A preliminary genetic distinctness of four Coilia fishes (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences.

In order to understand the genetic distinctness between four Coilia fishes,i.e., C.

Duplication and adaptive evolution of the COR15 genes within the highly cold-tolerant Draba lineage (Brassicaceae).

Plants have evolved diverse adaptive mechanisms that enable them to tolerate abiotic stresses, to varying degrees, and such stresses may have strongly influenced evolutionary changes at levels ranging from molecular to morphological. Previous studies on these phenomena have focused on the adaptive evolution of stress-related orthologous genes in specific lineages. However, heterogenetic evolution of the paralogous genes following duplication has only been examined in a very limited number of stress-response gene families.

[Putation, identification and bioinformatics analysis of Schistosoma japonicum aldehyde dehydrogenase full coding sequence].

Objective: To acquire the full coding sequence of Schistosoma japonicum aldehyde dehydrogenase, and fill the gaps of the partial aldehyde dehydrogenase sequences.

Method: Putative sequence fragments of the S. japonicum aldehyde dehydrogenase were extracted from the transcriptome database by use of bioinformatics tools, through the multiple sequences alignment with homologous sequences of other species.

Changes of blood pressure and heart rate during sexual activity in healthy adults.

Objective: This study is to observe the changes of blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), double product (DP) and heart rate variability during sexual activity in healthy adults before we cover patients with chronic cardiovascular disease.

Methods: Forty-nine participants grouped by sex, 22 males, aged 40.6+/-7.

[Discrimination of wood biological decay by NIR and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)].

Extensive research has demonstrated that near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) can be used to rapidly discriminate or detect a wide variety of food, medicine and agricultural products. The use of NIR coupled with PLS-DA to detect wood biological decay was investigated in the present paper. The results showed that the correlation between the predicted category variable of calibration and validation and the measured category variable is significant with a correlation coefficient (r) over 0.

Fine- and landscape-scale spatial genetic structure of cushion rockjasmine, Androsace tapete (Primulaceae), across southern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

The cushion rockjasmine, Androsace tapete (Primulaceae), is among the angiosperms with highest altitudal distribution in the world. Cushion rockjasmine is a prominent pioneer species in alpine deserts and alpine flowstone slope habitats up to 5,300 m on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we use inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to investigate the spatial genetic structure of A.

[Impact of all-trans retinoic acid on gene expression profile of glioblastoma cell line SHG-44].

Background & Objective: Astrocytoma has the trend of malignant progression. Differentiation-inducing therapy can induce tumor differentiation and make tumor cells become less malignant or even normal. This study was to investigate the impact of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on the gene expression profile of glioblastoma cell line SHG-44, and to provide basic data for further research on gene therapy for human astrocytoma.

[Cloning, expression of Schistosoma japonicum elastase gene and its stage-specific transcription].

Objective: To clone, express and purify Schistosoma japonicum elastase-2b gene (SjCE-2b), and analyze its stage-specific transcription. and expression.

Methods: The coding sequence of the Sj gene was predicted, and a phylogenetic tree of Sj elastase was drawn.

Transsphenoidal surgery in a patient with acromegaly and McCune-Albright syndrome: application of neuronavigation.

The McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is characterized by a clinical triad of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, café-au-lait hyperpigmented macules, and hypersecretory endocrinopathies. Acromegaly is an uncommon manifestation of the endocrine disturbance associated with MAS, and the role of surgery in managing these cases has been a topic of debate. The authors present the case of a 35-year-old man with MAS who was also diagnosed with acromegaly, hyperprolactinemia, and pituitary macroadenoma.

catena-Poly[[[2,6-bis-(pyrazol-1-yl-κN)pyridine-κN](nitrato-κO,O')cadmium(II)]-μ-thio-cyanato-κN:S].

In the title crystal structure, [Cd(NCS)(NO(3))(C(11)H(9)N(5))](n), the unique Cd(II) ion is coordinated in a distorted penta-gonal-bipyramidal environment. The axial thio-cyanate ligands act in a μ(1,3)-bridging mode to connect symmetry-related Cd(II) ions into one-dimensional chains along [010]. In addition, there are inter-molecular C-H⋯O contacts between chains.

Dichlorido(2,6-dipyrazol-1-ylpyridine)zinc(II).

In the title complex, [ZnCl(2)(C(11)H(9)N(5))], the Zn(II) ion assumes a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal ZnN(3)Cl(2) coordination geometry [Zn-N = 2.1397 (16)-2.2117 (17) Å, Zn-Cl = 2.

Diaqua-bis[2-(2-pyridylmeth-oxy)pyrazine-κN]bis-(thio-cyanato-κN)cobalt(II).

In the title complex, [Co(NCS)(2)(C(10)H(9)N(3)O)(2)(H(2)O)(2)], the Co(II) ion is located on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis and is in a slightly distorted octa-hedral CoN(4)O(2) coordination environment. The dihedral angle between the pyridine and pyrazine rings is 85.86 (10)°.

catena-Poly[[bis-[2-chloro-6-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl-κN)pyridine]cadmium(II)]-di-μ-thio-cyanato-κN:S;κS:N]: a one-dimensional coordination polymer.

In the crystal structure of the title complex, [Cd(NCS)(2)(C(7)H(5)ClN(4))(2)](n), the Cd(II) atom lies on a crystallographic inversion center and assumes a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The 2-chloro-6-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)pyridine mol-ecule acts as a terminal ligand. The thio-cyanate ligands function as μ(1,3)-bridging units connecting adjacent Cd(II) atoms with a separation of 5.

Thermodynamic and structural properties of methanol-water solutions using nonadditive interaction models.

We study bulk structural and thermodynamic properties of methanol-water solutions via molecular dynamics simulations using novel interaction potentials based on the charge equilibration (fluctuating charge) formalism to explicitly account for molecular polarization at the atomic level. The study uses the TIP4P-FQ potential for water-water interactions, and the CHARMM-based (Chemistry at HARvard Molecular Mechanics) fluctuating charge potential for methanol-methanol and methanol-water interactions. In terms of bulk solution properties, we discuss liquid densities, enthalpies of mixing, dielectric constants, self-diffusion constants, as well as structural properties related to local hydrogen bonding structure as manifested in radial distribution functions and cluster analysis.

A probabilistic framework for tracking deformable soft tissue in minimally invasive surgery.

The use of vision based algorithms in minimally invasive surgery has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its potential in providing in situ 3D tissue deformation recovery for intra-operative surgical guidance and robotic navigation. Thus far, a large number of feature descriptors have been proposed in computer vision but direct application of these techniques to minimally invasive surgery has shown significant problems due to free-form tissue deformation and varying visual appearances of surgical scenes. This paper evaluates the current state-of-the-art feature descriptors in computer vision and outlines their respective performance issues when used for deformation tracking.

MSOAR: a high-throughput ortholog assignment system based on genome rearrangement.

The assignment of orthologous genes between a pair of genomes is a fundamental and challenging problem in comparative genomics, since many computational methods for solving various biological problems critically rely on bona fide orthologs as input. While it is usually done using sequence similarity search, we recently proposed a new combinatorial approach that combines sequence similarity and genome rearrangement. This paper continues the development of the approach and unites genome rearrangement events and (post-speciation) duplication events in a single framework under the parsimony principle.

PBmice: an integrated database system of piggyBac (PB) insertional mutations and their characterizations in mice.

DNA transposon piggyBac (PB) is a newly established mutagen for large-scale mutagenesis in mice. We have designed and implemented an integrated database system called PBmice (PB Mutagenesis Information CEnter) for storing, retrieving and displaying the information derived from PB insertions (INSERTs) in the mouse genome. This system is centered on INSERTs with information including their genomic locations and flanking genomic sequences, the expression levels of the hit genes, and the expression patterns of the trapped genes if a trapping vector was used.

Helminth infections and risk factor analysis among residents in Eryuan county, Yunnan province, China.

Whilst infections with soil-transmitted helminths are common across China, the public-health significance of Schistosoma japonicum and food-borne helminths is more focalized. Only few studies have investigated the local epidemiology of helminth infections in rural China, including risk factor analysis. We collected stool and blood samples from 3220 individuals, aged 5-88 years, from 35 randomly selected villages in Eryuan county, Yunnan province, China.

Genetic diversity of relictual and endangered plant Abies ziyuanensis (Pinaceae) revealed by AFLP and SSR markers.

Abies ziyuanensis is a highly endangered fir species endemic to South China. Unlike other Abies species that are distributed in areas with cold climates, A. ziyuanensis is restricted to several isolated island-like localities at subtropical mountains.

[Cloning and fusion expression of adenosine deaminase of Schistosoma japonicum].

Objective: To clone and express a new protein adenosine deaminase of Schistosoma japonicum (SjADA).

Method: Specific primers were designed according to the EST sequence and used for amplification of the encoding sequence from the cDNA clone containing SjADA. The gene was sub-cloned into pET32 plasmid and expressed in E.

[Discrimination of wood biological decay by soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) pattern recognition based on principal component analysis].

Wood, as a biomass materials, tends to be attacked by microorganisms, and its structure could be rapidly destroyed by biological decay. Therefore, it's significant to rapidly and accurately detect or identify biological decay in wood. Recently, extensive research has demonstrated that near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) can be used to discriminate or detect a wide variety of food, medicine and agricultural products.

Controlled loading and release of a model drug from polypeptide multilayer nanofilms.

A major concern of medicine today is the sustained release of therapeutic compounds. Delivery vehicles for such compounds must be biocompatible. Ideally, loading a drug into the delivery vehicle will be a simple process, and vehicle properties will allow control over the drug release profile under desired conditions.

[Effects of spectral pretreatment on the prediction of crystallinity of wood cellulose using near infrared spectroscopy].

The crystallinity of wood has an important effect on the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of cellulose fibers. The aims of this study were to investigate the ability of near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to predict the crystallinity of wood cellulose and the effect of spectral pretreatment on the prediction of crystallinity in wood cellulose using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). Near infrared diffuse reflectance spectra were collected from wood powder with a fiber-optical probe and the crystallinity of wood was determined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) in this experiment.

Comparative population structure of Chinese sumac aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis and its primary host-plant Rhus chinensis.

Most of our current understanding of comparative population structure has been come from studies of parasite-host systems, whereas the genetic comparison of gallnut-aphids and their host-plants remain poorly documented. Here, we examined the population genetic structure of the Chinese sumac aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis and its unique primary host-plant Rhus chinensis in a mountainous province in western China using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Despite being sampled from a mountainous geographic range, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that the majority of genetic variation occurred among individuals within populations of both the aphid and its host.