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To explore the periphytic algae community structure in the Yangtze River basin, samples were collected from 130 sampling sites, including the source to the estuary along the mainstream of the Yangtze River, eight primary tributaries, and the tributary of the Three Gorges area. The periphytic algae densities of different areas in the mainstream of the Yangtze River ranked from high to low were the upstream area, source area, middle and lower area, and the Jinsha River. The high periphytic algae density in the upstream area was associated with the shift in nutrition level, and the high periphytic algae density in the source area was associated with human activity. The spatial pattern of the periphytic algae community in the whole main stream from west to east presented the alternating dominance of Bacillariophyta and Cyanophyta; the Bacillariophyta (

Retinal pericyte migration occurs in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is one of the important causes of pericyte loss. Autophagy has been found to play essential roles in the regulation of many types of cell migration. In this study, we explored the relationship between autophagy and retinal pericyte migration. In diabetic rats, the retinas became thinner, and the level of autophagy in each cell layer increased. In the primary culture of bovine retinal pericytes, we found that advanced glycation end products (AGEs) increased the migratory cell ability without influencing cell viability, which also increased the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and decreased the expression of vinculin. AGEs-induced retinal pericyte autophagy and the inhibition of autophagy with chloroquine significantly inhibited cell migration, reversed AGEs-induced FAK phosphorylation, and changed vinculin and MMP-2 protein expression. These results provide a new insight into the migration mechanism of retinal pericytes. The early control of autophagy has a potential effect on regulating pericyte migration, which may contribute to keeping the integrity of retinal vessels in DR.

To explore the bacterioplankton community structure in the Yangtze River basin, water samples were collected from 177 sampling sites, including the source to the estuary along the mainstream of the Yangtze River, eight primary tributaries, and several lakes and reservoirs. The 16S rRNA genes were used to explore the bacterioplankton communities based on single molecule real-time sequencing, with the aim to study the diversity and community characteristics in a border sampling area and higher species annotation accuracy. Based on

Background: Order Chaetophorales currently includes six families, namely Schizomeridaceae, Aphanochaetaceae, Barrancaceae, Uronemataceae, Fritschiellaceae, and Chaetophoraceae. The phylogenetic relationships of Chaetophorales have been inferred primarily through phylogenetic analysis based on rDNA sequences. Most studies have primarily focused on intergeneric phylogenetic relationships within this order and the phylogenetic relationships with four other Chlorophycean orders (Chaetophorales, Chaetopeltidales and Oedogoniales, and Volvocales). The phylogenetic relationships among families in order Chaetophorales remain unclear. This study aimed to phylogenetically reconstruct order Chaetophorales and determine the taxonomic scheme and to further the current understanding of the evolution of order Chaetophorales . Results: In the present study, seven complete and five fragmentary chloroplast genomes were harvested. Phylogenomic and comparative genomic analysis were performed to determine the taxonomic scheme within Chaetophorales. Consequently, Oedogoniales was found to be a sister to a clade linking Chaetophorales and Chaetopeltidales. Schizomeriaceae, and Aphanochaetaceae clustered into a well-resolved basal clade in Chaetophorales, inconsistent with the results of phylogenetic analysis based on rDNA sequences. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that the chloroplast genomes of Schizomeriaceae and Aphanochaetaceae were highly conserved and homologous, highlighting the closest relationship in this order. Germination types of zoospores precisely correlated with the phylogenetic relationships. Conclusions: chloroplast genome structure analyses, synteny analyses, and zoospore germination analyses were concurrent with phylogenetic analyses based on the chloroplast genome, and all of them robustly determined the unique taxonomic scheme of Chaetophorales and the relationships of Oedogoniales, Chaetophorales, and Chaetopeltidales.

Physiological changes and genome-wide alteration in gene expression were performed in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) roots exposed to AsⅢ (25 μmol/L) alone and supplemented with selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) at the concentration of 10 and 25 μmol/L at the V2 growth stage. Excessive arsenic in the root zone poses a potential threat to soybean yield, particularly to roots, due to the limited translocation of AsIII from root to shoot in the case of soybean. We hypothesized that SeNPs can relieve AsⅢ toxicity to soybean root by reducing the AsⅢ uptake and regulating the internal tolerance mechanism of the plants. Results accomplished that SeNPs had positive impact on soybean dry weight and roots parameters under AsⅢ stress. Then, we further evaluated physiological indexes, whole genome transcriptomic analysis and quantitative real-time PCR to elucidate the underlying mechanism of AsⅢ tolerance under SeNPs supplementation. Under the condition of AsⅢ-stress, SeNPs exposure significantly reduced the electrolyte leakage, O

Purpose. To study the clinical significance of the Graves’ orbitopathy-specific quality of life (GO-QOL) questionnaire in mainland Chinese patients. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed at the Ophthalmology Department of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital from April 2017 to April 2018. Eighty-eight consecutive Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) patients completed the two subscales of the GO-QOL questionnaire: visual functioning and appearance. The disease severity of GO was measured by the European Group on Graves’ Orbitopathy (EUGOGO) classification, and clinical activity was evaluated by the clinical activity score (CAS). Results. The mean scores of GO-QOL questionnaire for the visual functioning and appearance subscales were 68.4 ± 31.2 and 62.0 ± 27.4, respectively. Lower QOL scores for the visual functioning subscale were significantly correlated with disease severity, the CAS and diplopia (all p<0.05). Lower QOL scores for appearance were significantly correlated with the CAS (p<0.05). Although no correlation was found between the appearance subscale scores and disease severity (p=0.407), a downward trend in the appearance subscale scores as the severity of GO increased from mild to sight-threatening GO was found. Conclusion. A strong correlation between disease severity and clinical activity has been shown in the GO-QOL questionnaire, suggested by the EUGOGO. The GO-QOL questionnaire is a simple and effective appraisal instrument in the evaluation of health-related QOL in the mainland Chinese patients with GO.

Arsenic is a significant food safety and environmental concern due to its mutagenic and carcinogenic effect on living organism. Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill) is a global staple crop grown intensively in arsenic-contaminated regions of the world (e.g., Southern Province of China). Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether Se-NPs and/or ZnO-NPs could be used as an eco-friendly and efficient amendment to reduce arsenic uptake and toxicity in soybean. Ten-days-old seedling, grown in vermiculite, were transferred to hydroponic media and further grown till V2 growth stage appeared. AsV (25 μM Na2HAsO4) stressed plants were treated with ZnONP (25 μM ZnO) and SeNP (25 μM Se) separately and in combination, which were grown for another 10 d. The result demonstrated that arsenic-treated soybean plants displayed a reduction in photosynthetic efficiency, increased proline and glycine betaine accumulation in tissues, and altered antioxidant activity compared to an untreated control. The application of zinc oxide and selenium nanoparticles, both independently and in tandem, reduced arsenic stress in root and shoot tissues and rescued plant health. This was reflected through increased levels of reduced glutathione content, ascorbic acid, and various photosynthesis- and antioxidant-relevant enzymes. In addition, nanoparticle-treated soybean plants displayed higher expression of defense- and detoxification-related genes compared to controls. Cellular toxicants (i.e., oxidized glutathione, reactive oxygen species, and malondialdehyde) were reduced upon nanoparticle treatment. These data collectively suggest that selenium and zinc oxide nanoparticles may be a solution to ameliorate arsenic toxicity in agricultural soils and crop plants.

Inappropriate irrigation conditions and nitrogen application can negatively affect soil carbon–nitrogen content and yield of maize, as well as can lead to underground water pollution and soil degradation. A two year (2018, 2019) field experiment was carried out to determine the effect of irrigation and N, alone and in combination on maize grain yield, grain nitrogen content, soil inorganic N and MBC of one-year double cropping maize (Zea mays L.) in a subtropical region. Split plot design was adopted, with main plots consisting of two water regimes: drip irrigation (drip irrigation to keep soil water content no less than 70% of maximum field capacity) and rainfed (no irrigation during growing period). Split-plot treatments consisted of five nitrogen application levels, including 0 (N0), 150 (N150), 200 (N200), 250 (N250), and 300 kg/ha (N300). The results of two-year field experiment showed that soil irrigation nitrogen interaction had a significant influence on the all measured parameters. In detail, soil NH4+-N and NO3−-N content, total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC) and grain nitrogen contents under the combined treatment of N250 and supplementary irrigation were higher relative to other treatments. Compared with rainfed, maize yield, thousand grains weight (TGW) and harvest index increased by 22.0%, 7.7%, and 15.2% under supplemental irrigation. Yield and TGW N300 were 287 kg/ha and 3.1 g higher than those of N250, and yield and TGW of N250 were 59.4% and 23.1% higher than those of N0, respectively. The yield of spring maize was 24.0% significantly higher than that of autumn maize. Therefore, we suggested that 250 kg/ha nitrogen application fertilizer combined with supplementary irrigation can improve soil fertility and annual maize yield in subtropical one-year double cropping region.

Background. To investigate the clinical characteristics of Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) using the European Group of Graves’ Orbitopathy (EUGOGO) system. Methods. In this retrospective study, the clinical data of GO patients with elevated IOP (≥21 mmHg) were collected in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital from January 2010 to June 2016. The demographic characteristics, clinical history of thyroid disease and GO, and ocular examination data were evaluated, and the activity and severity of GO were classified. Results. Data were collected from 58 eyes of 39 patients. The durations of thyroid disease and GO were 15.9 ± 18.9 months and 7.5 ± 6.2 months, respectively. The average IOP was 24.8 ± 5.3 mmHg (range: 21–55 mmHg). No significant difference in IOP was observed between active and inactive eyes. Eight eyes (13.8%), 29 eyes (50.0%), and 21 eyes (36.2%) were graded as mild, moderate-severe, and sight-threatening disease, respectively, according to the EUGOGO classification. The IOP was not significantly different among the three EUGOGO grades. No glaucomatous optic nerve damage or visual field defects were found. Conclusion. Increased IOP was evident for every grade of GO severity and activity of the EUGOGO system. IOP, glaucomatous optic nerve damage, and visual fields must be evaluated regularly during follow-up evaluations, regardless of the degree of activity and severity of GO.

Objective: To analyze the possible mechanism of the Huoluo Xiaoling Pill in the treatment of three diseases, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, and to provide ideas for learning the mechanism of “Treating different diseases with the same method” in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory. Materials and Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database and UniProt databases were used to screen the main ingredients and targets of the Huoluo Xiaoling Pill. The GeneCards database was used to screen the targets of the diseases, and Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to construct a “Drug-Components-Targets-Disease” network to determine the core components. The STRING database was used to construct the protein-protein-interaction network, and gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics enrichment analyses were carried out on the Metascape database. AutoDock 1.5.6 was used for molecular docking. Results: A total of 118 active components and 208 targets were screened in the Huoluo Xiaoling Pill. Quercetin, tanshinone IIA, luteolin, and ellagic acid were potential core components of Huoluo Xiaoling Pill treating the three diseases, and interleukin 6, Tumor necrosis factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor were potential key targets. Co-occurring GO biological processes involved responses to the molecules of bacterial origin, and the AGE-RAGE signaling, fluid shear stress, and atherosclerosis pathways were the co-occurring pathways. Molecular docking revealed good docking conditions between screened targets and components. Conclusion: This study predicted the mechanism of the Huoluo Xiaoling Pill in treating the three diseases. At the same time, the co-occurring targets and pathways between the three diseases provided a material basis for the TCM theory, “Treating different diseases with the same method.”

Aims The purpose of this scoping review was to map out the existing literature on caffeine intake and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in adults. Methods In this scoping review, we searched for all studies available until June 2019 in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register, PsycINFO, LILACS, LiSSa, Web of Science, and Joanna Briggs Institute electronic databases, in addition to a hand search of the bibliographies of all relevant articles and a gray literature search. Both intervention studies on the effects of caffeine reduction in adults with LUTS and observational studies on the association between caffeine intake and LUTS-related outcomes in adults were included and assessed for methodological quality by two independent reviewers. Results Fourteen intervention and 12 observational studies were included. Overall, there was a decrease in urgency episodes (level of evidence 2, grade of recommendation B) and nocturnal enuresis episodes (4, C) with caffeine reduction. Observational studies reported an unclear association between caffeine intake and LUTS-related outcomes. Most importantly, this present review highlighted high heterogeneity in the studied populations, caffeine measures, and reported outcomes. There was also unknown or high risk of bias in most identified studies. Conclusions Caffeine reduction appears to reduce LUTS. Future studies on caffeine reduction interventions should target populations with urgency and urge urinary incontinence, which show the most promising results, and include valid and reliable measures of caffeine intake and LUTS. Finally, future studies should also use reporting guidelines to ensure lower risk of bias.

Halophytes have a distinct signaling pathway and regulatory network to impart salt stress tolerance. Environmental signals are first perceived by specific receptors, which modulate expression and activation of different genes leading to stress tolerance. SlASR, an abscisic acid-, stress-, and ripening-induced protein, was previously isolated and characterized from high-throughput Solexa sequencing of extreme halophyte Suaeda liaotungensis K.. SlASR, localized in the nucleus, contained 237 amino acids with a 24.94-kDa molecular mass and an ABA/WDS domain. SlASR had a large number of disorder-promoting amino acids, making it an intrinsically disordered protein. It was not a transcriptional activator in yeast cells. The expression of SlASR was induced by abscisic acid (ABA), NaCl, dehydration, or low temperature treatment. To investigate the biological role of SlASR proteins in abiotic stress responses, we used an overexpression approach in Arabidopsis thaliana. Constitutive overexpression of SlASR under the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) 35S promoter conferred reduced sensitivity to NaCl, drought, and low temperature.

Zinc-finger HIT belongs to the cross-brace zinc finger protein family and is involved in the regulation of plant defense and stress responses. In this study, we cloned a full-length zinc-finger HIT gene (1,377 bp) named SlPAPA1 using polymerase chain reaction from Suaeda liaotungensis K. and investigated its function by overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis. SlPAPA1 contains a zinc-finger HIT domain and a Pim-1-associated protein-1 (PAP-1)-associated protein-1-like (PAPA-1-like) conserved region. Its expression in S. liaotungensis was induced by drought, high-salt, and cold (4 °C) stresses and by abscisic acid (ABA). Subcellular localization experiments in onion epidermal cells indicated that SlPAPA1 is localized in the nucleus. Yeast-one hybrid assays showed that SlPAPA1 functions as a transcriptional activator. SlPAPA1 transgenic Arabidopsis displayed a higher survival ratio and lower rate of water loss under drought stress; a higher germination ratio, higher survival ratio, and lower root inhibition rate under salt stress; and a lower germination ratio and root inhibition rate under ABA treatment, compared with wild-type Arabidopsis. These results suggested that SlPAPA1 functions as a stress-responsive zinc-finger HIT protein involved in the ABA-dependent signaling pathway and may have potential applications in transgenic breeding to enhance crops abiotic stress tolerances.

Sl NAC1 functions as a stress-responsive NAC protein involved in the abscisic acid-dependent signaling pathway and enhances transgenic Arabidopsis drought, salt, and cold stress tolerance. NAC (NAM, ATAF1, 2, CUC2) transcription factors constitute the largest families of plant-specific transcription factors, known to be involved in various growth or developmental processes and in regulation of response to environmental stresses. However, only little information regarding stress-related NAC genes is available in Suaeda liaotungensis K. In this study, we cloned a full-length NAC gene (1,011 bp) named SlNAC1 using polymerase chain reaction from Suaeda liaotungensis K. and investigated its function by overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis. SlNAC1 contains an NAC-conserved domain. Its expression in S. liaotungensis was induced by drought, high-salt, and cold (4 °C) stresses and by abscisic acid. Subcellular localization experiments in onion epidermal cells indicated that SlNAC1 is localized in the nucleus. Yeast one-hybrid assays showed that SlNAC1 functions as a transcriptional activator. SlNAC1 transgenic Arabidopsis displayed a higher survival ratio and lower rate of water loss under drought stress; a higher germination ratio, higher survival ratio, and lower root inhibition rate under salt stress; a higher survival ratio under cold stress; and a lower germination ratio and root inhibition rate under abscisic acid treatment, compared with wild-type Arabidopsis. These results suggested that SlNAC1 functions as a stress-responsive NAC protein involved in the abscisic acid-dependent signaling pathway and may have potential applications in transgenic breeding to enhance crops’ abiotic stress tolerances.

This paper expounds on the deviation of measured coefficient of friction from the assignment when the friction pair of the spherical bearing changes from plane structure into spherical structure, and summarizes the common explanation of such phenomenon of the past. Through the analysis on the methods of the measurement test for the coefficient of spherical pivoting friction and an in-depth analysis on the relation between the motion state and relative motion of the internal parts of the spherical bearing generated by rotating it based on this method, a new calculation formula for the coefficient of pivoting friction of the spherical bearing is put forward, which is of great significance to in-depth understanding of the structural principles of spherical bearing, precise structural design and sound bearing applications.

During the evacuation in subway system, the key factor to improve evacuation effectiveness and security is the correct estimating of the evacuation ability. In this paper, a evacuation simulation based method is put forward to compute and estimate the evacuation ability. This method has the advantages of quantitative estimation and easy calculating, so it's of great importance to determine the evacuation strategy.

Elaborates on the differences between FPB structure in practical uses and classical models, and puts forward a principle of equivalent center of mass of FPB & superstructure by dynamic analysis. It conducts FEA and experimental validation based on the post yield stiffness and vertical displacement calculated in accordance with the principle. The conclusion states that calculating the post yield stiffness and vertical displacement of the bearing by the principle is more accurate than before.

This study conducts simulation analysis of collision processes between a ship and a pier with the finite element software ABAQUS. It aims to compare peak values of impact forces, stresses and strains of the anti-collision device, and energy changes of the system when with or without the bridge pier protection buffer, so as to verify the device’s role in buffering impact and greatly improving the pier’s resistance to impact.

We propose a simple experimental scheme to generate spin textures in the ground state of interacting ultracold bosonic atoms loaded in a two-dimensional harmonic trap. Our scheme is based on two copropagating Laguerre-Gauss laser beams illuminating the atoms and coupling two of their internal ground state Zeeman sublevels. Using a Gross-Pitaevskii description, we show that the ground state of the atomic system has different topological properties depending on the interaction strength and the laser beam intensity. A half-skyrmion state develops at low interactions while a vortex-antivortex pair develops at large interactions. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

Background. Abnormalities of the tumor suppressor gene p16 have been reported in a variety of human tumors but are rare in pancreatic carcinoma except for cancer cell lines and xenografts. Their clinicopathological significance remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine immunohistochemical and genetic alterations of p16 in primary pancreatic carcinoma tissues and to investigate the relation between abnormalities of p16 and clinicopathological parameters to elucidate their clinicopathological significance. Methods. We investigated p16 expression in 60 pancreatic carcinoma cases by immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal antibody clone G175-405. In addition, we analyzed genetic alterations of the p16 gene using DNA extracted from microdissected tissue of pancreatic carcinoma, by polymerase chain reaction, nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (non-RI-SSCP), DNA sequencing, and hypermethylation analyses using restriction enzymes. We compared the abnormalities of p16 alterations with clinicopathological parameters to elucidate their significance. Results. On immunohistochemical study, staining for p16 protein was strongly positive in 22 (37%) of 60 pancreatic carcinoma cases, weakly positive in 24 (40%), and negative in 14 (23%). In contrast, p16 mutations were recognized in 9 (15%) of the 60 pancreatic carcinoma cases. The incidence of p16 mutations was 2 (9%) in 22 cases of pancreatic carcinoma with strongly positive staining, 4 (17%) in 24 with weakly positive staining, and 3 (21%) in 14 with negative staining. Hypermethylation of p16 was detected in the two pancreatic carcinoma cases with weakly positive staining, although homozygous deletions were not found in any case. There was no significant correlation between the expression of p16 protein and any of the clinicopathological parameters. However, there was a tendency for the tumor to be larger in patients with decreased expression of p16 protein than in those with normal expression levels. In contrast, the tumor was significantly larger and the survival period significantly shorter for patients with pancreatic carcinoma with p16 mutation or hypermethylation than for those with pancreatic carcinoma with an intact p16 gene (P ≪ 0.05). Conclusions. These findings suggest that p16 alterations may participate in the aggressiveness of pancreatic carcinoma.

We propose to generate an artificial non-Abelian $U(3)$ gauge field by using a 2-tripod scheme, namely two tripod configurations sharing a common ground state level and driven by resonant 1-photon transitions. Using an appropriate combination of four Laguerre-Gauss and two Hermite-Gauss laser beams, we are able to produce a $U(3)$-monopole and a $U(3)$ spin-orbit coupling for both alkali and alkaline-earth atoms. This 2-tripod scheme could open the way to the study of interacting spinor condensates subjected to $U(3)$-monopoles., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

The plant-specific NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC) transcription factors have diverse roles in plant development and stress responses. In this study, a stress-responsive NAC gene, SlNAC2, was isolated and characterized from high-throughput Solexa sequencing of Suaeda liaotungensis. SlNAC2 showed high similarity to other NACs, especially ATAF subgroup members. Transcripts of SlNAC2 appeared in many Suaeda tissues including leaves, stems and roots. In particular, SlNAC2 was strongly expressed in leaves. Expression analysis showed that SlNAC2 was highly induced during salt and low temperature stress in leaves. Subcellular localization showed that the SlNAC2 protein localized to the nucleus. A transactivation assay in yeast demonstrated that SlNAC2 activated the expression of a reporter gene. To test its function, SlNAC2 was transformed into Arabidopsis under the control of the CaMV-35S promoter. Functional analysis showed that its overexpression resulted in enhanced tolerance to salinity stress. Therefore, SlNAC2 is a multifunctional regulatory factor in plants, and might be a good candidate gene for genetic improvement to produce stress tolerant plants.

BACKGROUND K-ras mutations at codon 12 (KRM) have been detected in over 80% of tissues and pure pancreatic juice (PPJ) samples from patients with pancreatic carcinoma (PCa) and are promising genetic tumor markers. Aspirating PPJ not only requires technical skill, but is also exhausting for patients. The authors attempted to evaluate whether the detection of KRM in the duodenal aspirate (DA) obtained immediately after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), an easier sample-collecting method than collecting PPJ, could be useful for the diagnosis of PCa and biliary tract carcinoma (BTCa). METHODS DA was collected endoscopically without secretin stimulation immediately after the ERCP procedure from 160 patients: 38 patients with PCa, 38 with chronic pancreatitis (CP), 22 with BTCa, 20 with adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder (AGB), 22 with cholecystolithiasis (CCL), and 20 control subjects. Mutant allele specific amplification (MASA), which is a highly sensitive method for detecting KRM, was performed, with the DNAs extracted from these samples by phenol-chloroform. RESULTS The incidence of KRM in DA by MASA was 25 (66%) of the 38 PCa cases, 12 (32%) of the 38 CP cases, and 12 (55%) of the 22 BTCa cases. There was no patient with positive KRM in DA among the 20 cases of AGB, 22 of CCL, and 20 control subjects. The sensitivity was 62% and the specificity 88% in this study design. The KRM incidence was found to be relatively high for the patients with PCa and BTCa by MASA, which is a highly sensitive method, although the incidence of KRM in DA from the patients with PCa was not as high as the incidence in their PPJ with secretin stimulation. CONCLUSIONS MASA showed a relatively high incidence of KRM even in the DA, which was easily obtained from the patients with PCa and BTCa without secretin stimulation immediately after ERCP. These results suggest that the detection of KRM in the DA by MASA is useful for the screening of both PCa and BTCa. Cancer 1999;86:1441–8. © 1999 American Cancer Society.

p53 and Bcl-2 are two important factors related to apoptosis and tumorigenesis. In this study, a series of 52 cases of pancreatic carcinoma (PC) were investigated using an immunohistochemical assay to determine whether altered expression of Bcl-2 and p53 has an impact on the progression of this malignancy. Cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for Bcl-2 and nuclear staining of p53 was found in 12 (23.1%) and 32 (63.5%) cases of PC respectively. Furthermore, an inverse correlation between the expression of p53 and Bcl-2 existed in this series (P < 0.01). In a subgroup, the proportion of tumours showing that p53-positive and Bcl-2-negative staining was increased with increasing histological grade and clinical stage (P < 0.05), and moreover, the survival period of those patients whose tumour had this staining was shorter than those with other staining patterns of combined p53 and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Therefore, it is concluded that simultaneously aberrant expression of Bcl-2 and p53 may confer PC with more malignant clinicopathological characteristics. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Spectral feature fitting (SFF) algorithm has been frequently used since 1990s. A modified spectral feature fitting method is introduced here, which can solve some drawback of the general algorithm. The method mentioned here combines SFF with user-defined constraints in spectral absorption feature to extract more accurate target information from hyperspectral image. Two experiments are presented herein, in which three algorithms are used to obtain mineral information from hyperspectral data with different space resolution and SNR. Muscovite, calcite and chlorite etc. are extracted by general SFF, modified SFF and spectral angle mapping (SAM) respectively, and the result indicates that modified SFF algorithm is more effective in differentiating subtle spectral feature and obtaining accurate mineral information. The experiments also demonstrate that the algorithm mentioned here is validated in mineral information extraction.

RAV1 is a novel DNA-binding protein with two distinct DNA-binding domains unique in higher plants, but its role in plant growth and development remains unknown. Using cDNA array, we found that transcription of RAV1 is down-regulated by epibrassinolide (epiBL) in Arabidopsis suspension cells. RNA gel blot analysis revealed that epiBL-regulated RAV1 transcription involves neither protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation nor newly synthesized protein, and does not require the functional BRI1, suggesting that this regulation might be through a new BR signaling pathway. Overexpressing RAV1 in Arabidopsis results in a retardation of lateral root and rosette leaf development, and the underexpression causes an earlier flowering phenotype, implying that RAV1 may function as a negative regulatory component of growth and development.

p27 is known as one of the candidate tumor suppressor genes. Although abnormalities including deletion and mutation in this gene are rarely detected, loss of p27 expression has been reported to be correlated with the high degree of malignancy in many human cancers. In the present study, we investigated the status of p27 expression in human pancreatic carcinoma (PC) and assessed the clinicopathologic significance of loss of p27 expression in the development and progression of this malignancy using immunohistochemistry. No nuclear staining for p27 protein existed in 65 (65.7%) of the 99 PC tumors examined. Furthermore, loss of p27 expression was correlated with tumor grade (G1 versus G2 or G3, p < 0.05) or clinical stage (I and II versus III and IV, p < 0.01). The above data suggest that loss of p27 expression is a very common event in PC, and moreover, this alteration might contribute to the progression of this malignant disease. Key Words: Pancreatic carcinoma-p27 protein expression-Immunohistochemistry.

K-ras mutations at codon 12 (KRM) have been detected in approximately 80% of samples of pure pancreatic juice (PPJ) from patients with pancreatic cancer (PCa) and are a promising potential tumor marker. However, the frequent presence of KRM was reported in PPJ from noncancerous patients as determined by a highly sensitive method, raising questions as to the cancer specificity of this marker. Therefore we evaluated whether the hybridization protection assay (HPA), which can quantitatively determine KRM in PPJ, is useful for the diagnosis of PCa, differentiating from chronic pancreatitis (CP). PPJ was collected endoscopically from 29 patients with PCa, 26 patients with CP, and the 11 cases as the control group. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and HPA using an acridinium ester-labeled DNA probe for KRM were performed with DNA extracted from these samples. The results were compared with those obtained by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The mean + 2 SD of chemiluminescence in the control group was 11,020 RLUs. When 11,020 RLUs was taken as the cut-off value, KRM was detected by PCR-HPA in 19 (66%) of 29 of PCa and one (4%) of 26 of CP cases. Analysis of PPJ by PCR-RFLP demonstrated KRM in 22 (79%) of 28 of PCa and five (19%) of 26 of CP cases. However, four of five patients with CP who were KRM-positive by PCR-RFLP were defined as negative by PCR-HPA, suggesting that PCR-HPA is superior to PCR-RFLP for the discrimination between PCa and CP. These findings indicate that quantitative analysis of KRM in PPJ using the PCR-HPA method is a promising approach for the diagnosis of PCa, differentiating from CP with a suitable cut-off value, as in the case with the use of conventional serum tumor marker.