TRANSFORMING ACTIVITY OF DNA FROM HUMAN ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE TRANSFORMING GENE

Rat-1 cells were transfected with DNA from human esophageal cancer 2K, 4K, 6K, 7K. 8K. The transforming foci were obtained and the transforming cell lines were established. The cell lines can form larger colony in soft agar. Those nude mice injected subcutaneously with the cells suffered from larger fibrous sarcoma. This indicates that the cell lines have carcinogenicity. The experimental results suggest that human DNA sequence and human Ha-ras special 616Kb (BamHI) band are present in the DNA of the transforming cells. The over-expression of ras gene products P21 were found in the tissues of exophageal cancer, the tissues adjacent to tumor and the transforming cells.

Aberrant activation of latent transforming growth factor-β initiates the onset of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis

There is currently no effective medical treatment for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis(TMJ-OA) due to a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study was undertaken to investigate the key role of transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)signalling in the cartilage and subchondral bone of the TMJ using a temporomandibular joint disorder(TMD) rat model, an ageing mouse model and a Camurati–Engelmann disease(CED) mouse model. In the three animal models, the subchondral bone phenotypes in the mandibular condyles were evaluated by μCT, and changes in TMJ condyles were examined by TRAP staining and immunohistochemical analysis of Osterix and p-Smad2/3. Condyle degradation was confirmed by Safranin O staining, the Mankin and OARSI scoring systems and type X collagen(Col X), p-Smad2/3 a and Osterix immunohistochemical analyses. We found apparent histological phenotypes of TMJ-OA in the TMD, ageing and CED animal models, with abnormal activation of TGF-βsignalling in the condylar cartilage and subchondral bone. Moreover, inhibition of TGF-β receptor I attenuated TMJ-OA progression in the TMD models. Therefore, aberrant activation of TGF-β signalling could be a key player in TMJ-OA development.

Phase transformation behavior of titanium during carbothermic reduction of titanomagnetite ironsand

The reduction of titanomagnetite（TTM） ironsand, which contains 11.41wt% TiO_2 and 55.63wt% total Fe, by graphite was performed using a thermogravimetric analysis system under an argon gas atmosphere at 1423–1623 K. The behavior and effects of titanium in TTM ironsand during the reduction process were investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. During the reduction procedure, the titanium concentrated in the slag phase, where the phase transformation followed this sequence： Fe O ＋ FeTiO_3 → Fe_2 TiO_4 → FeTiO_3 → FeTi_2O_5 → TiO_2. The calculated results for the reduction kinetics showed that the carbothermic reduction was controlled by the diffusion of ions through the product layer. Furthermore, the apparent activation energy was 170.35 k J·mol^（-1）.

THEORETICAL PREDICTION OF THE KINETICS CURVES OFPEARLITIC TRANSFORMATION IN HYPO-PROEUTECTOID STRUCTURAL STEELS

Supposing carbon contents of ferrite phases in pearlite precipitating from austenite in multicomponent steel at temperature T and in Fe-C ystem at T' are the same the pearlite formation temperature diference, can be calculated from the FeX phase diagrams and the equilibrium temperature Al. Using Tp and Fe-C binary thermodynamic model, the driving forces for phase transformation from austenite to pearlite in multicomponent steels have been successfully calculated. Through the combination of simplified Zener and Hillert's model for pearlite growth with Johnson-Mehl equation, using data from known TTT diagrams, the interfacial energy parameter and activation energy for pearlite formation can be determined and expressed as functions of chemical composition in steels by regression analysis. The calculated starting curves of pearlitic transformation in some commercial steels agree well with the experimental data.

Potential Renaturalisation of Lakes as An Element Building Up Water Resources： An Example of Mosina Lake, Poland

Water deficits observed in many regions of the world make it necessary to implement measures intended to improve this situation. Poland is one of the countries with the poorest water resources in Europe due to its natural conditions and human impact. As a result of land reclamation carried out over decades, many elements of its hydrographic system have been changed, and some of them, like lakes, have disappeared altogether. In the days of the socio-economic transformation and more frequent extreme events, what seems worth considering is the renaturalisation of non-existing lakes, an idea presented in this paper on a selected example.

CONDITIONED MEDIUM OF HUMAN NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA EPITHELIOID CELL LINE CNE_(1) CONTAINED THE ACTIVITIES OF TRANSFORMED GROWTH-INHIBITING FACTORS

The hormone defined serum free conditioned medium (SFCM) of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma epithelioid cell line (CNE1) was assayed by both the 3H-thymidine incorporation test and the soft agar test. It was found that the SFCM stimulated the growth of long-term serum-free cultured CNE4 cells in ac-cordence with the fact that the growth rate of long-term serum-free cultured CNE1 cells was directly proportional to the plating density. Alternatively 5% SFCM inhibited the growth of short-term serum-free cultured CNE4 cells by 51% in which the indicator cell remained the responsiveness state of growing in the serum-supplemented medium to the effector of interest. Furthermore, SFCM resulted in the inhibition of anchorage-independent growth of CNE4 cells and A431 cells. Also in soft agar test. SFCM reduced the colony formation of NRK(?),9F cells in the presence of EGF or EGF plus TGF-β. These finding suggested that CNE4 secreted autocrine growth stimulating factor(s) and growth inhibiting factor(s) in the serum-free medium, the latter strongly reverse malignant phenotypes of CNE4 and A431 cells in serum-supplemented surrounding.

EFFECTS OF TGF-β_1 ON THE EXPRESSION OF PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR INHIBITOR TYPE 1 IN CULTURED HUMAN RENAL INTERSTITIAL FIBROBLASTS

Objective To investigate the effects of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1 ) on the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1 ) mRNA in renal interstitial fibrosis in vitro. Methods Human renal interstitial fibroblasts were isolated and cultured in vitro. The cells wers stimulated by TGF-β1 with different concentration (0 to 10ng/ml ) at different time (0 to 48h). The expression of PAI-1 mRNA was assayed by RT-PCR. Results TGF-β1, had dose-dependent and time-dependent effects on the expression of PAI-1 mRNA in renal interstitial fibroblasts. Conclusion TGF-β1 may partic- ipate in renal fibrosis with inducing the expression of PAI-1 mRNA in renal fibroblasts and affecting the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM).

Can software-defined vehicles never roll over:A perspective of active structural transformation

The revolution of physical structure is highly significant for future software defined vehicles(SDV).Active structural transformation is a promising feature of the next generation of vehicle physical structure.It can enhance the dynamic performance of vehicles,thus providing safer and more comfortable ride experiences,such as the ability to avoid rollover in critical situations.Based on the active structural transformation technology,this study proposes a novel approach to improve the dynamic performance of a vehicle.The first analytical motion model of a vehicle with active structural transformation capability is established.Then,a multi-objective optimization problem with the adjustable parameters as design variables is abstracted and solved with an innovative scenario specific optimization method.Simulation results under different driving scenarios revealed that the active transformable vehicle applying the proposed method could significantly improve the handling stability without sacrificing the ride comfort,compared with a conventional vehicle with a fixed structure.The proposed method pipeline is defined by the software and supported by the hardware.It fully embodies the characteristics of SDV,and inspires the improvement of multiple types of vehicle performance based on the concept of“being defined by software”and the revolution of the physical structure.

Microbial transformation of glycyrrhetinic acid and potent neural anti-inflammatory activity of the metabolites

The microbial transformation of glycyrrhetinic acid（1） by Cunninghamella blakesleana CGMCC 3.970 led to the production of five new metabolites（2-6）.The structures of the metabolites were determined by extensive spectroscopic（HR-ESIMS,1D and 2D NMR） data analyses.The involved reactions exhibited specific hydroxylations at C-24,C-7,and C-15,and oxidation at C-3.Moreover,compounds 2,5,and 6showed significant neural anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production in mouse microglia BV2 cells with IC（50） values of 0.76,0.94,and 0.16μmol/L,respectively.

Biochemical and microbial soil functioning after application of the insecticide imidacloprid

Imidacloprid is one of the most commonly used insecticides in agricultural practice, and its application poses a potential risk for soil microorganisms. The objective of this study was to assess whether changes in the structure of the soil microbial community after imidacloprid application at the field rate（FR, 1 mg/kg soil） and 10 times the FR（10 × FR, 10 mg/kg soil）may also have an impact on biochemical and microbial soil functioning. The obtained data showed a negative effect by imidacloprid applied at the FR dosage for substrate-induced respiration（SIR）, the number of total bacteria, dehydrogenase（DHA）, both phosphatases（PHOS-H and PHOS-OH）, and urease（URE） at the beginning of the experiment. In 10 × FR treated soil, decreased activity of SIR, DHA, PHOS-OH and PHOS-H was observed over the experimental period. Nitrifying and N2-fixing bacteria were the most sensitive to imidacloprid. The concentration of NO3-decreased in both imidacloprid-treated soils,whereas the concentration of NH4＋in soil with 10 × FR was higher than in the control.Analysis of the bacterial growth strategy revealed that imidacloprid affected the r- or K-type bacterial classes as indicated also by the decreased eco-physiological（EP） index.Imidacloprid affected the physiological state of culturable bacteria and caused a reduction in the rate of colony formation as well as a prolonged time for growth. Principal component analysis showed that imidacloprid application significantly shifted the measured parameters, and the application of imidacloprid may pose a potential risk to the biochemical and microbial activity of soils.

Effects of tantalum on austenitic transformation kinetics of RAFM steel

The RAFM（reduced activation ferritic/martensitic）steels containing different tantalum contents（0wt.%,0.027wt.%,0.073wt.%）were designed and cast.Differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy were employed to explore the influence of tantalum content on the austenitic transformation of RAFM steels.The austenitic transformation kinetics was described by aphase-transformation model.The model,involving site saturation nucleation,diffusion-controlled growth and impingement correction,was established based on the classical Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model.The phase-transformation kinetics parameters,including D_0（pre-exponential factor for diffusion）and Q_d（activation energy for diffusion）,were calculated by fitting the experimental data and the kinetic model.The results indicated that the average grain size is decreased with the increase of tantalum.The values of A_（c1） and A_（c3） （onset and finish temperature of austenitic transformation,respectively）are increased by increasing the tantalum content.The increase of tantalum caused the decrease of D_0.However,Q_d is increased with the increase of tantalum.In addition,as a carbides forming element,tantalum would reduce the carbon diffusion coefficient and slow down the austenitic transformation rate.