A new method of out-of-focus millimeter wave imaging in fusion plasma diagnostics using Bessel beams.

Electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging reflectometry diagnostics have been employed on a number of magnetic fusion plasma confinement devices. The common approach is based on a Gaussian beam assumption, which generates good spatial resolution (centimeter level). However, the radial focal depth is limited by the poloidal resolution, which is comparable with the Rayleigh length (∼150 mm). By contrast, a new Bessel beam approach has been developed and demonstrated to generate much longer focal depth with the property of propagation stability. To test the new approach, the DIII-D tokamak LCP ECEI optics have been re-designed to support a Bessel beam approach based on an axicon lens. The achievable radial coverage can exceed that of the current Gaussian approach by 3×. The imaging result is discussed in this paper based on the simulation analysis and laboratory testing result.

The application of critical pathway management to resident doctor's standardized training in pediatrics.

OBJECTIVE: To further guide the standardized training work of the resident doctor and apply critical pathway management to resident doctor's standardized training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The traditional training contents were adjusted. The main research content of evaluating the results of standardized training was designed, and the research method was adopted by the standardized training of the resident doctor. RESULTS: The resident doctors of the group with the new teaching method demonstrated a high participation rate. Because of the constraint of the standardized training, trainers would pay more attention to their training. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical pathway polishes up the ability of resident doctors, further guiding the standardized training work of a resident doctor.

Targeting of miR-432 to myozenin1 to regulate myoblast proliferation and differentiation.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the development and biochemical functions of skeletal muscles. However, targeting of miRNAs to structural genes involved in Z-discs have not been investigated. Here, we describe a highly expressed miRNA, miR-432, in pig embryonic skeletal muscle, which appeared to target myozenin1 (MYOZ1), a protein involved in the muscular sarcomere microstructure. Our results showed that miR-432 is involved in muscle development in the developing pig. In addition, it promoted differentiation of the C2C12 myoblast cell line into myotubes. We also demonstrated that inhibition of miR-432 reduced proliferation of C2C12 cells, suggesting that miR-432 is involved in regulation of myoblast proliferation. Moreover, molecular markers of muscle differentiation and fiber type (Myh7/ slow and Myh4/ fast IIB) showed that miR-432 reduced the differentiation rate of C2C12 cells. These results provide insights into the potential functions of miR-432 as well as its proposed target, MYOZ1, during muscle development. This may lead to applications for further improvements in porcine muscle growth, and may enhance our understanding of complex inherited human muscle disorders.

The prebiotic inulin as a functional food - a review.

The newborn digestive tract is rapidly colonized right after birth. The type of feeding could significantly influence this colonization process. Infant formulas like inulin try to mimic the bifidogenic effects of human milk by addition of prebiotics. Moreover, studies in the recent past have evidenced important effects of inulin during early infant life. The present review article will highlight recent updates about the use of inulin in the pediatric clinical setting.

Gene expression profiling of Duchenne muscular dystrophy reveals characteristics along disease progression.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy with no cure currently available. In this study, using two microarray data sets obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, we conducted a dysfunctional pathway-enrichment analysis and investigated deregulated genes that are specific to different phases of the disease in order to determine pathogenic characteristics in the progression of DMD. We identified 41 and 33 dysfunctional pathways that were enriched with differentially expressed genes in presymptomatic patients and in symptomatic patients, respectively. Over 70% of pathways were shared between both phases and many of them involved the inflammatory process, suggesting that inflammatory cascades were induced soon after the birth of the patients. Further investigation showed that presymptomatic patients performed better with respect to muscle regeneration and cardiac muscle calcium homeostasis maintenance. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase, dihydropyridine receptors, sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase, and phospholamban may serve as potential targets for further molecular diagnostic tests. Our results may provide a better understanding for the treatment of DMD.

A feedback circuit between miR-133 and the ERK1/2 pathway involving an exquisite mechanism for regulating myoblast proliferation and differentiation.

MiR-133 was found to be specifically expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle in previous studies. There are two members in the miR-133 family: miR-133a and miR-133b. Although previous studies indicated that miR-133a was related to myogenesis, the signaling pathways regulated by miR-133 were still not very clear. In this study, we showed that both miR-133a and miR-133b were upregulated during myogenesis through Solexa sequencing. We confirmed that miR-133 could promote myoblast differentiation and inhibit cell proliferation through the regulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway in C2C12 cells. FGFR1 and PP2AC, which both participate in signal transduction of the ERK1/2 pathway, were found to be negatively regulated by miR-133a and miR-133b at the post-transcriptional level. Also, downregulation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation by miR-133 was detected. FGFR1 and PP2AC were also found to repress C2C12 differentiation by specific siRNAs. In addition, we found that inhibition of ERK1/2 pathway activity can inhibit C2C12 cell proliferation and promote the initiation of differentiation but form short and small myotubes. Furthermore, we found that the expression of miR-133 was negatively regulated by ERK1/2 signaling pathway. In summary, we demonstrated the role of miR-133 in myoblast and further revealed a new feedback loop between miR-133 and the ERK1/2 signaling pathway involving an exquisite mechanism for regulating myogenesis.

miR-29 targets Akt3 to reduce proliferation and facilitate differentiation of myoblasts in skeletal muscle development.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of endogenous noncoding small RNAs involved in the regulation of multiple biological processes. Recently, miR-29 was found to participate in myogenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms by which miR-29 promotes myogenesis have not been identified. We found here that miR-29 was significantly upregulated with age in postnatal mouse skeletal muscle and during muscle differentiation. Overexpression of miR-29 inhibited mouse C2C12 myoblast proliferation and promoted myotube formation. miR-29 specifically targeted Akt3, a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family responsive to growth factor cell signaling, to result in its post-transcriptional downregulation. Furthermore, knockdown of Akt3 by siRNA significantly inhibited the proliferation of C2C12 cells, and conversely, overexpression of Akt3 suppressed their differentiation. Collectively and given the inverse endogenous expression pattern of rising miR-29 levels and decreasing Akt3 protein levels with age in mouse skeletal muscle, we propose a novel mechanism in which miR-29 modulates growth and promotes differentiation of skeletal muscle through the post-transcriptional downregulation of Akt3.

Porcine MuRF2 and MuRF3: molecular cloning, expression and association analysis with muscle production traits.

Muscle specific RING finger protein2 (MuRF2) and Muscle specific RING finger protein3(MuRF3) are two important members of the muscle specific RING finger protein family, which are especially expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle tissues and play critical roles during the myocyte differentiation, development and morphogenesis. In this study, the molecular characteristics of porcine MuRF2 and MuRF3 gene were reported, and furthermore two variants of MuRF2 were identified. The tissue distribution pattern analyses revealed that MuRF2-b and MuRF3 mRNA was exclusively expressed in striated muscle tissues while MuRF2-a had a low-level expression in liver tissue. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results displayed MuRF2 mRNA expression levels were significantly varied at three stages of fetal skeletal muscle in Landrace pigs, and the expression of MuRF2-a was lower than that of MuRF2-b in all stages. An essencial region of -396 to -22 for transcription was identified at the 5'UTR of porcine MuRF2 gene, while no active regulatory fragment found in the 5'UTR of mouse MuRF2. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), c.915G > A was identified in MuRF2 exon 5. A HinfI PCR-RFLP was developed for SNP genotyping in two different pig populations. Association of the genotypes with growth and carcass traits showed that different genotypes of MuRF2 were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with average daily gain on test, carcass weight and carcass length. The study suggested that the porcine MuRF2 and MuRF3 genes are involved in the muscle growth and development, and can be considered as potential candidate genes affecting muscle production traits in the pig.

Broadband coherent emission observed in polycrystalline CdSSe nanowires under high excitation.

Polycrystalline CdSSe nanowires were prepared with a low-temperature physical evaporation method. Structural analysis combining HRTEM with XRD demonstrate that these as-prepared wires have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a polycrystalline nature. Locally excited optical measurements show that though these wires can still act as waveguide cavities, their polycrystalline nature will induce a significant redshift of the emitted light during its transportation along them. Power dependent photoluminescence measurement shows that these polycrystalline wires can achieve broadband coherent emission at the band-edge band under high excitation, which shows marked contrast with the much narrower and multimode spectra observed in the single-crystalline nanowires with the same elemental composition. Time-resolved photoluminescence further confirms the occurrence of coherent emission in these wires, which originates from the electron-hole plasma (EHP) recombination of high-density carriers generated under high excitation. These kinds of polycrystalline alloy nanowires with broadband coherent emission should have potential uses in nano-scaled wavelength tunable light-emitting devices.

Leptin cDNA cloning and its mRNA expression in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) from different altitudes on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, plays an important role in body energy homeostasis. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), an endemic and keystone species living only at 3000-5000 m above sea level on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a typically high hypoxia and low temperature tolerant mammal with high resting metabolic rate (RMR), non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), and high ratio of oxygen utilization to cope with harsh plateau environment. To explore the molecular mechanism of ecological acclimation in plateau pika, we first cloned pika leptin cDNA and compared its mRNA expression in different altitudes (3200 and 3900 m) using real-time RT-PCR (Taqman probe) technology. The full-length pika leptin cDNA was 3015 with 504 bp open-reading frame encoding the precursor peptide of 167 amino acids including 21 residues of signal peptide. Pika leptin was 70-72% homologous to that of other species and was of similarly structural characteristics with other species. The pika-specific genetic diversity in leptin sequence occurred at twenty sites. With the increase in altitude, there were larger fat store and high level of ob gene expression in plateau pika. Our results indicated that leptin is sensitive to cold and hypoxia plateau environment and may play one of important roles in pika's ecological adaptation to harsh plateau environment.

[Study on relationship between nail-fold microcirculation and histopathology of patients with vocal cord polyp and blood stasis syndrome].

Nail-fold microcirculation of 50 vocal cord polyp patients was observed and compared with hoarseness patients without vocal cord polyp. The results showed that peripheral microcirculation was disturbed in the vocal cord polyp patients. Histopathologic observation of 200 vocal cord polyp patients was made. It was found that principal pathologic change concentrated on the lamina propria mucosae of vocal cord and the most prominent manifestation was disturbance of topical microcirculation of Reinke's layer. In microcirculation aspect, the relationship between polyp of vocal cord and the Blood Stasis Syndrome was confirmed, and pathogenic mechanism of vocal cord polyp was discussed.

[Studies on the chemical constituents of the herb huanghuaren (Sida acutá Burm. f.)].

Seven constituents were isolated from the dry herb Huanghuaren. On the basis of spectroscopic analysis and physico-chemical constants four of them were identified as heraclenol, beta-sitosterol, acanthoside B and daucoglycoside.