BACKGROUND Paraquat (PQ) concentration-time data have been used to predict prognosis for 3 decades. The aim of this study was to find a more accurate method to predict the probability of survival. METHODS This study included 788 patients with PQ poisoning who were diagnosed using plasma PQ concentration between January 2005 and August 2012. We divided these patients into 2 groups (survivors v...

In order to reduce the memory access time for a Single-Instruction Multiple-Data stream (SIMD) computer with pq processing elements attached to a host computer, a multiaccess memory system is proposed in this paper. The proposed memory system supports simultaneous access to pq data elements within a 4-directional block (p q), a row (1 pq), a column (pq 1), a forward-diagonal, and a backward-dia...

We present a method for the rapid and accurate quantitative analysis of paraquat (PQ) in biological samples. Paraquat, also known as methyl viologen, is commonly used to induce oxidative stress in laboratory studies. Our method uses classical standard addition methodology and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with photodiode array detection to estimate recovered PQ in whole-or...

Continuously growing cultures of Chlorella pyrenoidosa Starr 252, operating at constant density and under constant environmental conditions, produced uniform photosynthetic quotient (PQ = CO(2)/O(2)) and O(2) values during 6 months of observations. The PQ for the entire study was 0.90 +/- 0.024. The PQ remained constant over a threefold light-intensity change and a threefold change in O(2) prod...

Bacterium-bacterium interactions occur at intimate spatial scales on the order of micrometers, but our knowledge of interactions at this level is rudimentary. Antagonism is a potential interaction in such microenvironments. To study the ecological role of antibiosis, we developed a model system involving an antibiotic-producing isolate (SWAT5) derived from a marine particle and its dominant ant...

INTRODUCTION Acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning continues to be a major public health concern in many developing countries. This study was designed to evaluate the data on cases of acute PQ poisoning and compare the different variables between survivors and non-survivors. METHODS All patients of PQ poisoning who were admitted to the poisoning emergency department during the past five years were re...

Persistent inhalation of diesel exhaust particles results in damaged lung cells through formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but the details of the toxicity mechanism against monocytes are poorly understood. In this study, we used human promyelomonocytic U937 cells as surrogates of monocytes and investigated the toxicity mechanism initiated by exposure to 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (9,10-P...

Numerous people die of paraquat (PQ) poisoning every year in the world. Although several studies regarding paraquat (PQ) poisoning have been conducted, the metabolic changes in plasma remain unknown. In this study, the metabolomics of 15 PQ poisoned patients with plasma PQ concentrations in excess of 0.1 µg/mL and 16 healthy volunteers were investigated. The plasma samples were evaluated throug...