Design of a mechanical larynx with agarose as a soft tissue substitute for vocal fold applications

Mechanical and computational models consisting of flow channels with convergent and oscillating constrictions have been applied to study the dynamics of human vocal fold vibration. To the best of our knowledge, no mechanical model has been studied using a material substitute with similar physical properties to the human vocal fold for surgical experimentation. In this study, we design and develop a mechanical larynx with agarose as a vocal fold substitute, and assess its suitability for surgical experimentation. Agarose is selected as a substitute for the vocal fold as it exhibits similar nonlinear hyperelastic characteristics to biological soft tissue. Through uniaxial compression and extension tests, we determined that agarose of 0.375% concentration most closely resembles the vocal fold mucosa and ligament of a 20-year old male for small tensile strain with an R(2) value of 0.9634 and root mean square error of 344.05±39.84?Pa. Incisions of 10 mm lengthwise and 3 mm in depth were created parallel to the medial edge on the superior surface of agar phantom. These were subjected to vibrations of 80, 130, and 180 Hz, at constant amplitude of 0.9 mm over a period of 10 min each in the mechanical larynx model. Lateral expansion of the incision was observed to be most significant for the lower frequency of 80 Hz. This model serves as a basis for future assessments of wound closure techniques during microsurgery to the vocal fold.     

柑橘愈伤组织倍性变化及其与体细胞胚胎发生能力的关系

柑橘愈伤组织是细胞融合、遗传转化等生物技术研究的良好材料。本实验室通过近20年的工作,先后诱导和保存了近80份不同种类和品种的柑橘愈伤组织。这些愈伤组织在MT基本培养基上继代保存。在长期保存过程中,部分材料仍然保持较好的胚胎发生能力。为研究愈伤组织在继代过程中的染色体变异趋势以及这种变异对胚胎发生能力的影响,本文选择有代表性的35份材料作为试材,在4年中连续3次使用流式细胞仪,对细胞DNA含量进行测定。结果发现,待测的35种愈伤组织均存在部分细胞DNA含量加倍的现象,而且,随着时间的推移,除佩奇橘柚、沙漠蒂甜橙、鲁斯脐橙、印度酸橘等4种愈伤组织的DNA含量加倍的细胞有减少的趋势外,其他愈伤组织的DNA含量加倍的细胞均有增加的趋势。数据分析表明,在待测的35种愈伤组织中,有71．4％的基因型的愈伤组织细胞出现了多倍体细胞增加的趋势。对这35种柑橘愈伤组织进行体细胞胚诱导,发现只有9种愈伤组织具有不同程度的胚胎发生能力,其他26种愈伤组织不能再生。相关性分析表明,柑橘愈伤组织细胞DNA含量增加的细胞比例与体细胞胚胎发生能力之间的相关性较小,相关系数为忙-0．10（P〈0．01）,未达到显著水平。另外,柑橘胚性愈伤组织继代时间与体细胞胚胎发生能力之间的相关性也不显著。     

甲壳素及其衍生物在防病抗衰中的应用研究

甲壳素及其衍生物具有独特的生物学特性和生物保健功能,现已作为辅助药物,被广泛应用于肿瘤、糖尿病、骨关节炎和心脑血管等老年相关性疾病的治疗,也具有增强机体免疫、清除自由基、延缓机体衰老等功能.现逐渐被用作为继蛋白质、脂肪、碳水化合物、维生素和矿物质之后人体的第6生命要素.     

An efficient protocol for genomic DNA extraction from<Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus</Emphasis> species

We describe a simple and efficient method for genomic DNA extraction from woody fruit crops containing high polysaccharide levels. This method involves a modified CTAB or SDS procedure employing a purification step to remove polysaccharides by using water-saturated ether and 1.25 M NaCl. Precipitation with an equal volume of isopropanol caused a DNA pellet to form. After being washed with 70% ethyl alcohol, the pellet easily dissolved in TE buffer. Using this method, DNA was extracted from samples of more than 1000Citrus spp., including young leaves, old leaves, frosted old leaves, withered old leaves, and callus lines. The average yield of DNA ranged from 50–500 μg/g of sample. DNA was suitable for PCR and RFLP analyses and long-term storage. Recently, the procedure was used to isolate DNA from withered old leaves of more than 20 tropical and subtropical fruit crops.     

Protective effects of Danshensu from the aqueous extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) against homocysteine-induced endothelial dysfunction

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a by-product of methionine metabolism. An imbalance of Hcy in the body may lead to hyperhomocysteinemia, a condition with elevated Hcy concentration in blood that may be one of the risk factors responsible for the development of several vascular diseases (thromboembolism, atherosclerosis, stroke, vascular diseases and dementia). Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that can activate and improve blood microcirculation, is noticeable for its beneficial effect in treating cardiovascular diseases. The present study is to demonstrate the protective effect of Danshen extract against the homocysteine-induced adverse effect on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC). Homocysteine (5 mM) not only decreased the cell viability but also caused the disruption of capillary-like structure formation in vitro. The protective effect of Danshen aqueous extract and its active compounds on endothelial cell function were demonstrated through an in vitro tube formation assay, which mimics the new blood vessel formation. To identify the active components in the aqueous extract of Danshen, the content was characterized by instrumental analysis using high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (DAD) and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Interestingly, Danshen extract and its pure compounds showed different effectiveness in protecting HUVEC against Hcy-induced injury according to the following descending order: Danshen aqueous extract, 3-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-2-hydroxy-propionic acid (Danshensu), protocatechuic acid, catechin and protocatechualdehyde. We believed that such findings might provide evidence in understanding the beneficial effects of Danshen on the cardiovascular system.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of FHL2, a novel LIM domain protein preferentially expressed in human heart

A full-length cDNA clone encoding a novel LIM-only protein was isolated and sequenced from a human fetal heart cDNA library. This full-length clone consists of 1416 base pairs and has a predicted open reading frame (ORF) encoding 279 amino acids. The ORF of this polypeptide codes for the human heart-specific

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our and a

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alf

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IM-only protein

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(FHL2). It possesses an extra zinc finger that is a half LIM domain and four repeats of LIM domain. When the human FHL2 cDNA probe was used to hybridize with poly-A RNA of various human tissues, a very strong signal could be seen in heart tissues, and only moderately low signals could be detected in placenta, skeletal muscle and ovary. Virtually no signal could be detected in brain, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen, thymus, prostate, testis, small intestine, colon or peripheral blood leukocyte. FHL2 was mapped to chromosome 2q12–q13 by fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH).     

低温诱导小麦叶片细胞表面糖蛋白的变化

利用细胞化学的方法,对经过不同时间低温诱导小麦细胞表面糖蛋白的动态变化进行了标记定位电镜观察。小麦幼苗经２￣３℃下低温锻炼后,细胞表面的糖蛋白层出现明显的增厚,随之开始逐渐地减少变薄,有些细胞表面的糖蛋白层部分脱落于细胞间隙。随低温诱导处理时间不同,细胞表面糖蛋白层表现出的由少量到增厚,最后部分的脱落减少变薄这一有规律的变化现象表明,低温诱导能够引起小麦细胞表面糖蛋白的合成积累,抗寒性较强的冬小麦     

EFFECTS OF LIGHT AND TEMPERATURE ON GROWTH,NITRATE UPTAKE,AND TOXIN PRODUCTION OF TWO TROPICAL DINOFLAGELLATES: ALEXANDRIUM TAMIYAVANICHII AND ALEXANDRIUM MINUTUM (DINOPHYCEAE)1

The two tropical estuarine dinoflagellates, Alexandrium tamiyavanichii Balech and A. minutum Halim, were used to determine the ecophysiological adaptations in relation to their temperate counterparts. These species are the two main causative organisms responsible for the incidence of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in Southeast Asia. The effects of light (10, 40, 60, and 100 μmol photons·m^?2·s^?1) and temperature (15, 20, and 25°C) on the growth, nitrate assimilation, and PST production of these species were investigated in clonal batch cultures over the growth cycle. The growth rates of A. tamiyavanichii and A. minutum increased with increasing temperature and irradiance. The growth of A. tamiyavanichii was depressed at lower temperature (20°C) and irradiance (40 μmol photons·m^?2·s^?1). Both species showed no net growth at 10 μmol photons·m^?2·s^?1 and a temperature of 15°C, although cells remained alive. Cellular toxin quotas (Q_t) of A. tamiyavanichii and A. minutum varied in the range of 60–180 and 10–42 fmol PST·cell^?1, respectively. Toxin production rate, R_tox, increased with elevated light at both 20 and 25°C, with a pronounced effect observed at exponential phase in both species (A. tamiyavanichii, r²=0.95; A. minutum, r²=0.96). Toxin production rate also increased significantly with elevated temperature (P<0.05) for both species examined. We suggest that the ecotypic variations in growth adaptations and toxin production of these Malaysian strains may reveal a unique physiological adaptation of tropical Alexandrium species.