Effects of ambient air pollution on allergic rhinitis among preschool children in Changsha, China

Prevalence of allergic rhinitis has rapidly increased among Chinese children,but the reasons are unclear.Recent findings have suggested that exposure to outdoor air pollutants may increase the risk of allergic rhinitis,but the results were inconsistent.This study further investigated the effect of outdoor air pollutants on allergic rhinitis among preschool children.A standardized questionnaire on health,home and environmental factors was conducted for 4988 children aged 1–8 in the city of Changsha,and the concentrations of PM10(particle diameter 10 m),sulfur dioxide(SO2)and nitrogen dioxide(NO2)during 2006–2011 were acquired from the official web of Changsha Environmental Protection Agency.Results showed that the prevalence of children’s doctor diagnosed rhinitis was 8.4%(95%confidence interval[CI]7.0%–10.0%).It was found that the prevalence of rhinitis was not associated with site-specific background concentrations of air pollutants,but significantly positively correlated with age-related accumulative personal exposure of PM10,SO2and NO2.We conclude that age-related accumulative personal exposure to ambient air pollution may play an important role in the development of rhinitis.     

Dampness in dwellings and its associations with asthma and allergies among children in Chongqing: A cross-sectional study

The city of Chongqing has high outdoor temperatures and humidity throughout the year and consequently a high risk of dampness and mold problems in dwellings.As part of the China,Children,Homes,Health(CCHH),associations between home characteristics and children’s asthma,allergies,and related symptoms were investigated in Chongqing,China.A cross-sectional questionnaire survey on home characteristics including dampness and symptoms of asthma and allergies in 5299 children was performed.Data for 4754 children(3–6 years)and their homes were analyzed.Results showed that 35.1%of homes were reported to have"damp bedding",14.3%"condensation on window panes(higher than 5 cm)",11.6%"mouldy odor",9.3%"water leakage",8.3%"damp stains"and 5.3%"visible mould".Wheezing and rhinitis ever were reported for 27.0%and 51.1%children respectively,and rhinitis,wheezing,cough at night and eczema in the last 12 months were reported for 38.1%,20.5%,18.9%and 13.2%respectively.Doctor-diagnosed asthma was reported for 8.3%of children,and doctor-diagnosed rhinitis for 6.2%.Dampness in homes was generally strongly associated with asthma and allergies among Chongqing children.The strongest association was found between"visible mould"and doctor-diagnosed rhinitis,and the adjusted Odds Ratio(ORA)was 2.27(95%CI:1.48,3.49)."Damp bedding"was significantly associated with all asthma and allergic symptoms,but doctor-diagnosed asthma and rhinitis.The behavior of"putting bedding to sunshine"could effectively reduce the prevalence of asthma and allergic symptoms,and the risk of bedding affected with damp was reduced significantly when bedding was put to sunshine frequently.     

Effect of simvastatin on the atherosclerotic plaque stability and the angiogenesis in the atherosclerotic plaque of rabbits

In this study, the effect of simvastatin on the atherosclerotic plaque stability and the angiogenesis in the atherosclerotic plaque of rabbits was observed. Thirty New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into the normal control group, the model control group and the simvastatin group, 10 in each group. Rabbits in the normal control group were fed with normal forage, while rabbits in the rest two groups were fed with high fat forage. The balloon injury was performed two weeks later to establish an abdominal aortic atherosclerosis model, and then high fat forage was successively fed to them. Meanwhile, simvastatin at the daily dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight was administered to rabbits in the simvastatin group. After 6 weeks of successive administration, levels of blood lipids were measured after blood sampling, and the serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein （hsCRP） and matrix metalloproteinase-3,-9 （MMP-3,-9） were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The macroscopically pathological indices of the plaque tissue were observed using hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining of abdominal aorta specimens under a light microscope, and the plaque area （PA）, cross-sectional vascular area （CVA） and correcting plaque area （PA/CVA） were determined quantitatively using imaging software. The protein expressions of the vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）, factor VIII related antigen （FVIIIRAg）, MMP-3 and cluster of differentiation antigen 40 ligand （CD40L） in the plaque were detected with the immunohistochemical method. Compared with the model control group, the levels of VEGF, FVIIIRAg, MMP-3, CD40L protein expression and the serum expression levels of hsCRP, MMP-3, MMP-9 in the simvastatin group were significantly reduced （P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. The ratio PA/CVA in the simvastatin group was more significantly reduced when compared with that in the model control group （P〈0.01）. The levels of serum total cholesterol （TC）, triglyceride （TG） and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL） were significantly reduced in the simvastatin group when compared with those in the model control group （P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. Simvastatin plays a certain role in stabilizing the atherosclerotic plaque, and inhibiting the angiogenesis in the atherosclerotic plaque may be one of possible mechanisms.     

Differential generation of hydrogen peroxide upon exposure to zinc and cadmium in the hyperaccumulating plant specie （Sedum alfredii Hance）

Sedum alfredii Hance has been identified as zinc （Zn） and cadmium （Cd） co-hyperaccumulator. In this paper the relationships of Zn or Cd hyperaccumulation to the generation and the role of H2O2 in Sedum alfredii H. were examined. The results show that Zn and Cd contents in the shoots of Sedum alfredii H. treated with 1000 μmol/L Zn^2＋ and/or 200 μmol/L Cd^2＋ increased linearly within 15 d. Contents of total S, glutathione （GSH） and H2O2 in shoots also increased within 15 d, and then decreased. Total S and GSH contents in shoots were higher under Cd^2＋ treatment than under Zn^2＋ treatment. However, reverse trends of H2O2 content in shoots were obtained, in which much higher H2O2 content was observed in Zn^2＋ -treated shoots than in Cd^2＋-treated shoots. Similarly, the microscopic imaging of H2O2 accumulation in leaves using H2O2 probe technique showed that much higher H2O2 accumulation was observed in the Zn^2＋-treated leaf than in the Cd^2＋ -treated one. These results suggest that there are different responses in the generation of H2O2 upon exposure to Zn^2＋ and Cd^2＋ for the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii H. And this is the first report that the generation of H2O2 may play an important role in Zn hyperaccumulation in the leaves. Our results also imply that GSH may play an important role in the detoxification of dissociated Zn/Cd and the generation of H2O2.     

Effect of monoclonal antibody to bull sperm sp18 on murine fertilization and embryos development

Western blot analysis revealed that one IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) to sp18 family membrane proteins (Mr. 14, 16 and 18 ku) of bovine sperm reacted faintly with protein bands of 14, 18, 22, 30 and 60 ku (reducing) in samples of mouse sperm. The mAb also reacted to protein of egg lysozyme. Using a laser confocal microscope, indirect immunofluorescence (IIP) showed that the sp18 antigens were present in the posterior head of murine sperm. In murine in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo development trails, a total of 426 oocytes from C57BL/6 and F1 hybrid strain (CD1 × C57BL/6 cross) of 12 female mice were used in 3 independent trails. After preincubating capacitated sperm with 182 μg/mL of sp18 mAb in the modified TYH IVF medium for 15-20 min, cumulus-oocyte-complexes were introduced. The fertilization rate in sp18 mAb groups was 77.1 %, which was not significantly (P > 0.05) different from the nonspecific mouse IgG (79.2%) and non-IgG (80.3 %) control groups. Fertilized oocytes had been continuously cultured in modifed CZB medium. 100%, 100% and 97.9% of 1-cell embryos developed to 2-cell stage in sp18 mAb, nonspecific mouse IgG and non-IgG group 30 h after the start of fertilization, respectively. In the nonspecific mouse IgG and non-IgG groups, 64.1 % and 64.3% of embryos developed to the 4-cell stage, respectively, but all developing eggs in sp18 mAb groups arrested development in vitro at 2-cell stage. After zonae of 2-cell blocked embryos were enzy-matically removed with 0.5% pronase, detection of sp18 antigens by IIF indicated that the fluorescence scattered on two embryonic cells. For embryos fertilized in vivo and co-cultured with 182 μg/mL sp18 mAb, the numbers of 1-cell embryos reaching the 2-cell and 4-cell stage were 95. 2% and 70. 5%, which were not significantly (P>0.05) different from the control group (92.9% and 77.9%). These results indicate that the sp18 antigens on posterior head of mouse sperm were incorporated into the egg plasma membrane during fertilization, and played an active role in development of murine preimplanta-tion embryo.     

Interfamily pregnancy and expression of CD57, CD68 in deciduas between golden hamster and mouse

Pregnancy between different species is one of the key steps to interspecific somatic cell cloning. Although interspecific clone embryos have been constructed, they could not develop to birth after being transferred to recipi-ents. In order to clarify the mechanism of this phenomenon, interfamily pregnancy between golden hamste (Mesocricetus auratus) and mouse (Mus musculus) was studied. Co-culture results indicated that the adhesion ratios of golden hamster blastocysts on mouse uterine epithelia monolayer 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after co-culture were all significantly lower than those of mouse blastocysts. The outgrowth ratios of golden hamster blastocysts on mouse uterine epithelia monolayer 48, 72 h after co-culture were both significantly lower than those of mouse blastocysts (P < 0.01). Golden hamster抯 blastula could be implanted and develop to D 11 of pregnancy after being transferred to mouse uterus (the 7th day after embryo transfer). Compared to the transfer of mouse embryo to mouse uterus, the successful ratio of interfamily embryo transfer was lower and the bulk of fetus was smaller than that of intraspecific fetus. Compared to intraspecific preg-nancy of mouse, the remote decidual tissue of interfamily pregnancy on D8 is looser. At the same time, expressions of CD57 and CD 68 in remote deciduas were both higher than those in the secondary deciduas in both intraspecific and interfamily pregnancy. However, expressions of the two molecules in interfamily pregnancy were lower than those in intraspecific pregnancy. These results showed that interfam-ily pregnancy could be established between golden hamster and mouse. But the development of fetus in interfamily pregnancy was slower than that in intraspecific pregnancy. The expression difference of CD57 and CD68 indicates the difference of immunoreaction between interfamily and in-traspecific pregnancy, which may be one of the reasons lead-ing to interfamily pregnancy termination.     

Effects of niacin on nitric oxide synthase expression in rat lungs exposed to silica

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of niacin in diet on the expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in rat lungs of the animal model of silicosis established by direct tracheal instillation of silica particles into rat lungs surgically. The niacin concentration in serum was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein in paraffin-embedded lung sections was determined by streptavidin/peroxidase (SP) staining. Quantitative analysis by Image-Pro Plus was also performed on the expression of iNOS. The results showed that niacin concentration in serum of the niacin-treated rats was significantly higher than that in the control and silica-treated rats. After 7 days of silica instillation, iNOS integrated optical density (IOD) in rat lungs and total NOS and iNOS activities in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in silica-treated rats rose by 273420.75, 2.61 units/mL and 1.89 units/mL respectively, when compared with those in the control rats. Niacin treatment significantly reduced silica-induced iNOS IOD in rat lung tissues and total NOS and iNOS activities in BALF supernatant by 248292.35, 1.50 units/mL and 0.91 units/mL, respectively, as compared with those in silica-treated rats. Therefore, niacin can effectively attenuate the pathological expression of NOS in rat lung tissues induced by silica particles.     

Ex vivo expansions and transplantations of mouse bone marrow－derived hematopoietic stem／progenitor cells

To examine the effects of co-culture with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on expansion of hematopoietic tem/progenitor cells and the capacities of rapid neutrophil engraftment and hematopoietic reconstitution of the expanded ells, we expanded mononuclear cells (MNCs) and CD34^ /c-kit^ cells from mouse bone marrow and transplanted the expanded cells into the irradiated mice. MNCs were isolated from mouse bone marrow and CD34^ /c-kit^ cells were selected from MNCs by using MoFlo Cell Sorter. MNCs and CD34^ /c-kit^ cells were co-cultured with mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) under a two-step expansion. The expanded cells were then transplanted into sublethally irradiated BDF 1 mice. Results showed that the co-culture with MSCs resulted in expansions of median total nucleated cells, CD34^ cells, GM-CFC and HPP-CFC respectively by 10.8-, 4.8-, 65.9- and 38.8-fold for the mononuclear cell culture, and respectively by 76.1-, 2.9-, 71.7- and 51.8-fold for the CD34^ /c-kit^ cell culture. The expanded cells could rapidly engraft in the sublethally irradiated mice and reconstitute their hematopoiesis. Co-cultures with MSCs in conjunction with two-step expansion increased expansions of total nucleated cells, GM-CFC and HPP-CFC, which led us to conclude MSCs may create favorable environment for expansions of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. The availability of increased numbers of expanded ceils by the co-culture with MSCs may result in more rapid engraftment ofneutrophils following infusion to transplant recipients.     

Geometric Feature Extraction and Model Reconstruction Based on Scattered Data

A method of 3D model reconstruction based on scattered point data in reverse engineering is presented here. The topological relationship of scattered points was established firstly, then the data set was triangulated to reconstruct the mesh surface model. The curvatures of cloud data were calculatod based on the mesh surface, and the point data were segmented by odge-basod method; Every patch of data was fitted by quadric surface of freeform surface, and the type of quadric surface was decided by parameters automatically, at last the whole CAD model was created. An example of mouse model was employed to confirm the effect of the algorithm.     

Expression of LIF,VEGF, CD57 and CD68 after the transfer of rat embryos to mouse uteri

The high failure rate of interspecific preganacy is a major obstacle to the successful interspectific cloning of mammals,To in vestigate the reasons for the failure of inter-specfic pregnancy between rats and mice,we transferred rat blastocysts into mouse uteri on the third day of pseudopreg -nancy (D3),oure previous study showed that intact rat embryos could still be observed in mouse uteri on D9.In the present study ,we found that expression of CD57 and CD68 increased significantly at the maternal -fetal interface fol-lowing the transfer of rat embryos,Similarly ,Leukaemia inhibitory factor(LIF) expression increased ,but vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) expession decreased,In a co-culture system ,the percentage of rat ectoplacental cones (EPCs) with adhesion and outgrowth and outgrowth area on mouse uterine decidual cells were less than that of mouse EPCs,These results indicate that an increase in the immunological rejection response and a decrease in the in vasiveness of rat embryos may be important reasons for the failure of interspecific pregnancy between rat and mouse.     

Total thyroidectomy is safer with identification of recurrent laryngeal nerve

Objective： To investigate the effect of recurrent laryngeal nerve （RLN） identification on the complications after total thyroidectomy and lobectomy. Methods： Total 134 consecutive patients undergoing total thyroidectomy or thyroid lobectomy from January 2003 to November 2004 were investigated retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups： RLN identified （Group A） or not （Group B）. The two groups were compared for RLN injury and hypocalcaemia. Results： The numbers of patients and nerves at risk were 71 and 129 in Group A, and 63 and 121 in Group B, respectively, RLN injury in Group A （0） was significantly lower than that in Group B （5 [7.9%]） patients, 7 [5.8%] nerves） for the numbers of patients （P=0.016） and nerves at risk （P=0.006）. Temporary hypocalcaemia was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B （14 [24.1%] vs 6 [ 10.3%], P=0.049）, Permanent complications in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A （13 [20.6%] vs 4 [5.6%], P=0.009）. Conclusion： RLN injury was prevented and permanent complications were decreased by identifying the whole course and branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerve during total thyroidectomy,     

补肾益智方对老年性痴呆模型大鼠学习记忆功能的改善作用

Aim Study on the effect of BYR on the animal model of alzheimer's disease in rats. Methods The animal model of Alzheimer's disease was made by D-galactose intraperitoneal injection and basal forebrain bilateral lesion with ibotenic acid microinjection in rats. Learning and memory deficits of these rats were assessed in the Morris water maze and treated with BYF. Results The escape latency of BYF group was significantly shorter than that of Hup-A group and the model control group. The swimming time in the quadrant contain platforrn was much longer than that of 　　Hup-A group and model control group. Conclusion BYF has great effect on the learning and memory deficits of this animal model of Alzheimer′s disease in rats.     

A new quantitative relation between deformation texturesand corresponding mechanical properties of FCC metals

Quantitative analysis of deformation-induced textures and texture-induced mechanical properties is an important issue for optimal design and control of plastic forming of metals.Deformation-induced textures were predicted through the crystal plasticity finite-element method(CPFEM)in this study,and varying deformation modes,including uniaxial compression,uniaxial tension,simple shear,and plane-strain compression,were considered.The predicted textures were proven by experiments.Then,a theoretical model was proposed to build the quantitative relation between textures and the corresponding mechanical properties.This model takes into account the effects of grain’s orientation,grain’s interaction,and the property in the level of single grain.It captures the macroscopic anisotropy owing to textures and microscopic anisotropy owing to crystallographic structures.By applying this model,the macroscopic stress responses of grains’aggregate with varying textures were calculated according to grain’s orientations and the intrinsic properties of the single crystal along[100]and[111]crystallographic directions.The theoretical model is proven to have high efficiency and acceptable accuracy in the prediction of texture-induced mechanical properties comparing with CPFEM model.     

Application of Constructed Wetlands on Wastewater Treatment for Aquaculture Ponds

A group of constructed wetlands （CWs） were applied to the recirculating aquaculture system. This study assessed the performance of CWs in treating the aquaculture wastewater, examined the water quality condition of aquaculture ponds and the growth and the survival rate of ＂target＂ species （Ictalurus punctatus and Megalobrama amblycephala）. The results showed that CWs were effective on reducing the concentrations of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand （BOD5, at 70.5%）, total suspended solids （TSS, at 81.9%）, chlorophyll a （Chl-a, at 91.9%）, ammonium （NH4^＋, at 61.5%） and nitrate nitrogen （NOa-N, at 68.0%）. Effect of CWs on phosphate （PO43 -P） removal was relatively lower （at 20.0%）. The concentrations of BODs, TSS, Chl-a, NH4^＋ and TN, TP in the recirculating culture pond were significantly lower than that in the control pond（ p〈0.05 ）. CWs could help to increase total yield, survival rate of the ＂target＂ species and significantly decrease feed conversion ratio （ p〈0.05 ）.     

Differential gene expression profile in ischemic myocardium of Wistar rats with acute myocardial infarction

To determine the differential genes in ischemic myocardium of Wistar rats with acute myocardial infarction （AMI）, we constructed two differential gene expression profiles. AMI model was generated by Iigation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in Wistar rats. Total RNA was extracted from the normal and the ischemic heart tissues under the IigaUon point at the 8th day after the operation. Differential gene expression profiles of the two samples were constructed by using long serial analysis of gene expression （LongSAGE）. Real time fluorescence quantitative PCR （Q-PCR） was used to confirm the expression changes of partial target genes. The main results were as follows： a total of 15966 tags were screened from the normal and the ischemic LongSAGE maps, and 9646 tags in the normal tissue and 9563 tags in the ischemic tissue were obtained. Among them, 7665 novel tags were identified by NCBI BLAST search. In the ischemic tissue, 142 genes significantly changed compared to those in the normal tissue （P〈0.05）. These differentially expressed genes may play important roles in the pathways of oxidation and phosphorylation, ATP synthesis and glycolysis and so on. Partial genes identified by the LongSAGE were confirmed by Q-PCR. The results show that AMI causes a series of gene expression changes in the regulation of the pathways related to energy metabolism.     

Germ cell transplantation in infertility mouse

This work investigated the spermatogenesis in an infertility BALB/c-nu mouse model by reinfusing germline stem cells into seminiferous tubules. Donor germ cells were isolated from male FVB/NJ-GFP trensgenic mice. Seminiferous tubule microinjection was applied to achieve intratubular germ cell transfer. The germ cells were injected into exposed testes of the infertility mice. We used green fluorescence and DNA analysis of donor cells from GFP transgenic mice as genetic marker. The natural mating and Southern blot methods were applied to analyze the effect of sperm cell transplantation and the sperm function after seminiferous tubule microinjection. The spermatogenesis was morphologically observed from the seminiferous tubules in 41/60 （68.33%） of the injected recipient mice using allogeneic donor cells. In the colonized testes, matured spermatozoa were seen in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules. In this research, BALB/c-nu infertility mouse model, the recipient animal, was used to avoid immunological rejection of donor cells, and germ cell transplantation was applied to overcome infertility caused by busulfan treatment. These results demonstrate that this technique of germ cell transplantation is of great use. Germ cell transplantation could be potentially valuable to oncological patients.     

Drainage after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders

Objective： This prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the necessity of drainage after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders. Methods： A total of 116 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders were randomly allocated to be drained or not. Operative and postoperative outcomes including operating time, postoperative pain assessed by visual analogue scale （VAS）, total amount of intramuscular analgesic administration, hospital stay, complications, necessity for re-operation and satisfaction of patients were all assessed. Results： The mean operating time was similar between two groups （the drained and non-drained groups）. The mean VAS score was found to be significantly low in the non-drained group patients in postoperative day （POD） 0 and POD 1. The mean amount of intramuscular analgesic requirement was significantly less in the non-drained group. One case of hematoma, two cases ofseroma and three cases of transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in the non-drained group, whereas one case of hematoma, two cases of seroma, two cases of wound infections and two cases of transient hypoparathyroidism occurred in the drained group. No patient needed re-operation for any complication. The mean hospital stay was significantly shorter and the satisfaction of patients was superior in the non-drained group. Conclusion： These findings suggest that postoperative complications cannot be prevented by using drains after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroid disorders. Furthermore, the use of drains may increase postoperative pain and the analgesic requirement, and prolong the hospital stay. In the light of these findings, the routine use of drains might not be necessary after thyroid surgery for benign disorders.     

A new compressibility modification <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-ε turbulence model with shock unsteadiness effect

A new compressibility modification k-ε model, including shock unsteadiness effect and the previous compressibility modification of pressure dilatation and dilatational dissipation rate, was developed with a simple formulation for numerical simulation in supersonic complex turbulent flows. The shock unsteadiness effect was modeled by inhibiting turbulent kinetic energy production in the governing equations of turbulent kinetic energy and the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. Sarkar＇s correction models were employed accounting for the dilatational compressibility effects in the new model. Two types of flows, the free supersonic mixing layers and complex supersonic flow with transverse injection were simulated with different flow conditions. Comparisons with experimental data of the free supersonic mixing layers showed that the new compressibility modification k-ε model significantly inhibited the excessive growth of turbulent kinetic energy and improved predictions. On the supersonic mixing layer flows, prediction results with the new model were in close agreement with experimental data, accurately predicting the decreasing trend of the mixing layer spreading rate with the increase of the convective Mach number. Due to the complicated flow field with flow separation, shock unsteadi- ness modification inhibited excessive growth of the turbulent kinetic energy in shock regions and wider shock regions are predicted, thereby significantly improving results of the flow with a strong separation forecast. The flow separation was stronger, which was the primary modification effect of the new model. Predictions accord with experimental results even in strong separation flows.     

Cloning of the full-length gene of activin receptor-interacting protein2a and characterization of its interaction with ActRⅡA

To investigate the mechanism of intracellular signal transduction mediated by activin receptors, the full-length gene encoding a novel activin receptor-interacting protein2a (ARIP2a) was identified from a mouse brain cDNA library. The sequences of ARIP2a and ARIP2, distribution of ARIP2a and ARIP2 mRNA in mouse tissues, and expression of ARIP2a and ARIP2 in activin-induced RAW264.7 cell were compared, and the interaction between ARIP2a and ActRIIA was confirmed. The sequence analysis revealed that the full-length gene of ARIP2a, which composed of 1008 bp and encoded 153 amino acid residues, shared high sequence identity with ARIP2 except the position of the 99th amino acid. RT-PCR assay showed that ARIP2a mRNA was highly expressed in brain, pituitary and testis, and moderately in pancreas and ovary, but undetectable in other tissues. Whereas, ARIP2 mRNA was widely distributed in all mouse tissues that we tested. Moreover, expression of ARIP2a mRNA was significantly decreased in activin-stimulated RAW264.7 cells; however, the expression of ARIP2 mRNA was increased. Additionally, the interaction between ARIP2a and activin type IIA receptor (ActRIIA) was further demonstrated by mammalian two-hybrid assays and pull-down assays. Taken together, those results indicate that although ARIP2a is homologous to ARIP2, they are different in tissue distribution and responses to activin. ARIP2a could also interact with activin type II receptor as a novel member of ARIP family.     

Analyzing Nonstationary Random Response of a SDOF System under the Evolutionary Random Excitation by Wavelet Transform

For evolutionary random excitations, a general method of analyzing nonstationary random responses of systems was presented in this paper. Firstly, for the evolutionary random excitation model, the evolutionary power spectrum density function （EPSD） of a random excitation was given by wavelet transform. Based on the EPSD, the nonstationary responses of a SDOF system subjected to evolutionary random excitations were studied. The application and validity of presented method were illustrated by numerical examples. In numerical examples, the recently developed stochastic models for El Centro （1934） and Mexico City （1985） earthquakes which preserve the nonstationary evolutions of amplitude and frequency content of ground accelerations were used as excitations. The nonstationary random mean-square responses of a SDOF system under these two excitations were evaluated and compared with simulated results.