Measurement of Photon Statistics with Live Photoreceptor Cells

We analyzed the electrophysiological response of an isolated rod photoreceptor of Xenopus laevis under stimulation by coherent and pseudo-thermal light sources. Using the suction electrode technique for single cell recordings and a fiber optics setup for light delivery allowed measurements of the major statistical characteristics of the rod response. The results indicate differences in average responses of rod cells to coherent and pseudo-thermal light of the same intensity and also differences in signal-to-noise ratios and second order intensity correlation functions. These findings should be relevant for interdisciplinary studies seeking applications of quantum optics in biology.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Hospitalized Chinese Medical Patients and the Impact of DVT Prophylaxis

Objective. To evaluate the incidence of deep vein thrombosis in hospitalized Chinese medical patients and the impact of DVT prophylaxis. Methods. All cases of confirmed proximal DVT from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively to determine the presence of risk factors and whether DVT developed: during hospitalization in medical wards or in case of readmission with a diagnosis of DVT within 14 days of discharge from a recent admission to medical wards. The impact of prophylaxis will be estimated by comparing the annual incidence of proximal DVT among medical patients hospitalized from 2005 to 2007 with that of 2008 (DVT prophylaxis commonly used). Results. From 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2008, 3938 Doppler ultrasound studies were performed for suspected DVT. Proximal DVT was diagnosed in 687 patients. The calculated incidence of proximal DVT among medical patients hospitalized for at least two days was 1.8%, 2%, and 1.7% for the year 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. The incidence was 1.1% for 2008 (P < .001). Conclusion. Proximal DVT was substantial in Chinese medical patients, and DVT prophylaxis might reduce such risk

(2R)-2-Cinnamoylamino-N-[5-(4-methoxy­phen­yl)-1,3,4-thia­diazol-2-yl]propanamide

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C21H20N4O3S, contains two independent mol­ecules. The dihedral angles between the two benzene rings are 47.6 (1) and 30.2 (1)°, the corresponding values between the p-methoxy­benzene and thia­diazol rings are 12.3 (1) and 24.7 (1)°, respectively, for the two mol­ecules. The conformations of the N—H and C=O bonds are anti with respect to each other. The enone groups show a trans configuration. The crystal structure is stabilized by N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N inter­actions. The absolute structure could not be determined from the X-ray data but the absolute configuration has been assigned by reference to an unchanging chiral centre in the synthetic procedure

(2R)-N-[5-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-1,3,4-thia­diazol-2-yl]-2-(cinnamoylamino)propanamide

In the title compound, C20H17ClN4O2S, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 65.9 (1)°; the corresponding angle between the 4-chloro­phenyl and thia­diazole rings is 3.4 (8)°. The conformations of the N—H and C=O bonds are anti with respect to each other. The enone groups show a trans configuration. The structure displays intermolecular N—H⋯O, C—H⋯N, C—H⋯S and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding

INFLUENCE OF SULFUR FUMIGATION ON VOLATILE OIL CONSTITUENTS OF CODONOPSIS RADIX (DANGSHEN) BY GC-MS METHOD

Background: Sulfur fumigation is a kind of the processing methods of Chinese medicinal herbs. It can kill contaminated/parasitical microbes and insects on the herbs and to bleach the herbs. Codonopsis Radix, dried roots of Codonopsis pilosula (Dangshen in Chinese), is one of the herbs commonly processed by sulfur fumigation. This study reports the influence of sulfur fumigation on the chemical constituents of volatile oils of Dangshen. Methods: The volatile oils of air-dried or fumigated Dangshen samples were extracted by water-steam distillation and separated by GC capillary column chromatography. The components in individual volatile oil samples were identified and quantitatively determined by GC-MS. Results: The results showed that forty-five compounds were separated and identified from the volatile oils of Dangshen samples. The contents of 2-octyn-1-ol, phenylethyl alcohol, paeonol and cedrenol in sulfur fumigated Dangshen were much lower than in air-dried Dangshen. On the contrary, the contents of α-lonone, sativene, thujopsene, tetradecanoic acid and methyl cis-9,10-epoxystearate were increased by sulfur fumigation. Conclusions: Sulfur fumigation caused significant changes on the volatile oil constituents of Dangshen samples. Further explorations are necessary to investigate how these chemical changes occurred and whether these changes would affect the efficacy and safety of Dangshen. Key words: Sulfur fumigation; volatile oil; Dangshen; Codonopsis pilosula; GC-M

A common variant near TGFBR3 is associated with primary open angle glaucoma

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution. We performed Exome Array (Illumina) analysis on 3504 POAG cases and 9746 controls with replication of the most significant findings in 9173 POAG cases and 26 780 controls across 18 collections of Asian, African and European descent. Apart from confirming strong evidence of association at CDKN2B-AS1 (rs2157719 [G], odds ratio [OR] = 0.71, P = 2.81 × 10−33), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7–TGFBR3 rs1192415, ORG-allele = 1.13, Pmeta = 1.60 × 10−8). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis

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Abstract Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution. We performed Exome Array ), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7-TGFBR3 rs1192415, OR G-allele = 1.13, P meta = 1.60 × 10 −8 ). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis