Source analysis of particulate matter associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an industrial city in northeastern China.

Particle-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were investigated at eight sampling sites during cold periods where heating is used (heating period) (February to March, 2005) and warm periods where heating is not required (non-heating periods) (August to September 2006) in the urban area of Anshan, an iron and steel city in northeastern China. Eleven PAH species were measured using GC-MS. The total average concentrations of PAHs ranged from 46.

High throughput DNA sequencing: The new sequencing revolution.

Improvements in technology have rapidly changed the field of DNA sequencing. These improvements are boosted by bio-medical research. Plant science has benefited from this breakthrough, and a number of plant genomes are now available, new biological questions can be approached and new breeding strategies can be designed.

ALK, the key gene for gelatinization temperature, is a modifier gene for gel consistency in rice.

Gelatinization temperature (GT) is an important parameter in evaluating the cooking and eating quality of rice. Indeed, the phenotype, biochemistry and inheritance of GT have been widely studied in recent times. Previous map-based cloning revealed that GT was controlled by ALK gene, which encodes a putative soluble starch synthase II-3.

Proton radiography and fluoroscopy of lung tumors: a Monte Carlo study using patient-specific 4DCT phantoms.

Purpose: Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate and optimize a time-resolved proton range telescope (TRRT) in localization of intrafractional and interfractional motions of lung tumor and in quantification of proton range variations.

Methods: The Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code with a particle tracking feature was employed to evaluate the TRRT performance, especially in visualizing and quantifying proton range variations during respiration. Protons of 230 MeV were tracked one by one as they pass through position detectors, patient 4DCT phantom, and finally scintillator detectors that measured residual ranges.

Antennal proteome comparison of sexually mature drone and forager honeybees.

Honeybees have evolved an intricate system of chemical communication to regulate their complex social interactions. Specific proteins involved in odorant detection most likely supported this chemical communication. Odorant reception takes place mainly in the antennae within hairlike structures called olfactory sensilla.

[Related factor analysis of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To explore the related factors for the measurement of arterial stiffness by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Methods: The blood pressure and baPWV in 76 patients with OSAHS confirmed by polysomnography (PSG) were measured. Clinical data were collected, and the carotid and extremity arteries were examined by ultrasound.

Screening and identification of a novel class of TGF-β type 1 receptor kinase inhibitor.

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) type I receptor (activin receptor-like kinase 5, ALK5) has been identified as a promising target for fibrotic diseases. To find a novel inhibitor of ALK5, the authors performed a high-throughput screen of a library of 420,000 compounds using dephosphorylated ALK5. From primary hits of 1521 compounds, 555 compounds were confirmed.

Calculated organ equivalent doses for individuals in a sitting posture above a contaminated ground and a PET imaging room.

In this paper, phantoms representing sitting postures were developed and implemented in the MCNPX code to perform dose calculations. For the ground contamination case, isotropic planar source of (137)Cs was used. The male sitting phantom received an effective dose rate of 37.

Isolation and characterization of a heme oxygenase-1 gene from Chinese cabbage.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO1) is a heme-catabolizing enzyme induced by a variety of stress conditions. This article described the cloning and characterization of BrHO1 gene which codes for a putative HO1 from Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis).

Human mitochondrial transcription factor A functions in both nuclei and mitochondria and regulates cancer cell growth.

Mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) is one of the high mobility group protein family and is required for both transcription from and maintenance of mitochondrial genomes. However, the roles of mtTFA have not been extensively studied in cancer cells. Here, we firstly reported the nuclear localization of mtTFA.

[Application of synchronous fluorescence in identification of spilled oil at sea].

In order to screen and identify the source of spilled oils at sea, synchronous fluorescence scans combined with clustering analysis are proposed and applied to different crude oil and weathering crude oil. SFS data of deltal = 25 nm were recorded and dealt with clustering analysis. The cluster results of SFS data in the range of 300 - 500 nm show that the crude oil and the weathering oil could separate completely.

The effect of injection volume on disc degeneration in a rat tail model.

Study Design: A prospective study to compare the effects of injection of various doses of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution into the intervertebral disc.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of injection volume on disc degeneration in a rat tail-disc model.

Summary Of Background Data: There are many studies on disc degeneration models induced by needle injection.

[Globozoospermia syndrome: an update].

Globozoospermia syndrome is a rare teratozoospermia, with an incidence of less than 0.1%. It is characterized by round sperm head, absence of acrosome, and messy sperm body and tail, but without other special clinical features.

Genetic control of a transition from black to straw-white seed hull in rice domestication.

The genetic mechanism involved in a transition from the black-colored seed hull of the ancestral wild rice (Oryza rufipogon and Oryza nivara) to the straw-white seed hull of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) during grain ripening remains unknown. We report that the black hull of O. rufipogon was controlled by the Black hull4 (Bh4) gene, which was fine-mapped to an 8.

Evidence of Arabidopsis salt acclimation induced by up-regulation of HY1 and the regulatory role of RbohD-derived reactive oxygen species synthesis.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, a family of four genes (HY1, HO2, HO3 and HO4) encode haem oxygenase (HO), and play a major role in phytochrome chromophore biosynthesis. To characterize the contribution of the various haem oxygenase isoforms involved in salt acclimation, the effects of NaCl on seed germination and primary root growth in Arabidopsis wild-type and four HO mutants (hy1-100, ho2, ho3 and ho4) were compared. Among the four HO mutants, hy1-100 displayed maximal sensitivity to salinity and showed no acclimation response, whereas plants over-expressing HY1 (35S:HY1) exhibited tolerance characteristics.

Circadian disruption accelerates tumor growth and angio/stromagenesis through a Wnt signaling pathway.

Epidemiologic studies show a high incidence of cancer in shift workers, suggesting a possible relationship between circadian rhythms and tumorigenesis. However, the precise molecular mechanism played by circadian rhythms in tumor progression is not known. To identify the possible mechanisms underlying tumor progression related to circadian rhythms, we set up nude mouse xenograft models.

Heme oxygenase-1 is involved in the cytokinin-induced alleviation of senescence in detached wheat leaves during dark incubation.

This study tested whether an inducible isoform of heme oxygenase (HO, EC 1.14.99.

[Effect of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome on arterial stiffness].

Objective: To assess the effect of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (b-aPWV) in untreated diagnosed patients.

Methods: This study involved 24 consecutive male patients with newly diagnosed untreated OSAHS (aged 39.13±8.

A land use regression for predicting NO2 and PM10 concentrations in different seasons in Tianjin region, China.

Land use regression (LUR) model was employed to predict the spatial concentration distribution of NO2 and PM10 in the Tianjin region based on the environmental air quality monitoring data. Four multiple linear regression (MLR) equations were established based on the most significant variables for NO2 in heating season (R2 = 0.74), and non-heating season (R2 = 0.

[Congenital adrenal hyperplasia complicated by testicular adrenal rest tumors: one-case clinical analysis].

Objective: To investigate the early diagnosis and treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) complicated by testicular adrenal rest tumors (TART).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 1 case of late-onset CAH complicated by TART diagnosed and treated in Xiamen Women and Children Health Care Hospital.

Results: The patient was a 15 years old boy, short statured and dark skinned, with skin pigmentation in the gum and external genital, secondary sex characteristics of the adult and irregular tubercles palpable in the bilateral testes.

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon produced from rice straw by (NH4)2HPO4 activation.

Effects of different pretreatment protocols in (NH(4))(2)HPO(4) activation of rice straw on porous activated carbon evolution were evaluated. The pore structure, morphology and surface chemistry of obtained activated carbons were investigated by nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that pretreatment combining impregnation with (NH(4))(2)HPO(4) and preoxidation could significantly affect the physicochemical properties of prepared activated carbons.

A two step method to identify clinical outcome relevant genes with microarray data.

With advances in microarray technology, many biomarkers selection approaches have been proposed for cancer diagnosis. Marker sets are selected by scoring genes for how well they can discriminate between different classes of diseases [1-4] or are ranked by significance analysis without reference to classification tasks. However there is a pressing need for methods integrating biological priori knowledge in the gene selection process.

Protective effect of Salvia miltiorrhizae injection on N(G)-nitro-D-arginine induced nitric oxide deficient and oxidative damage in rat kidney.

N(G)-nitro-D-arginine (d-NNA) could convert into N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (l-NNA) in vivo, and kidney is the major target organ. In the chiral inversion process, a number of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were generated and NOS activity was inhibited, which may cause renal damage. Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM), a traditional Chinese drug, was used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and chronic renal failure.

Developing high throughput genotyped chromosome segment substitution lines based on population whole-genome re-sequencing in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Background: Genetic populations provide the basis for a wide range of genetic and genomic studies and have been widely used in genetic mapping, gene discovery and genomics-assisted breeding. Chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) are the most powerful tools for the detection and precise mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs), for the analysis of complex traits in plant molecular genetics.

Results: In this study, a wide population consisting of 128 CSSLs was developed, derived from the crossing and back-crossing of two sequenced rice cultivars: 9311, an elite indica cultivar as the recipient and Nipponbare, a japonica cultivar as the donor.