Experimental and Modeling Study on Methane Hydrate Equilibrium Conditions in the Presence of Inorganic Salts.

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of four inorganic salts, KCl, NaCl, KBr and NaBr, on the thermodynamic conditions of methane hydrate formation. In order to achieve this, the vapor-liquid water-hydrate (VLH) equilibrium conditions of methane (CH) hydrate were measured in the temperature range of 274.15 K-282.

The Phase Equilibria of Natural Gas Hydrate in the Presence of 1,3-Dimethylcyclohexane and Octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside.

The thermodynamic effect of octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (OGP) on the formation of methane-1,3-dimethylcyclohexane (DMCH) hydrate was studied in this work. The thermodynamic equilibrium hydrate formation pressures between 275.15 K and 283.

Smad4 and FoxH1 potentially interact to regulate cyp19a1a promoter in the ovary of ricefield eel (Monopterus albus).

Background: Cyp19a1a is a key enzyme in the pathway that converts androgens into estrogen and is regulated by TGF-β signaling. Smad4 and FoxH1 are downstream effectors of TGF-β signaling and may play important roles in ovarian development in M. albus.

Protein expression patterns and metal metabolites in a protogynous hermaphrodite fish, the ricefield eel (Monopterus albus).

Background: The ricefield eel Monopterus albus undergoes a natural sex change from female to male during its life cycle, and previous studies have shown the potential mechanisms of this transition at the transcriptional and protein levels. However, the changes in protein levels have not been fully explored, especially in the intersexual stage.

Results: In the present study, the protein expression patterns in the gonadal tissues from five different periods, the ovary (OV), early intersexual stage gonad (IE), middle intersexual stage gonad (IM), late intersexual stage gonad (IL), and testis (TE), were determined by untargeted proteomics sequencing.

Sulfonated P-W modified nitrogen-containing carbon-based solid acid catalysts for one-pot conversion of cellulose to ethyl levulinate under water-ethanol medium.

Converting cellulose (Cel) into ethyl levulinate (EL) is one of the promising strategies for supplying liquid fuels. In this paper, the prepared sulfonated P-W-modified N-containing carbon-based solid acid catalyst (PWNCS), in which the Polyaniline (PANI) was employed as N and C precursors, successfully converted Cel into EL under the water-ethanol medium. The characterization results demonstrated that a tiny addition of P increased the Brønsted acid sites (BAS) content and defective WO provided the Lewis acid sites (LAS), meanwhile, the sulfonation process did not change the fundamental structure but introduced the sulfonic groups to dramatically increase the acidic content.

FoxH1 Represses the Promoter Activity of in the Ricefield Eel ().

Forkhead box H1 (FoxH1) is a sexually dimorphic gene in , , and , indicating that it is essential for gonadal development. In the present study, the molecular characteristics and potential function of FoxH1 and the activation of the promoter in vitro were evaluated in . The levels of in the ovaries were three times higher than those in the testes and were regulated by gonadotropins (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin).

Transcriptome analysis of the mantle tissue of Pinctada fucata with red and black shells under salinity stress.

To understand the molecular responses of Pinctada fucata with different shell colors to salinity stress, we used transcriptome sequencing on the mantle of P. fucata with a black shell and red shell color under the salinity of 20, 35, and 50. The 414 and 2371 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in P.

Cardiac MRI segmentation with focal loss constrained deep residual networks.

Delineating anatomical structures for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) is crucial for various medical applications such as medical diagnoses, treatment, and pathological studies. CMRI segmentation, which aims to automatically and accurately segment the heart structures, is highly beneficial for cardiologists. However, it is non-trivial to perfectly segment the ventricles, especially for the heart apex slices, considering their small sizes compared to the input images.

Active site-dominated electromagnetic enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on a Cu triangle plate.

Revealing the sensitivity and selectivity of the Raman enhancement mechanism is extremely significant for disease diagnosis, environmental surveillance, and food safety supervision. In this study, chemical erosion copper triangle plates (CTPs) were employed as SERS substrate to detect the rhodamine B (Rh B) probe molecule at different etching times. A simple and cost-effective method affords unique insights into the surface enrichment of analytes, which could facilitate the high-performance SERS analysis of numerous analytes.

Differentially expressed immune-related genes in hemocytes of the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata against allograft identified by transcriptome analysis.

The pearl oyster Pinctada fucata is commonly cultured for marine pearls in China. To culture pearls, a mantle piece from a donor pearl oyster is grafted with a nucleus into a receptor. This transplanted mantle piece may be rejected by the immune system of the recipient oyster, thus reducing the success of transplantation.

[Prognostic analysis of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma].

Objective: To analyze the prognostic factors of cervical lymph node metastasis (CLN) in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC), and to probe and verify the esophageal carcinoma staging of the 7th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system.

Methods: A total of 1 715 TESCC patients underwent radical esophagectomy plus three-field lymph node dissection at Fujian Provincial Cancer Hospital between January 1993 and March 2007. 547 patients had pathological metastasis of CLN, and 296 patients received surgery only (S group) and 251 patients received postoperative radiotherapy (S+R group).

[Value of postoperative radiochemotherapy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with lymph node metastasis].

Objective: To retrospectively compare the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy (RT) alone with that of postoperative radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy (CRT) for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (EPC) with positive lymph nodes, and to evaluate the clinical value of RT + CRT.

Methods: 304 EPC patients underwent esophagectomy with three-field lymph node dissection had pathological lymph node metastases, but no hematogenous distant metastasis. Among them, 140 cases underwent postoperative RT alone, and 164 cases underwent postoperative CRT.

Postoperative radiation therapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy for node-positive thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the efficacy of radiation therapy (RT) and chemotherapy plus RT (CRT) for the postoperative treatment of node-positive thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TESCC) and to determine the incidence and severity of toxic reactions.

Methods And Materials: We retrospectively reviewed data from 304 patients who had undergone esophagectomy with 3-field lymph node dissection for TESCC and were determined by postoperative pathology to have lymph node metastasis without distant hematogenous metastasis. Of these patients, 164 underwent postoperative chemotherapy (cisplatin 80 mg/m(2), average days 1-3, plus paclitaxel 135 mg/m(2), day 1; 21-day cycle) plus RT (50 Gy), and 140 underwent postoperative RT alone.

The kinetics model and pyrolysis behavior of the aqueous fraction of bio-oil.

The pyrolysis behavior and kinetics of the aqueous fraction of bio-oil were studied through thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. Based on the experimental data, activation energies and kinetic parameters were calculated by the Achar differential method and the Coats-Redfern integral method, then the most probable mechanism functions and kinetics model were obtained at last. The results show that the pyrolysis of bio-oil aqueous fraction can be divided into three stages, that is, the volatilization of volatile fractions, the decomposition stage of heavy fractions and char combustion.

Molecular characterization and mRNA expression of catalase from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata.

Catalase (EC 1.11.1.

A macrophage migration inhibitory factor like oxidoreductase from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata involved in innate immune responses.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an important cytokine and plays a crucial role as a pivotal regulator of innate immunity. In this study, a MIF cDNA was identified and characterized from the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (designated as PoMIF). The full-length of PoMIF was 1544 bp and consisted of a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 45 bp, a 3'-UTR of 1139 bp with a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) at 12 nucleotides upstream of the poly (A) tail.

Number and location of positive nodes, postoperative radiotherapy, and survival after esophagectomy with three-field lymph node dissection for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To analyze influences of the number and location of positive lymph nodes and postoperative radiotherapy on survival for patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (TE-SCC) treated with radical esophagectomy with three-field lymphadenectomy.

Methods And Materials: A total of 945 patients underwent radical esophagectomy plus three-field lymph node dissection for node-positive TE-SCC at Fujian Provincial Tumor Hospital between January 1993 and March 2007. Five hundred ninety patients received surgery only (S group), and 355 patients received surgery, followed 3 to 4 weeks later by postoperative radiotherapy (S+R group) to a median total dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions.

Postoperative radiotherapy improved survival of poor prognostic squamous cell carcinoma esophagus.

Background: The purpose of this study was identify prognostic factors and to investigate the association between postoperative radiotherapy and overall survival of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Methods: From January 1993 to March 2007, 1,715 patients underwent extended esophagectomy with three-field lymph node dissection with or without postoperative radiotherapy and were eligible for analysis. Patients were grouped to surgery only (n = 1,277) and surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy (n = 438).