Immortalized F2 population of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was developed by randomly mating F1 among recombinant inbred (RI) lines derived from (Zhenshan 97B × Minghui 63), which allowed replications within and across environments. QTL (quantitative trait loci) mapping analysis on kilo-grain weight of immortalized F2 population was performed by using newly developed software for QTL mapping, QTLMapper 2.0. Eleven distinctly digenic epistatic loci included a total of 15 QTL were located on eight chromosomes. QTL main effects of additive, dominance, and additive × additive, additive × dominance, and dominance × dominance interactions were estimated. Interaction effects between QTL main effects and environments (QE) were predicted. Less than 40% of single effects, most of which were additive effects, for identified QTL were significant at 5% level. The directional difference for QTL main effects suggested that these QTL were distributed in parents in the repulsion phase. This should make it feasible to improve kilo-grain weight of both parents by selecting appropriate new recombinants. Only few of the QE interaction effects were significant. Application prospect for QTL mapping achievements in genetic breeding was discussed.

This paper describes empirical research on the model, optimization and supervisory control of beer fermentation. Conditions in the laboratory were made as similar as possible to brewery industry conditions. Since mathematical models that consider realistic industrial conditions were not available, a new mathematical model design involving industrial conditions was first developed. Batch fermentations are multiobjective dynamic processes that must be guided along optimal paths to obtain good results. The paper describes a direct way to apply a Pareto set approach with multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). Successful finding of optimal ways to drive these processes were reported. Once obtained, the mathematical fermentation model was used to optimize the fermentation process by using an intelligent control based on certain rules.

Insertion mutagenesis has become one of the most popular methods for gene functions analysis. Here we report a two-element Ac/Ds transposon system containing enhancer trap and gene trap for gene tagging in rice. The excision of Ds element was examined by PCR amplification. The excision frequency of Ds element varied from 0% to 40% among 20 F2 populations derived from 11 different Ds parents. Southern blot analysis revealed that more than 70% of excised Ds elements reinserted into rice genome and above 70% of the reinserted Ds elements were located at different positions of the chromosome in rice. The result of histochemical GUS analysis indicated that 28% of enhancer trap and 22% of gene trap tagging plants displayed GUS activity in leaves, roots, flowers or seeds. The GUS positive lines will be useful for identifying gene function in rice.

Shades of different light intensities (29%, 43%, 54%, 60% or 68%) along with control (no shade) were studied to observe their effects on the flowering time and plant quality. A hyperbolic relationship was observed between different light intensities under shade, and time to flowering. The total number of flower buds showed a curvilinear relationship with light intensities. Growth parameters related to the plant characteristics such as plant height, leaf area and plant fresh weight were improved under shading treatments at the expense of flowering time and number of flower buds. However, both linear and polynomial models applied assumed that cultivar Chimes White was equally sensitive to light intensity throughout development.

The genetic basis of heterosis was studied through mid-parent, standard variety and better parent for 11 quantitative traits in 17 parental lines and their 10 selected hybrids in rice (Oryza sativa L.). The characters were plant height, days to flag leaf initiation, days to first panicle initiation, days to 100% flowering, panicle length, flag leaf length, days to maturity, number of fertile spikelet/panicle, number of effective tillers/hill, grain yield/10-hill, and 1000-grain weight. In general the hybrids performed significantly better than the respective parents. Significant heterosis was observed for most of the studied characters. Among the 10 hybrids, four hybrids viz., 17A×45R, 25A×37R, 27A×39R, 31A×47R, and 35A×47R showed highest heterosis in 10-hill grain yield/10-hill. Inbreeding depression of F2progeny was also studied for 11 characters of 10 hybrids. Both positive and negative inbreeding depression were found in many crosses for the studied characters, but none was found significant. Selection of good parents was found to be the most important for developing high yielding hybrid rice varieties.

A skutterudite-related antimonide, CoFe₃Sb₁₂, was prepared with vacuum melting. XRD analysis showed the material contained Sb, FeSb₂, CoSb₂ and CoSb₃ phases. The electrochemical properties of the ball-milled CoFe₃Sb₁₂-10 wt% graphite composite were studied using pure lithium as the reference electrode. A maximal lithium inserting capacity of about 860 mAh/g was obtained in the first cycle.The reversible capacity of the material was about 560 mAh/g in the first cycle and decreased to ca. 320 mAh/g and 250 mAh/g after 10 and 20 cycles respectively. Ex-situ XRD analyses showed that the antimonides in the pristine material were decomposed after the first discharge and that antimony was the active element for lithium to insert into the host material.

The new Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite image offers a large choice of opportunities for operational applications. The 1-km Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image is not suitable for retrieval of field level parameter and Landsat data are not frequent enough for monitoring changes in crop parameters during the critical crop growth periods. A methodology to map areas of paddy fields using MODIS, geographic information system (GIS) and global position system (GPS) is introduced in this paper. Training samples are selected and located with the help of GPS to provide maximal accuracy. A concept of assessing areas of potential cultivation of rice is suggested by means of GIS integration. By integration of MODIS with GIS and GPS technologies the actual areas of rice fields in 2002 have been mapped. The classification accuracy was 95.7% percent compared with the statistical data of the Agricultural Bureau of Zhejiang Province.

A homogeneous crack-free nano- or meso-porous silica films on silicon was fabricated by colloidal silica sol derived by hydrolyzing tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) catalyzing with (C₄H₉)4N⁺OH^- in water medium. the solution with ratio of H₂O/TEOS≥15, R₄N⁺ and glycerol as templates, combining with the hydrolyzed intermediate, controlled the silica aggregating; the templated silica film with heterostructure was developed into homogeneous nano-porous then meso-porous silica films after being annealed from 750 °C to 850 °C; the formation mechanism of the porous silica films was discussed; morphologies of the silica films were characterized. the refractive indexes of the porous silica films were 1.256-1.458, the thermal conductivity < 0.7 W/m/K. The fabricating procedure and the sequence had not been reported before.

This research examined the typical flavor compounds in the commonest type of Khat called Harari Khat grown in the region of Ethiopia. Twenty-eight compounds, which includes 1,2-Propanedione, 1-Phenyl, Hexanol, Hexanal compounds, Limonene, Benzaldehyde with other flavors, were extracted by polydimethylsiloxane at room temperature for 30 min from Khat samples, and identified by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). This method needs no organic solvents and required minimal sample.

Ferrous chelate absorption is deemed a promising method for NO removal from flue gas, but the key problem is the difficulty to regenerate the absorption solution, i.e. the complexes of Fe^II(EDTA)NO and Fe^III(EDTA) in the solution. Two bacterial strains isolated recently from the sludge of the denitrification step of a municipal wastewater treatment plant could be applied effectively to regenerate the absorbent were Pseudomonas sp. and klebsiella trevisan sp. Pseudomonas sp. exhibited high reduction ability on Fe^II(EDTA)NO and the klebsiella trevisan sp. was more suitable for Fe^III(EDTA) reduction.

The technique of micro-electrolysis-contact oxidization was exploited to treat chitin-producing wastewater. Results showed that Fe-C micro-electrolysis can remove about 30% COD_cr, raise pH from 0.7 to 5.5. The CODcr removal efficiency by biochemical process can be more than 80%. During a half year\'s operation, the whole system worked very stably and had good results, as proved by the fact that every quality indicator of effluent met the expected discharge standards; which means that chitin wastewater can be treated by the technique of micro-electrolysis, contact oxidization.

Aerobically activated sludge processing was carried out to treat terylene artificial silk printing and dyeing wastewater (TPD wastewater) in a lab-scale experiment, focusing on the kinetics of the COD removal. The kinetics parameters determined from experiment were applied to evaluate the biological treatability of wastewater. Experiments showed that COD removal could be divided into two stages, in which the ratio BOD/COD (B/C) was the key factor for stage division. At the rapid-removal stage with B/C>0.1, COD removal could be described by a zero order reaction. At the moderate-removal stage with B/C<0.1, COD removal could be described by a first order reaction. Then Monod equation was introduced to indicate COD removal. The reaction rate constant (K) and half saturation constant (KS) were 0.0208-0.0642 L/(gMLSS)·h and 0.44-0.59 (gCOD)/L respectively at 20 °C-35 °C. Activation energy (Ea) was 6.05×104 J/mol. By comparison of kinetic parameters, the biological treatability of TPD wastewater was superior to that of traditional textile wastewater. But COD removal from TPD-wastewater was much more difficult than that from domestic and industrial wastewater, such as papermaking, beer, phenol wastewater, etc. The expected effluent quality strongly related to un-biodegradable COD and kinetics rather than total COD. The results provide useful basis for further scaling up and efficient operation of TPD wastewater treatment.

Phytoremediation is emerging as a potential cost-effective solution for remediation of contaminated soils, and bioavailability of metal in the soil for plant uptake is an important factor for successful phytoremediation. This study aimed at investigating the ability of EDTA and citric acid for enhancing soil bioavailability of Cu and phytoremediation by Elsholtzia splendens in two types of soils contaminated with heavy metals [i.e. mined soil from copper mining area (MS), and paddy soil (PS) polluted by copper refining]. The results showed that addition of 2.5 mmol/kg EDTA significantly increased the H2O extractable Cu concentration from 1.20 to 15.78 mg/kg in MS and from 0.26 to 15.72 mg/kg in PS, and that shoot Cu concentration increased 4-fold and 8-fold as compared to the control. There was no significant difference between the treatment with 5.0 mmol/kg EDTA and that with 2.5 mmol/kg EDTA, probably because that 2.5 mmol/kg EDTA was enough for elevating Cu bioavailability to the maximum level. As compared with the control, citric acid had no marked effect on both soil extractable Cu and shoot Cu concentration or accumulation. The results indicated that EDTA addition can increase the potential and efficiency of Cu phytoextraction by E. splendens in polluted soils.

Viscosities of uranium solutions in H₂O and 3 mol/L HNO₃ medium were measured by Ubbelhode flow viscometer in the concentration range of 0.5%-3.0% from 10 °C to 30 °C at 5 °C interval. Viscosity data were interpreted in terms of an empirical equation; h=a_oexp(b_oM+c_oM²). Values of coefficients a_o, b_o and c_o were calculated for all the three systems studied. Flow activation energies and thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated.

Objective: To determine the existence of genus-specific antigens in outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of leptospira with different virulence. Methods: Microscope agglutination test (MAT) was applied to detect the agglutination between commercial rabbit antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen and 17 strains of Leptospira interrongans belonging to 15 serogroups and 2 strains of Leptospira biflexa belonging to 2 serogroups. The outer envelopes (OEs) of L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiaeserovar lai strain lai (56601) with strong virulence and serogroup Pomona serovar pomonastrain Luo (56608) with low virulence, and L. biflexa serogroup Semaranga serovar patocstrain Patoc I without virulence were prepared by using the method reported in Auran et al.(1972). OMPs in the OEs were obtained by treatment with sodium deoxycholate. SDS-PAGE and western blot were used for analyzing the features of the OMPs on electrophoretic pattern and the immunoreactivity to the antiserum against TR/Patoc I antigen, respectively. Results: All the tested strains belonging to different leptospiral serogroups agglutinated to the antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen with agglutination titers ranging from 1:256-1:512. A similar SDS-PAGE pattern of the OMPs from the three strains ofleptospira with different virulence was shown and the molecular weight of a major protein fragment in the OMPs was found to be approximately 60 KDa. A positive protein fragment with approximately 32 KDa confirmed by Western blot, was able to react with the antiserum against leptospiral genus-specific TR/Patoc I antigen, and was found in each the OMPs of the three stains of leptospira. Conclusion: There are genus-specific antigens on the surface of L. interrogans and L. biflexa. The OMP with molecular weight of 32 KDa may be one of the genus-specific protein antigens of leptospira.

Objective: To investigate the effect of interleukin-18 (IL-18) on immune response induced by plasmid encoding hepatitis B virus middle protein antigen and to explore new strategies for prophylactic and therapeutic HBV DNA vaccines. Methods: BALB/c mice were immunized with pCMV-M alone or co-immunized with pcDNA3-18 and pCMV-M and then their sera were collected for analysing anti-HBsAg antibody by ELISA; splenocytes were isolated for detecting specific CTL response and cytokine assay in vitro. Results: The anti-HBs antibody level of mice co-immunized with pcDNA3-18 and pCMV-M was slightly higher than that of mice immunized with pCMV-M alone, but there was not significantly different (P>0.05). Compared with mice injected with pCMV-M,the specific CTL cytotoxity activity of mice immunized with pcDNA3-18 and pCMV-M was significantly enhanced (P<0.05) and the level of IFN-γ in supernatant of splenocytes cultured with HBsAg in vitrowas significantly elevated (P<0.05) while the level of IL-4 had no significant difference (P>0.05). Conclusion: The plasmid encoding IL-18 together with HBV M gene DNA vaccines may enhance specific TH1 cells and CTL cellular immune response induced in mice, so that IL-18 is a promising immune adjuvant.

To study the effect of interleukin-18 gene transfection on the tumorigenesis of breast cancer cell line Bacp37, human breast cancer cell line Bcap37 were transfected with Lipofectamine and selected by G418. The biological expression of rhIL-18 was tested by RT-PCR and ELISA method; nude mice were injected with Bcap37 cell with or without the hIL-18 gene. The hIL-18 cDNA was successfully integrated into Bcap37 cell; 126.3±4.5 pg hIL-18 secreted by one million transduced cells in 24 hours. Nude mice injected with IL-18 gene engineered Bcap37 cell had no tumor growth. These findings indicated that human breast cancer cells were successfully modified by the gene of IL-18 cytokine; the IL-18 gene engineered Bcap37 cells secreted hIL-18 and lost their tumorigenicity. The Bcap37 cells transduced with IL-18 gene may be used as breast cancer vaccine.

Objective: To explore the characteristics of NF-κB activation in the progress of pancreatitis, the relationship with expression of TNF-α in the inflammatory reaction, and prevent the exacerbation of pancreatitis by using NAC. Method: Forty-eight rats were divided into three groups: therapy (group C), pancreatitis (group B) and control (group A). NAC served as the inhibitor of NF-κB activation. In the time intervals of 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 12.0 hour, NF-κB activation was detected with flow cytometry (FCM) and the expression of TNF-α mRNA and protein with in situ hybridization (ISH) and enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) respectively. Meanwhile, the level of lipase and amylase in the serum was assayed and the pathological change was evaluated. Result: NF-κB activation in the pancreatitis group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01), peaked at 3 hours, and was depressed by the inhibitor of NF-κB, NAC. The expression of TNF-α as well as the level of lipase and amylase in the serum also rose synchronously with activation of NF-κB. In contrast to group A, it was significantly different (P<0.01) in group B. After using NAC in group C, all of these values were decreased and the inflammatory reaction in the pancreas abated evidently. The pathology changes of the pancreas were shown to be alleviated in group C. Conclusion: First, NF-κB activity is intensively initiated in the course of pancreatitis and shown to have closely relationship with the release of cytokines. Second, use of NAC markedly depressed NF-κB activation. TNF-α expression is down regulated by cytokines. It is suggested that NAC probably acts as a useful agent for treatment of pancreatitis by indirectly inhibiting activation of NF-κB.

Objective: To report the first case of ciliated hepatic foregut cyst in China, and review of literature to introduce the characteristics of this disease for doctors to recognize this disease. Method: Report the clinical procedure of diagnosis and treatment for the first case of ciliated hepatic foregut cyst in China, and to review the embryologic genesis, incidence, clinical manifestation, radiologic features and therapeutic principle of this disease. Results: We performed the resection for ciliated hepatic foregut cyst under laparoscopy; the patient recovered well after the procedure. Conclusion: Ciliated hepatic foregut cyst is quite rare clinically, belongs to non-parasitic, solitary and unilocular cystic lesion, is always less than 4 cm in diameter, mostly seen in the left lobe, and has the tendency of malignant change. It should be removed as soon as diagnosed.

Objective: To determine the range of body temperature in a group of healthy Chinese term neonates over the first 72 hours of life and to assess the influence of body weight, gestational age and route of delivery. Method: All 200 consecutive cases of neonates delivered at our hospital from March to August 2001 were included in this retrospective study. Temperatures were measured immediately after delivery, after 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 8 hours and 15 hours and on the 2nd and 3rd day. Axillary temperatures ranging from 36.5 °C to 37 °C were regarded as normal. No cases of maternal fever or systemic infection of the newborns were discovered. All infants were discharged in good general condition. Results: The mean rectal temperature at birth was 37.19 °C. The lowest average temperature was reached at 1 hour after delivery (36.54 °C) with a significant difference between natural delivery (36.48 °C) and section (36.59 °C) (P<0.05). Temperature subsequently rose to 36.70 °C at 8 hours and 36.78 °C at 15 hours (P<0.05). Hypothermia was seen in 51.8% and hypothermia in 42.5% of the patients. On the 3rd day after delivery, 96% of all temperatures were in the normal range. A significant relation was found between hypothermia and both low birth weight (P<0.001) and low gestational age (P<0.05). Conclusion: The reference range presently used did not include all physiological temperatures in the first 72 hours of life. Considering other factors, such as birth weight, route of delivery, gestational age and body temperature on the 2nd and 3rd day of life, may help to correctly assess the significance of temperatures beyond the reference range.

Objective: Myocardial infarction (MI) is the main cause of heart failure, but the relationship between the extent of MI and cardiac function has not been clearly determined. The present study was undertaken to investigate early changes in the electrocardiogram associated with infarct size and cardiac function after MI.Methods: MI was induced by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery in rats. Electrocardiograms, echocardiographs and hemodynamic parameters were assessed and myocardial infarct size was measured from mid-transverse sections stained with Masson\'s trichrome. Results: The sum of pathological Q wave amplitudes was strongly correlated with myocardial infarct size (r = 0.920, P < 0.0001), left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.868, P < 0.0001) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (r = 0.835, P < 0.0004). Furthermore, there was close relationship between MI size and cardiac function as assessed by left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.913, P < 0.0001) and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (r = 0.893, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The sum of pathological Q wave amplitudes after MI can be used to estimate the extent of MI as well as cardiac function.