Functional characterization of rice OsDof12.

DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) proteins are a large family of transcription factors involved in a variety of biological processes in plants. In rice, 30 different Dof genes have been identified through genome analysis. Here we report the functional characteristics of a rice Dof gene, OsDof12, which encodes a predicted Dof protein.

A deformable model-based system for 3D analysis and visualization of tumor in PET/CT images.

This paper presents a tumor detecting system that allows interactive 3D tumor visualization and tumor volume measurements. An improved level set method is proposed to automatically segment the tumor images slice by slice. PET images are used to detect the tumor while CT images make a 3D representation of the patient's body possible.

[Monitoring influenza A virus and Newcastle disease virus in migratory waterfowls in Sanjiang natural reserve of Heilongjiang Province].

Objective: In order to monitor the present situation of Avian influenza virus (AIV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in migratory waterfowls effectively, 158 tracheal and cloacal swab samples for wild birds were collected from Sanjiang natural reserve during migratory seasons in October 2005, April 2006 and October 2006.

Methods: Serial passages in specific pathogen free embryonated chicken eggs, haemagglutination activity (HA) text, hemagglutination inhibition (HI) text and RT-PCR detection were used to isolate and identify AIV and NDV.

Results: Twenty AIV isolates and 13 NDV isolates were collected in the test.

Sense and antisense OsDof12 transcripts in rice.

Background: Antisense transcription is a widespread phenomenon in plants and mammals. Our previous data on rice gene expression analysis by microarray indicated that the sense and antisense transcripts at the OsDof12 locus were co-expressed in leaves. In current study, we analyzed the expression patterns in detail and looked for the possible mechanism related to their expression patterns.

[Study of mandibular anterior alveolar bone thickness in subjects with different facial skeletal types].

Objective: To study the association of vertical facial skeletal types and sagittal facial skeletal types with anterior alveolar bone thickness.

Methods: Among 168 cases with malocclusion in early permanent dentition stage, 93 patients were male and 75 patients were female. All patients (aged 10-14 years) were divided into 9 groups by different facial skeletal types, mandibular anterior alveolar bone thickness in patients' lateral cephalometric films were measured.

Phenylalanine ammonia lyase functions as a switch directly controlling the accumulation of calycosin and calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside in Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus plants.

Previously it had been shown that calycosin and calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucoside (CGs) accumulate in whole plants, mainly in leaves, of Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.

[Prevalence of mite hypersensitivity in children with asthma].

By skin prick test, three kinds of mite allergens (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Blomia tropicalis) were tested in a group of asthma children in Jinhua area from Oct 2005 to Sep 2006. The positive rate to allergen from D. pteronyssinus and D.

Preparing to move increases the sensitivity of superior colliculus neurons.

How the brain selects goals for movements remains unknown. The system designed to move the eyes rapidly, the saccadic system, may play a role. Here we ask how sensory signals within a saccade area are influenced by selecting and preparing a saccade.

[Establishment and biological characteristics of a multi-drug resistant cell line A549/Gem.].

Background: Multi-drug resistance is one of the most important reason why the survival time of non-small cell lung cancer patients is so short. The aim of this study is to establish multi-drug resistant cell line A549/Gem and discuss its biological characters so as to elaborate the possible mechanisms of gemcitabine resistance.

Methods: Human gemcitabine-resistant non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549/Gem was established by repeated clinical serous peak concentration then low but gradually increasing concentration of gemcitabine from its parental cell human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 which is sensitive to gemcitabine.

[An EMD based time-frequency distribution and its application in EEG analysis].

Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is a new time-frequency analytic method to analyze the nonlinear and the non-stationary signals. The key step of this method is the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), with which any complicated signal can be decomposed into a finite and small number of intrinsic mode functions (IMF). In this paper, a new EMD based method for suppressing the cross-term of Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) is developed and is applied to analyze the epileptic EEG signals.

[Optimizing management on degraded grassland in Xilin River Basin based on ecological risk assessment].

By the methods of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS), and based on the estimations of degradation degree, risk degree and easy-restoration degree of degraded grasslands, an ecological management index (EMI) model of grassland was established to approach the practical ways of optimizing management of degraded grassland. A case study in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia showed that this model could quantitatively analyze the degradation degree, risk degree and easy-restoration degree of the grasslands under different optimizing management levels, which was of significance for applying rational measures with pertinence, and beneficial to the optimal allocation of resources during the management of degraded grassland. The EMI model could integrate most concerned information, which made it applicable widely.

Proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of rice mature seed-derived callus differentiation.

Callus differentiation is a key developmental process for rice regeneration from cells. To better understand this complex developmental process, we used a 2-D gel electrophoresis approach to explore the temporal patterns of protein expression at the early stages during rice callus differentiation. This global analysis detected 60 known proteins out of 79 gel spots identified by MS/MS, of which many had been shown to play a role in plant development.

[The sample entropy and its application in EEG based epilepsy detection].

It is of great importance for the detection of epilepsy in clinical applications. Based on the limitations of the common used approximate entropy (ApEn) in the epilepsy detection, this paper analyzes epileptic EEG signals with the sample entropy (SampEn) approach, a new method for signal analysis with much higher precision than that of the ApEn. Data analysis results show that the values from both ApEn and SampEn decrease significantly when the epilepsy is burst.

[Variability of vegetation growth season in different latitudinal zones of North China: a monitoring by NOAA NDVI and MSAVI].

In this study, North China was latitudinally divided into five zones, i.e., 32 degrees - 36 degrees N (Zone I), 36 degrees - 40 degrees N (Zone II), 40 degrees - 44 degrees N (Zone III), 44 degrees - 48 degrees N (Zone IV) and 48 degrees - 52 degrees N (Zone V), and the NOAA/ AVHRR NDVI and MSAVI time-series images from 1982 to 1999 were smoothed with Savitzky-Golay filter algorithm.

The Influence of Dynamic Trans-tibial Prosthetic Alignment on Standing Plantar Foot Pressure.

In order to study quantitative effect of dynamic prosthetic alignment on standing biomechanical property for trans-tibial amputees, plantar foot pressure of one subject during natural standing were recorded by using the Pedar in-shoe pressure measurement system with different alignment angles in the sagittal and frontal planes. The results showed that angular alignment had significant effects on the foot pressure distribution and magnitude of prosthetic side. Peak pressure on prosthetic foot was 1.

Influence of Shoe-heel Height of the Trans-tibial Prosthesis on Static Standing Biomechanics.

Shoe-heel height has great influence on lower-limb amputees' biomechanics during static standing. This article mainly considers the load line of the prosthetic side in the sagittal plane and the electromyogram (EMG) data of the lower limb muscles. The results indicate that the load line and the EMG are greatly influenced by the shoe-heel height, however, the amputee subconsciously adjusts his standing manner to make himself more comfortable and natural.

Objective measures of health and well-being in laboratory rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Background: Non-human primates are an invaluable part of biomedical research. Strict regulations insure animals have a maximum likelihood of well-being and optimum health during the course of experimental procedures. Objective assessment of well-being is a critical component of these assurances.

Adapting rice anther culture to gene transformation and RNA interference.

Anther culture offers a rapid method of generating homozygous lines for breeding program and genetic analysis. To produce homozygous transgenic lines of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in one step, we developed an efficient protocol of anther-callus-based transformation mediated by Agrobacterium after optimizing several factors influencing efficient transformation, including callus induction and Agrobacterium density for co-cultivation.

[Comparision of HER2/neu oncogene detected by chromogenic in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in breast cancer].

Objective: Through comparison of HER2/neu oncogene detected by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in breast cancer, to explore the effect of CISH on detecting gene amplification of HER2.

Methods: Selected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast samples whose pathological types were infiltrating ductal carcinomas (255 retrospective samples, 271 prospective samples), and these samples were detected by IHC and CISH.

Results: (1) In the retrospective study, CISH identified gene amplification in 91.

[Expression of c-erbB2 protein and its relation to prognosis in 284 primary breast cancer patients].

Objective: To investigate the expression of oncoprotein c-erbB2 in primary breast cancer and to analyze its relation to its prognosis.

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for c-erbB2 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens of primary breast cancer from 284 patients, and the relation to its prognosis was statistically analyzed.

Results: Positive expression rate of c-erbB2 was 26.

Differential analysis of secondary metabolites by LC-MS following strain improvement of Streptomyces lydicus AS 4.2501.

Metabolite variations in a high-yielding mutant and its parent strain were studied by comparative LC-MS analysis after strain improvement. Streptomyces lydicus AS 4.2501-P28, a propionate-resistant mutant isolated by the high-frequency screening method using the principle of eliminating precursor inhibition effects, showed an increase of 267% in streptolydigin titre over the starting strain.

[Generation of selectable marker-free and vector backbone sequence-free Xa21 transgenic rice].

The dominant gene Xa21 with broad-spectrum and high resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) was transferred into C418, an important restorer line of japonica hybrid rice in China using double right-border (DRB) T-DNA binary vector through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. 17 transgenic lines were Xa21-positive with high resistance to the race P6 of Xoo through PCR analysis and resistance identification, among the total 27 independent primary transformants (T0) obtained.

Calculation of polyamides melting point by quantum-chemical method and BP artificial neural networks.

Quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) for the melting point of the polyamides have been determined. All descriptors were calculated from molecular structures at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level and a QSPR model was generated by multiple linear regression (MLR). The important molecular descriptors for polyamide melting-point temperatures (T (m)) are the number of benzene rings in the backbone chain, the proportion of methylene and acylamino in the backbone chain, the total molecular energy and the atomic charge for the oxygen atom in the acylamino group.

Prediction of polyamide properties using quantum-chemical methods and BP artificial neural networks.

Quantitative structure -property relationships (QSPR) for glass translation temperatures (T (g)), density (rho) and indices of refraction (n) of the polyamides have been determined. All descriptors are calculated from molecular structures at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level. These QSPR models are generated by two methods: multiple linear regression (MLR) and error back-propagation artificial neural networks (BPANN).

Transient pauses in delay-period activity of superior colliculus neurons.

A feature of neurons in the mammalian superior colliclus (SC) is the robust discharge of action potentials preceding the onset of rapid eye movements called saccades. The burst, which commands ocular motoneurons, is often preceded by persistent, low-level activity, likely reflecting neuronal processes such as target selection, saccade selection and preparation. Here, we report on a transient pause in persistent activity of SC neurons.