[Prokaryotic expression of HPV 16L1 and optimization of expression conditions].

Objective: To construct the HPV16 L1 prokaryotic expression plasmid and to optimize its expression.

Methods: A pair of primers was designed according to plasmid sequences of pGEX-KG and the HPV16L1 genes published by GeneBank. The DNA fragment of 1500 bp was amplified by PCR from the HPV recombinant plasmid with HPV16L1 gene, then cloned into pGEX-KG and transformed into the host E.

The prevalence of microalbuminuria and its relationships with the components of metabolic syndrome in the general population of China.

Background: Few studies have examined the relationships between the prevalence of microalbuminuria and the metabolic risk factors in the general population of China. We performed a population based study to investigate the prevalence of microalbuminuria and its relationships with the components of the metabolic syndrome in Hangzhou, China.

Methods: The subjects of this cross-sectional study were the individuals from 19 to 87 y.

[Numerical simulations of spatial and temporal characteristics of airborne dust over Asia during springs of 2000 to 2002].

Spatial and temporal characteristics of airborne dust over Asia during springs of 2000, 2001 and 2002 were simulated with a mineral dust entrainment and deposition model (DEAD) embedded in a global model of atmospheric transport and chemistry (MATCH) using the real-time meteorological data as forcing fields. The results show a good agreement of the pattern of model-simulated atmospheric dust concentration with the distribution of surface-observed spring dust storm frequency and a significant correlation between the simulated dust aerosol optical depth (DAOD) and satellite-observed aerosol index (AI). These results validate applicability of the integrated model in simulating dust entrainment, transportation and deposition and describing spatial and temporal characteristics of dust loading over the Asian continent.

The effect of transformation on the virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Although pneumococcus is one of the most frequently encountered opportunistic pathogen in the world, the mechanisms responsible for its infectiveness have not yet been fully understood. In this paper, we have attempted to characterize the effects of pneumococcal transformation on the pathogenesis of the organism. We constructed three transformation-deficient pneumococcal strains, which were designated as Nos.