Rapid Change of Mid-Depth North Atlantic Circulations in Tropics

Nineteenth Conference on Climate Variability and Change, American Meteorological Society, San Antonio, Texas, 15-18 January 2007.Contributed Pape

In-Vitro Evaluation of Antagonistic Trichoderma Strains for Eradicating Phellinus Noxius In Colonised Wood

[EN] The aim of the present in vitro studies was to identify Trichoderma strains from Hong Kong with highly antagonistic potential against the basidiomycete Phellinus noxius (Corner) G. Cunn. Dual culture and interaction tests using samples of balsa wood (Ochroma lagopus Sw.), as well as studies on fungal growth at different temperatures and water activities, were conducted. The impact of Trichoderma strains on wood colonisation and decomposition by three P. noxius isolates were quantitatively analysed by measuring dry weight loss and the rate of eradication of the pathogen from the test wood. Most Trichoderma strains revealed antagonistic potential against P. noxius in these in vitro studies. In the wood blocks incubat-ed with P. noxius and then treated with Trichoderma T-TMS1 for 24 weeks, 100% eradica-tion of three P. noxius isolates was recorded. The results indicate that the application of Trichoderma strains may be a promising and environmentally benign method of eradicating P. noxius from wood debris in soils.We thank Muni Arborist Limited for assisting in the preparation of wood materials, use of facilities and support. Financial and technical support for project WQ/054/12 provided by The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Tree Management Office of the Development Bureau (Works Branch) of Hong Kong Government is gratefully acknowledged.Ribera Regal, J.; Tang, A.; Schubert, M.; Lam, R.; Chu, L.; Leung, M.; Kwan, H.... (2016). In-Vitro Evaluation of Antagonistic Trichoderma Strains for Eradicating Phellinus Noxius In Colonised Wood. Journal of Tropical Forest Science. 28(4):457-468. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/150303S45746828

Inhibiting decoherence via ancilla processes

General conditions are derived for preventing the decoherence of a single two-state quantum system (qubit) in a thermal bath. The employed auxiliary systems required for this purpose are merely assumed to be weak for the general condition while various examples such as extra qubits and extra classical fields are studied for applications in quantum information processing. The general condition is confirmed with well known approaches towards inhibiting decoherence. A novel approach for decoherence-free quantum memories and quantum operations is presented by placing the qubit into the center of a sphere with extra qubits on its surface.Comment: pages 8, Revtex

Cardiomyoblast apoptosis induced by insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I resistance is IGF-II dependent and synergistically enhanced by angiotensin II

Objective: This study explores the synergistic effect of cardiomyoblast apoptosis induced by angiotensin II (Ang II) and Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I resistance, and elucidates the role of IGF-II via IGF-II receptor (R) and calcineurin pathways in apoptosis induced by Ang II and IGF-I resistance. Methods: Apoptosis of cultured cardiomyoblast H9c2 cells was assessed by DNA fragmentation on agarose gel electrophoresis, nuclear condensation stained with DAPI, and Western blot analysis of pro-apoptotic Bad and cytochrome c in various combinations of control, Ang II, antisense IGF (I or II), IGF (I or II) antibody, IGF (I or II) receptor (R) antibody, or calcineurin inhibitor (Cyclosporine A, (CsA)). Results: We found the following: (I) The combination of Ang II and IGF-I deficiencies had a synergistic effect on apoptosis, confirmed by DNA fragmentation, nuclei condensation, and increases in such proapoptotic proteins as Bad, cytochrome c, caspase 9, and caspase 3 in H9c2 cells. (2) IGF-II and IGF-IIR protein products were increased by antisense IGF-I and IGF-I resistance, but these IGF-II protein products were not affected by sense IGF-I and non-specific antibody IgG in H9c2 cells. (3) The alteration of Bad protein level and the release of cytochrome c, both induced by treatments containing combinations of Ang II and antisense IGF-I, IGF-I antibody or IGF-IR antibody, were inhibited by IGF-II antibody. (4) DNA fragmentation, Bad, and cytochrome c which was induced by treatments combining IGF-IR antibody with Ang II or combining IGF-IR antibody with IGF-II were remarkably attenuated by CsA. Conclusion: IGF-I deficiency and/or IGF-IR resistance induced apoptosis in cardiomyoblast cells. The apoptosis, which might have been caused by the upregulation of IGF-II and IGF-IIR genes possibly activated the downstream calcineurin pathway, was synergistically augmented by Ang II

The applied anatomy and clinical significance of the proximal, V1 segment of vertebral artery

Background: The aim of the study was to probe the morphological features of the proximal segment (V1) of vertebral artery (VA) in a sample of Chinese cadavers. Materials and methods: The origin, course and outer diameter at origin of the pre-vertebral part of the VAs were evaluated in 119 adult cadavers. Results: It was found that 94.12% of the VAs originated from the subclavian arteries, bilaterally. The variant origins were present in 5.88% of the cadavers and all originated directly from the arch of the aorta. All the variations were observed on the left side of male cadavers. The average outer diameters at origin of the normal and variation groups were 4.35 ± 1.00 mm and 4.82 ± ± 1.42 mm, respectively, p = 0.035. In the normal group, but not in the variation group, the average diameter in the males was significantly larger than that in the females (4.50 ± 0.99 mm, 3.92 ± 0.92 mm, respectively, p = 0.000). In addition, only 5 cadavers in the normal group had hypoplastic VAs (4.20%, 4 males, 3 right-sided). Vertebral artery dominance (VAD) was present in 91 (69 males) out of 112 cadavers and more common on the left (n = 48). In addition, 3 cadavers satisfied conditions for coexistence of VAD and vertebral artery hypoplasia. All 7 cadavers in the variation group exhibited VAD, which was more common on the right side (n = 5). Conclusions: The morphologic variations and frequencies described above have implications for the early prevention, abnormal anatomy detection, accurate diagnosis, safe surgery and endovascular treatment of cardiovascular and neurological disease

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Central Plateau, Southeastern, and Southern Brazil

This syndrome is an increasing health problem because of human encroachment into habitats of rodent reservoirs