Changes and protections of urban habitat quality in Shanghai of China.

Habitat quality has been widely used as an important indicator in the evaluation of regional ecological security and ecosystem services. Previous studies have focused on the influences of urbanization on habitat quality, but the protection measures about how to respond to the dynamic changes of habitat quality patterns are still unclear. This study investigated the habitat quality in the metropolitan region of China (Shanghai) by using InVEST model, and analyzed its dynamic changes from 2000 to 2017 for the sake of providing different protection objects and measures for Shanghai. The results showed that the habitat quality index (HQI) in 2017 was 0.42, and the accumulated area percentages of less than 0.4 in HQI reached 46%, whereas the habitat quality in Chongming district was the highest. The HQI and habitat protected index (HPI) showed an obvious decline tendency from suburban area to downtown area. The HQI in Shanghai gradually declined from 0.56 in 2000 to 0.42 in 2017, and the deterioration area in habitat quality nearly covered 33% between 2000 and 2017. Additionally, the area proportion of the median habitat quality (0.4 < HQI ≤ 0.6) drastically dropped, but the areas of the low (HQI ≤ 0.2) and the high (HQI > 0.8) in habitat simultaneously expanded. Therefore, the valuable habitat in the western and southern coastal wetlands, Dianshan lake and Chongming district in Shanghai should be strictly protected, which covered 30% of the metropolitan area in Shanghai, and about 17% of the region located in the inner coastal zones and northern of Chongming Island was in urgent need of habitat restoration. Our results provide vital references for the maintenance and sustainable management of urban habitats in the metropolitan region.

Nucleotide variation in ATG4A and susceptibility to cervical cancer in Southwestern Chinese women.

Early detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) is important for the clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer. However, to date, the pathogenesis of cervical cancer is still unclear. Autophagy is a dynamic process that contributes to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Here, we investigate whether variants of autophagy genes affect the occurrence of cervical cancer. In this study, our results indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of autophagy-related protein 4 (ATG4), including rs4036579, rs5973822, rs807181, rs807182 and rs807183, have a significant relationship with cervical cancer risk. Furthermore, stratified analysis suggests that the homozygous variant genotype could decrease the risk of cervical cancer and should be considered when investigating the role of HPV in cervical cancer. We aim to investigate whether SNPs of ATG4A contribute to HPV infection in the population of Southwestern China. The association of both single SNPs and SNP-SNP interactions with HPV was evaluated in a sample of cancer cases and healthy control subjects. The interaction of rs807181 and rs807183 was associated with HPV infection in case and control subjects (combined P=2.00×10-3 and 3.22×10-2, respectively). This result showed that ATG4A SNP interactions may affect HPV infection in the population of Southwestern China. Notably, the autophagy gene ATG4A may contribute to cervical cancer.

Comparison of a novel real-time PCR assay with sequence analysis, reverse hybridization, and multiplex PCR for hepatitis B virus type B and C genotyping.

We compared a novel real-time genotyping and quantitative PCR (GQ-PCR) assay, direct sequence analysis, reverse hybridization, and multiplex PCR for genotyping hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 127 HBV-infected patients. We found that GQ-PCR had the highest concordance with sequence analysis and the highest detection rate for mixed genotype detecting.

[Study on structural characterization and purification of bioflocculant ZS-7].

The bioflocculant ZS-7 was purified to homogeneity by ethanol precipitation, dialysis and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). About 0.98 g of the purified bioflocculant could be recovered from 1L of fermentation broth. The purified bioflocculant was identified as a glycoprotein consisting of polysaccharide (91.5%) and protein (8.4%), with an approximate molecular weight of 6.89 x 10(4). The major component of ZS-7 is an acid polysaccharide including uronic (16.4%), pyruvic (7.1%) and acetic acids (0.5%). It consists of galactose, glucose, mannose and rhamnose in a molar ratio of 142 :2.2 : 4.5 : 3.4. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and NMR spectrum of the bioflocculant indicate the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl, amide, amino, methoxyl and sulfate groups.

Simultaneous genotyping and quantification of hepatitis B virus for genotypes B and C by real-time PCR assay.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important cause of human chronic liver diseases and is a major public health problem. Viral load and HBV genotype play critical roles in determining clinical outcomes and response to antiviral treatment in hepatitis B patients. Viral genotype detection and quantification assays are currently in use with different levels of effectiveness. In this study, the performance of a real-time genotyping and quantitative PCR (GQ-PCR)-based assay was evaluated. Through the use of genotype-specific primers and probes, this assay provides simultaneous identification and quantification of genotypes B and C in a single reaction. Our GQ-PCR correctly identified all predefined genotypes B and C, and no cross-reaction between genotypes B and C were observed. The GQ-PCR identified more cases of HBV infections with mixed genotypes B and C than direct sequencing did. Samples from 127 HBV-infected Chinese patients were genotyped with GQ-PCR, revealing 56.7% HBV as genotype B, 13.4% as genotype C, and 29.8% as mixed genotypes B and C. This assay provides a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective means for quantification of the B and C genotypes of HBV in single or mixed infections. This assay is suitable for sequential monitoring of viral load levels and for determining the relationship between the genotype viral load and stage of disease in Asians.

[Study on pharmacokinetics of PVP coated beta-elemene liposome in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To study the pharmacokinetics of PVP costed beta-elemente liposmes in rats. METHODS: Gas chromatography was established to determine the concentration of beta-elemene in plasma of rats after administered through i.g. RESULTS: The pharmacokinetics parameters was: T(1/2) = 95.07 +/- 20.46 min, AUC = 348.72 +/- 32.49 microg x min/ml, Cmax = 4.39 +/- 0.33 microg/ml, Tmax = 60 min. CONCLUSION: The bioavailability of PVP coated beta-elemene liposomes is 140.2 +/- 7.5% compared with conventional liposomes.