An RNA polymerase I-driven human respiratory syncytial virus minigenome as a tool for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drug

Human respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) is an important pediatric pathogen of lower respiratory tract worldwide. No vaccines and antiviral drugs are available. Herein the use of an RNA polymerase I-driven RSV minigenome for analyzing RSV replication and screening anti-RSV drugs was investigated. The RNA polymerase I(Pol I) was used to transcribe RSV minigenome from the constructed plasmid, designated p HM-RSV-Gluc, of minigenome c DNA which comprised trailer region, gene start sequence(GS), reverse complementary copy of Gaussia luciferase(Gluc) gene, gene end sequence(GE), and leader region in the direction of 5'–3'end and was flanked by promoter and terminator of Pol I. The expression of Gluc was confirmed in p HM-RSV-Gluc transfected HEp-2 cells following RSV infection and had the characteristics of dose-dependent, which provided a rapid, sensitive, and quantitative method for quantifying virus titers and screening antiviral drugs.     

Combined Delivery of a Lipopolysaccharide‐Binding Peptide and the Heme Oxygenase‐1 Gene Using Deoxycholic Acid‐Conjugated Polyethylenimine for the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury

A ternary complex comprising plasmid DNA, lipopolysaccharide‐binding peptide (LBP), and deoxycholic acid‐conjugated polyethylenimine (PEI‐DA) is prepared for combinational therapy of acute lung injury (ALI). The LBP is designed as an anti‐inflammatory peptide based on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐binding domain of HMGB‐1. In vitro cytokine assays show that LBP reduces levels of proinflammatory cytokines by inhibiting LPS. PEI‐DA is synthesized as the gene carrier by conjugation of deoxycholic acid to low‐molecular weight polyethylenimine (2 kDa, PEI2k). PEI‐DA has higher transfection efficiency than high‐molecular weight polyethylenimine (25 kDa, PEI25k). The ternary complex of an HO‐1 plasmid (pHO‐1), PEI‐DA, and LBP is prepared as a combinational system to deliver the therapeutic gene and peptide. The transfection efficiency of the ternary complex is higher than that of the pHO‐1/PEI‐DA binary complex. The ternary complex also reduces TNF‐α secretion in LPS‐activated Raw264.7 macrophage cells. Administration of the ternary complex into the lungs of an animal ALI model by intratracheal injection induces HO‐1 expression and reduces levels of proinflammatory cytokines more efficiently than the pHO‐1/PEI‐DA binary complex or LBP alone. In addition, the ternary complex reduces inflammation in the lungs. Therefore, the pHO‐1/PEI‐DA/LBP ternary complex may be an effective treatment for ALI.

     

循环码译码的Dixon结式方法

针对纠错码译码就是非线性方程组的求解问题,提出利用Dixon结式方法对译码方程进行消元以得到接收数据中的错位多项式.首先,根据纠错码的纠错能力和接收数据得到伴随式矩阵并通过该矩阵的秩确定接收码字中错误位的个数.然后,根据错位个数和伴随多项式构造译码方程.译码时,将其中一个错位变元作为隐藏变元,利用Dixon结式方法进行消元.最后,得到的Dixon结式就是关于隐藏变元的多项式.该多项式去掉多余因子后就是错位多项式,利用Chien搜索法即可求解出错误位置.当错位较多时,采用逐次计算结式的方法以筛除计算过程中的多余因子和重因子.另外,根据不同错位个数得到的错位多项式,提出了构造一类循环码错位多项式符号解的猜想,该猜想可以大大提高译码效率.实验验证了结式理论在纠错码译码方面的应用是有效的且有助于降低对芯片性能的要求.     

跳扩散过程下的保险商偿债率模型研究

本文研究了在有金融困境成本的情况下,带有跳扩散过程的保险商偿债率(SR)模型的问题.利用Girsanov定理进行测度变换的方法以及跳扩散过程下的看涨期权定价公式,获得了保险商终期收益的现值的结果.推广了不带跳扩散过程的保险商偿债率模型的结果.     

Quantitative Detection of Superoxide Ions in Whole Blood of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

WST-1 and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) were used to quantify production of superoxide ions by leukocytes of the American alligator in whole blood. Because of the difficulty of isolating healthy leukocytes in alligators, these compounds were employed in whole blood instead of leukocyte preparations commonly used in other studies. The detection of superoxide was concentration- and time-dependent and linear with serial dilutions of whole blood. WST-1 reduction was inhibited by superoxide dismutase, indicating that the reduction was due to the presence of superoxide. Light microscopy revealed that superoxide production occurred in leukocytes, with no detectable contributions from other blood components.     

A comparative study on acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid,dimethylarsinic acid and trimethylarsine oxide in mice

The acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid, CH₃AsO(OH)₂ (MAA), dimethylarsininc acid, (CH₃)₂AsO(OH) (DMAA), and trimethylarsine oxide, (CH₃)₃AsO (TMAO), were examined in mice with oral administration. The LD₅₀ values of MAA, DMAA and TMAO were 1.8, 1.2 and 10.6 g kg^?1 respectively. The toxicity of MAA and DMAA was very much lower than that for inorganic arsenic compounds. It was shown that TMAO has a similar acute toxicity to arsenobetaine. On the other hand, when the mice were administered 14.4 g kg^?1 of TMAO once only orally, a garlic-like odor (trimethylarsine, (CH₃)₃As) was definitely detectable in the exhalation of the animals by the human olfactory sense within about a few minutes.     

A study of the physiological changes and the nutritional qualities of irradiated apples and the effect of irradiation on apples stored at room temperature

The effects of γ-irradiation on the metabolism and nutritional qualities of cold Delicious apples and on the lethality of verticillate pathogenic fungi have been studied. The storage effect of irradiation on apples at room temperature has been observed. The results showed that the respiratory intensity of irradiated apple at 0.3–0.5 kGy was near or lower than that of unirradiated apple after 15 days irradiation. The amount of ethylene release was obviously inhibited when fruits were irradiated with 0.3–0.7 kGy. The flesh firmness of apple irradiated with 0.3–0.9 kGy was higher than that of unirradiated apple with the increasing of storage time. The negative correlations between the flesh firmness and the activities of pectinesterase (PE), polygalacturonase (PG) were observed when the dosage was lower than 1.5 kGy. The 2.0 kGy irradiation damaged the ultrastructure of cells, induced the softening of apple. When apples were irradiated with 0.7–2.0 kGy, the contents of 4 important volatile components of apple would be decreased. However, the dosage mentioned above had no effects on the pure chemicals. The studies showed that there was no significant effect of irradiation with 0.3–2.0 kGy on the nutritional qualities of apples and this dosage range could effectively control the verticillate pathogenic fungi. The result of storage experiments showed that the rotting fruits were obviously decreased by 0.3–0.9 kGy irradiation.     

Correlation dimension: A pivotal statistic for non-constrained realizations of composite hypotheses in surrogate data analysis

Currently surrogate data analysis can be used to determine if data is consistent with various linear systems, or something else (a nonlinear system). In this paper we propose an extension of these methods in an attempt to make more specific classifications within the class of nonlinear systems.

In the method of surrogate data one estimates the probability distribution of values of a test statistic for a set of experimental data under the assumption that the data is consistent with a given hypothesis. If the probability distribution of the test statistic is different for different dynamical systems consistent with the hypothesis, one must ensure that the surrogate generation technique generates surrogate data that are a good approximation to the data. This is often achieved with a careful choice of surrogate generation method and for noise driven linear surrogates such methods are commonly used.

This paper argues that, in many cases (particularly for nonlinear hypotheses), it is easier to select a test statistic for which the probability distribution of test statistic values is the same for all systems consistent with the hypothesis. For most linear hypotheses one can use a reliable estimator of a dynamic invariant of the underlying class of processes. For more complex, nonlinear hypothesis it requires suitable restatement (or cautious statement) of the hypothesis. Using such statistics one can build nonlinear models of the data and apply the methods of surrogate data to determine if the data is consistent with a simulation from a broad class of models. These ideas are illustrated with estimates of probability distribution functions for correlation dimension estimates of experimental and artificial data, and linear and nonlinear hypotheses.     

用形状指数研究苯酚类化合物对大型蚤的急性毒性

基于分子拓扑理论，计算了18种取代苯酚的Kier分子形状拓扑指数（^mK）．利用最小二乘法建立了不同pH值下11种取代苯酚对大型蚤急性毒性（pIC50）的QSAR模型，其相关系数（R^2）依次为：0．963（pH=6．0），0．966（pH=7．8），0.846（pH=9．0）．这些模型的计算值与其实验值基本吻合．通过留一法检验及对其余7种取代苯酚类化合物的pIC50值进行预测，结果表明该模型具有良好的稳健性和预测能力．     

Efficacy of cidofovir injection for the treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

To evaluate the efficacy of intralesional cidofovir injection for the treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). It is a prospective, open-label study design. This prospective study included 16 RRP patients, ages 9 to 68 years, who were treated with intralesional injections of cidofovir combined with surgical excision of RRP. The disease states of the patients pretreatment and posttreatment were assessed by assigning RRP severity scores, examining the need for any surgical excision of RRP, and evaluating the presence of RRP upon long-term follow-up. Sixteen patients were treated with cidofovir; however, three were lost to follow-up. Thirteen patients are the subjects of this report. This study group included three pediatric patients. Ten of thirteen patients (76.9%) responded to the treatment and are presently in remission. One patient did not respond, and two patients relapsed after initial success or had a partial response. The responders consisted of eight adults and two children. The mean number of injections the responders received was 3.5, and the average follow-up period of the responders was 25.4 months. No immediate complication of cidofovir treatment was evident. However, three patients were found to have significant vocal fold scarring after long-term follow-up. Cidofovir has been found to be efficacious in treating RRP. Further study regarding long-term follow-up and the assessment of possible side effects after cidofovir intralesional injection for RRP is required.