BC In China Research Articles

Dating the Bibong-ri Neolithic site in Korea: Excavating the oldest ancient boat

The remains of an ancient wooden boat were unearthed at the Bibong-ri shell mound site. The site was located at Bibong-ri, Bugog-myeon, Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea. A substantial fragment of the vessel was discovered in the lowest layer of the site. We collected 17 samples of charcoal and wood from pebble, sand, and shell layers. Sample preparation extracted the carbon from each sample material and converted it into graphite for AMS radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dates of the samples indicate that they belong to the Neolithic period and that the boat dates from ca. 5700 BC. To this point, the oldest known boat in the world has been a wooden boat dating from ca. 5500 BC in China. Other ancient boats from around the world include a logboat dating from ca. 3600 BC in Japan and a fleet of wooden boats dating from ca. 3000 BC in Egypt. The Bibong-ri boat is the first boat from the Neolithic period ever found in South Korea and must represent one of the world’s oldest known boats.

Clinical comparison of branched DNA and reverse transcriptase-PCR and nucleic acid sequence-based amplification assay for the quantitation of circulating recombinant form_BC HIV-1 RNA in plasma

To investigate the correlation between three viral load assays for circulating recombinant form (CRF)_BC. Recent studies in HIV-1 molecular epidemiology, reveals that CRF_BC is the dominant subtype of HIV-1 virus in mainland China, representing over 45% of the HIV-1 infected population. The performances of nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA), branched DNA (bDNA) and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were compared for the HIV-1 viral load detection and quantitation of CRF_BC in China. Sixteen HIV-1 positive and three HIV-1 negative samples were collected. Sequencing of the positive samples in the gp41 region was conducted. The HIV-1 viral load values were determined using bDNA, RT-PCR and NASBA assays. Deming regression analysis with SPSS 12.0 (SPS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA) was performed for data analysis. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of env gene (gp41) region of the 16 HIV-1 positive clinical specimens from Guizhou Province in southwest China revealed the dominance of the subtype CRF_BC in that region. A good correlation of their viral load values was observed among three assays. Pearson's correlation between RT-PCR and bDNA is 0.969, Lg(VL)RT-PCR = 0.969 * Lg(VL)bDNA + 0.55; Pearson's correlation between RT-PCR and NASBA is 0.968, Lg(VL)RT-PCR = 0.968 * Lg(VL)NASBA + 0.937; Pearson's correlation between NASBA and bDNA is 0.980, Lg(VL)NASBA = 0.980 * Lg(VL)bDNA - 0.318. When testing with 3 different assays, RT-PCR, bDNA and NASBA, the group of 16 HIV-1 positive samples showed the viral load value was highest for RT-PCR, followed by bDNA then NASBA, which is consistent with the former results in subtype B. The three viral load assays are highly correlative for CRF_BC in China.

Advances in the Development of Functional Foods from Buckwheat

Referee: Dr. Fu-hung Hsieh, Bilogical/Agric Engineering, Room 248 Agricultural Eng., University of Missouri, Columbus, MO 65211.Buckwheat originated in North or East Asia and is widely adapted in North America. It has been grown since at least 1000 BC in China. It has very strong adaptability to adverse environments with a very short growing span. Many varieties are growing around the world, but mainly in the north hemisphere. Currently the most common buckwheat spice is Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (common buckwheat or sweet buckwheat), while Fagopyrum tartaricum is also available in some mountainous regions. Many nutraceutical compounds exist in buckwheat seeds and other tissues. Buckwheat has been used and will be better used as an important raw material for functional food production. In this review we focus on works related to the development of functional foods from common buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. A lot of research has be conducted in the functionalities and properties of buckwheat proteins, flavonoids, flavones, phytosterols, thiamin-binding proteins, and other rare compounds in buckwheat seeds. Buckwheat proteins have unique amino acid composition with special biological activities of cholesterol-lowering effects, antihypertensition effects, and improving the constipation and obisity conditions by acting similar as to dietary fiber and interrupting the in vivo metabolisms. The trypsin inhibitors isolated from buckwheat seeds are heat stable and can cause poor digestion if they are not suitably cooked before consumption. The allergenic proteins existing in the buckwheat seeds and their derivatives were reviewed with respect to their chemical and biochemical characteristics as well as the physiological reactions after digestion. Some possible mechanisms involved in these effects are discussed in this review. Experiments, both with animal models and with human beings, revealed that buckwheat flour can improve diabetes, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and constipation. Methods to exploit buckwheat seeds and flour to produce highly effective nutraceuticals are also reviewed.

HIV type 1 subtypes in Guangxi Province, China, 1996.

81 HIV-1 INFECTION WAS FIRST DOCUMENTED IN China in 1985; by 1997, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that there were 200,000 to 400,000 HIV-infected persons living in China among a population of 1.2 billion.3 To date, most infections have occurred among injection drug users (IDUs), primarily in ethnic minority communities in Yunnan, a southwestern province bordering Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam. This province can be seen as an extension of the a Golden Triangleo region of northern Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, one of the world’ s foremost opiumand heroin-producing areas. In recent years, HIV-1 transmission has extended to new areas of China, and sexual transmission has increased in importance. The HIV-1 epidemic among IDUs in Yunnan province was primarily due to env subtype B strains, both typical North American/European-like subtype B strains and strains that clustered on phylogenetic analyses with subtype B strains found among IDUs in Thailand, termed B 9 (formerly Thai B).9±11 Subsequently, subtype C viruses were identified among IDUs in Yunnan. More recently, both subtype C and subtype E strains have been reported among geographically separate groups of IDUs in Guangxi province.13 There also appear to have been multiple other introductions of subtype E strains in China10,14 and subtype A has also been identified.10 We investigated the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Guangxi, a southwestern Chinese province bordering Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangdong provinces and northern Vietnam. Guangxi, a mountainous, subtropical area, has a population of approximately 45 million, of whom about a third are ethnic minorities. From April through July 1996, blood samples were collected from HIV-seropositive persons identified at blood donation centers, drug treatment centers, and other testing locations. Specimens were obtained from 44 persons: 25 commercial blood donors (mean age, 24.5 years [range, 18±36]; 21 male and 4 female), 16 IDUs from drug treatment centers (mean age, 22.8 years [range, 16±38]; 14 male and 2 female), 2 men (aged 29 and 35 years) who had traveled to Thailand and reported sex with female sex workers, and 1 female (aged 36) who did not inject drugs and whose husband had AIDS. Fifteen of the 16 IDUs were identified in Pingxiang, a city near the border with Vietnam; the other IDU was located in Nanning, in central Guangxi. The other 28 persons were identified from throughout the province. All specimens were HIV-1 positive by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Western blot when tested at the Guangxi AIDS Surveillance and Testing Center, Nanning. Unlinked serum specimens were transferred to Nonthaburi, Thailand, and then to Atlanta, Georgia for further characterization. In Thailand, specimens were tested with 14-amino acid V3loop peptide enzyme immunoassays (PEIAs) highly specific for subtypes B 9 and E from Thailand.15±17 Serum specimens were later sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA) for genetic characterization. RNA was prepared with a blood kit from Qiagen (Chatsworth, CA). RNA from each sample was reverse transcribed (primer JH35R) and subsequently amplified by nested PCR (outer primers JH44F/JH35R and inner primers JH33F/JH48R). The 525-bp nested C2±V4 PCR product encompasses the V3 loop. The sequences of these HIV-1 group M env (gp120) gene-based degenerate/inosine primers with coordinates on HIV-MNCG sequence (in parentheses) are as follows:

Current Status and Prospects for Vaccines Against Malaria.

Malaria is a parasitic disease that affects humans. It is caused by four Plasmodium species: Plasmodium fakiparum, l? vivax, l? ovale, and P. malariae. The parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genera individuals can limit the development of the parasite in nonimmune children: After all the work performed by scientists and physicians, why don't we have a malaria vaccine? Anopheles, which is associated with warm climates. The parasite is thus present in many tourist areas of the world, including Africa, Asia, and South America. Known since 2700 BC in China, malaria has been controlled by medicinal plants or drugs. This was until drug resistance occurred, which started in the 1960s in Asia with chloroquine. Resistance to chloroquine spread quickly all over the world. Today, the malaria drug situation is critical and has lead to the appearance of the virulent and deadly P. fakiparum strains that are difficult to control. In addition, the number of cases of malaria increases, the spread being increased by another flying vector, the plane, which carries infected travelers and sometimes mosquitoes. For example, more than 1000 cases of imported malaria were reported in 1992 in the United States, where malaria has been eradicated, but not the mosquito vectors.