An 'unconditional-like' structure for the conditional estimator of odds ratio from 2 x 2 tables

In the estimation of the odds ratio (OR), the conditional maximum-likelihood estimate (cMLE) is preferred to the more readily computed unconditional one (uMLE). However, the exact cMLE does not have a closed form to help divine it from the uMLE or to understand in what circumstances the difference between the two is appreciable. Here, the cMLE is shown to have the same 'ratio of cross-products' structure as its unconditional counterpart, but with two of the cell frequencies augmented, so as to shrink the unconditional estimator towards unity. The augmentation involves a factor, similar to the finite population correction, derived from the minimum of the marginal totals.     

Dirofilaria repens in Vietnam: detection of 10 eye and subcutaneous tissue infection cases identified by morphology and molecular methods

From 2006 to 2010, hospitals in Hanoi treated 10 human patients for dirofilariasis. The worms were collected from parasitic places, and identification of the species was completed by morphology and molecular methods. Ten parasites were recovered either from the conjunctiva (n=9) or subcutaneous tissue (n=1). The parasites were 4.0-12.5 cm in length and 0.5-0.6 mm in width. Morphological observations suggested all parasites as Dirofilaria repens. Three of the 10 parasites (1 from subcutaneous tissue and 2 from eyes) were used for molecular confirmation of the species identification. A portion of the mitochondrial cox1 (461 bp) was amplified and sequenced. Nucleotide and amino acid homologies were 95% and 99-100%, respectively, when compared with D. repens (Italian origin, GenBank AJ271614; DQ358814). This is the first report of eye dirofilariasis and the second report of subcutaneous tissue dirofilariasis due to D. repens in Vietnam.     

Report on the Infinium 450k Methylation Array Analysis Workshop: April 20, 2012 UCL,London, UK

A new platform for DNA methylome analysis is Illumina''s Infinium HumanMethylation450. This technology is an extension of the previous HumanMethylation27 BeadChip and allows the methylation status of 12 samples per chip and 4 to 8 chips (total of 48 to 96 samples) to be assessed simultaneously for more than 480,000 cytosines across the genome. The platform incorporates two different probe types using different assay designs (InfiniumI and InfiniumII). Although this has allowed the assessment of more CpG sites, it has also introduced technical variation between the two probe types, which has complicated the analysis process. Many groups are working on normalization methods and analysis pipelines while many others are struggling to make sense of their new data sets. This motivated the organization of a meeting held at University College London that focused solely on the analysis methods and problems related to this new platform. The meeting was attended by 125 computational and bench scientists from 11 countries. There were 10 speakers, a small poster session and a discussion session.     

北京市延庆县非结核病防治机构网络直报肺结核患者就诊及追踪分析

目的:分析2006-2010年北京市延庆县非结核病防治机构网络直报肺结核患者就诊及追踪情况,为进一步推进结核病防控工作提供依据。方法:对2006-2010年延庆县非结核病防治机构网络直报信息管理系统数据进行回顾性描述性分析。结果:2006-2010年延庆县非结核病防治机构网络直报患者主动就诊到位率为90.18%,追踪到位率为67.35%。在主动就诊到位的450例病人中,106人(23.56%)诊断为非结核,被诊断为初治痰涂片阳性、复治痰涂片阳性和初治痰涂片阴性患者分别占主动就诊到位病人的56.67%、1.78%和18.00%。结论:非结防机构是肺结核患者接受治疗的主要场所,在肺结核患者的发现中起着重要的作用。应针对非结核病防治机构网络直报工作中存在的问题采取相应的措施,以提高主动就诊率和追踪到位率。     

TLR4全长及其截断体重组腺病毒的制备和功能鉴定

制备脂多糖 (LPS)Toll样受体 4 (TLR4 )全长及其胞内段缺失的TLR4截断体 (ΔTLR4 )的绿色荧光蛋白重组腺病毒并鉴定其功能 .用PCR方法扩增TLR4及ΔTLR4基因片段 ,酶切后亚克隆至腺病毒穿梭质粒中 ,形成带有目的基因的穿梭载体pAdTrack TLR4和pAdTrack ΔTLR4 .用BJ5 1 83细菌同源重组法将目的基因重组于腺病毒骨架载体中 ;将重组腺病毒质粒用PacⅠ酶切线性化后 ,用脂质体法转染HEK 2 93细胞进行腺病毒的包装扩增 .将重组腺病毒感染CHO K1细胞 ,采用荧光毒酶报告基因方法检测其对LPS诱导NF κB激活的影响 .酶切及测序表明 ,TLR4全长及其截断体ΔTLR4的重组腺病毒载体构建正确 .荧光素酶报告基因检测结果表明 ,TLR4全长及其截断体的重组腺病毒感染细胞对LPS诱导的反应具有不同的影响 ,Ad ΔTLR4明显抑制了LPS引起的NF κB激活 (P <0 0 5 ) ,Ad TLR4则使LPS引起的NF κB活性增强 (P <0 0 5 ) .LPS对细胞的激活作用依赖于TLR4的结构完整性     

cAMP 参与烟草悬浮细胞的ABA信号转导

ABA诱导型启动子(rd29A)重组到报告基因(GUS)的上游构建表达载体.通过农杆菌介导转化烟草,获得转基因植株.将转基因植株诱导愈伤组织,建立稳定、均一的转rd29A-GUS融合基因的悬浮培养细胞系.用ABA处理悬浮细胞24 h后GUS活性显著升高,说明外源ABA能够诱导rd29A启动子的表达,获得了用于ABA信号转导研究的实用细胞系.在ABA激活表达的细胞介质中加入尼克酰胺(cADPR合成酶的抑制剂)或U73122(PLC抑制剂)只能部分抑制ABA的效应,但如果加入蛋白激酶抑制剂K252a,抑制效果达95%以上.用可跨膜的cAMP的类似物8-Br-cAMP处理细胞发现,它能代替ABA的作用;当介质中加入1 mmol/L IBMX(磷酸二酯酶的抑制剂)增加cAMP的稳定性,发现低浓度的8-Br-cAMP与ABA相同的效应.以上结果表明cAMP参与了烟草悬浮细胞中ABA信号的传递.     

Environmental life cycle assessment of linoleum

Linoleum is a floor covering consisting mainly of linseed oil, other vegetable oils, wood flour and limestone on a carrier of jute. Forbo-Krommenie B.V. commissioned the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) to carry out an Environmental Life Cycle Assessment for linoleum floors. The goal of this study was to assess the environmental performance of linoleum floors, indicating possible options for improvement, and assessing the sensitivity of the results to methodological choices. The functional unit was defined as: 2000 m² linoleum produced in 1998, used in an office or public building over a period of 20 years. The method followed in this study is based on a nearly final draft version of the LCA guide published by CML in corporation with many others, which is an update of the guide on LCA of 1992. From the contribution analysis, the main contributing processes became clear. In addition, the sensitivity analysis by scenarios showed that the type of maintenance during use and the pigments used can have a large influence on the results. Major data gaps of the study were capital goods and unknown chemicals. Sensitivity analysis also showed that these gaps can lead to an underestimation. Based on this study, some options to improve the environmental performance of linoleum were formulated and advice for further LCA studies on linoleum was given.     

Corporate sustainability for architecture engineering and construction (AEC) organizations: Framework,transition and implication strategies

This research aims to propose a regenerative sustainability framework for AEC organizations, not only to focus on delivering green certified projects, but to encourage a revitalized approach to systematically drive their sustainability initiative. To achieve this aim, the study conducts an extensive global review of sustainable assessment systems in various industries and organizations, such as corporate sustainable reports, green company competitions, and green-renowned stocks. After learning the best practices from other industries, a sustainable development framework for the AEC organizations is developed. The proposed framework constitutes 110 key indicators covering three-dimensions of sustainability—social, environmental, and economic, respectively—and four-elements of corporate development essentials—projects, operations, governance, and stakeholders. By comparing the proposed framework to existing AEC practices, the study identifies the skewed development of corporate sustainability in the AEC industry where much awareness have been given to project-level environmental matters, but the social dimension, such as social stakeholders and social governance, are seriously lacking and need to be prioritized. A case study of a multi-millions construction company in China was investigated to validate this framework in practice. The case analysis justifies the practical value of the proposed framework, and elaborates the future need of regenerative sustainable initiatives for AEC organizations. The study contributes to the development of corporate sustainability theory in the AEC industry, and also provides industrial practitioners and policy makers with a better understanding of the next generation of corporate sustainable performance and implementation strategies.     

结合地方特色的微生物学案例教学

微生物学是现代生物学重要的基础学科,微生物学课堂教学模式的创新与改革对培养生命科学创新人才具有重要作用。案例教学是激发学生学习兴趣,提高学生学习主动性的有效措施。微生物学案例教学中案例来源可以多样化,采用具有地方特色、发生在学生身边的案例更能激发学生的学习兴趣。根据不同的案例类型和教学目的,微生物学案例教学可以分为提出问题、发现问题和解决问题3种教学组织形式。案例教学不仅能促进课堂教学的开放与互动,对学生的价值引导也具有重要的作用。