Information Dissemination Analysis of Different Media towards the Application for Disaster Pre-Warning

Knowing the information dissemination mechanisms of different media and having an efficient information dissemination plan for disaster pre-warning plays a very important role in reducing losses and ensuring the safety of human beings. In this paper we established models of information dissemination for six typical information media, including short message service (SMS), microblogs, news portals, cell phones, television, and oral communication. Then, the information dissemination capability of each medium concerning individuals of different ages, genders, and residential areas was simulated, and the dissemination characteristics were studied. Finally, radar graphs were used to illustrate comprehensive assessments of the six media; these graphs show directly the information dissemination characteristics of all media. The models and the results are essential for improving the efficiency of information dissemination for the purpose of disaster pre-warning and for formulating emergency plans which help to reduce the possibility of injuries, deaths and other losses in a disaster.     

Central serotonin1A receptors: Respective distributions of encoding mRNA, receptor protein and binding sites by in situ hybridization histochemistry, radioimmunohistochemistry and autoradiographic mapping in the rat brain

The regional distribution of the mRNA encoding the 5-HT_1A serotonin receptor (whose selective agonists are potential anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs) was investigated in rat brain sections by in situ hybridization histochemistry using two sets of [³²P]labelled nucleoprobes, a riboprobe of 156 bases and oligoprobes of 30 bases corresponding to highly selective portions within the third intracellular loop and the N terminus domain of the amino acid sequence. These probes allowed the visualization of the 5-HT_1A mRNA mainly in the limbic regions: dentate gyrus and area CA₁ of the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, lateral septum and the dorsal raphe nucleus. These structures were also those which could be labelled by the specific 5-HT_1A radioligand [¹²⁵I]BH-8-MeO-N-PAT and antibodies raised against a synthetic 26 amino acid peptide whose sequence was taken from the most selective portion of the rat 5-HT_1A receptor protein. These data suggest that the 5-HT_1A receptors are not transported to a long distance from their site of synthesis, as it has been already reported for the somato-dendritic 5-HT_1A autoreceptors in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Combined autoradiographic quantification of the 5-HT_1A binding sites (labelled by a selective radioligand such as [¹²⁵I]BH-8-MeO-N-PAT, the 5-HT_1A receptor binding subunit (by radioimmunohistochemistry) and the 5-HT_1A mRNA on adjacent brain sections should be a relevant approach for assessing the molecular mechanisms responsible for the functional alterations of these receptors under various pathological and pharmacological conditions.     

Rare initiation codons are regulators of expression of the rpoC gene

Translation of the rpoC genes in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium is known to start from the GUG codon. Now, using toeprint analysis we have shown UUG to be the initiation codon of the Pseudomonas putida rpoC gene. IF3 does not seem to proofread initiation at the UUG codon. The rpoC genes of P. putida, E. coli, and S. typhimurium, which use rare start codons, have strong SD-domains AGGAGG (P. p.) and GGGAG (E. c., S. t.), optimal seven-nucleotide spacing between SD and start codons, and good second codon AAA. We suggest that rpoC presents an infrequent case of the regulation of translation initiation by selecting the start codon.     

Neuron culture from adult goldfish.

Neurons and glia from the central nervous system of the adult teleost Carassius auratus have been grown as explant cultures of minced brain tissue and as trypsin dissociated cells. These cultures exhibit extensive neurite growth from two neuronal types, have organotypic ultrastructure, and contain electrically active cells. Autoradiographic data indicate that these neurons do not divide in culture, and histological evidence suggests that some mature neurons survive explantation and regenerate processes. However, explantation of brain fragments not containing undifferentiated cells, localized in the ventricular and subventricular zones in the brains of fish, resulted in mesenchymal and glial cell cultures only. Therefore, a contribution to the population of cells in culture by undifferentiated cells must be considered. The cultured neurons remained viable for at least 19 weeks and ultrastructural and electrophysiological data indicate synaptic interaction between cells in explant cultures.     

Phylogeny of Caragana (Fabaceae) based on DNA sequence data from rbcL, trnS–trnG, and ITS

Phylogenetic relationships of 48 species of Caragana (Fabaceae: tribe Hedysareae) and one representative each of Astragalus, Calophaca, Halimodendron, and Hedysarum are estimated from DNA sequences of the rbcL gene, trnS–trnG intron and spacer, and ITS region. At least one representative of all five sections and 12 series within Caragana are included. Analyses yielded strongly supported clades corresponding to sections Caragana, Bracteolatae, and Frutescentes. The species of section Jubatae are distributed among three strongly supported clades, i.e., one with the species of section Bracteolatae, another with two species of section Spinosae, and a third as sister to section Frutescentes. All but the last of these six clades are corroborated by at least one unambiguously traced morphological character. The placement of the other four species of section Spinosae are not well supported and lack unambiguous morphological synapomorphies, and the samples of Calophaca and Halimodendron nest within Caragana with weak support.     

Interleukin-2-induced small unilamellar vesicle coalescence

Recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2) was incorporated in liposomes for potential therapeutic applications using a novel process. In this process, rhIL-2 caused the formation of large, unique multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) from small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC). Vesicle coalescence occurred most rapidly at 19 degrees C, between the pre- and main phase transition temperatures of DMPC, and showed a dependence upon pH (pH <5.5), ionic strength (>50 mM) and the initial size of the unilamellar vesicles (相似文献   

Virus-specific CD8+ lymphocytes share the same effector-memory phenotype but exhibit functional differences in acute hepatitis B and C

Hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses (HBV and HCV) are both noncytopathic and can cause acute and chronic infections of the liver. Although they share tropism for the same organ, development of chronic hepatitis is much more frequent following HCV infection, suggesting different mechanisms of viral persistence. In this study, we show that circulating HBV- and HCV-specific tetramer-positive CD8 cells during the acute phase of hepatitis B and C belong almost entirely to an effector-memory subset (CCR7(-) CD45RA(-)). Despite this phenotypic similarity, HBV- and HCV-specific CD8 cells show striking functional differences. HBV-specific tetramer-positive CD8 cells express high perforin content ex vivo, expand vigorously, and display efficient cytotoxic activity and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production upon peptide stimulation. A comparable degree of functional efficiency is maintained after the resolution of hepatitis B. In contrast, HCV-specific CD8 cells in the acute phase of hepatitis C express significantly lower levels of perforin molecules ex vivo and show depressed CD8 function in terms of proliferation, lytic activity, and IFN-gamma production, irrespective of the final outcome of the disease. This defect is transient, because HCV-specific CD8 cells can progressively improve their function in patients with self-limited hepatitis C, while the CD8 function remains persistently depressed in subjects with a chronic evolution.     

Parallel solution- and solid-phase synthesis of spirohydantoin derivatives as neurokinin-1 receptor ligands

The combination of the 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl group with a spirohydantoin motive as a central scaffold was the basis for the design of a combinatorial library targeted towards the neurokinin-1 receptor. A solution- and solid-phase procedure is described and binding affinities of representative compounds presented.     

Surgical resection for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST): experience on 25 patients

Background

The benefit of pelvic lymphadenectomy in patients with cancer of the urinary bladder remains controversial. Though the inclusion of lymph node dissection in conjunction with radical cystectomy for patients with clinically negative nodes is well accepted, however, the extent of the nodal dissection remains contentious, particularly in patients with gross disease and T₁G₃ cancer. The extent of the primary bladder tumor, number of lymph nodes removed and the lymph node tumor burden are important prognostic variables in patients undergoing cystectomy. We analyzed the impact of the extent of lymphadenectomy during radical cystectomy on survival in the contemporary literature.

Methods

A Pubmed search was carried out for the literature published over the last 15 years using bladder cancer, radical cystectomy, survival, lymphadenectomy and complications as the key words. We have discussed the extent of lymphadenectomy on survival and its anatomical basis to determine the optimal number of lymph nodes to be removed and the concept of node density.

Results

Evidence from contemporary literature indicate significantly increased survival rates after cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer diagnosed with stages III or IV disease who have had relatively more lymph nodes examined, suggesting that even some patients with higher stage disease may benefit from extended pelvic lymphadenectomy at the time of cystectomy. Studies also indicate that more extensive lymphadenectomy significantly improved the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer, not only by providing prognostic information but perhaps it is also due to its inherent therapeutic value.

Conclusion

Extended lymph node dissection improves local control and survival. However, in the absence of controlled randomized trial this remains a dubitable issue.