Grass pea seedlings were grown in an irrigated field. Roots of 15-day-old seedlings were treated with PEG, and leaves were studied. With the duration of PEG treatment, changes in the lipid peroxidation and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and glutathione reductase as well as contents of hydrogen peroxide and beta-N-oxalyl-L-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP) were assayed. The results indicate that with the duration of PEG treatment, activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase decreased, whereas contents of hydrogen peroxide and ODAP, extent of lipid peroxidation, and activity of glutathione reductase increased. Both diethyldithiocarbamate and aminotriazole strongly inhibit activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, respectively. At same time, the extent of lipid peroxidation was obviously increased. However, mannitol decreased the extent of lipid peroxidation. Diethyldithiocarbamate, aminotriazole, and mannitol do not affect the accumulation of ODAP. The observations suggest that there is no direct relationship between the accumulation of ODAP and the metabolism of free radicals. In addition, the relationship between water stress and ODAP accumulation in grass pea is discussed.

ABSTRACT. The association between the TNF-α +489 G/A polymorphism and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial because of small group size and varied design among different studies. In the present study, a meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between the +489 G/A polymorphism and COPD risk. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify articles that have reported an association between the TNF-α +489 G/A polymorphism and COPD risk. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated under both dominant (AA+GA vs GG genotypes) and allele (A vs G) models. Heterogeneity was assessed, as well as publication bias. Nine articles with ten eligible studies were included in this analysis. Significant association between the +489 G/A polymorphism and COPD was identified in Asians under the allele model (OR = 1.582, 95%CI = 1.035-2.419). However, no significant difference was found in the Caucasian groups. Strong evidence for between-study heterogeneity was identified under both models, and no publication bias was detected. Our results indicated a potential role of the A allele of the TNF-α +489 G/A polymorphism 5211 TNF-α +489 G/A polymorphism increases COPD risk ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 14 (2): 5210-5220 (2015) in increasing COPD risk in Asians, but not in Caucasians. Additional studies will be necessary to verify this conclusion.

Blunt leading edge with profiles of circular or power law shape is often used to decrease the aerodynamic heating of a vehicle when it flights into hypersonic regime. In order to further reduce the peak of heat flux of the leading edge, an inverse shape design method is presented in this paper. The leading edge is parameterized by using B-spline curve method. The hypersonic flow field and the heat flux distribution around the leading edge is evaluated by computational fluid dynamics. A homotopy method is developed as the optimizer. The computational heat flux distribution is driven by the optimizer to meet the objective . In order to verify the validity of the method, the inverse aerothermal design of a 2D leading edge with the thickness of 5 mm was carried out in the design condition Mach number is 6.5. The initial profile of the leading edge approximates to a circular arc. An H-type structured grid was used to discrete the computational domain. A 2D thin-layer Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in strong conservation law form was employed as the solver. The results have shown that the peak value of the heat flux decreases about 4.6%.