Remote Efects of Tropical Cyclone Wind Forcing over the Western Pacific on the Eastern Equatorial Ocean

An ocean general circulation model （OGCM） is used to demonstrate remote effects of tropical cyclone wind （TCW） forcing in the tropical Pacific. The signature of TCW forcing is explicitly extracted using a locally weighted quadratic least=squares regression （called as LOESS） method from six-hour satellite surface wind data; the extracted TCW component can then be additionally taken into account or not in ocean modeling, allowing isolation of its effects on the ocean in a clean and clear way. In this paper, seasonally varying TCW fields in year 2008 are extracted from satellite data which are prescribed as a repeated annual cycle over the western Pacific regions off the equator （poleward of 10°N/S）; two long-term OGCM experiments are performed and compared, one with the TCW forcing part included additionally and the other not. Large, persistent thermal perturbations （cooling in the mixed layer （ML） and warming in the thermocline） are induced locally in the western tropical Pacific, which are seen to spread with the mean ocean circulation pathways around the tropical basin. In particular, a remote ocean response emerges in the eastern equatorial Pacific to the prescribed off-equatorial TCW forcing, characterized by a cooling in the mixed layer and a warming in the thermocline. Heat budget analyses indicate that the vertical mixing is a dominant process responsible for the SST cooling in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Further studies are clearly needed to demonstrate the significance of these results in a coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling context.

Influence of injection of Chinese botulinum toxin type A on the histomorphology and myosin heavy chain composition of rat gastrocnemius muscles

Background and objective:Botulinum toxin type A(BoNT/A)is a metalloprotease that blocks synaptic transmission via the cleavage of a synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa(SNAP-25).It has gained widespread use as a treatment for cerebral palsy and skeletal muscle hypertrophy.In China,Chinese botulinum toxin type A(CBTX-A),a type of BoNT/A,is in widespread clinical use.However,the changes in the morphological and biochemical properties of treated muscles and in remote muscles from the CBTX-A injection site are relatively unknown.Therefore,we investigated the changes in histomorphology and myosin heavy chain(MyHC)isoform composition and distribution in rat gastrocnemius muscles after intramuscular injection of CBTX-A.Methods:The weakness of the injected muscles was assessed periodically to identify their functional deficiency.Muscle slices were stained with hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and adenosine triphosphatase(ATPase).MyHC isoform composition was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE)to uncover changes in morphological and biochemical properties.Results:Our findings demonstrate that following injection of CBTX-A 5 U into rat gastrocnemius muscles,shifts in MyHC isoform composition emerged on the third day after injection and peaked in the fourth week.The composition remained distinctly different from that of the control group after the twelfth week.More specifically,there was a decrease in the proportion of the type IIb isoform and an increase in the proportions of type IIx,type IIa,and type I isoforms.Conclusions:Data revealed that CBTX-A led to a shift in MyHC composition towards slower isoforms and that the MyHC composition remained far from normal six months after a single injection.However,no noticeable remote muscle weakness was induced.

Comparison of Botox with a Chinese type A botulinum toxin

To confirm and compare the therapeutic efficacies and remote effects of a Chinese type A botulinum toxin (CBTX-A, Lanzhou Biological Products Institute, China) and Botox (Allergan Inc , USA) for focal dystonia and muscle spasm Methods Prospective open study was conducted over 4 years for focal dystonia and muscle spasm We enrolled 785 patients: 192 were injected with Botox and 593 with CBTX-A They were followed for 3 to 48 months Meanwhile single fiber electromyography (SFEMG) was performed in a subset of 40 patients before, 2-3 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 4-5 months after injection of Botox or CBTX-A Results There were no significant differences in clinical effects from two preparations, including the latency of response, maximal benefit and duration of improvement The dose of the Chinese preparation which produced effects similar to Botox was higher A significant increase in jitter was demonstrated 2-3 weeks after injection in both groups and fiber density values increased at the same time or later and remained 4-5 months after injections Conclusion Both preparation are safe and effective treatments for patients with focal dystonia and muscle spasm They both have subclinical effects on neuromuscular transmission of remote uninjected muscles The Chinese preparation is a little less powerful but much cheaper than Botox