Fluctuation-Facilitated Charge Migration along DNA

We propose a model Hamiltonian for charge transfer along the DNA double helix with temperature driven fluctuations in the base pair positions acting as the rate limiting factor for charge transfer between neighboring base pairs. We compare the predictions of the model with the recent work of J.K. Barton and A.H. Zewail (Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA, {\bf 96}, 6014 (1999)) on the unusual two-stage charge transfer of DNA.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

A review of physical supply and EROI of fossil fuels in China

This paper reviews China’s future fossil fuel supply from the perspectives of physical output and net energy output. Comprehensive analyses of physical output of fossil fuels suggest that China’s total oil production will likely reach its peak, at about 230 Mt/year (or 9.6 EJ/year), in 2018; its total gas production will peak at around 350 Bcm/year (or 13.6 EJ/year) in 2040, while coal production will peak at about 4400 Mt/year (or 91.9 EJ/year) around 2020 or so. In terms of the forecast production of these fuels, there are significant differences among current studies. These differences can be mainly explained by different ultimately recoverable resources assumptions, the nature of the models used, and differences in the historical production data. Due to the future constraints on fossil fuels production, a large gap is projected to grow between domestic supply and demand, which will need to be met by increasing imports. Net energy analyses show that both coal and oil and gas production show a steady declining trend of EROI (energy return on investment) due to the depletion of shallow-buried coal resources and conventional oil and gas resources, which is generally consistent with the approaching peaks of physical production of fossil fuels. The peaks of fossil fuels production, coupled with the decline in EROI ratios, are likely to challenge the sustainable development of Chinese society unless new abundant energy resources with high EROI values can be found

El reporte de sostenibilidad como herramienta de gestión de G.I. Industrias Perú S.A.C.

GI Industria Perú S.A.C. (GI) es parte del grupo Grand Invest, su rubro es el suministro de productos químicos para el tratamiento de aguas residuales generadas por la actividad industrial. Desde su creación en el 2010, la principal industria donde se ha desarrollado es la pesquera destinada al consumo humano indirecto (CHI), ha sabido fortalecer el vínculo comercial con las principales empresas de este sector. Su principal interés es la satisfacción de sus clientes y ser un aliado estratégico para ellos, por lo que cuenta con la certificación ISO 9001, y a solicitud de un cliente iniciaron la emisión de un primer reporte bajo los estándares del Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Como resultado de este estudio, se ha identificado que la empresa cuenta con habilidades para generar mayor ventaja competitiva y oportunidades de mejora, sin embargo, no cuenta con una estrategia formal, es decir no tiene un plan estratégico que marque un horizonte a largo plazo y que además les permita ser sostenibles. Si bien es cierto se ha mantenido buenos resultados con una gestión de enfoque en el día a día, no están considerando los beneficios que podrían obtener con una planificación adecuada, más aún cuando uno de los intereses de la gerencia es crecer en otros sectores. Como propuesta de solución se plantea la implementación de una gestión estratégica, dentro de la cual las estrategias planteadas deben asegurar un desarrollo sostenible y crecimiento constante que genere un valor compartido con sus diferentes grupos de interés. Para ello, es importante utilizar el reporte GRI como una herramienta de gestión que mediante sus indicadores les permita evaluar su desempeño, contribuir a la sostenibilidad y a la vez compartir la información con la sociedad en general.GI Industria Perú S.A.C. (GI) is part of Grand Invest group, it's main business is chemical products supply for sewage treatment generated by the industrial activity. Since its creation in 2010, the main industry where it has developed is fishing destined to indirect human consumption, strengthening the commercial bond with the main companies in this sector, where it has always been their main interest the customer satisfaction and being an strategic ally for them, that's why they count with the ISO 9001 certification, besides that had started with the emission of a first report under the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. As result of this study, it has been identified that the company counts with skills to create more competitive advantage and improvement opportunities, however, it doesn't count with a formal strategy, which means it doesn't have a strategic plan that marks a long term horizon to be guided to and that lets them be sustainable. On the other hand, it is true that the company has had good results due to a short term management, the long term benefits that could be obtained with a proper planning are not being considered, even so when one of the management interests is to grow in other sectors. As a proposal of solution, the implementation of the strategic management is recommended, which will allow that all the workers could align their efforts towards the fulfillment of the established goals. Also, the planned strategies must ensure a sustainable development and constant growth that generates a shared value with their stakeholders. That's why it is important to use the GRI report as a management tool that could allow through its KPIs, the evaluation of the performance and at the same time, share the information along the whole society

Observation of a ppb mass threshoud enhancement in \psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p}) decay

The decay channel $\psi^\prime\to\pi^+\pi^-J/\psi(J/\psi\to\gamma p\bar{p})$ is studied using a sample of $1.06\times 10^8$ $\psi^\prime$ events collected by the BESIII experiment at BEPCII. A strong enhancement at threshold is observed in the $p\bar{p}$ invariant mass spectrum. The enhancement can be fit with an $S$-wave Breit-Wigner resonance function with a resulting peak mass of $M=1861^{+6}_{-13} {\rm (stat)}^{+7}_{-26} {\rm (syst)} {\rm MeV/}c^2$ and a narrow width that is $\Gamma<38 {\rm MeV/}c^2$ at the 90% confidence level. These results are consistent with published BESII results. These mass and width values do not match with those of any known meson resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Chinese Physics

Constitutive activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β correlates with better prognosis and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in human gastric cancer

Background: Aberrant regulation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3 beta) has been implicated in several human cancers; however, it has not been reported in the gastric cancer tissues to date. The present study was performed to determine the expression status of active form of GSK-3 beta phosphorylated at Tyr(216) (pGSK-3 beta) and its relationship with other tumor-associated proteins in human gastric cancers. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue array slides containing 281 human gastric carcinoma specimens. In addition, gastric cancer cells were cultured and treated with a GSK-3 beta inhibitor lithium chloride (LiCl) for immunoblot analysis. Results: We found that pGSK-3 beta was expressed in 129 (46%) of 281 cases examined, and was higher in the early-stages of pathologic tumor-node-metastasis (P < 0.001). The expression of pGSK-3 beta inversely correlated with lymphatic invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001) and correlated with a longer patient survival (P < 0.001). In addition, pGSK-3 beta expression positively correlated with that of p16, p21, p27, p53, APC, PTEN, MGMT, SMAD4, or KAl1 (P < 0.05), but not with that of cyclin D1. This was confirmed by immunoblot analysis using SNU-668 gastric cancer cells treated with LiCl. Conclusions: GSK-3 beta activation was frequently observed in early-stage gastric carcinoma and was significantly correlated with better prognosis. Thus, these findings suggest that GSK-3 beta activation is a useful prognostic marker for the early-stage gastric cancer.Hirakawa H, 2009, ONCOL REP, V22, P481, DOI 10.3892/or_00000460Dar AA, 2009, ONCOGENE, V28, P866, DOI 10.1038/onc.2008.434Holmes T, 2008, STEM CELLS, V26, P1288, DOI 10.1634/stemcells.2007-0600Wang Q, 2008, CELL DEATH DIFFER, V15, P908, DOI 10.1038/cdd.2008.2Takahashi-Yanaga F, 2008, CELL SIGNAL, V20, P581, DOI 10.1016/j.cellsig.2007.10.018Pan MH, 2007, J AGR FOOD CHEM, V55, P7777, DOI 10.1021/jf071520hShakoori A, 2007, CANCER SCI, V98, P1388, DOI 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2007.00545.xZheng HC, 2007, ANTICANCER RES, V27, P3561Saegusa M, 2007, J PATHOL, V213, P35, DOI 10.1002/path.2198Ma C, 2007, CANCER RES, V67, P7756, DOI 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-4665Forde JE, 2007, CELL MOL LIFE SCI, V64, P1930, DOI 10.1007/s00018-007-7045-7Li YW, 2007, J BIOL CHEM, V282, P21542, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M701978200Ding QQ, 2007, CANCER RES, V67, P4564, DOI 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-06-1788Kunnimalaiyaan M, 2007, MOL CANCER THER, V6, P1151, DOI 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-06-0665Soto-Cerrato V, 2007, MOL CANCER THER, V6, P362, DOI 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-06-0266Cao Q, 2006, CELL RES, V16, P671, DOI 10.1038/sj.cr.7310078Yang CH, 2006, PRECIS AGRIC, V7, P33, DOI 10.1007/s11119-005-6788-0Crew KD, 2006, WORLD J GASTROENTERO, V12, P354Mai W, 2007, ONCOLOGY-BASEL, V71, P297, DOI 10.1159/000106429Tan J, 2005, CANCER RES, V65, P9012, DOI 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-1226Shakoori A, 2005, BIOCHEM BIOPH RES CO, V334, P1365, DOI 10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.07.041Farago M, 2005, CANCER RES, V65, P5792Ghosh JC, 2005, CLIN CANCER RES, V11, P4580Liao XB, 2003, MOL CANCER THER, V2, P1215Lee HS, 2003, J PATHOL, V200, P39, DOI 10.1002/path.1288Doble BW, 2003, J CELL SCI, V116, P1175, DOI 10.1242/jcs.00384Gotoh J, 2003, CARCINOGENESIS, V24, P435Goto H, 2002, ORAL ONCOL, V38, P549Lee HS, 2001, INT J CANCER, V91, P619D`Amico M, 2000, J BIOL CHEM, V275, P32649, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M000643200Endoh Y, 2000, J PATHOL, V191, P257Wu LY, 1998, J NATL MED ASSOC, V90, P410WOODGETT JR, 1984, BIOCHIM BIOPHYS ACTA, V788, P339

Identifying Live Bird Markets with the Potential to Act as Reservoirs of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus: A Survey in Northern Viet Nam and Cambodia

Wet markets are common in many parts of the world and may promote the emergence, spread and maintenance of livestock pathogens, including zoonoses. A survey was conducted in order to assess the potential of Vietnamese and Cambodian live bird markets (LBMs) to sustain circulation of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1 (HPAIV H5N1). Thirty Vietnamese and 8 Cambodian LBMs were visited, and structured interviews were conducted with the market managers and 561 Vietnamese and 84 Cambodian traders. Multivariate and cluster analysis were used to construct a typology of traders based on their poultry management practices. As a result of those practices and large poultry surplus (unsold poultry reoffered for sale the following day), some poultry traders were shown to promote conditions favorable for perpetuating HPAIV H5N1 in LBMs. More than 80% of these traders operated in LBMs located in the most densely populated areas, Ha Noi and Phnom Penh. The profiles of sellers operating at a given LBM could be reliably predicted using basic information about the location and type of market. Consequently, LBMs with the largest combination of risk factors for becoming virus reservoirs could be easily identified, potentially allowing control strategies to be appropriately targeted. These findings are of particular relevance to resource-scarce settings with extensively developed LBM systems, commonly found in South-East Asia

Hepatotoxicity or Hepatoprotection? Pattern Recognition for the Paradoxical Effect of the Chinese Herb Rheum palmatum L. in Treating Rat Liver Injury

The hepatotoxicity of some Chinese herbs has been a cause for concern in recent years. However, some herbs, such as rhubarb, have been documented as having both therapeutic and toxic effects on the liver, leading to the complex problem of distinguishing the benefits from the risks of using this herb. To comparatively analyze the dose-response relationship between rhubarb and hepatic health, we administrated total rhubarb extract(RE) to normal and carbon tetrachloride(CCl4)-treated rats for 12 weeks at 4 dosage levels(2.00, 5.40, 14.69 and 40.00 g·kg−1, measured as the quantity of crude material), followed by biochemical and histopathological tests of the rats' livers. A composite pattern was extracted by factor analysis, using all the biochemical indices as variables, into a visual representation of two mathematically obtained factors, which could be interpreted as the fibrosis factor and the cellular injury factor, according to the values of the variable loadings. The curative effect of administering the two lowest dosages of RE to CCl4-treated rats was mainly expressed as a decrease in the extent of cellular injury. The hepatoprotective mechanism of RE might be related to its antioxidant effect, the antagonism of the free radical damage to hepatocytes caused by CCl4. By contrast, the RE-induced liver damage was mainly expressed as a significant increase in the amount of fibrosis in both normal rats at all dosage levels and CCl4-treated rats at the two highest dosage levels. Therefore, the hepatotoxic potential of RE could be attributable to the liver cell fibrosis induced by high doses of the herb. This study illustrates the bidirectional potential of rhubarb and demonstrates the feasibility of using factor analysis to study the dose-response relationships between herbal medicines and hepatotoxicity or the healing effects of these herbs by extracting the underlying interrelationships among a number of functional bio-indices in a holistic manner