-B1T was most closely related to Halopelagius inordinatus RO5-2T (98.5 %) with less than 95 % sequence similarity to other described species. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain BC12-B1T was 64.0 mol%. The DNA–DNA hybridization value between strain BC12-B1T and Hpl. inordinatus RO5-2T was 43.6 %. The major polar lipids of strain BC12-B1T were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, four glycolipids and an unknown lipid. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics, strain BC12-B1T represents a novel species of the genus Halopelagius , for which the name Halopelagius longus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BC12-B1T ( = CGMCC 1.12397T = JCM 18758T). An emended description of the genus Halopelagius is also provided.

A novel strain, named S4T, was obtained from industrial wastewater in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang Province, China. Cells were Gram-negative, neutrophilic and non-spore-forming and moved by means of a polar flagellum. Normal cells were 0.8–0.9×1.3–1.9 µm and the cells elongated to 10–25 µm when cultivated at high temperatures. Strain S4T grew at 15–50 °C (optimum at 48 °C), pH 5.5–8.5 (optimum 7.0–7.5) and 0–2 % (optimum 0.5 %) (w/v) NaCl. Ubiquinone-8 was the predominant respiratory quinone. C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) and C17 : 0 cyclo were the major cellular fatty acids. The major 3-OH fatty acid was C10 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and an unknown aminoglycolipid. The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.8 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences alignment, the most closely related strains were members of the genera Comamonas (94.6–95.6 % similarities), Giesbergeria (94.9–95.6 %), Acidovorax (94.8–95.4 %), Brachymonas (94.1–95.2 %) and Macromonas (95.1 %). Phylogenetic analysis showed the closest relatives of strain S4T were members of the genus Macromonas . Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, we suggest that strain S4T represents a novel species of a new genus of the family Comamonadaceae , for which the name Extensimonas vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Extensimonas vulgaris is S4T ( = CGMCC 1.10977T = JCM 17803T).

To measure the changes in plasma amylin level among obese patients at different glucose metabolic states, and to evaluate effects of rosiglitazone intervention on obese type 2 diabetes patients.A total of 92 obese patients were categorized into normal glucose tolerance group (Group A, n=31), impaired glucose tolerance group (Group B, n=30), and type 2 diabetes group (Group C, n=31) according to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results. Within the new type 2 diabetes group, patients were further randomized into 4 mg rosiglitazone treatment group and life style adjustment group. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference of all the patients were measured, and their plasma amylin and true insulin levels measured by radioimmunoassay and EIA.Compared with Group A, both fasting and 30 minute glucose load plasma amylin levels, and ΔAmylin30/ΔGlucose30 in Group B and C were lower. Compared with the life style adjustment group, both fasting and 30 minute plasma amylin levels, and homeostasis model assessment for B cell function (HOMA-B) were higher in the group that received rosiglitazone treatment, but still lower than those in the Group A.Pancreatic B cell function and amylin secretion were impaired in the abnormal metabolic states of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes patients. Rosiglitazone intervention helped to improve B cell function and increase amylin level.

To understand the relationship between the spatial-temporal variations of phytoplankton primary productivity and its environmental factors in Dianshan Lake, monthly survey was carried out from April, 2009 to March, 2010, with the method of white and black bottles. The result shows that seasonal variation of primary productivity (calculated according to carbon, following the same) is summer [0.95 g x (m3 x d)(-1)]winter [0.83 g x (m3 x d)(-1)]spring [0.77 g x (m3 x d)(-1)]autumn [0.62 g x (m3 x d)(-1). From the flat distribution, primary productivity is higher in northern and southern parts than that in east and west, with no significant differences in each point (p0.05). From the vertical distribution, phytoplankton light availability is an important limiting factor. Primary production of 0. 3 m underwater is higher than that of 0.5 m. However, primary production of 0.3 m level in summer is lower because of light inhibition. Seasonal changes in primary productivity may be due to phytoplankton community structure and replacement of the dominant species. There are significantly positive correlation between Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) and phytoplankton density with primary productivity (p0.01), and Chl-a has better correlation with primary productivity. Phytoplankton biomass shows a positive reaction to its productivity and may preliminary provide a reference for the number of phytoplankton.

The objectives of this study were to compare the drug-metabolizing activity of human CYP2D6.24 (I297L), CYP2D6.26 (I369T), and CYP2D6.27 (E410K) allelic isoforms with wild-type CYP2D6.1 and to express the CYP2D7 protein derived from an indel polymorphism (CYP2D7 138delT) and investigate its possible codeine O-demethylase activity. Successful creation of individual cDNAs corresponding to CYP2D6*24 (2853 AC), CYP2D6*26 (3277 TC), and CYP2D6*27 (3853 GA) allelic variants and CYP2D7 was achieved via molecular cloning. The corresponding proteins, CYP2D6.24, CYP2D6.26, CYP2D6.27, and CYP2D7, were expressed in insect cells by using a baculovirus-mediated expression system. All CYP2D proteins showed the empirical carbon monoxide difference spectra. We were surprised to find that the CYP2D7 protein was detected mainly in mitochondrial fractions, whereas all CYP2D6 allelic isoforms were present in the microsomal fraction. Furthermore, CYP2D7 did not produce any morphine from codeine. In contrast, CYP2D6.24, CYP2D6.26, and CYP2D6.27 allelic isoforms all showed active drug-metabolizing activities toward both codeine and dextromethorphan O-demethylation. Whereas CYP2D6.24 exhibited the highest intrinsic clearance in dextromethorphan O-demethylation (approximately 6-fold higher than that by CYP2D6.1), it had the lowest enzyme efficiency in codeine O-demethylation (approximately 50% lower than that by CYP2D6.1). Overall, the enzymatic consequences of CYP2D6 allelic isozymes are substrate dependent. These data would help preclinical and clinical assessments of the metabolic elimination of drugs that are mediated by human CYP2D enzyme.

Huntington disease (HD) is a chronic autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disease. The gene coding Huntingtin has been identified, but the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease are still not fully understood. This paper reviews the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in pathogenesis of HD.

To summarize the clinical experience from treatment of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).Retrospective analysis of seven patients with SARS in Ditan hospital treated since April 22 in 2004 was performed.In the 7 patients, 2 were male, 5 were female, and the average age was (35.3 plus/minus 11.3) years. The main clinical manifestations were fever, cough, minor or serious dyspnea, nausea, signs of injury to other organs, and so on. The treatment regiments included oxygen, small dosage and short period of methylprednisolone (1 to 2 mg/kg), use of ventilator, psychological intervention, and treatment of underlying diseases, after which, all the 7 patients recovered.Rational use of methylprednisolone and timely use of ventilator were the key steps of treatment.

Molecular Adsorbents Recirculating System (MARS) is a new promising artificial liver support therapy, the aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of MARS to remove nitrous oxide (NO) and cytokines in severe liver failure patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).Sixty single MARS treatments were performed with length of 6-24 h on 24 severe liver failure patients (18 males/6 females) with MODS.The MARS therapy was associated with a significant removal of NO and certain cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and INF-gamma, together with marked reduction of other non-water-soluble albumin bound toxins and water-soluble toxins, these were associated with a improvement of the patients' clinical conditions including hepatic encephalopathy, deranged hemodynamic situation and as well as renal and respiratory function, thus resulted into marked decrease of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and improved outcome: nine patients were able to be discharged from the hospital or bridged to successful liver transplantation, the overall survival of 24 patients was 37.5%.We can confirm the positive therapeutic impact and safety to use MARS on liver failure patients with MODS associated with elevated levels of NO and cytokines.

To evaluate the effectiveness and mechanisms of molecular adsorbents recirculating system (MARS) treatment in severe liver failure patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).60 single MARS treatments were performed for 6 - 24 hours on 24 severe liver failure patients with MODS.MARS therapy was associated with marked reduction of albumin bound toxins and water soluble toxins, together with a significant removal of NO and certain cytokines, such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and INF-gamma. These were associated with a improvement of the patients' clinical conditions including hepatic encephalopathy, deranged hemodynamic situation, as well as renal and respiratory function, thus resulted into marked decrease of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score (from 9.72+-1.89 to 6.98+-2.34), and improving outcome: 9 patients were able to be discharged from the hospital or bridged to successful liver transplantation. The overall survival rate of 24 patients was 37.5%.There is positive therapeutic impact and safety to use MARS on liver failure patients with MODS. The effectiveness of MARS is correlated with reducing the levels of NO and cytokines, except for completely removing of accumulated toxins in liver failure patients.

Flt3 ligand (FL) is a hematopoietic growth factor, initiating its in tracellular signaling cascade by binding to counterpart receptor and driving receptor dimerization. The native form of soluble FL in vivo is mainly monomeric. In this study, we constructed a rFL-FL fusion protein cDNA by linking two copies of cDNA encoding the soluble domain of FL in tandem and expressed it in Pichia pastoris. On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the rFL-FL fusion protein showed a molecular weight of 43 kD, agreeing well with the predicted value. The 43 kD protein was further confirmed by Western blot using polyclonal rabbit anti-human FL antibody. The rFL-FL fusion protein exhibited about 10-fold increment in its activity on colony formation of bone marrow progenitor cells. RFL-FL fusion protein also exerted more potent effect than monomeric FL on extending the survival of starving Raji cells.

A convenient method of three-dimensional ray tracing is suggested in the geometrical optical approximation, in which the laser ray propagation is completely based on the concept of optical trajectory tracing rather than depending upon the effective force and propagation time. This tracing has two obvious advantages that the direct application of Snell's law can be avoided when a ray crosses a different density zone and that to any desired accuracy it takes much less computation time than existing tracing. For Gaussian light beam propagation, in a spherically symmetric plasma atmosphere, the results emphasize that the deposition uniformity is strongly dependent not only on the wavelength of the laser but also on the temperature of the plasma.

Numerous studies have investigated the associations of brain or spinal cord MRI with the risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in people with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS), however, the findings are uncertain. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis based on 24 publications to comprehensively evaluate such associations.The databases of EMBASE and MEDLINE (January 1980-August 2011) were searched electronically for all relevant studies. Data were extracted from each study independently by both reviewers using a predefined structured spreadsheet. The quality of each study was assessed independently by two reviewers according to Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for reading cohort study proposed by Deeks et al. The meta-analysis including 24 qualified studies was performed by using the Cochrane Collaborations RevMan5.0 software.Twenty-four identified studies met the inclusion criteria and minimum quality threshold. A meta-analysis of cohort studies indicated that the CISs having MRI lesions did have significantly increased risk for MS (risk ratio [RR] = 3.71, 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.27-4.21, P0.00001). In the subgroup analysis (according to the number of T2 lesions at baseline), the risk of developing MS in CIS patients with the medium MRI burden (4-9 lesions) was higher than with the low MRI burden (1-3 lesions) (RR = 0.66,95% CI, 0.45-0.95, P0.00001). While, no correlation was found in group between the medium MRI burden and the high MRI burden(9 lesions) (RR = 0.97, 95% CI, 0.82-1.15, P = 0.72). Meanwhile, the CIS patients with abnormal baseline MRI, especially with infratentorial lesions, had a high risk of conversion to MS compared to patients without the such infratentorial lesions (RR = 1.37, % CI, 1.09-1.73, P = 0.0008).Despite some limitations, this meta-analysis established solid statistical evidence for an association between the presence or absence of MRI lesions within the brain or spinal cord MRI and the risk of developing MS, particularly for studies with large sample size. The CIS patients with abnormal baseline MRI, especially with infratentorial lesions, had a high risk of conversion to MS. However, this association warrants additional validation in larger and well designed studies.

Petroleum coke-based activated carbons (ACs) were modified through H 2 reduction and HNO 3 oxidation. Pore structures and surface chemistry of the ACs were characterized by N 2 adsorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of ACs were slightly decreased after such treatment. Although surface oxygen groups (especially carbonyl groups) were generated when ACs were treated by HNO 3 , electric double layer capacitance, internal resistance (IR), equivalent series resistance (ESR), and self-discharge of an AC electrode exhibited a remarkable increase. At the same time, the number of surface oxygen groups of ACs modified by H 2 remarkably decreased and the capacitance was markedly increased, while IR, ESR, and self-discharge decreased. This reduction modification of ACs is beneficial in improving electrochemical properties and probably provides suitable pores for electrolyte to penetrate electrochemically.

Halopiger salifodinae strain KCY07-B2T, isolated from a salt mine in Kuche county, Xinjiang province, China, belongs to the family Halobacteriaceae. It is a strictly aerobic, pleomorphic, rod-shaped, Gram-negative and extremely halophilic archaeon. In this work, we report the features of the type strain KCY07-B2T, together with the draft genome sequence and annotation. The draft genome sequence is composed of 83 contigs for 4,350,718 bp with 65.41 % G + C content and contains 4204 protein-coding genes and 50 rRNA genes.