An analysis of the relationship between ankle-brachial index and estimated glomerular filtration rate in type 2 diabetes.

We investigated the relationship between peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We enrolled 2057 hospitalized patients with T2DM and measured kidney function and ankle-brachial index (ABI). The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was derived using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation and ABI was grouped as low (<0.

Isolation and identification of cancer stem-like cells from side population of human prostate cancer cells.

It has been widely verified by various sorting methods that cancer stem cells (CSCs) exist in different types of tumor cells or tissues. However, due to lack of specific stem cell surface markers, CSCs are very difficult to be separated from some cancer cells, which becomes the key barrier of functional studies of CSCs. The sorting method by side population cells (SP) lays a solid foundation for in-depth and comprehensive study of CSCs.

A simplified baseband prefilter model with adaptive Kalman Filter for ultra-tight COMPASS/INS integration.

COMPASS is an indigenously developed Chinese global navigation satellite system and will share many features in common with GPS (Global Positioning System). Since the ultra-tight GPS/INS (Inertial Navigation System) integration shows its advantage over independent GPS receivers in many scenarios, the federated ultra-tight COMPASS/INS integration has been investigated in this paper, particularly, by proposing a simplified prefilter model. Compared with a traditional prefilter model, the state space of this simplified system contains only carrier phase, carrier frequency and carrier frequency rate tracking errors.

Manifold regularized multitask learning for semi-supervised multilabel image classification.

It is a significant challenge to classify images with multiple labels by using only a small number of labeled samples. One option is to learn a binary classifier for each label and use manifold regularization to improve the classification performance by exploring the underlying geometric structure of the data distribution. However, such an approach does not perform well in practice when images from multiple concepts are represented by high-dimensional visual features.

CT-guided percutaneous vertebroplasty of the upper cervical spine via a translateral approach.

Background: The clinical management of spinal hemangiomas and osteolytic metastases involving the upper cervical spine (C1-C3) is challenging. Symptoms vary from simple vertebral pain to progressive neurological deficits. Surgery and radiotherapy have been the treatment options for years.

Facile assembly of indeno[1,2-c]chromenes via a palladium-catalyzed reaction of 2-alkynylhalobenzene.

2-Alkynylhalobenzene reacts with 2-alkynylphenol in the presence of a palladium catalyst, leading to indeno[1,2-c]chromenes in good to excellent yields. Furthermore, the scaffold of indeno[1,2-c]chromene could be constructed via a palladium-catalyzed reaction of 2-alkynylbromobenzene with water, in which four bonds are formed with high efficiency.

Establishment of a reverse genetics system for studying human bocavirus in human airway epithelia.

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) has been identified as one of the etiological agents of wheezing in young children with acute respiratory-tract infections. In this study, we have obtained the sequence of a full-length HBoV1 genome (including both termini) using viral DNA extracted from a nasopharyngeal aspirate of an infected patient, cloned the full-length HBoV1 genome, and demonstrated DNA replication, encapsidation of the ssDNA genome, and release of the HBoV1 virions from human embryonic kidney 293 cells. The HBoV1 virions generated from this cell line-based production system exhibits a typical icosahedral structure of approximately 26 nm in diameter, and is capable of productively infecting polarized primary human airway epithelia (HAE) from the apical surface.

[Effects of electroacupuncture on endothelial progenitor cells in peripheral blood and bone marrow in local cerebral ischemia/reperfusion rats].

Objective: To observe the influence of electroacupuncture (EA) of "Hegu" (LI 4) on blood stromal cell-derived factor 1alpha (SDF-1alpha), CXC chemokine receptor 4+ (CXCR 4+) positive cells and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and bone marrow (BM) EPCs levels in local cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CI/IR) rats, so as to study its mechanisms underlying improvement of cerebral ischemia.

Methods: A total of 54 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, and EA groups. The latter two groups were further divided into 1 d, 2 d, 3 d and 7 d subgroups (4 time-points), respectively.

Nickel ion removal from wastewater using the microbial electrolysis cell.

In this study, the microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was examined for treatment of wastewater containing nickel ion (Ni(2+)). Effects of initial Ni(2+) concentrations in catholyte, pH values of catholyte, and applied voltages on MEC performance were determined. Results showed that the Ni(2+) removal efficiency with the MEC was three times higher than those with an electrolysis cell and a microbial fuel cell.

Human parvovirus B19 DNA replication induces a DNA damage response that is dispensable for cell cycle arrest at phase G2/M.

Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection is highly restricted to human erythroid progenitor cells, in which it induces a DNA damage response (DDR). The DDR signaling is mainly mediated by the ATR (ataxia telangiectasia-mutated and Rad3-related) pathway, which promotes replication of the viral genome; however, the exact mechanisms employed by B19V to take advantage of the DDR for virus replication remain unclear. In this study, we focused on the initiators of the DDR and the role of the DDR in cell cycle arrest during B19V infection.

Developed and developing world responsibilities for historical climate change and CO2 mitigation.

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Cancun, in November 2010, the Heads of State reached an agreement on the aim of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 °C relative to preindustrial levels. They recognized that long-term future warming is primarily constrained by cumulative anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, that deep cuts in global emissions are required, and that action based on equity must be taken to meet this objective. However, negotiations on emission reduction among countries are increasingly fraught with difficulty, partly because of arguments about the responsibility for the ongoing temperature rise.

[Distribution and pollution characteristics of nutrients and heavy metals in sediments of Hedi Reservoir].

Core sediments were collected from the riverine, transition and lacustrine zones of Hedi Reservoir in southern China to investigate the spatial distributions of nutrients and heavy metals and assess the potential ecological risk of heavy metals. The total nitrogen (TN) contents of the sediments at three sampling sites are between 2.314-2.

Improved performance of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell using the stack structure.

The microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) is a device to desalinate seawater, and produce acid and alkali. The objective of this study was to enhance the desalination and chemical-production performance of the MEDCC using two types of stack structure. Experiments were conducted with different membrane spacings, numbers of desalination chambers and applied voltages.

Generation of cyclopenta[c]chromenes via a palladium-catalyzed reaction of 2-alkynylphenol with 2-alkynylvinyl bromide.

A palladium-catalyzed tandem reaction of 2-alkynylphenol with 2-alkynylvinyl bromide gives rise to cyclopenta[c]chromenes in good yields. Three bonds are formed during the process and a double insertion of triple bonds is believed to be the key step.

Electroacupuncture improves behavioral recovery and increases SCF/c-kit expression in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in promoting behavioral recovery after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. The SD rats received filament occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 2 h followed by reperfusion for 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively. Rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group and EA group.

1-Bromo-2-(cyclopropylidenemethyl)benzene: a useful building block in the palladium-catalyzed reaction of 2-alkynylbenzenamine.

A novel palladium-catalyzed domino reaction of 1-bromo-2-(cyclopropylidenemethyl)benzene and 2-alkynylbenzenamine is reported, which generates 2-(naphthalen-2-yl)benzenamines and 5H-indeno[1,2-c]quinolines via 6-endo and 5-exo cyclization, respectively. The regioselectivity for the final outcome can be affected by phosphine and N-heterocyclic carbene ligands.

Field Distribution of Wheat Stripe Rust Latent Infection Using Real-Time PCR.

Stripe rust of wheat, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. tritici, is of worldwide significance. Quantification of latent infection level is critical to estimate the potential for disease epidemics.

Towards single-cell analysis for pharmacokinetics.

Traditional 'macroscopic' pharmacokinetics (PK) investigates the fate of drugs or toxicants administered externally to living organisms, described by the extent and rate of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. However, how a single cell affects a specific pharmaceutical after administration still remains a largely untouched area, primarily due to the technical restrictions imposed by minute amounts of chemicals involved. With the fast development of high-temporal and spatial-resolution detection techniques and single-cell handling techniques, it becomes possible to pursue single-cell PK.

Generation of indeno[1,2-c]pyrroles via a Pd-catalyzed reaction of 2-alkynylbromobenzene with propargylic sulfonamide.

A novel route for the efficient assembly of indeno[1,2-c]pyrrole derivatives via a palladium-catalyzed tandem reaction of 2-alkynylbromobenzene with propargylic sulfonamide is reported. The starting materials are easily available, and the reaction proceeds smoothly with good functional group tolerance.

Hegu acupuncture for chronic low-back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Acupuncture has long been employed for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, very few studies have characterized the effectiveness of the different acupuncture modes for CLBP.

Methods: In total, 187 patients with CLBP participated in this study.

Plant uptake of atmospheric brominated flame retardants at an E-waste site in southern China.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were measured in eucalyptus leaves and pine needles as well as the leaf surface particles (LSPs) of the two species at an e-waste site in southern China in 2007-2008. The monthly concentrations of total BFRs in the eucalyptus leaves and pine needles were in range of 30.6-154 and 15.

[Over-expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in LNCaP cells in vitro and in vivo].

Objective: To investigate the effects of the over-expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasive potency of LNCaP cells in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: We cultured LNCaP cells stably expressing HIF-1alpha (LNCaP/HIF-1alpha) and LNCaP cells, identified the over-expression of HIF-1alpha, determined the proliferation of the two cell lines by MTT assay and the level of PSA in the supernatant of culture medium, and detected the anchorage independent growth by soft-agar colony formation assay. A subcutaneous tumor model was established in nude mice by injecting LNCaP/HIF-1alpha and LNCaP cells followed by observation of the tumor growth.

Palladium-catalyzed three-component reaction of 2-alkynylbromobenzene, 2-alkynylaniline, and electrophile: an efficient pathway for the synthesis of diverse 11H-indeno[1,2-c]quinolines.

Diverse 11H-indeno[1,2-c]quinolines are produced via a palladium-catalyzed three-component reaction of 2-alkynylbromobenzene, 2-alkynylaniline, and electrophile. This conversion tolerates a wide variety of functionality and substitution patterns on the 11H-indeno[1,2-c]quinoline ring.

Development of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell for desalination as well as acid and alkali productions.

By combining the microbial electrolysis cell and the microbial desalination cell, the microbial electrolysis desalination cell (MEDC) becomes a novel device to desalinate salty water. However, several factors, such as sharp pH decrease and Cl(-) accumulation in the anode chamber, limit the MEDC development. In this study, a microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) was developed with four chambers using a bipolar membrane.