Plasma biochemical responses of the omnivorous crucian carp (Carassius auratus) to crude cyanobacterial extracts

Healthy crucian carp (Carassius auratus) were treated by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of crude cyanobacterial extracts at two doses, 50 and 200 mu g MC-LR equiv kg(-1) BW. High mortality (100%) was observed within 60 h post injection in the high-dose group. In the treated fish, activities of four plasma enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), all showed substantial increases, with both dose and time-dependent effects. These increases of enzyme activity indicate severe impairment occurred in the liver of crucian carp over time. Plasma concentrations of energy-related biomolecules including glucose (GLU), cholesterol (CHO), triglyceride (TG), and total protein (TP) showed marked changes in the high-dose group, possibly a nutritional imbalance correlated with the liver injury caused by intraperitoneal exposure to crude cyanobacterial extracts.

Effects of Cd2+ and Pb2+ on the substrate biofilms in the integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland

The effects of single Cd2+ and Pb2+, and combined Cd2+ and Pb2+ on dehydrogenase activity and polysaccharide content of the substrate biofilms in the integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland (IVCW) were studied. Dehydrogenase activities decreased linearly with the increasing concentrations of Cd2+ and Pb2+ at different times (6, 24, 72, and 120 h). The activities at both 6 and 24 h were significantly higher than that at 72 and 120 h in the case of single and combined treatments. The single Cd2+ and Pb2+ treatments significantly inhibited dehydrogenase activities at concentrations in excess of 20 mu mol/L Cd2+ and 80 mu mol/L Pb2+, respectively. The inhibitory effect of Cd2+ was much greater than that of Pb2+. At the same time, the combined treatment of Cd2+ and Pb2+ Significantly inhibited dehydrogenase activities at all five concentrations studied and the lowest combined concentration was 1.25 mu mol/L Cd2+ and 5 mu mol/L Pb2+. A synergistic effect of Cd2+ and Pb2+ was observed. On the other hand, polysaccharide contents varied unpredictably with the increasing concentrations of Cd2+ and Pb2+ and extended experimental time. There were no significant statistical differences within the range of concentration and time studied, whether singly or in combination. These results implied that the effects of heavy metals on biofilms should be a concern for the operation and maintenance of constructed wetlands.

Sequential ultrastructural and biochemical changes induced in vivo by the hepatotoxic microcystins in liver of the phytoplanktivorous silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Up to now, in vivo studies on the toxic effects of microcystins (MCs) on the ultrastructures of fish liver have been very limited. The phytoplanktivorous silver carp was injected i.p. with extracted hepatotoxic microcystins (mainly MC-RR and -LR) at a dose of 1000 mu g MC-LReq. kg(-1) body weight, showing a time-dependent ultrastructural change in liver as well as significant increases in enzyme activity of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). We observed for the first time the occurrence of a large amount of activated secondary lysosomes, which might be an adaptive mechanism to eliminate or lessen cell damage caused by MCs through lysosome activation. Quantitative and qualitative determinations of MCs in the liver were conducted by HPLC and LC-MS2, respectively. MCs concentration in the liver reached the maximum (114.20 mu g g(-1) dry weight) after 3 h post-injection, and then rapidly dropped to 7.57 mu g g(-1) dry weight at 48 h, indicating a deputation of 99% accumulated MC-LReq. On the other hand, a decrease trend in glutathione (GSH) concentration was observed in the liver of silver carp while the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) increased significantly after injection. The high tolerance of silver carp to MCs might be due to the high basic GSH level in their liver, and/or an increased GSH synthesis. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-indium-content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells with emission wavelengths above 1.25 mu m at room temperature

High-indium-content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs single/multi-quantum well (SQW/MQW) structures have been systematically investigated. By optimizing the molecular-beam epitaxy growth conditions, the critical thickness of the strained In0.475Ga0.525As/GaAs QWs is raised to 7 nm, which is much higher than the value given by the Matthews and Blakeslee model. The good crystalline quality of the strained InGaAs/GaAs MQWs is proved by x-ray rocking curves. Photoluminescence measurements show that an emission wavelength of 1.25 mum at room temperatures with narrower full width at half maximum less than 30 meV can be obtained. The strain relaxation mechanism is discussed using the Matthews-Blakeslee model. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

automated test program generation for an industrial optimizing compiler

Association for Computing Machinery, ACM; IEEE; IEEE Computer Society; SIGSOFT

内蒙古鄂温克族牧民砖茶型氟铝联合中毒调查

目的调查鄂温克族牧民砖茶型氟铝联合中毒病情。方法随机对鄂温克族16~55岁男女均衡62名牧民进行发、血清、尿氟铝水平及血清电解质、生物化学检查,同时检测饮水、牛奶、砖茶、奶茶等氟铝水平,并进行临床检诊和拍摄前臂、骨盆正位X线片,不饮用砖茶的16~55岁男女均衡41名居民为对照组。结果发、血清、尿铝水平牧民组分别为(24.60±9.82)mg/Kg、(0.78±0.25)、(2.84±0.65)mg/L,对照组分别为(12.50±4.55)mg/kg、(0.18±0.11)、(2.09±0.64)mg/L;发、血清、尿氟水平牧民组分别为(1.00±0.52)mg/kg、(0.10±0.10)、(2.74±1.42)mg/L,对照组分别为(1.39±1.34)mg/kg、(0.04±0.03)、(0.87±0.43)mg/L;牧民发、血、尿铝及血、尿氟显著高于对照组(P<0.01)。牧民组血清AST、LDH、HBDH、ALP显著高于对照组(P<0.01)。X线摄片牧民组氟骨症检出率50.00%,关节退行性变检出率61.29%,骨间膜骨化33.87%,疏松型改变检出率29.03%,硬化型改变检出率8.06%;对照组氟骨症检出率2.44%,退行性变检出率34.15%,疏松型改变检出率21.95%,骨间膜骨化检出率2.44%,硬化型改变2.44%,X线氟骨症、关节退行性变、骨间膜骨化牧民组均高于对照组(P<0.01)。结论内蒙古鄂温克族牧民饮茶型氟中毒病情较为严重,其发病机理较为复杂,并导致多组织、器官损伤,可能为砖茶型氟铝联合中毒。

Capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection for measurement of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities in biofluids

A new sensitive assay for aspartate aminotransterase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities in biofluids was developed, based on the separation and detection of alanine, glutamate, and aspartate using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection. The three amino acids were separated in 5 mM phosphate of pH 2.1 as background electrolyte, and detected on a 500 mu m platinum disk electrode at 1.2 V (versus Ag/AgCl) in the presence of 10 mM tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) dissolved in 80 mM phosphate of pH 10.5. A mass detection limit of 37.3 fmol (or 81.5 fmol) for glutamate, corresponding to the product in the enzyme reaction catalyzed by 1.24 x 10(-9) U AST (or 2.72 x 10(-9) U ALT) in a 30 min reaction period, was achieved. This assay was applied to investigate the cytotoxicity effect of ethanol on HepG2 cells and differentiating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from alcoholic liver disease, indicating that the technique is promising for the application in the cell biological and clinical fields.

混合稀土对大鼠肝脏中7种酶的小剂量刺激作用

研究了常乐(用于肥料添加剂的一种混合稀土硝酸盐)对Wistar大鼠肝脏中7种常见酶(ALT,ICD,AST,LAP,ALP,γGT ,CHE)活性的变化,并用电感耦合等离子体质谱(ICP MS)测定了稀土在肝脏中的累积情况。结果表明,稀土对多种酶表现出低剂量激活、高剂量抑制的小剂量刺激作用 (Hormesis),但产生刺激作用的剂量随酶的种类不同而不同 ,并表现出明显的性别差异

Reactive blending of polyamide 6,6 and Vectra A

In this paper, blends of Nylon 6,6 with the liquid crystal polymer Vectra A950 are considered; specifically we focused our attention on Nylon 6,6 modifications by interchange reactions that can occur in the melt, as a function of mixing conditions and blend compositions. Two matrix samples have been used, characterised by a slightly different relative amount of amine and carboxylic end groups, being the latter predominant in both cases. The dried polymers Nylon 6,6/Vectra, combined in weight ratios between 95/5 and 50/50, were subjected to reactive blending with different methods (single-screw extruder, Brabender, pyrex reactor). Pure Nylon samples have been also investigated as reference materials. The soluble Nylon 6,6-rich fraction of each blend was separated from the insoluble Vectra-rich one and used for molecular and spectroscopic characterisations. Thermal and morphological analyses, as well as testing of tensile properties, were carried out on the blends. Evidences of the occurrence of interchange reactions are given and the most probable ones are suggested. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

藻蓝蛋白复合物对酒精性肝损伤的保护作用

本文对藻蓝蛋白复合物保护化学性肝损伤的功效学进行了研究。以Wistar大鼠建立酒精性肝损伤模型，将藻蓝蛋白复合物分为高、中、低三个剂量组，以联苯双酯作为阳性对照组，灌胃给药42d，分别测定血清谷丙转氨酶（ALT）、谷草转氨酶（AST）、血清丙二醛（MDA）、谷胱甘肽（GSH）、肝匀浆丙二醛（MDA）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）的含量，并对肝脏切片进行病理检查。结果表明：藻蓝蛋白复合物对血清ALT、AST具有显著的抑制作用，显著拮抗肝脏MDA的升高，显著提高肝脏GSH-Px含量。出现肝细胞浊肿、脂肪变性、点状坏死的大鼠数目极少。从而表明藻蓝蛋白复合物具有显著的保护酒精性肝损伤的功效。

柴达木盆地唐古特白刺籽油保护肝损伤作用研究

对柴达木盆地唐古特白刺种籽油保护化学性肝损伤作用进行了研究.将小鼠按体重随机分为白刺籽油高、中、低剂量组,另设空白对照组和联苯双酯、藏茵陈阳性对照组.小鼠连续灌胃给药15 d后,用CCl4进行肝损伤,测定小鼠血清谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、谷草转氨酶(AST);肝脏过氧化脂质(LPO)降解产物丙二醛(MDA)和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)的含量.结果显示,白刺籽油对血清ALT、AST具有显著的抑制作用,显著拮抗肝脏MDA的升高,显著提高肝脏GSH-Px含量.表明白刺籽油具有明显的保护化学性肝损伤的保健作用.

青海黄芪属新分类群

青海黄芪属新分类群:贵南黄芪Astragalus guinanicus ; 都兰黄芪Ast ragalusclulanensis ;白花松潘黄芪Astragalus polyclandous ;大花多枝黄芪Ast ragaluspolyclaclus ;长苞东俄洛黄芪Ast ragalus tongolensis ; 少毛格尔木黄芪Astragalus goluensis ;多毛多花黄芪Astragalus floridus ;白花丛生黄芪Astragalus confertus

Pharmacogenomics in early-phase clinical development.

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) offers the promise of utilizing genetic fingerprints to predict individual responses to drugs in terms of safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Early-phase clinical trial PGx applications can identify human genome variations that are meaningful to study design, selection of participants, allocation of resources and clinical research ethics. Results can inform later-phase study design and pipeline developmental decisions. Nevertheless, our review of the clinicaltrials.gov database demonstrates that PGx is rarely used by drug developers. Of the total 323 trials that included PGx as an outcome, 80% have been conducted by academic institutions after initial regulatory approval. Barriers for the application of PGx are discussed. We propose a framework for the role of PGx in early-phase drug development and recommend PGx be universally considered in study design, result interpretation and hypothesis generation for later-phase studies, but PGx results from underpowered studies should not be used by themselves to terminate drug-development programs.

Determinación de arsénico total e inorgánico en carnes y víceras de camélidos (Lamma glama) autóctonos de la provincia de Jujuy, Argentina

p.105-109

Sesgos en el razonamiento sobre probabilidad condicional e implicaciones para la enseñanza

En este trabajo analizamos algunos de los sesgos frecuentes en la comprensión de la probabilidad condicional. También presentamos algunos resultados obtenidos en dos estudios de evaluación realizados con estudiantes de Psicología y futuros profesores de matemáticas en España. Finalizamos con algunas reflexiones sobre la enseñanza de la probabilidad.