Development and Validation of a HPLC-UV Method with Pre-column Derivatization for Determination of Cinnabar in Jufang Zhibao Pills

In this work, a reliable and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography method with pre-column derivatization was established and validated for determination of cinnabar in Jufang Zhibao pills. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image was used to identify the types of cinnabar crude drug in Jufang Zhibao pills. The chromatography separation was performed on a Welch XB-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase consists of water spiked with 0.022 mmol/L sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (A, pH adjusted to 8–9 by ammonia water) and methanol (B, 80:20, v/v) at flow rate of 1.0 ml/min with the detected wavelength was 272 nm. The oven temperature was set at 35°C. The calibration for cinnabar content has good linearity (R2 =0.9999) over the range of 2.43–300 μg/ml and the average recovery was less then 1.90%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.1127 μg and 0.2065 μg/ml. The results indicated that the proposed method has advantages of high accuracy, good repeatability and stability and can be successfully used for determination of cinnabar in Jufang Zhibao pills. It provides a basis for drug manufacture quality control and proves the feasibility of the pre-column derivatization method during the determination of cinnabar in Jufang Zhibao pills

Mathematical Modeling and Intelligent Algorithm for Multirobot Path Planning

10.1155/2017/1465158Mathematical Problems in Engineering2017146515

Fuyuanichthys wangi gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of China highlights the early diversification of ginglymodian fishes

A series of well-preserved fossil assemblages from the Middle Triassic marine rock succession in Southwest China provide unique evidences for studying the early evolution of holostean fishes, including Halecomorphi (e.g., bownfin) and Ginglymodi (e.g., gars). Ginglymodi have the earliest record in the early Middle Triassic (Anisian, ∼244 Ma) of China, represented by Kyphosichthys and Sangiorgioichthys sui from Yunnan and S. yangjuanensis from Guizhou. Here, we report the discovery of a new ginglymodian, Fuyuanichthys wangi gen. et sp. nov., based on 22 well-preserved specimens from the lower part of the Zhuganpo member of the Falang Formation in eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou, which documents the first discovery of convincing ginglymodians from the late Middle Triassic (Ladinian, ∼240 Ma) Xingyi biota in China. Fuyuanichthys possesses a unique combination of features that easily distinguishes it from other ginglymodians, such as presence of a median gular and short and edentulous maxillae, and absence of a supramaxilla and supraorbitals. As one of the smallest known ginglymodians with a maximum standard length of ∼75 mm, the new finding further supports that the Middle Triassic Ginglymodi have a relatively small range of body sizes compared with the Halecomorphi from the same ecosystems in China. Results of a phylogenetic analysis recover Fuyuanichthys as a sister taxon to Kyphosichthys at the ginglymodian stem, and provide new insights into the early evolution of this clade

In silico identification of putative promoter motifs of White Spot Syndrome Virus

BACKGROUND: White Spot Syndrome Virus, a member of the virus family Nimaviridae, is a large dsDNA virus infecting shrimp and other crustacean species. Although limited information is available on the mode of transcription, previous data suggest that WSSV gene expression occurs in a coordinated and cascaded fashion. To search in silico for conserved promoter motifs (i) the abundance of all 4 through 8 nucleotide motifs in the upstream sequences of WSSV genes relative to the complete genome was determined, and (ii) a MEME search was performed in the upstream sequences of either early or late WSSV genes, as assigned by microarray analysis. Both methods were validated by alignments of empirically determined 5' ends of various WSSV mRNAs. RESULTS: The collective information shows that the upstream region of early WSSV genes, containing a TATA box and an initiator, is similar to Drosophila RNA polymerase II core promoter sequences, suggesting utilization of the cellular transcription machinery for generating early transcripts. The alignment of the 5' ends of known well-established late genes, including all major structural protein genes, identified a degenerate motif (ATNAC) which could be involved in WSSV late transcription. For these genes, only one contained a functional TATA box. However, almost half of the WSSV late genes, as previously assigned by microarray analysis, did contain a TATA box in their upstream region. CONCLUSION: The data may suggest the presence of two separate classes of late WSSV genes, one exploiting the cellular RNA polymerase II system for mRNA synthesis and the other generating messengers by a new virus-induced transcription mechanism

The B0→J/ψf0(1370,1500,1710)B^0 \to J/\psi f_0(1370,1500,1710) decays: an opportunity for scalar glueball hunting

The scalars $f_0$ closest to 1.5 GeV contain the mesons $f_0(1370)$, $f_0(1500)$ and $f_0(1710)$, and the latter two ones are usually viewed as the potential candidates for the scalar glueballs. In this work, by including the important contributions from the vertex corrections, we study the decays $B^0 \to J/\psi f_0$ within the improved perturbative QCD approach and analyze the possible scalar glueball hunting. Together with the two mixing models, namely, $f_0(1500) (f_0(1710))$ being the primary scalar glueball in model I (II), and two classification scenarios, namely, $f_0$ being the $q\bar q$ excited (ground) states in scenario 1 (2), the branching fractions associated with their ratios for $B^0 \to J/\psi f_0$ are evaluated comprehensively. The predictions with still large uncertainties in the considered two mixing models are roughly consistent with currently limited data, which indicates that both more rich data and more precise predictions are urgently demanded to figure out the scalar glueball clearly in the future. Moreover, several interesting ratios between the branching fractions of $B^0 \to J/\psi f_0(\to \pi^+ \pi^-/K^+ K^-)$ and $B^0 \to J/\psi \rho^0/\phi (\to \pi^+ \pi^-/ K^+ K^-)$ that could help us to understand the nature of scalar $f_0$ are defined and predicted theoretically. These ratios should be examined in future experiments.Comment: 28 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables; revised version according to referee's comments; contents improved and references adde

Deep learning based single image super-resolution : a survey

Single image super-resolution has attracted increasing attention and has a wide range of applications in satellite imaging, medical imaging, computer vision, security surveillance imaging, remote sensing, objection detection, and recognition. Recently, deep learning techniques have emerged and blossomed, producing “the state-of-the-art” in many domains. Due to their capability in feature extraction and mapping, it is very helpful to predict high-frequency details lost in low-resolution images. In this paper, we give an overview of recent advances in deep learning-based models and methods that have been applied to single image super-resolution tasks. We also summarize, compare and discuss various models from the past and present for comprehensive understanding and finally provide open problems and possible directions for future research

Chromosomal imbalances in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a meta-analysis of comparative genomic hybridization results

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a highly prevalent disease in Southeast Asia and its prevalence is clearly affected by genetic background. Various theories have been suggested for its high incidence in this geographical region but to these days no conclusive explanation has been identified. Chromosomal imbalances identifiable through comparative genomic hybridization may shed some light on common genetic alterations that may be of relevance to the onset and progression of NPC. Review of the literature, however, reveals contradictory results among reported findings possibly related to factors associated with patient selection, stage of disease, differences in methodological details etc. To increase the power of the analysis and attempt to identify commonalities among the reported findings, we performed a meta-analysis of results described in NPC tissues based on chromosomal comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). This meta-analysis revealed consistent patters in chromosomal abnormalities that appeared to cluster in specific "hot spots" along the genome following a stage-dependent progression

Systemic immune inflammation index is a valuable marker for predicting hemodialysis patients with depression: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveMaintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients suffer from enormous physical, mental stress and poor quality of life, so an increasing number of patients are in a long-term state of depression. A prominent feature of MHD patients is chronic persistent inflammation, which is also an important mechanism for the onset of depression. Therefore, finding economically convenient inflammatory markers to predict and diagnose the onset of depression in MHD patients is of great value. As a novel inflammatory marker, systemic immune inflammation index (SII) can more comprehensively reflect the inflammation and immunity level of patients. This study aims to explore the relationship between SII and depressive symptoms in MHD patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 206 MHD patients from three dialysis centers. Based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores, patients were divided into non-depression and depression groups. Inter group comparison and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to determine whether SII is an independent risk factor for depression in MHD patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of SII on depression symptoms in MHD patients.ResultsAccording to the HADS scale score, 38.83% of the included patients were in a state of depression. After adjusting for all confounding factors, MHD patients with SII>963.93 had a 4.709 times higher risk of depression than those with SII ≤ 478.32 (OR=4.709, 95% CI 1.821–12.178, P<0.01). ROC analysis showed that SII>685.11 was the best cutoff value for MHD depression patients, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.681.ConclusionsHigh SII is an independent risk factor for depressed MHD patients and an ideal inflammatory marker for predicting and identifying depression in MHD patients as assessed by the HADS scale