Controlling toxigenic Fusarium graminearum (FG) is challenging. A bacterial strain (S76-3, identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) that was isolated from diseased wheat spikes in the field displayed strong antifungal activity against... more
Controlling toxigenic Fusarium graminearum (FG) is challenging. A bacterial strain (S76-3, identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) that was isolated from diseased wheat spikes in the field displayed strong antifungal activity against FG. Reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analyses revealed that S76-3 produced three classes of cyclic lipopeptides including iturin, plipastatin and surfactin. Each class consisted of several different molecules. The iturin and plipastatin fractions strongly inhibited FG; the surfactin fractions did not. The most abundant compound that had antagonistic activity from the iturin fraction was iturin A (m/z 1043.35); the most abundant active compound from the plipastatin fraction was plipastatin A (m/z 1463.90). These compounds were analyzed with collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry. The two purified compounds displayed strong fungicidal activity, completely killing conidial spores...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of risk factors on recurrence of sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT). A retrospective review was conducted of 107 SCTs treated between January 2003 and December 2012 in our center. Risk... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of risk factors on recurrence of sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT). A retrospective review was conducted of 107 SCTs treated between January 2003 and December 2012 in our center. Risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analysis. Sixteen children had recurrence of SCT a median interval of 16.25months after primary surgery. 15.6% tumors recurrence were Altman type I, 10.5% type II, 10.0% type III, and 31.3% type IV. The recurrence of mature teratoma was observed in 8 patients, immature in 2, malignant in 5. More than half of the recurrences showed a shift towards histological immaturity or malignancy, compared with the primary tumor pathology. Risk factors for recurrence were spillage of tumor parenchyma during operation (P=0.028), incomplete resection (p=0.000), and primary immature (P=0.029) and malignant histology (P=0.026). Size, Altman classification, and age were not risk factors for recurrence. There was a sta...
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Mast cells are found abundant at sites of acupoints. Nerve cells share perivascular localization with mast cells. Acupuncture (mechanical stimuli) can activate mast cells to release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which can activate nerve... more
Mast cells are found abundant at sites of acupoints. Nerve cells share perivascular localization with mast cells. Acupuncture (mechanical stimuli) can activate mast cells to release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which can activate nerve cells and modulates pain-processing pathways in response to acupuncture. In this paper, a mathematical model was constructed for describing intracellular Ca(2+) signal and ATP release in a coupled mast cell and nerve cell system induced by mechanical stimuli. The results showed mechanical stimuli lead to a intracellular Ca(2+) rise in the mast cell and ATP release, ATP diffuses in the extracellular space (ECS) and activates the nearby nerve cells, then induces electrical current in the nerve cell which spreads in the neural network. This study may facilitate our understanding of the mechanotransduction process induced by acupuncture and provide a methodology for quantitatively analyzing acupuncture treatment.
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In this paper, we use Stokes, Brinkman and Darcy equations to approximate the porous continuum media of ligament tissues respectively, simulate the flow field with FLUENT software, and study the shear stress on the cell surface due to the... more
In this paper, we use Stokes, Brinkman and Darcy equations to approximate the porous continuum media of ligament tissues respectively, simulate the flow field with FLUENT software, and study the shear stress on the cell surface due to the interstitial fluid flow. Since the Brinkman equation approaches Stokes equation well in high hydraulic permeability (k p) condition (k p ≥1.0×10(-8) m(2) in our numerical simulation), and it is an approximation to Darcy model in low k p condition (k p ≤5.0×10(-12) m(2) in our numerical simulation), we used the Brinkman model to simulate the interstitial fluid flow in the ligament where k p is approximately 1.0×10(-16) m(2). It shows k p and anisotropic property have a little effect on the flow field, but have a great effect on the shear stress on the membrane of interstitial cells (τ cell). There is a linear relationship between τ cell and , when k p =1.0×10(-16) m(2) and the maximum τ cell (τ cell,max) is approximately 10 Pa. The anisotropic prope...
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To explore the effects of sodium hydrogen exchanger (NHE-1) specific hammerhead ribozyme on the expression and activity of NHE-1 and pHi in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) in rats, and its role in PASMCs proliferation.... more
To explore the effects of sodium hydrogen exchanger (NHE-1) specific hammerhead ribozyme on the expression and activity of NHE-1 and pHi in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) in rats, and its role in PASMCs proliferation. According to the secondary structure of NHE-1 mRNA in rats, NHE-1 specific hammerhead ribozyme was designed with the assistance of computer. The recombinant vector of retroviral plasmid pLXSN and NHE-1 hammerhead ribozyme, PRZ, was transfected into the cultured PASMCs. G418 resistant cell clones were screened with 60 microg/ml G418. Then, the expression of NHE-1 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR, intracellular pH was measured with fluorescent probe-BCECF, 22Na and 3H-TdR incorporation were determined respectively. Compared with the cells transfected with pLXSN and non-transfected cells, NHE-1 mRNA, pHi value, 3H-TdR and 22Na incorporation decreased significantly in cells transfected with recombinant vector PRZ. No significance was found between the pLXSN trans...
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Based on the morphology and function of lymphatic vessel, and on the achievements of researches in the regulatory mechanism of lymphatic circulation, we fully considered the dynamic interaction of blood, interstitial fluid and lymph... more
Based on the morphology and function of lymphatic vessel, and on the achievements of researches in the regulatory mechanism of lymphatic circulation, we fully considered the dynamic interaction of blood, interstitial fluid and lymph fluid; then we imitated and used Sungawa's method of analyzing the heart output, and finally set up a dynamic model for describing lymphatic circulation. Comparison of our calculating results with the data from Ikomi's experiment showed that they were identical, thus indicating that our model is of value in explaining the dynamic mechanism of lymphatic circulation. In this paper is especially calculated the relationship between lymph flow and massage frequency, which is useful for analyzing the effect of massage on the lymph flow rate with respect to this model.
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The transport receptor Mex67-Mtr2 functions in mRNA export, and also by a loop-confined surface on the heterodimer binds to and exports pre-60S particles. We show that Mex67-Mtr2 through the same surface that recruits pre-60S particles... more
The transport receptor Mex67-Mtr2 functions in mRNA export, and also by a loop-confined surface on the heterodimer binds to and exports pre-60S particles. We show that Mex67-Mtr2 through the same surface that recruits pre-60S particles interacts with the Nup84 complex, a structural module of the nuclear pore complex devoid of Phe-Gly domains. In vitro, pre-60S particles and the Nup84 complex compete for an overlapping binding site on the loop-extended Mex67-Mtr2 surface. Chemical crosslinking identified Nup85 as the subunit in the Nup84 complex that directly binds to the Mex67 loop. Genetic studies revealed that this interaction is crucial for mRNA export. Notably, pre-60S subunit export impaired by mutating Mtr2 or the 60S adaptor Nmd3 could be partially restored by second-site mutation in Nup85 that caused dissociation of Mex67-Mtr2 from the Nup84 complex. Thus, the Mex67-Mtr2 export receptor employs a versatile binding platform on its surface that could create a crosstalk between...
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The treatment of osteoporotic women with bisphosphonates significantly reduces the incidence of bone fractures to a degree greater than can be explained by an increase in bone mineral density. In this study, 18-month Fischer 344 rats were... more
The treatment of osteoporotic women with bisphosphonates significantly reduces the incidence of bone fractures to a degree greater than can be explained by an increase in bone mineral density. In this study, 18-month Fischer 344 rats were ovariectomized and treated with a single dose of risedronate (intravenous, iv, 500 microg), zoledronic acid (iv, 100 microg) or continuous raloxifene (2 mg/kg, po, 3x/week). High resolution microCT was used to measure lumbar vertebral bone microarchitecture, the degree of bone mineralization (DBM) and the distribution of mineral. Small angle X-ray scattering was used to investigate mineral crystallinity. We found prolonged estrogen deficiency, reduced trabecular bone volume, and increased micro architecture bone compression strength lowered the degree of mineralization. Treatment with resorptive agents (bisphosphonates>raloxifene) prevented the loss of mineralization, trabecular bone volume and bone compression strength. Crystal size was not cha...
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To investigate the expression and clinical significance of RAD51 in laryngocarcinoma. The expression of RAD51 in laryngocarcinoma and polyp of vocal cord tissues were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The results were analyzed... more
To investigate the expression and clinical significance of RAD51 in laryngocarcinoma. The expression of RAD51 in laryngocarcinoma and polyp of vocal cord tissues were determined by immunohistochemical staining. The results were analyzed and compared with the clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and pathologic grade. (1) The expression of RAD51 in laryngocarcinoma group was extremely stronger than that in polyp of vocal cord group (P < 0.01). (2) There was significant difference for RAD51 expression in cancer cells between earlier clinical stage group and advanced clinical stage group (P < 0.01). (3) There was significant difference for RAD51 expression in different pathologic grades (P < 0.05). (4) There was also significant difference for RAD51 expression between groups with and without lymph node metastasis. RAD51 may play a critical role in tumorigenesis of laryngocarcinoma. RAD51 may be a potential marker for clinical diagnosis and treatment of Laryngocarcinoma. It may...
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The yeast Mex67-Mtr2 complex and its homologous metazoan counterpart TAP-p15 operate as nuclear export receptors by binding and translocating mRNA through the nuclear pore complexes. Here, we show how Mex67-Mtr2 can also function in the... more
The yeast Mex67-Mtr2 complex and its homologous metazoan counterpart TAP-p15 operate as nuclear export receptors by binding and translocating mRNA through the nuclear pore complexes. Here, we show how Mex67-Mtr2 can also function in the nuclear export of the ribosomal 60S subunit. Biochemical and genetic studies reveal a previously unrecognized interaction surface on the NTF2-like scaffold of the Mex67-Mtr2 heterodimer, which in vivo binds to pre-60S particles and in vitro can interact with 5S rRNA. Crucial structural requirements for this binding platform are loop insertions in the middle domain of Mex67 and Mtr2, which are absent from human TAP-p15. Notably, when the positively charged amino acids in the Mex67 loop are mutated, interaction of Mex67-Mtr2 with pre-60S particles and 5S rRNA is inhibited, and 60S subunits, but not mRNA, accumulate in the nucleus. Thus, the general mRNA exporter Mex67-Mtr2 contains a distinct electrostatic interaction surface for transporting 60S preri...
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Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a potent mitogen, has been found to restore trabecular bone mass and connectivity in osteopenic rats. The purpose of this study was to determine how sequential treatment of ovariectomized (OVXed)... more
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a potent mitogen, has been found to restore trabecular bone mass and connectivity in osteopenic rats. The purpose of this study was to determine how sequential treatment of ovariectomized (OVXed) mice with bFGF followed by risedronate would restore trabecular microarchitecture and improve bone strength through alterations in bone mineralization. Six-month old female Swiss-Webster mice were OVXed or sham-operated and left untreated for 4 weeks to develop osteopenia. At week 5, a group of Sham and OVXed mice were treated with vehicle, and 3 other groups of OVXed mice were treated with bFGF (1 mg/kg daily, s.c., 5x/week) for 3 weeks. At week 8, one group of bFGF-treated mice was sacrificed and the other two bFGF-treated groups were treated with vehicle or risedronate (Ris, 5 microg/kg, s.c., 3x/week) for an additional 6 weeks. Study endpoints included trabecular microarchitecture by microCT, histomorphometry, bone turnover, degree of bone minerali...
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Recently, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been found to increase trabecular bone mass and connectivity in the proximal tibial metaphyses (PTM) in osteopenic rats. The purpose of this study was to determine the bone anabolic... more
Recently, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been found to increase trabecular bone mass and connectivity in the proximal tibial metaphyses (PTM) in osteopenic rats. The purpose of this study was to determine the bone anabolic effects of bFGF in the lumbar vertebral body (LVB), a less loaded skeletal site with a lower rate of bone turnover than the PTM. Six-month old female Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized (OVX) or sham-operated and untreated for 8 weeks to induce osteopenia. Then group 1 (sham) and group 2 (OVX) were treated subcutaneously (s.c.) with vehicle, and OVXed groups 3 and 4 were treated s.c. with PTH [hPTH (1-34) at 40 microg/kg, 5x/week] and bFGF (1 mg/kg, 5x/week), respectively, for 8 weeks. At sacrifice, the fifth LVB was removed, subjected to micro-CT for determination of trabecular bone structure and then processed for histomorphometry to assess bone turnover. The sixth LVB was used for mechanical compression testing (MTS, Bionix 858). The data were an...
Research Interests: Elasticity, Osteoporosis, Trabecular Bone, Female, Animals, and 15 moreOsteoclasts, Animal Model, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Parathyroid Hormone, Clinical Sciences, Mechanical Stress, Rats, Group, Cortical Thickness, X ray Computed Tomography, Bone Strength, Biomechanical Phenomena, Ovariectomy, lumbar vertebrae, and Compression test
In clinical practice, interuser variability, high computational cost and low image quality are always big problems that puzzle the clinical application of computer-aided echocardiographic boundary detection. Star algorithm (StaA) is a new... more
In clinical practice, interuser variability, high computational cost and low image quality are always big problems that puzzle the clinical application of computer-aided echocardiographic boundary detection. Star algorithm (StaA) is a new endocardial boundary detector that has been designed to overcome these problems. The purpose of the paper is to present the detection details of the algorithm and evaluate its clinical value. The main elements of StaA are radial search technique, cost function-driven system and self-designed edge detector. The algorithm has four main steps: image preprocessing, initial left ventricular chamber detection, left ventricular chamber center detection and left ventricular endocardial boundary detection. StaA was performed on 50 pairs of end-diastolic (ED) and end-systolic (ES) echocardiographic images, which were divided into high image-quality group (HImQ) and low image-quality group (LImQ). The results of the test were analyzed in two ways: 1. Compared...
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As the transportation of O2 and CO2 inside human body is an integrated aspect of Qi-blood transportation, a hemodynamic model is established based on the analysis of the respiratory and circulation system. The results of such model show... more
As the transportation of O2 and CO2 inside human body is an integrated aspect of Qi-blood transportation, a hemodynamic model is established based on the analysis of the respiratory and circulation system. The results of such model show that the abnormality of the circulatory and respiratory parameters always lead to a reduction of Po2 (O2 pressure) in tissue fluid, and then a Lung Qi-Deficiency Syndrome (QDS). This model can be used to quantitatively explain, to some extent, the physiological phenomena of Lung QDS, and could combine all the discoveries of in clinical researches, on Lung QDS. The measurement of Po2 in tissue fluid as an index to analyze Lung QDS is in accordance with TCM and TMM (the theory of modern medicine). This model may provide a new approach in clinical research of Lung QDS.
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To evaluate the roles of Na+/H+ exchanger-1 (NHE-1) in the proliferation and apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in rats. Twenty Wistar rats were randomized into control group and 3-week hypoxic group. Intracellular pH (pHi)... more
To evaluate the roles of Na+/H+ exchanger-1 (NHE-1) in the proliferation and apoptosis of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in rats. Twenty Wistar rats were randomized into control group and 3-week hypoxic group. Intracellular pH (pHi) of the smooth muscle was determined with fluorescence measurement of the pH-sensitive dye BCECF-AM, and the expression of NHE-1 mRNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Primary culture of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in vitro was performed. In situ cell death detection kit (TUNEL) was used for studying the effect of specific NHE-1 inhibitor-dimethyl amiloride (DMA) on the apoptosis of muscle cells which had intracellular acidification. pHi value and NHE-1 mRNA expression of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells were significantly higher in the hypoxic group than in the control group (P < 0.01, P < 0.001). DMA elevated the apoptotic ratio remarkably. The effect was enhanced when DMA concentration in...
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Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sampling or full-area coverage is deemed as favorable means to achieve timely and robust characterizations of forests. Recently, a 3D segmentation approach was developed for extracting single trees from... more
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sampling or full-area coverage is deemed as favorable means to achieve timely and robust characterizations of forests. Recently, a 3D segmentation approach was developed for extracting single trees from LiDAR data. However, key parameters for modules used in the strategy had to be empirically determined. This paper highlights a comprehensive study for the sensitivity analysis of 3D single tree detection from airborne LiDAR data. By varying key parameters, their influences on results are to be quantified. The aim of the study is to enlighten the optimal combination of parameter values towards new applications. For the experiment, a number of sample plots from two temperate forest sites in Europe were selected. LiDAR data with a point density of 25 pts/m2 over the first site in the Bavarian forest national park were captured with under both leaf-on and leaf-off conditions. Moreover, a Riegl scanner was used to acquire data over the Austrian Alps for...
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- Bringing together relevant national and international experts who share approaches in a face-to-face way and address resulting technical challenges related to data fusion, scale and data quality. - Presentation and investigation of... more
- Bringing together relevant national and international experts who share approaches in a face-to-face way and address resulting technical challenges related to data fusion, scale and data quality. - Presentation and investigation of respective strategies for precise vegetation mapping across different stands using remotely sensed data. - Seeking the mutual enhancement of techniques for extracting information about vertical structures over different forest areas at different scales and defining the connection interfaces between our existent research works and competences. - Identifying research cooperation points between national and international leading groups.
The paper highlights recent results of forest structure analysis at single tree level based on analyzing airborne full waveform LiDAR data. Single trees are automatically detected by a 3D segmentation technique applied directly to laser... more
The paper highlights recent results of forest structure analysis at single tree level based on analyzing airborne full waveform LiDAR data. Single trees are automatically detected by a 3D segmentation technique applied directly to laser point clouds, which uses the normalized cut segmentation combined with a stem detection method. A subsequent classification identifies tree species using salient features that are defined on single 3D tree segments and utilize the additional information extracted from the reflected laser signal by the waveform decomposition. The stem volume and diameter at breast height (DBH) are estimated by a multiple linear regression analysis which uses tree shape parameters derived from the 3D model of the trees. Experiments were conducted in the Bavarian Forest National Park with full waveform LiDAR data. The data were captured with the Riegl LMS Q-560 system at a point density of 25 points/m2 under leaf-off and leaf-on conditions. The analysis of waveform data...
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Airborne remote sensing has been developing as an efficient instrument to supplement the conventional field work towards forest inventory. Unfortunately, understory trees such as young regenerations and low trees in multilayered forest... more
Airborne remote sensing has been developing as an efficient instrument to supplement the conventional field work towards forest inventory. Unfortunately, understory trees such as young regenerations and low trees in multilayered forest stands are often ignored. However, information about post-disturbance or natural forest regeneration and low vegetation will provide insight into the dynamics of future stand composition and structure. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the availability and spatial distribution of understory regeneration in forested areas is required. Currently, field-based inventory is the principal means used to collect information regarding regeneration status. In this work, we examine the potential of an airborne small-footprint full-waveform laser scanner for the mapping of advanced regeneration in temperate mixed mountain forests. Usually, overstory trees prevent from obtaining a wall-to-wall sample of understory. Therefore, discriminating between the crowns...
Standing dead trees, known as snags, are an essential factor in maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Combined with their role as carbon sinks, this makes for a compelling reason to study their spatial distribution. This paper... more
Standing dead trees, known as snags, are an essential factor in maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Combined with their role as carbon sinks, this makes for a compelling reason to study their spatial distribution. This paper presents an integrated method to detect and delineate individual dead tree crowns from color infrared aerial imagery. Our approach consists of two steps which incorporate statistical information about prior distributions of both the image intensities and the shapes of the target objects. In the first step, we perform a Gaussian Mixture Model clustering in the pixel color space with priors on the cluster means, obtaining up to 3 components corresponding to dead trees, living trees, and shadows. We then refine the dead tree regions using a level set segmentation method enriched with a generative model of the dead trees’ shape distribution as well as a discriminative model of their pixel intensity distribution. The iterative application of the statistica...
in this work, we show how local 3D shape descriptors can be used to efficiently detect segments of fallen trees in LiDAR point clouds. Our approach takes advantage of two types of highly expressive classes of shape features known from... more
in this work, we show how local 3D shape descriptors can be used to efficiently detect segments of fallen trees in LiDAR point clouds. Our approach takes advantage of two types of highly expressive classes of shape features known from computer vision: Point Feature Histograms (PFH) at the single point level as well as 3D Shape Contexts (SC) at the primitive (segment) level. The low-level point information forms a basis for determining potential segment candidates, which are then classified by a binary support vector machine (SVM). Based on manual labeling of points, we tested our method on two sample plots from the Bavarian Forest National Park acquired using full waveform LiDAR data with a point density of 30 pts/m2. The results, obtained using 5-fold validation, show that the studied shape descriptors have a high discriminative capability for the task of detecting fallen tree segments, yielding an overall classification accuracy of above 90%.
Edema is a common pathological symptom, but its development mechanism is unknown. Based on the bearings of pressure upon interstitium structure and substantial exchange between plasma and interstitial fluid, a dymamics model describing... more
Edema is a common pathological symptom, but its development mechanism is unknown. Based on the bearings of pressure upon interstitium structure and substantial exchange between plasma and interstitial fluid, a dymamics model describing the development of edema was set up. The model's theoretical results showed that the variations of interstitium pressure and structure due to imbalance of substantial exchange may lead to the development of edema, which is in accordance with recent clinical researches. Discussions on the dynamic mechanism of the development of edema proposed that the best way to prevent edema is instituting treatment before the interstitial structure being destroyed.
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Spiroplasma is a novel pathogen of commercially exploited crustaceans. To more full clarify its pathogenic mechanism at the molecular level in vitro, a spiroplasma-infected hemocytes model was developed as described here, using a modified... more
Spiroplasma is a novel pathogen of commercially exploited crustaceans. To more full clarify its pathogenic mechanism at the molecular level in vitro, a spiroplasma-infected hemocytes model was developed as described here, using a modified method of hemocytes culture from the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. It has been standardized by employing L-15 growth medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum along with 0.15% glucose, 0.75% NaCl, antibiotics (100 U ml(-1) penicillin, 100 U ml(-1) streptomycin) and a suitable pH of 7.20-7.40, incubated at 28°C without the requirement for 5% carbon dioxide. Cytopathic effects of Spiroplasma eriocheiris in the cultures, including cell debris and cellular exudates, were observed as early as 36 h post-inoculation. The green fluorescent dye Alex-488 was used as an immunofluorescence marker of S. eriocheiris to study its adhesion to, and infection of, the host cell. At about 24-h post-inoculation, a large number of spiroplasmas were obser...
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Osteoporosis is a disease of excess skeletal fragility that results from estrogen loss and aging. Age related bone loss has been attributed to both elevated bone resorption and insufficient bone formation. We developed a hybrid compound,... more
Osteoporosis is a disease of excess skeletal fragility that results from estrogen loss and aging. Age related bone loss has been attributed to both elevated bone resorption and insufficient bone formation. We developed a hybrid compound, LLP2A-Ale in which LLP2A has high affinity for the α4β1 integrin on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and alendronate has high affinity for bone. When LLP2A-Ale was injected into mice, the compound directed MSCs to both trabecular and cortical bone surfaces and increased bone mass and bone strength. Additional studies are underway to further characterize this hybrid compound, LLP2A-Ale, and how it can be utilized for the treatment of bone loss resulting from hormone deficiency, aging, and inflammation and to augment bone fracture healing. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;Stem Cells and Bone&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;.
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To investigate effects of the static magnetic field (SMF) generated by dental magnetic attachment on osteoblastic morphology and surface ultrastructure. The in vitro cultured rat osteoblasts were exposed continuously to 12.5 mT, 125 mT,... more
To investigate effects of the static magnetic field (SMF) generated by dental magnetic attachment on osteoblastic morphology and surface ultrastructure. The in vitro cultured rat osteoblasts were exposed continuously to 12.5 mT, 125 mT, and 250 mT static magnetic fields for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days. After exposed in SMF, osteoblasts were observed under a phase contrast microscope, and then HE stained and observed under a light microscope. In addition, the cells were observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). By continuous exposure, the different intensities of SMF exposure did not change the vital osteoblast growth pattern or distribution. The SEM photos showed that there were certain changes in cellular microstructures for osteoblasts after exposed to 12.5 mT for 5 to 7 days, as well as 125 mT and 250 mT for 3 to 7 days. The more exposure time increased, the more microvesicles on the surfaces of cells were observed. Continuous SMF-stimulation could not affect the shape, distri...
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HAdV-56 is a new recombinant type isolated from epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) patients and has been sporadically isolated in Japan several times. Here, an outbreak of EKC in the city of Dalian, China involving a large number of... more
HAdV-56 is a new recombinant type isolated from epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) patients and has been sporadically isolated in Japan several times. Here, an outbreak of EKC in the city of Dalian, China involving a large number of workers in two factories was reported; this was the first outbreak of EKC associated with HAdV-56 worldwide.
Research Interests: China, Adolescent, Multidisciplinary, Phylogeny, Disease Outbreaks, and 4 moreHumans, Young Adult, PLoS one, and Adult
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ABSTRACT In this chapter the thermodynamic theory behind damage mechanics is presented. The presented damage evolution model is purely physical, rather than empirical. Entropy production rate is used as a damage metric. It is shown that... more
ABSTRACT In this chapter the thermodynamic theory behind damage mechanics is presented. The presented damage evolution model is purely physical, rather than empirical. Entropy production rate is used as a damage metric. It is shown that when entropy production rate is used as a damage metric, damage due to numerous related and unrelated external and internal sources can be combined into a single universal damage term, which is not possible with any phenomenological damage evolution model.
ABSTRACT Downed dead wood is regarded as an important part of forest ecosystems from an ecological perspective, which drives the need for investigating its spatial distribution. Based on several studies, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) has... more
ABSTRACT Downed dead wood is regarded as an important part of forest ecosystems from an ecological perspective, which drives the need for investigating its spatial distribution. Based on several studies, Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) has proven to be a valuable remote sensing technique for obtaining such information. This paper describes a unified approach to the detection of fallen trees from ALS point clouds based on merging short segments into whole stems using the Normalized Cut algorithm. We introduce a new method of defining the segment similarity function for the clustering procedure, where the attribute weights are learned from labeled data. Based on a relationship between Normalized Cut’s similarity function and a class of regression models, we show how to learn the similarity function by training a classifier. Furthermore, we propose using an appearance-based stopping criterion for the graph cut algorithm as an alternative to the standard Normalized Cut threshold approach. We set up a virtual fallen tree generation scheme to simulate complex forest scenarios with multiple overlapping fallen stems. This simulated data is then used as a basis to learn both the similarity function and the stopping criterion for Normalized Cut. We evaluate our approach on 5 plots from the strictly protected mixed mountain forest within the Bavarian Forest National Park using reference data obtained via a manual field inventory. The experimental results show that our method is able to detect up to 90% of fallen stems in plots having 30–40% overstory cover with a correctness exceeding 80%, even in quite complex forest scenes. Moreover, the performance for feature weights trained on simulated data is competitive with the case when the weights are calculated using a grid search on the test data, which indicates that the learned similarity function and stopping criterion can generalize well on new plots.
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The study was designed to investigate if pre-treating rats with a therapeutic equivalent dose of risedronate blunted the anabolic effects of PTH, and whether a withdrawal period prior to PTH treatment would alter any effect of risedronate... more
The study was designed to investigate if pre-treating rats with a therapeutic equivalent dose of risedronate blunted the anabolic effects of PTH, and whether a withdrawal period prior to PTH treatment would alter any effect of risedronate on PTH treatment. Skeletally mature rats were treated for 18 weeks with vehicle, risedronate, or risedronate for 8 weeks followed by vehicle for 10 weeks (withdrawal period). At the end of this period, animals were treated for a further 12 weeks with PTH or PTH vehicle. Trabecular and cortical bone mass were monitored by serial pQCT, or by DXA and microCT. Bone histomorphometry was performed on the proximal tibiae and tibial shafts for bone turnover parameters at week 40. Risedronate alone moderately increased while PTH alone markedly increased trabecular bone mass at the proximal tibial (35% and 200%, respectively) and lumbar vertebral body (14% and 36%, respectively). The maximum bone gains were similar with and without pretreatment with risedron...
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The selectable marker system, which utilizes the pmi gene encoding for phosphomannose-isomerase that converts mannose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, was adapted for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cucumber (Cucumis sativus... more
The selectable marker system, which utilizes the pmi gene encoding for phosphomannose-isomerase that converts mannose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate, was adapted for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Only transformed cells were capable of utilizing mannose as a carbon source. The highest transformation frequency of 23% was obtained with 10 g/l mannose and 10 g/l sucrose in the medium. Molecular, genetic analysis, and
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The full-length neuropeptide Y (NPY) cDNA of Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi was 704 bp in length, and contained a 300 bp open reading frame encoding a prepro-NPY with 99 amino acids. The predicted prepro-NPY peptide contained a putative... more
The full-length neuropeptide Y (NPY) cDNA of Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi was 704 bp in length, and contained a 300 bp open reading frame encoding a prepro-NPY with 99 amino acids. The predicted prepro-NPY peptide contained a putative signal peptide of 28 amino acids and a mature NPY of 36 amino acids, followed by the proteolytic processing site Gly–Lys–Arg and 35 amino
Research Interests: Physiology, Adipose tissue, Phylogeny, Cortisol, Brain, and 22 moreFemale, Animals, Male, Fishes, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Phylogenetic analysis, Food intake, Molecular cloning, mRna expression levels, Molecular Characterization, Neuropeptide Y, Amino Acid Profile, SIGNAL PEPTIDE, Amino Acid Sequence, Base Sequence, Open Reading Frame, Perch, Binding Site, Full Length Movies, Biochemistry and cell biology, Gene Expression Regulation, and Molecular Sequence Data
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Research Interests:
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese therapeutic technique, has been put into practice for more than 4000 years and widely used for pain management since 1958. However, what is the mechanism underlying the acupuncture for analgesia effects... more
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese therapeutic technique, has been put into practice for more than 4000 years and widely used for pain management since 1958. However, what is the mechanism underlying the acupuncture for analgesia effects by stimulation of acupoints, what substances receive the original mechanical acupuncture signals from the acupoints, or what transforms these signals into effective biological signals are not well understood. In this work, the role of collagen fibers at acupoints during acupuncture analgesia on rats was investigated. When the structure of the collagen fibers at Zusanli (ST36) was destroyed by injection of type I collagenase, the needle force caused by the acupuncture declined and the analgesic effects of rotation or lift-thrusting manipulations was attenuated accompanying the restraint of the degranulation ratios of mast cells. We propose that collagen fibers play an important role in acupuncture-induced analgesia, and they participate in signal transmission and transform processes.