Unconsciously triggered emotional conflict by emotional facial expressions.

The present study investigated whether emotional conflict and emotional conflict adaptation could be triggered by unconscious emotional information as assessed in a backward-masked affective priming task. Participants were instructed to identify the valence of a face (e.g.

Social competition factor influences the neural response to rewards: an ERP study.

To study if the neural system responds the same or differently to the same rewards in different social competition conditions, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded as 18 participants engaged in two kinds of decision tasks. In the auction condition (the competition condition), participants were instructed to bid against their competitors and then informed the outcome (failing and gaining no money, or winning and gaining a certain amount of money); in the lottery condition (the neutral condition), subjects were asked to play a lottery against the computer and then informed the outcome (the same as in auction). Scalp ERPs revealed that, in the outcome phase, failing (rewards=0) in auction induced a larger late positive complex response (in the time window of 700-1200ms) than that in lottery; while winning (rewards>0) in lottery induced a larger late positive complex response (in the time window of 500-800ms) than that in auction.

Bandgap broadly tunable GaZnSeAs alloy nanowires.

Composition-tunable semiconductor alloy nanowires are emerging as an important class of materials for the realization of high-performance laterally-arranged multiple bandgap (LAMB) solar cells. Here we report the first growth of GaZnSeAs quaternary alloy nanowires with composed elements between two different groups using a temperature/space-selective CVD route. Under laser excitation, these special quaternary alloy nanowires exhibit composition-related characteristic emissions, with peak wavelengths gradually tunable from 470 nm (2.

Luminescence and local photonic confinement of single ZnSe:Mn nanostructure and the shape dependent lasing behavior.

One-dimensional Mn-ZnSe nanostructures with high crystallite quality were synthesized by the CVD method. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the defect state, crystal lattice and growth direction of as-prepared nanostructures. Raman spectra under varied excitation wavelengths confirmed the dopant modes of Mn(II) and the inhomogeneity.

Spiroketal formation and modification in avermectin biosynthesis involves a dual activity of AveC.

Avermectins (AVEs), which are widely used for the treatment of agricultural parasitic diseases, belong to a family of 6,6-spiroketal moiety-containing, macrolide natural products. AVE biosynthesis is known to employ a type I polyketide synthase (PKS) system to assemble the molecular skeleton for further functionalization. It remains unknown how and when spiroketal formation proceeds, particularly regarding the role of AveC, a unique protein in the pathway that shares no sequence homology to any enzyme of known function.

[Clinical analysis of 42 cases of chronic expanding intracerebral hematoma].

Objective: To summarize our own experiences of managing chronic expanding intracerebral hematoma (CEICH) and discuss its diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: The courses of CEICH, clinical and imaging features, intraoperative findings, pathological examinations and follow-up outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. The relevant literatures were reviewed simultaneously.

Isolation and characterization of a laccase gene potentially involved in proanthocyanidin polymerization in Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) fruit.

Proanthocyanidins (PAs, condensed tannins) are important health-promoting phytochemicals that are abundant in many plants. Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is an excellent source of PAs because of its unique ability to accumulate large quantities of these compounds in its young fruit.

Asymmetric light propagation in composition-graded semiconductor nanowires.

Asymmetric light propagation is crucial to the development of optical-based functional components in nanophotonics. Diverse configurations and structures have been proposed to allow asymmetrical propagation of photonic signal, but on-chip integration is difficult to achieve due to their complex structure and/or relatively large footprint. Here we report the first design and realization of asymmetric light propagation in single semiconductor nanowires with a composition gradient along the length.

Neural correlates of the modified Stroop effect in post-traumatic stress disorder: an event-related potential study.

Previous studies have provided electrophysiological evidence for attentional abnormalities in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study examined the electrophysiological activity of trauma-exposed patients with or without a PTSD during a modified Stroop task. The PTSD group showed a reduced P2 and P3 amplitude relative to the non-PTSD group under both the earthquake-related and earthquake-unrelated words conditions.

The influence of attentional control on stimulus processing is category specific in Stroop tasks : Attentional control.

It is still unclear how attentional control influences stimulus processing. We investigated this issue in four Stroop task experiments utilizing a pretest-training-posttest design. Subjects were given extensive training on the Stroop task using typical incongruent Stroop trials.

An ERP study on decisions between attractive females and money.

To investigate the neural processes of decision-makings between attractive females and money, we recorded 18 male participants' brain event-related potentials (ERPs) when they performed a novel task of deciding between viewing an attractive female's fuzzy picture in clear and gaining a certain amount of money. Two types of attractive females were included: sexy females and beautiful females. Several new electrophysiological discoveries were obtained as following.

Normal saline injection via lumbar puncture for the treatment of acute tonsillar herniation: a report of 45 cases.

Objective: Current treatment of apnea attributable to acute tonsillar herniation often is inadequate. This study was undertaken to verify the clinical usefulness of normal saline injection via lumbar puncture for the treatment of apnea secondary to acute tonsillar herniation.

Methods: Between 1969 and 2009, 45 patients who had not regained spontaneous respiratory function after external ventricular drainage or removal of a supratentorial lesion via open craniotomy received an injection of normal saline via lumbar puncture.

[Trypsin immobilization on silica beads modified by squamous polymer for ultra fast and highly efficient proteome digestion].

Currently, the shotgun based strategy has been widely applied in proteomic research. In this strategy, protein identification relied on the identification of the corresponding proteolytic peptides. Therefore, rapid and efficient protein digestion is crucial for accurate protein identification and characterization.

Wavelength-converted/selective waveguiding based on composition-graded semiconductor nanowires.

Compact wavelength-sensitive optical components are desirable for optical information processing and communication in photonic integrated system. In this work, optical waveguiding along single composition-graded CdS(x)Se(1-x) nanowires were systematically investigated. Under a focused laser excitation, the excited light can be guided passively along the bandgap-increased direction of the nanowire, keeping the photonic energy of the guided light almost unchanged during the whole propagation.

Effects of self-esteem on electrophysiological correlates of easy and difficult math.

The current study investigated the effects of easy versus difficult math on event-related potentials as a function of self-esteem in 28 undergraduate students. First, it was found that participants responded much more rapidly to an easy task. Second, the amplitude of P2 (150-300 ms) was more positive amplified in low self-esteem participants when compared to high self-esteem participants.

[Rapid pore cranial drilling and ventricular drainage in the treatment of ventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage: an analysis of 401 cases].

Objective: To summarize the clinical efficacies and experiences of using rapid pore cranial drilling and external ventricular drainage (EVD) in the treatment of ventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted for 401 patients at 5 hospitals from May 1983 to December 2010. They underwent EVD with an infusion of urokinase for intraventricular hemorrhage caused by thalamic hemorrhage.

[Correlation of surgical timing and prognosis for ruptured intracranial aneurysms].

Objective: To explore the correlation between surgical timing and clinical prognosis for ruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Methods: A series of 187 patients with intracranial aneurysm treated surgically at our department were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 101 patients received an average follow-up period of 9 months (range: 6 - 14).

The neural correlates of implicit self-relevant processing in low self-esteem: an ERP study.

Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that implicit and explicit processing of self-relevant (schematic) material elicit activity in many of the same brain regions. Electrophysiological studies on the neural processing of explicit self-relevant cues have generally supported the view that P300 is an index of attention to self-relevant stimuli; however, there has been no study to date investigating the temporal course of implicit self-relevant processing. The current study seeks to investigate the time course involved in implicit self-processing by comparing processing of self-relevant with non-self-relevant words while subjects are making a judgment about color of the words in an implicit attention task.

Cognitive control in belief-laden reasoning during conclusion processing: an ERP study.

Belief bias is the tendency to accept conclusions that are compatible with existing beliefs more frequently than those that contradict beliefs. It is one of the most replicated behavioral findings in the reasoning literature. Recently, neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs) have provided a new perspective and have demonstrated neural correlates of belief bias that have been viewed as supportive of dual-process theories of belief bias.

Caerulomycins and collismycins share a common paradigm for 2,2'-bipyridine biosynthesis via an unusual hybrid polyketide-peptide assembly Logic.

Caerulomycins (CAEs) and collismycins (COLs), which mainly differ in sulfur decoration, are two groups of structurally similar natural products containing a 2,2'-bipyridine (2,2'-BP) core, derivatives of which have been widely used in chemistry. The biosynthetic pathways of CAEs and COLs remain elusive. In this work, cloning of the CAE biosynthetic gene cluster allowed us to mine a highly conserved gene cluster encoding COL biosynthesis in a Streptomyces strain that was previously unknown as a 2,2'-BP producer.

Structure of a polysaccharide from Urtica fissa determined by NMR spectra.

A polysaccharide, isolated and purified from the aqueous extract of nettle plant Urtica fissa, was found to consist of D-glucose and D-arabinose. Molecular weight was determined to be Mn 4140. The NMR experiments (¹H, ¹³C, ¹H--¹H COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, NOESY, and HMBC) revealed the structure as the following repeating unit: -->6)-α-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-α-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-β-D-Glcp--(1-->5)-β-D-Araf-(1-->3)-β-D-Glcp-(1-->

Improvement of FK506 production in Streptomyces tsukubaensis by genetic enhancement of the supply of unusual polyketide extender units via utilization of two distinct site-specific recombination systems.

FK506 is a potent immunosuppressant that has a wide range of clinical applications. Its 23-member macrocyclic scaffold, mainly with a polyketide origin, features two methoxy groups at C-13 and C-15 and one allyl side chain at C-21, due to the region-specific incorporation of two unusual extender units derived from methoxymalonyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) and allylmalonyl-coenzyme A (CoA), respectively. Whether their intracellular formations can be a bottleneck for FK506 production remains elusive.

Plasmid pUDK-HGF encoding human hepatocyte growth factor gene attenuates gentamicin-induced kidney injury in rats.

The clinical application of gentamicin has been limited by its nephrotoxicity, which is characterized by kidney injury, interstitial fibrosis and progressive renal impairment. In this paper, we examine effects of plasmid pUDK-HGF which encodes the human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene on gentamicin-induced renal injury in rats. The kidney injury was intentionally induced by injecting gentamicin intraperitoneally.

[Clinical experiences of normal saline pressed injection via lumbar puncture in the treatment of apnea due to acute tonsillar hernia].

Objective: To summarize the clinical experiences of normal saline pressed injection via lumbar puncture in the treatment of acute tonsillar hernia induced apnea. This procedure was routinely carried out after external ventricular drainage and/or lesion removal via open craniotomy.

Methods: During the period of 1969 to 2005, a total of 43 patients failed to regain respiratory after external ventricular drainage using rapid small hole cranio-puncture apparatus or lesion removal via open craniotomy.

Reversal of multidrug resistance of KBV200 cells by triterpenoids isolated from Poria cocos.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumor cells is one of the major problems encountered during cancer chemotherapy. In this paper, we isolated eight triterpenoids from Poria cocos and evaluated their effects on reversing MDR of KBV200 cells. Eight triterpenoids increase significantly vincristine-induced cytotoxicity in drug-resistant KBV200 cells at the concentrations of 12.