A convenient tandem one-pot synthesis of donor-acceptor-type triphenylene 2,3-dicarboxylic esters from diarylacetylene

A tandem one-pot method for the direct synthesis of polysubstituted triphenylene 2,3-dicarboxylic esters with different substitution patterns was developed by enyne metathesis of diarylacetylene, followed by Diels–Alder, aromatization and a cyclization cascade

Dejian Mind-Body Intervention on Depressive Mood of Community-Dwelling Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a short-term mind-body intervention program on improving the depressive mood of an adult community sample. Forty adult volunteers with various degrees of depressive mood were randomly assigned to the experimental group (Dejian Mind-Body Intervention, DMBI) and control group (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, CBT). For each group, a total of four 90-min weekly sessions were conducted. Treatment-related changes were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), an electroencephalographic indicator of positive affect (i.e., prefrontal activation asymmetry), and self-report ratings on physical health. Results indicated that both the DMBI and the CBT group demonstrated significant reduction in depressive mood. However, among individuals with moderate to severe depressive mood at baseline, only those in the DMBI but not the CBT group showed significant reduction in depressive mood. Besides, only the DMBI group demonstrated a significant increase in prefrontal activation asymmetry, suggesting increase in positive affect. While most psychological therapies for depressive mood normally take several months to show treatment effect, the present findings provided initial data suggesting that the DMBI was effective in improving depressive mood of community adults after 1 month of training

An Herbal Nasal Drop Enhanced Frontal and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity

The present study examined the neuro-electrophysiological activity of the brain associated with the application of a herbal remedy developed by a Shaolin monk based upon the Chan healing principle of clearing the orifices (i.e., the nasal cavities). A repeated-measures design was used. Fourteen normal adults were administered herbal remedy and saline solution intranasally on separate sessions. Two intervals of eyes-closed resting EEG data were obtained individually before and after each administration. Results showed that only the herbal remedy but not the saline solution induced elevation in cordance, an index correlated with cerebral perfusion, in the anterior brain region. In addition, the activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as examined by the LORETA analysis, was also increased after the application of the herbal remedy but not saline solution. The present study provided some preliminary evidence suggesting that the herbal nasal drop enhanced the activity of the frontal lobe and ACC. Implications for the potential clinical application of the herbal remedy to treat patients with frontal lobe disorders were discussed

A comparative study of nemertean complete mitochondrial genomes, including two new ones for Nectonemertes cf. mirabilis and Zygeupolia rubens, may elucidate the fundamental pattern for the phylum Nemertea

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mitochondrial genome is important for studying genome evolution as well as reconstructing the phylogeny of organisms. Complete mitochondrial genome sequences have been reported for more than 2200 metazoans, mainly vertebrates and arthropods. To date, from a total of about 1275 described nemertean species, only three complete and two partial mitochondrial DNA sequences from nemerteans have been published. Here, we report the entire mitochondrial genomes for two more nemertean species: <it>Nectonemertes </it>cf. <it>mirabilis </it>and <it>Zygeupolia rubens</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sizes of the entire mitochondrial genomes are 15365 bp for <it>N</it>. cf. <it>mirabilis </it>and 15513 bp for <it>Z. rubens</it>. Each circular genome contains 37 genes and an AT-rich non-coding region, and overall nucleotide composition is AT-rich. In both species, there is significant strand asymmetry in the distribution of nucleotides, with the coding strand being richer in T than A and in G than C. The AT-rich non-coding regions of the two genomes have some repeat sequences and stem-loop structures, both of which may be associated with the initiation of replication or transcription. The 22 tRNAs show variable substitution patterns in nemerteans, with higher sequence conservation in genes located on the H strand. Gene arrangement of <it>N</it>. cf. <it>mirabilis </it>is identical to that of <it>Paranemertes </it>cf. <it>peregrina</it>, both of which are Hoplonemertea, while that of <it>Z. rubens </it>is the same as in <it>Lineus viridis</it>, both of which are Heteronemertea. Comparison of the gene arrangements and phylogenomic analysis based on concatenated nucleotide sequences of the 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes revealed that species with closer relationships share more identical gene blocks.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The two new mitochondrial genomes share many features, including gene contents, with other known nemertean mitochondrial genomes. The tRNA families display a composite substitution pathway. Gene order comparison to the proposed ground pattern of Bilateria and some lophotrochozoans suggests that the nemertean ancestral mitochondrial gene order most closely resembles the heteronemertean type. Phylogenetic analysis proposes a sister-group relationship between Hetero- and Hoplonemertea, which supports one of two recent alternative hypotheses of nemertean phylogeny.</p

Shaolin Dan Tian Breathing Fosters Relaxed and Attentive Mind: A Randomized Controlled Neuro-Electrophysiological Study

Neuro-electrophysiological studies on meditative breathing revealed its association with either a relaxed or an attentive state. The present study aimed to investigate whether the Shaolin Dan Tian Breathing (DTB) technique, which consists of the Passive and Active subtypes and can be considered as a relaxation exercise and Qigong, would induce both relaxed and attentive states. Twenty-two adults and 22 age-, gender- and education-matched controls received training on the Shaolin DTB (experimental group) and the progressive muscle relaxation respectively for one month. Eyes-closed resting EEG data before and immediately after each type of breathing were obtained individually at baseline and after one-month training. At baseline, the EEG changes after the Shaolin DTB between both groups were comparable. After one-month training, participants in the experimental, but not the control, group showed enhanced temporal alpha asymmetry (an index of relaxation and positive mood) after performing the Passive DTB for five minutes, and enhanced intra- and inter-hemispheric theta coherence (an index of attention and alertness) after performing the Active DTB. The present findings suggested a positive effect of the Shaolin DTB technique on enhancing human neural activity and connectivity, which may possibly enhance mood state and cognitive functions

Effect of WeiJia on carbon tetrachloride induced chronic liver injury

Aim: To study the effect of WeiJia on chronic liver injury using carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4) induced liver injury animal model. Methods: Wista r rats weighing 180-220g were randomly divided into three groups: normal control group (Group A), CCl 4 induced liver injury control group (Group B) and CCl 4 induction with WeiJia treatment group (Group C). Each group consisted of 14 rats. Liver damage and fibrosis was induced by subcutaneous injection with 40% CCl 4 in olive oil at 3 mL/kg body weight twice a week for eight weeks for Groups B and C rats whereas olive oil was used for Group A rats. Starting from the third week, Group C rats also received daily intraperitoneal injection of WeiJia at a dose of 1.25 μg/kg body weight. Animals were sacrificed at the fifth week (4 male, 3 female), and eighth week (4 male, 3 female) respectively. Degree of fibrosis were measured and serological markers for liver fibrosis and function including hyaluronic acid (HA), type IV collagen (CIV), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were determined. Alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemistry were also performed. Results: CCl 4 induction led to the damage of liver and development of fibrosis in Group B and Group C rats when compared to Group A rats. The treatment of WeiJia in Group C rats could reduce the fibrosis condition significantly compared to Group B rats. The effect could be observed after three weeks of treatment and was more obvious after eight weeks of treatment. Serum HA, CIV, ALT, AST and γ-GT levels after eight weeks of treatment for Group C rats were 58±22 μg/L (P 0.05) respectively, similar to normal control group (Group A), but significantly different from CCl 4 induced liver injury control group (Group B). An increase in PCNA and decrease in α-SMA expression level was also observed. Conclusion: WeiJia could improve liver function and reduce liver fibrosis which might be through the inhibition of stellate cell activity. © 2006 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Suspension and Measurement of Graphene and Bi2Se3 Atomic Membranes

Coupling high quality, suspended atomic membranes to specialized electrodes enables investigation of many novel phenomena, such as spin or Cooper pair transport in these two dimensional systems. However, many electrode materials are not stable in acids that are used to dissolve underlying substrates. Here we present a versatile and powerful multi-level lithographical technique to suspend atomic membranes, which can be applied to the vast majority of substrate, membrane and electrode materials. Using this technique, we fabricated suspended graphene devices with Al electrodes and mobility of 5500 cm^2/Vs. We also demonstrate, for the first time, fabrication and measurement of a free-standing thin Bi2Se3 membrane, which has low contact resistance to electrodes and a mobility of >~500 cm^2/Vs

Dejian Mind-Body Intervention Improves the Cognitive Functions of a Child with Autism

There has been increasing empirical evidence for the enhancing effects of Dejian Mind-Body Intervention (DMBI), a traditional Chinese Shaolin healing approach, on human frontal brain activity/functions, including patients with autism who are well documented to have frontal lobe problems. This study aims to compare the effects of DMBI with a conventional behavioural/cognitive intervention (CI) on enhancing the executive functions and memory of a nine-year-old boy with low-functioning autism (KY) and to explore possible underlying neural mechanism using EEG theta cordance. At post-one-month DMBI, KY's inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and memory functioning have significantly improved from “severely-to-moderately impaired” to “within-normal” range. This improvement was not observed from previous 12-month CI. Furthermore, KY showed increased cordance gradually extending from the anterior to the posterior brain region, suggesting possible neural mechanism underlying his cognitive improvement. These findings have implicated potential applicability of DMBI as a rehabilitation program for patients with severe frontal lobe and/or memory disorders

A comparison of the molecular organization of genomic regions associated with resistance to common bacterial blight in two Phaseolus vulgaris genotypes

Resistance to common bacterial blight, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli, in Phaseolus vulgaris is conditioned by several loci on different chromosomes. Previous studies with OAC-Rex, a CBB-resistant, white bean variety of Mesoamerican origin, identified two resistance loci associated with the molecular markers Pv-CTT001 and SU91, on chromosome 4 and 8, respectively. Resistance to CBB is assumed to be derived from an interspecific cross with Phaseolus acutifolius in the pedigree of OAC-Rex. Our current whole genome sequencing effort with OAC-Rex provided the opportunity to compare its genome in the regions associated with CBB resistance with the v1.0 release of the P. vulgaris line G19833, which is a large seeded bean of Andean origin, and (assumed to be) CBB susceptible. In addition, the genomic regions containing SAP6, a marker associated with P. vulgaris-derived CBB-resistance on chromosome 10, were compared. These analyses indicated that gene content was highly conserved between G19833 and OAC-Rex across the regions examined ( \u3e 80%). However, fifty-nine genes unique to OAC Rex were identified, with resistance gene homologues making up the largest category (10 genes identified). Two unique genes in OAC-Rex located within the SU91 resistance QTL have homology to P. acutifolius ESTs and may be potential sources of CBB resistance. As the genomic sequence assembly of OAC-Rex is completed, we expect that further comparisons between it and the G19833 genome will lead to a greater understanding of CBB resistance in bean