Insecticidal Activity of the Soil in the Rhizosphere of Viburnum odoratissimum against Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Methyl salicylate produced by Viburnum odoratissimum is known to exert lethal or sublethal effects on insects. Replacing conventional pesticides with insecticidal plants is necessary for environmental protection. We evaluated the behavioral and toxicological responses of the red imported fire ant (RIFA Solenopsis invicta)( Hymenopter: Buren Formicidae) at different soil depths in the rhizosphere of V. odoratissimum. Results of insecticidal activity bioassays indicated that the mortality for minor and major ants in soil at depths of 0-10 cm at days 11 and 12 both ranged from 68.75% to 100.00%, with repellent rates of 83.54%–100.00% and 85.31%–100.00%, respectively. In behavioral ability tests, 85.45%–100.00% of minor ants and 86.74%–94.85% of major ants lost their ability to grasp after nine days, with crawl rates at only 0.00%–29.25% and 0.00%–55.77%, respectively. Therefore, we conclude from the result that the soil under V. odoratissimum at depths of 0-10 cm exhibited excellent insecticidal effect in controlling RIFA.Methyl salicylate produced by Viburnum odoratissimum is known to exert lethal or sublethal effects on insects. Replacing conventional pesticides with insecticidal plants is necessary for environmental protection. We evaluated the behavioral and toxicological responses of the red imported fire ant (RIFA Solenopsis invicta, Buren) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at different soil depths in the rhizosphere of V. odoratissimum. Results of insecticidal activity bioassays indicated that the mortality for minor and major ants in soil at depths of 0-10 cm at days 11 and 12 both ranged from 68.75% to 100.00%, with repellency rates of 83.54%-100.00% and 85.31%-100.00%, respectively. In behavioral ability tests, 85.45%-100.00% of minor ants and 86.74%-94.85% of major ants lost their ability to grasp after nine days, with crawling rates at only 0.00%-29.25% and 0.00%-55.77%, respectively. Therefore, we conclude from the result that the soil under V. odoratissimum at depths of 0-10 cm exhibited excellent insecticidal effect in controlling RIFA

Flow-through anastomosis using a T-shaped vascular pedicle for gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation in brachial plexus injury

OBJECTIVE: In gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation, the limited caliber of the dominant vascular pedicle increases the complexity of the anastomosis and the risk of vascular compromise. The purpose of this study was to characterize the results of using a T-shaped vascular pedicle for flow-through anastomosis in gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation for brachial plexus injury. METHODS: The outcomes of patients with brachial plexus injury who received gracilis functioning free muscle transplantation with either conventional end-to-end anastomosis or flow-through anastomosis from 2005 to 2013 were retrospectively compared. In the flow-through group, the pedicle comprised a segment of the profunda femoris and the nutrient artery of the gracilis. The recipient artery was interposed by the T-shaped pedicle. RESULTS: A total of 46 patients received flow-through anastomosis, and 25 patients received conventional end-to-end anastomosis. The surgical time was similar between the groups. The diameter of the arterial anastomosis in the flow-through group was significantly larger than that in the end-to-end group (3.87 mm vs. 2.06 mm, respectively,

Clinical significance of a point mutation in DNA polymerase beta (POLB) gene in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a major cause of global cancer mortality. Genetic variations in DNA repair genes can modulate DNA repair capability and, consequently, have been associated with risk of developing cancer. We have previously identified a T to C point mutation at nucleotide 889 (T889C) in DNA polymerase beta (POLB) gene, a key enzyme involved in base excision repair in primary GCs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mutation and expression of POLB in a larger cohort and to identify possible prognostic roles of the POLB alterations in GC. Primary GC specimens and their matched normal adjacent tissues were collected at the time of surgery. DNA, RNA and protein samples were isolated from GC specimens and cell lines. Mutations were detected by PCR-RFLP/DHPLC and sequencing analysis. POLB gene expression was examined by RT-PCR, tissue microarray, Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays. The function of the mutation was evaluated by chemosensitivity, MTT, Transwell matrigel invasion and host cell reactivation assays. The T889C mutation was detected in 18 (10.17%) of 177 GC patients. And the T889C mutation was associated with POLB overexpression, lymph nodes metastases and poor tumor differentiation. In addition, patients with- the mutation had significantly shorter survival time than those without-, following postoperative chemotherapy. Furthermore, cell lines with T889C mutation in POLB gene were more resistant to the treatment of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and epirubicin than those with wild type POLB. Forced expression of POLB gene with T889C mutation resulted in enhanced cell proliferation, invasion and resistance to anticancer drugs, along with increased DNA repair capability. These results suggest that POLB gene with T889C mutation in surgically resected primary gastric tissues may be clinically useful for predicting responsiveness to chemotherapy in patients with GC. The POLB gene alteration may serve as a prognostic biomarker for GC

Clinical Significance of a Point Mutation in DNA Polymerase Beta (POLB) Gene in Gastric Cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a major cause of global cancer mortality. Genetic variations in DNA repair genes can modulate DNA repair capability and, consequently, have been associated with risk of developing cancer. We have previously identified a T to C point mutation at nucleotide 889 (T889C) in DNA polymerase beta (POLB) gene, a key enzyme involved in base excision repair in primary GCs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mutation and expression of POLB in a larger cohort and to identify possible prognostic roles of the POLB alterations in GC. Primary GC specimens and their matched normal adjacent tissues were collected at the time of surgery. DNA, RNA and protein samples were isolated from GC specimens and cell lines. Mutations were detected by PCR-RFLP/DHPLC and sequencing analysis. POLB gene expression was examined by RT-PCR, tissue microarray, Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays. The function of the mutation was evaluated by chemosensitivity, MTT, Transwell matrigel invasion and host cell reactivation assays. The T889C mutation was detected in 18 (10.17%) of 177 GC patients. And the T889C mutation was associated with POLB overexpression, lymph nodes metastases and poor tumor differentiation. In addition, patients with- the mutation had significantly shorter survival time than those without-, following postoperative chemotherapy. Furthermore, cell lines with T889C mutation in POLB gene were more resistant to the treatment of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and epirubicin than those with wild type POLB. Forced expression of POLB gene with T889C mutation resulted in enhanced cell proliferation, invasion and resistance to anticancer drugs, along with increased DNA repair capability. These results suggest that POLBgene with T889C mutation in surgically resected primary gastric tissues may be clinically useful for predicting responsiveness to chemotherapy in patients with GC. The POLB gene alteration may serve as a prognostic biomarker for GC

Modeling, Design, and Implementation of a Cloud Workflow Engine Based on Aneka

This paper presents a Petri net-based model for cloud workflow which plays a key role in industry. Three kinds of parallelisms in cloud workflow are characterized and modeled. Based on the analysis of the modeling, a cloud workflow engine is designed and implemented in Aneka cloud environment. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of our approach of modeling, design, and implementation of cloud workflow

Topological Susceptibility under Gradient Flow

We study the impact of the Gradient Flow on the topology in various models of lattice field theory. The topological susceptibility $\chi_{\rm t}$ is measured directly, and by the slab method, which is based on the topological content of sub-volumes ("slabs") and estimates $\chi_{\rm t}$ even when the system remains trapped in a fixed topological sector. The results obtained by both methods are essentially consistent, but the impact of the Gradient Flow on the characteristic quantity of the slab method seems to be different in 2-flavour QCD and in the 2d O(3) model. In the latter model, we further address the question whether or not the Gradient Flow leads to a finite continuum limit of the topological susceptibility (rescaled by the correlation length squared, $\xi^{2}$). This ongoing study is based on direct measurements of $\chi_{\rm t}$ in $L \times L$ lattices, at $L/\xi \simeq 6$.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex, 5 figures, talk presented at the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, June 18-24, 2017, Granada, Spai

Fractal property of generalized M-set with rational number exponent

Dynamic systems described by fc(z) = z2 + c is called Mandelbrot set (M-set), which is important for fractal and chaos theories due to its simple expression and complex structure. fc(z) = zk + c is called generalized M set (k–M set). This paper proposes a new theory to compute the higher and lower bounds of generalized M set while exponent k is rational, and proves relevant properties, such as that generalized M set could cover whole complex number plane when k 1), and that k–M set can be divided into |p–q| isomorphic parts

Jump-Start Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning (RL) provides a theoretical framework for continuously improving an agent's behavior via trial and error. However, efficiently learning policies from scratch can be very difficult, particularly for tasks with exploration challenges. In such settings, it might be desirable to initialize RL with an existing policy, offline data, or demonstrations. However, naively performing such initialization in RL often works poorly, especially for value-based methods. In this paper, we present a meta algorithm that can use offline data, demonstrations, or a pre-existing policy to initialize an RL policy, and is compatible with any RL approach. In particular, we propose Jump-Start Reinforcement Learning (JSRL), an algorithm that employs two policies to solve tasks: a guide-policy, and an exploration-policy. By using the guide-policy to form a curriculum of starting states for the exploration-policy, we are able to efficiently improve performance on a set of simulated robotic tasks. We show via experiments that JSRL is able to significantly outperform existing imitation and reinforcement learning algorithms, particularly in the small-data regime. In addition, we provide an upper bound on the sample complexity of JSRL and show that with the help of a guide-policy, one can improve the sample complexity for non-optimism exploration methods from exponential in horizon to polynomial.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure

A Point Mutation in DNA Polymerase β (POLB) Gene Is Associated with Increased Progesterone Receptor (PR) Expression and Intraperitoneal Metastasis in Gastric Cancer

Increased expression of progesterone receptor (PR) has been reported in gastric cancer (GC). We have previously identified a functional T889C point mutation in DNA polymerase beta (POLB), a DNA repair gene in GC. To provide a detailed analysis of molecular changes associated with the mutation, human cDNA microarrays focusing on 18 signal transduction pathways were used to analyze differential gene expression profiles between GC tissues with T889C mutant in POLB gene and those with wild type. Among the differentially expressed genes, notably, PR was one of the significantly up-regulated genes in T889C mutant POLB tissues, which were subsequently confirmed in POLB gene transfected AGS cell line. Interestingly, patients with T889C mutation and PR positivity were associated with higher incidence of intraperitoneal metastasis (IM). In vitro studies indicate that PR expression was upregulated in AGS cell line when transfected with T889C mutant expression vector. Cotransfection of T889C mutant allele and PR gene induced cell migration in the cell line. These data demonstrated that T889C mutation-associated PR overexpression results in increased IM. Therefore, T889C mutation-associated PR overexpression may serve as a biomarker for an adverse prognosis for human GC