Survey of MapReduce frame operation in bioinformatics.

Bioinformatics is challenged by the fact that traditional analysis tools have difficulty in processing large-scale data from high-throughput sequencing. The open source Apache Hadoop project, which adopts the MapReduce framework and a distributed file system, has recently given bioinformatics researchers an opportunity to achieve scalable, efficient and reliable computing performance on Linux clusters and on cloud computing services. In this article, we present MapReduce frame-based applications that can be employed in the next-generation sequencing and other biological domains. In addition, we discuss the challenges faced by this field as well as the future works on parallel computing in bioinformatics.

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect of chalcone and chalcone analogues in a zebrafish model.

The aim of this study was to investigate novel chalcones with potent anti-inflammatory activities in vivo. Chalcone and two chalcone analogues (compound 5 and 9) were evaluated using a caudal fin-wounded transgenic zebrafish line "Tg(mpx:gfp)" to visualize the effect of neutrophil recruitment dynamically. Results showed that treatment with compound 9 not only affected wound-induced neutrophil recruitment, but also affected Mpx enzymatic activity. Moreover, protein expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors (Mpx, NFκB, and TNFα) were also regulated by compound 9. Taken together, our results provide in vivo evidence of the anti-inflammatory effects of synthesized chalcone analogues on wound-induced inflammation.

An alternative synthesis of 3',4'-diaminoflavones to evaluate their antioxidant ability and cell apoptosis of zebrafish larvae.

We described herein a concise synthesis of 3',4'-diaminoflavone 10. This new, three-step synthetic approach is more efficient than the conventional seven-step synthetic method. The route is shortened significantly by introducing the amino moieties early and eliminating the need for nitro group reduction. The other two analogues, 5,7-dihydroxy-3',4'-diaminoflavone 11 and 5,7-dimethoxy-3',4'-diaminoflavone 12, were also synthesized similarly. The above three compounds, along with flavone, were evaluated for their antioxidant and UVB-protection abilities on zebrafish larvae. The data showed that compound 10 exhibited the best result, with -102.3% of ROS-scavenging rate.

Flavone is efficient to protect zebrafish fins from UV-induced damage.

We used ultraviolet (UV)-induced fin damage in zebrafish as a system for evaluating the chemopreventive potential of flavonoids. Chemopreventive effects of each compound, including flavone, flavanone, and chalcone, on fin development were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results showed that 1) flavone has the highest capacity to protect zebrafish fins from UV-induced damages among other groups; 2) zebrafish fins in the UV+1 ppm flavone group are 1.02~9.60 times more likely to return to normal fins than ones in the UV-only group, but fins in the UV+20 ppm flavone group are only 0.45~5.66 times more likely to recover; and 3) flavone significantly reduced ROS production in UV-exposed zebrafish embryos, which may attenuate UV-mediated apoptosis. In conclusion, zebrafish can be used as a system for comparing the UV-protection efficacy of flavonoids.

[Spectrometric determination of trace elements in 'Jinguang' prunus mume var. bungo of different growth periods].

A study was carried out on the content of trace elements such as Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu of prunus mume var. bungo in different growth periods by WFX-110 atomic absorption spectrometry. The results indicated that the linear relationships of different elements within the limits of working curves are good and the range of the recovery is 98% -105%, hence showing that the results are satisfactory. The total content of these five trace elements increases as the fruit grows, but the concentration is related to the growth of fruit and fruit core, which provides us with valuable data. The contents of the trace elements essential to human body are relatively high, which shows that this fruit breed has a relatively high nutritive value.

Transesophageal echocardiographic monitoring of critical left ventricular outflow tract obstruction following mitral xenograft replacement--a case report.

Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) is a critical complication after mitral bioprosthesis. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) monitoring enables early diagnosis and guides prompt subsequent treatment. Here we report a case of mitral heart disease who developed critical LVOTO following mitral xenograft replacement. The values of intraoperative TEE in the disclosure of the LVOTO and its facilitation of successful management are discussed.