Showing papers by "Wuhan University published in 2005"
TL;DR: Depletion of VISA inhibits virus-triggered and RIG-I-mediated activation of IRF-3, NF-kappaB, and the IFN-beta promoter, suggesting that VISA plays a central role in virus- Triggered TLR3-independent IFn-beta signaling.
1,692 citations
TL;DR: The results from DSC and (13)C NMR indicated that LiOH/urea and NaOH/UREa aqueous solutions as non-derivatizing solvents broke the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding of cellulose and prevented the approach toward each other of the cellulose molecules, leading to the good dispersion of cellulOSE to form an actual solution.
Abstract: Rapid dissolution of cellulose in LiOH/urea and NaOH/urea aqueous solutions was studied systematically. The dissolution behavior and solubility of cellulose were evaluated by using (13)C NMR, optical microscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), FT-IR spectroscopy, DSC, and viscometry. The experiment results revealed that cellulose having viscosity-average molecular weight ((overline) M eta) of 11.4 x 104 and 37.2 x 104 could be dissolved, respectively, in 7% NaOH/12% urea and 4.2% LiOH/12% urea aqueous solutions pre-cooled to -10 degrees C within 2 min, whereas all of them could not be dissolved in KOH/urea aqueous solution. The dissolution power of the solvent systems was in the order of LiOH/urea > NaOH/urea >> KOH/urea aqueous solution. The results from DSC and (13)C NMR indicated that LiOH/urea and NaOH/urea aqueous solutions as non-derivatizing solvents broke the intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding of cellulose and prevented the approach toward each other of the cellulose molecules, leading to the good dispersion of cellulose to form an actual solution.
808 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents a comprehensive framework, the general image fusion (GIF) method, which makes it possible to categorize, compare, and evaluate the existing image fusion methods.
Abstract: There are many image fusion methods that can be used to produce high-resolution multispectral images from a high-resolution panchromatic image and low-resolution multispectral images Starting from the physical principle of image formation, this paper presents a comprehensive framework, the general image fusion (GIF) method, which makes it possible to categorize, compare, and evaluate the existing image fusion methods Using the GIF method, it is shown that the pixel values of the high-resolution multispectral images are determined by the corresponding pixel values of the low-resolution panchromatic image, the approximation of the high-resolution panchromatic image at the low-resolution level Many of the existing image fusion methods, including, but not limited to, intensity-hue-saturation, Brovey transform, principal component analysis, high-pass filtering, high-pass modulation, the a/spl grave/ trous algorithm-based wavelet transform, and multiresolution analysis-based intensity modulation (MRAIM), are evaluated and found to be particular cases of the GIF method The performance of each image fusion method is theoretically analyzed based on how the corresponding low-resolution panchromatic image is computed and how the modulation coefficients are set An experiment based on IKONOS images shows that there is consistency between the theoretical analysis and the experimental results and that the MRAIM method synthesizes the images closest to those the corresponding multisensors would observe at the high-resolution level
793 citations
TL;DR: Three essential oils from three samples: fresh, air-dried and processed flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum, obtained by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by GC-MS and showed that both essential oils possessed significant antimicrobial effect, however, some difference in antimicrobial activity between two oils was observed.
581 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a simple analytic model is presented to describe the low-frequency effective mass densities of three-component phononic crystals with local resonances, and it is shown that the effective mass density can turn negative close to the local resonance.
Abstract: A simple analytic model is presented to describe the low-frequency effective mass densities of three-component phononic crystals with local resonances. We show that the effective mass densities can turn negative close to the local resonances. Expressions for the effective mass densities are derived for both three-dimensional systems with coated spheres embedded in a host matrix, and two-dimensional systems with coated cylinders embedded in a host matrix.
438 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the interaction between colchicine and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, and the modified Stern-Volmer quenching constant K a and corresponding thermodynamic parameters Δ H, Δ G, Δ S at different temperatures were calculated.
438 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that Fenton's reagent can effectively degrade leachate organics andSludge settling characteristics were much improved with the addition of the proper polymer and temperature gave a positive effect on organic removal.
389 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of a number of heme proteins entrapped in agarose hydrogel films in the room-temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF(6)]) have been investigated.
Abstract: The electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of a number of heme proteins entrapped in agarose hydrogel films in the room-temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF(6)]) have been investigated. UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy show that the heme proteins retain their native structure in agarose film. The uniform distribution of hemoglobin in agarose-dimethylformamide film was demonstrated by atomic force microscopy. Cyclic voltammetry shows that direct electron transfer between the heme proteins and glassy carbon electrode is quasi-reversible in [bmim][PF(6)]. The redox potentials for hemoglobin, myoglobin, horseradish peroxidase, cytochrome c, and catalase were found to be more negative than those in aqueous solution. The charge-transfer coefficient and the apparent electron-transfer rate constant for these heme proteins in [bmim][PF(6)] were calculated from the peak-to-peak separation as a function of scan rate. The heme proteins catalyze the electroreduction of trichloroacetic acid and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in [bmim][PF(6)]. The kinetic parameter I(max) (maximum current at saturation concentration of substrate) and the apparent K(m) (Michaelis-Menten constant) for the electrocatalytic reactions were evaluated.
327 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a chitosan-Cu(II) metal complex with bivalent metal ions, including Cu(II), Zn(II, Fe(II)) and Zn (II), was obtained and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, AAS and elemental analysis.
Abstract: Chitosan (CS) metal complexes with bivalent metal ions, including Cu(II), Zn(II), Fe(II) were prepared, and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, AAS and elemental analysis. The crystalline and structural properties of chitosan-metal complexes were different from those of chitosan, and the -NH2, -OH groups in chitosan molecule were considered as the dominating reactive sites. In vitro antimicrobial activities of the obtained chitosan-metal complexes, which were found to be much better than free chitosan and metal salts, were examined against two gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus and S. epidermidis), two gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) and two fungi (C. albicans and C. parapsilosis). Results indicatd that the inhibitory effects of chitosan-metal complexes were dependent on the property of metal ions, the molecular weight and degree of deacetylation of chitosan and environmental pH values. Electro microscopy confirmed that the exposure of S. auresus to the chitosan-Cu(II) complex resulted in the disruption of cell envelop. Based on the discussion upon the antimicrobial mechanism of chitosan-metal complexes and their molecular structures, the structure-activity correlation for the antimicrobial activities was elucidated. All the results show that chitosan-metal complexes are a promising candidate for novel antimicrobial agents that can be used in cosmetic, food, textile et al.
289 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared powders was evaluated using the photocATalytic oxidation of formaldehyde at room temperature under visible light irradiation and it was found that post-treatment temperature obviously influenced the visible-light photocatalysis activity and physical properties of Bi{sub 2}WO{sub 6} powders.
279 citations
TL;DR: Assays in vivo and in vitro against the growth of Sarcoma 180 solid tumor as well as the colorimetric 3-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method for lentinan showed that the triple-helix sample exhibited a relatively high inhibition ratio.
TL;DR: For instance, this paper showed that stem cells are highly plastic and multipotent and could be reprogrammed into odontogenic fate and participated in tooth formation. But, the development of human tooth is largely dependent on sequential and reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.
Abstract: Mammalian tooth development is largely dependent on sequential and reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. These processes involve a series of inductive and permissive interactions that result in the determination, differentiation, and organization of odontogenic tissues. Multiple signaling molecules, including BMPs, FGFs, Shh, and Wnt proteins, have been implicated in mediating these tissue interactions. Transcription factors participate in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions via linking the signaling loops between tissue layers by responding to inductive signals and regulating the expression of other signaling molecules. Adult stem cells are highly plastic and multipotent. These cells including dental pulp stem cells and bone marrow stromal cells could be reprogrammed into odontogenic fate and participated in tooth formation. Recent progress in the studies of molecular basis of tooth development, adult stem cell biology, and regeneration will provide fundamental knowledge for the realization of human tooth regeneration in the near future.
TL;DR: Investigation at the molecular levels revealed that structural factors such as larger surface area of the beads resulted from microporous-network structure, low crystallinity of cellulose/chitin beads and high hydrophilicity induced by hydrophilic skeleton of cellulOSE played an important role in increasing adsorption ability.
TL;DR: In this paper, the thermal degradation of chitin and chitosan was studied by using simultaneous TG and DSC in nitrogen atmosphere and the model-free iso-conversional method was employed to evaluate the activation energies as a function of the extent of degradation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the interaction between 1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil (Carmofur) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied by spectroscopic methods including fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) and UV-Visible absorption spectrum.
TL;DR: It was proved that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by CS is a result of the formation of a CS-HSA complex and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy data and UV-vis absorbance spectra have suggested that the association between CS and HSA changed the molecular conformation of H SA and the electrostatic interactions play a major role in CS-hSA association.
TL;DR: Evidence for derivation of the sgRNA core sequence from the body core sequence favor the model of discontinuous transcription during minus-strand synthesis, and one rare species of sg RNA has the junction sequence AAA, indicating that its transcription could result from a noncanonical transcription signal.
Abstract: The expression of the genomic information of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS CoV) involves synthesis of a nested set of subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) by discontinuous transcription. In SARS CoV-infected cells, 10 sgRNAs, including 2 novel ones, were identified, which were predicted to be functional in the expression of 12 open reading frames located in the 3' one-third of the genome. Surprisingly, one new sgRNA could lead to production of a truncated spike protein. Sequence analysis of the leader-body fusion sites of each sgRNA showed that the junction sequences and the corresponding transcription-regulatory sequence (TRS) are unique for each species of sgRNA and are consistent after virus passages. For the two novel sgRNAs, each used a variant of the TRS that has one nucleotide mismatch in the conserved hexanucleotide core (ACGAAC) in the TRS. Coexistence of both plus and minus strands of SARS CoV sgRNAs and evidence for derivation of the sgRNA core sequence from the body core sequence favor the model of discontinuous transcription during minus-strand synthesis. Moreover, one rare species of sgRNA has the junction sequence AAA, indicating that its transcription could result from a noncanonical transcription signal. Taken together, these results provide more insight into the molecular mechanisms of genome expression and subgenomic transcription of SARS CoV.
TL;DR: In this article, a systematic design procedure to anti-synchronize Chua's chaotic system based on back-stepping procedure is presented, which needs only a single controller to realize anti-sync.
TL;DR: Patients with OLP in China usually present with distinctive clinical morphology and characteristic distribution and few may display lesions with a confusing array of forms mimicking other diseases, and a long time follow up is of utmost importance to detect its malignant transformation.
Abstract: Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease with different clinical presentations that can be classified as reticular, atrophic or erosive. Although OLP is a relatively common disorder, the reports comprising large numbers of OLP patients with specific character are lacking in the literature. The purpose of this paper was to describe the clinical characteristics of OLP in 674 Chinese patients.
Methods: A total of 674 charts of patients with histologically confirmed OLP were collected from Stomatological Hospital of Wuhan University between 1963 and 2003.
Results: Of the 674 patients, 65.9% were women and 34.1% were men. The most common clinical presentation was the reticular type (51.3%), and symptomatic OLP was noted in 67.5% of the patients, mainly in those with the erosive form. The erosive presentations showed significantly longer duration, more sites affected and a much greater old patients predominance than reticular or atrophic ones. About 90.9% of the patients had multiple oral sites of involvement and isolated lower lip lichen planus were observed in 60 cases (8.9%) and isolated gingiva lichen in only one case (0.2%). Skin involvement of lichen planus was found in 11.4% of patients. No statistically significant differences could be identified between OLP and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, smoking or alcohol use. Precipitating factors that resulted in an exacerbation of the disease were frequently noted and included foods, stress, dental cusp and poor oral hygiene. The transformation of OLP into malignancy was observed in four patients at sites previously diagnosed by clinical examination as erosive or atrophic lichen planus.
Conclusions: Patients with OLP in China usually present with distinctive clinical morphology and characteristic distribution and few may display lesions with a confusing array of forms mimicking other diseases. A long time follow up is of utmost importance to detect its malignant transformation.
25 Jul 2005
TL;DR: The combination of NDBaI and NDSI was proved to be efficient to improve accuracy of classification and applied to map bare lands in Yellow River delta, China, showing an accuracy of 92.08%, which indicated that the combined method is efficient in automatically mapping bare lands reliably.
Abstract: Remotely sensed imagery is ideally used to monitor and detect land cover changes. Distribution and change of bare land play an important role in the ecosystem, which usually implies physiographical and anthropogenic impacts on ecologic environment. In this paper, Landsat ETM+ images were used and a new index: Normalized Difference Bareness Index, NDBaI = [ d (band 5) – d (band 6) ] / [ d(band 5) + d (band6) ], where d is digital number value (DN) of corresponding bands, band6 represents DN of ETM+/band61 or TM/band6, was proposed to extract bare areas automatically, and then the bare lands could be subdivided into primary bare land, secondary bare land and cultivated land. The thermal infrared (TIR) band 6 was firstly rectified to fit Landsat reflective spectral bands in spatial resolution. The combination of NDBaI and NDSI was proved to be efficient to improve accuracy of classification. It was applied to map bare lands in Yellow River delta, China. The result showed an accuracy of 92.08%, which indicated that the combined method is efficient in automatically mapping bare lands reliably. Key wordsNormalized difference bareness index, TIR, Yellow River Delta, digital number value
TL;DR: In this paper, a poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PEO/PVDF)/TiO2-nanoparticle polymer redox electrolyte, which yields an overall energy-conversion efficiency of about 4.8% under irradiation by white light (65.2
Abstract: High-efficiency all-solid-state dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells have been fabricated using a poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PEO/PVDF)/TiO2-nanoparticle polymer redox electrolyte, which yields an overall energy-conversion efficiency of about 4.8 % under irradiation by white light (65.2 mW cm–2). The introduction of PVDF (which contains the highly electronegative element fluorine) and TiO2 nanoparticles into the PEO electrolyte increases the ionic conductivity (by about two orders of magnitude) and effectively reduces the recombination rate at the interface of the TiO2 and the solid-state electrolyte, thus enhancing the performance of the solar cell.
TL;DR: In this article, a panel dataset for 30 provinces in China is used to examine the relationship between decentralization and economic growth over two phases of fiscal decentralization in China: (1) 1979-1993 under the fiscal contract system, and (2) 1994-1999 under the tax assignment system.
TL;DR: The results indicate that the strong interactions between fillers and between the filler and PS matrix play a key role in reinforcing the resulting composites and leading to an improvement in water resistance for the resulting biocomposites.
Abstract: Environmentally friendly starch biocomposites were successfully developed using a colloidal suspension of cottonseed linter cellulose crystallite as a filler to reinforce glycerol plasticized starch (PS). The cellulose crystallites, having lengths of 350 +/- 70 nm and diameters of 40 +/- 8 nm on average, were prepared from cottonseed linters by acid hydrolysis. The dependence of morphology and properties of the PS-based biocomposites on cellulose crystallites content in the range from 0 to 30 wt.-% was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning thermal analysis, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and measurements of mechanical properties and water absorption. The results indicate that the strong interactions between fillers and between the filler and PS matrix play a key role in reinforcing the resulting composites. The PS/cellulose crystallite composites, conditioned at 50% relative humidity, undergo an increase in both tensile strength and Young's modulus from 2.5 MPa for PS film to 7.8 MPa and from 36 MPa for PS film to 301 MPa. Further, incorporating cottonseed linter cellulose crystallites into PS matrix leads to an improvement in water resistance for the resulting biocomposites. The mechanical behaviors of the starch-based biocomposites as a function of cellulose crystallites content.
TL;DR: In this article, a flow injection (FI) on-line preconcentration procedure by using a nanometer-sized alumina packed micro-column coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was described for simultaneous determination of trace metals (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in the environmental samples.
TL;DR: Fatigue seems to be an important reason for the separation of rotary instruments during clinical use and examination of the fracture surface at high magnification is essential to reveal features that may indicate the possible origin of cracks and the mode of material failure.
Abstract: Aim To investigate the mode of failure of a brand of nickel-titanium instruments separated during clinical use, by detailed examination of the fracture surface.
Methodology A total of 122 ProTaper S1 instruments were discarded from an endodontic clinic at a stomatological school in China over a period of 17 months; 28 had fractured. These fractured instruments were ultrasonically cleaned, autoclaved and then examined under a scanning electron microscope. From the lateral view the fracture was classified into ‘torsional’ or ‘flexural’. The specimens were then re-mounted and the presence of characteristics of shear failure and fatigue striations was recorded under high-power view of the fracture surface. The difference in the mean lengths of fractured segment between the shear and fatigue groups was compared using Student's t-test.
Results Twenty-seven separated instruments were available for analysis. Under low-power magnification, only two fell into the category of ‘torsional’ failure when examined laterally; the others appeared to be ‘flexural’. Close examination of the fracture surface revealed the presence of fatigue striations in 18 specimens. Nine instruments (including the two putative ‘torsional’ failures above) fell into the shear fracture group, in which fatigue striations were absent or characteristics of shear failure of the material were found. The mean length of fractured segments resulting from fatigue failure (4.3 ± 1.9 mm) was significantly greater than that for shear failure (2.5 ± 0.8 mm) (P < 0.001, two-sample t-test).
Conclusions Examination of the fracture surface at high magnification is essential to reveal features that may indicate the possible origin of cracks and the mode of material failure. Macroscopic or lateral examination of separated instruments would fail to reveal the true mechanism of failure. Fatigue seems to be an important reason for the separation of rotary instruments during clinical use.
TL;DR: Three isoforms of the zebrafish Dmrt1 were generated in gonads by multiple alternative splicing, which encoded predicted proteins with 267, 246, and 132 amino acids, respectively, suggesting that the DmRT1 gene is not only associated with testis development, but also, may be important in ovary differentiation of zebra fish.
TL;DR: In vitro release behavior of DMEP from polymeric nanoparticles was investigated, the results showed that the drug release rate can be modulated by the variation of the copolymer composition.
TL;DR: A novel algorithm is presented that can successfully detect dim moving point target and accurately estimate its trajectory in IR image sequence with low SNR and is adaptable to real-time target detection and tracking.
TL;DR: It can be concluded that intrusion of teeth causes about four times more root resorption than extrusion in the same individual after application of continuous intrusive and extrusive forces.
Abstract: The aim of this investigation was to compare root resorption in the same individual after application of continuous intrusive and extrusive forces. In nine patients (mean age 15.3 years), the maxillary first premolars were randomly intruded or extruded with a continuous force of 100 cN for eight weeks. Eleven maxillary first premolars from six randomly selected orthodontic patients served as controls. Root resorption was determined using scanning electron microscopy. Quantitative assessment of the percentage of resorbed area of the total root surface was performed on composite micrographs. The severity of root resorption was also assessed by visual scoring of the roots. Root resorption mainly occurred at the apical part of the roots in both experimental groups. A significant difference in root resorption was found between the intruded and the control teeth (P = .006) but not between the extruded and the control teeth. However, the mesial and distal root surfaces showed resorption on 5.78 +/- 3.86% of the root surface of the intruded teeth and 1.28 +/- 1.24% of the root surface of the extruded teeth, and this difference was significant (P = .004). In addition, a large individual variation was found. From this study, it can be concluded that intrusion of teeth causes about four times more root resorption than extrusion. Because the amount of root resorption due to intrusion or extrusion in the same patient is correlated, every clinician should be aware that the extrusion of teeth might also cause root resorption in susceptible patients.