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Abstract: An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the dietary arginine requirement of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic practical diets (41% crude protein and 7.5% crude lipid) were formulated to contain graded dietary arginine levels ranging from 1.44 to 2.74% (dry weight) in approximately 0.3% increments. In all of the diets, the nitrogen content of the amino acids was kept the same by replacing arginine with a non-essential amino acid mixture. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicated groups of 40 juvenile shrimp (approximately 0.50g) 4 times daily to apparent satiation. The results indicated that the specific growth rate and weight gain were significantly influenced by the dietary arginine levels. Maximal specific growth rate and weight gain occurred at 2.32% dietary arginine; however, specific growth rate and weight gain did not significantly increase with further increases in dietary arginine from 2.51% to 2.74%. Feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value were also significantly affected by the dietary arginine levels, and the trends were similar to those of growth performance. No mortality was observed among all treatments. There were no significant differences among crude protein, crude lipid and ash content in the whole body and muscle composition. The total protein in hemolymph was significantly affected by dietary arginine levels, however, there were no significant differences in urea nitrogen, triglycerides and cholesterol in the hemolymph among all treatments. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), arginase and nitric oxide synthase (NO) activities in the hemolymph were significantly affected by dietary arginine levels. The optimal dietary arginine requirement estimated by two slope broken-line model based on SGR was 2.32% of the dry diet (corresponding to 5.66% of dietary protein on a dry weight basis). Considering the arginine leaching loss in seawater within 30min (duration of feeding each time), the arginine requirement for L. vannamei is 1.96% of dry diet (4.77% of the dietary protein). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A C/SiC/Mo–Si–Cr multilayer coating for carbon/carbon (C/C) composites against oxidation at high temperature was prepared by pack cementation and slurry method. Oxidation test results showed that the coating could protect C/C composites from oxidation at 1873K in air for 300h and withstand 40 thermal cycles between 1873K and room temperature. The coating remained intact during the two kinds of tests and no obvious failure was found. The good oxidation and thermal shock resistance of the coating is attributed mainly to the formation of dense glass film on the coating during the oxidation test. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims and objectives. To develop an explanatory framework to understand depression among community-dwelling Chinese older persons in Macau. Background. Depression has been described as the most common psychological problem among Chinese older persons. Dominant psychosocial theories are derived from research conducted mainly in western societies and similar research in Chinese populations is scant. Design. Mixed methods. Methods. Qualitative and quantitative methods (mixed methods) were employed to collect data from 31 participants between 2007-2009 in Macau. Results. Four categories of factors related to depression emerged: (1) negative thinking, (2) physical limitations and complaints, (3) present living conditions and social support and (4) past experiences. Each category interacts with the others and, consequently, one category both affects and is affected by others. The categories captured participants' life-long hardship and bio-psycho-social-cultural disability that lay at the root of their negative thinking. The consequences and impacts of their negative thinking appear to feed and sustain depression. Conclusion. The framework offers a deeper understanding of the nature and meaning of the experiences of depressed older persons in a Chinese context. Relevance to clinical practice. The findings have several implications for clinical practice. First, the cultural context of Chinese older persons should be emphasised in nursing practice. Second, the root of depression among Chinese older persons is seen to lie in their social, family, cultural and day to day living issues. Finally, this study illustrates the potential for incorporating psychosocial nursing interventions as a therapeutic approach on its own or as an adjunct to other therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work we report microstructure and gas sensing property of the pristine SnO2 and (Ti,Sn)O2 solid solutions prepared via the hydrothermal method. Of all the examined volatile organic compound gases, the (Ti,Sn)O2 solid solution exhibits somewhat lower gas response as compared to that of pristine SnO2. Further, we perform a first principles calculation to establish a surface model for solid solution and estimate its atomic configuration. The tightness of Ti6C(Sn6C)O2C bond and high oxygen vacancy formation energy for solid solution suggest that less amount of pre-adsorbed oxygen was formed on the surface, ultimately resulting in sensing performance weakening. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the dietary arginine requirement of juvenile yellow grouper Epinephelus awoara. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets (43% crude protein and 10% lipid) were formulated to contain six graded dietary arginine levels ranging from 2.01 to 3.27% (dry weight) in about 0.3% increments. In all diets, amino acid nitrogen contents were kept the same by replacing arginine with a non-essential amino acid mixture. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicated groups of 20 juvenile fish (about 4.23g) twice daily to apparent satiation. The results indicated that the specific growth rate and weight gain at different dietary arginine levels were all significantly different. Maximal weight gain and specific growth rate occurred at 2.83% dietary arginine, however, weight gain and specific growth rate did not significantly increase with further increase in dietary arginine from 2.83% to 3.27%. Feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio were not significantly affected by the dietary arginine levels. No mortality was observed at any diets. The dietary arginine levels significantly affected condition factor and hepatosomatic index, however, viscerosomatic index and muscle ratio were not significantly influenced by the dietary arginine levels. Crude protein, crude lipid and ash content in the muscle and dry matter in the whole body were significantly affected by the dietary arginine levels; fish fed with the 2.83% arginine diet had a higher crude protein content than fish fed with the other diets. There were no significant differences in red blood cell count, hemoglobin content and hematocrit among all treatments. Total nitric oxide synthase, inducible nitric oxide synthase in liver, and total nitric oxide synthase in plasma were significantly influenced by the dietary arginine levels. The essential amino acid concentrations in the muscle were significantly affected by the dietary arginine levels; however, there was no significant difference in essential amino acid concentrations in the liver. Quadratic regression analysis on specific growth rate and weight gain against dietary arginine levels indicated that the optimal dietary arginine requirement was estimated to be 2.8% of the diet (corresponding to 6.5% of dietary protein on a dry weight basis). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zinc tin oxide (ZnSnO3) materials, native and doped with Ti nanocomposites, were prepared by coprecipitation. In particular, we focus on the effect of Ti dopant on the ethanol sensing behavior of the ZnSnO3-based sensor. Results show that adding Ti ions evidently enhanced gas response of ZnSnO3. A gas adsorption model based on first principles was proposed to address the gas sensing mechanism. This study may open up an avenue for exploring other ABO3-type sensing materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using a simple hydrothermal method, the pristine and Nb doped TiO2 is prepared, and their microstructures and gas-sensing responses to the harmful volatile organic compounds are investigated with a special focus on the impact of Nb additive. We find that the gas response of TiO2 is enhanced significantly by doping Nb, which is understood in theory upon proposed adsorption models. Combining experimental measurements with first-principles calculations, the working mechanism underlying such improvement in gas-sensing functions by the Nb additive is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The structural, adsorptive and electronic properties of CO adsorption on TiO2 are investigated by the first principles calculations with special focus on three experimentally confirmed facets, namely (001), (100) and (101) surfaces, respectively. Calculation results predict that CO adsorbed on Ti site is the most energetically favorable mode among three low index TiO2 surfaces. It is found that the (100) surface hold more benefit for CO adsorption than that of other surfaces, which is mainly attributed to significant change of the electronic property of adsorbed surface and large electrons transfer between CO molecule and the surface. Calculation results theoretically verify the experimental fact that highly oriented TiO2 enable exhibit distinct sensing performance. These findings render a careful synthesis of TiO2 films so as to form a high orientation of (100) facet, which will be primarily important for further enhance CO sensing performance of TiO2-based sensor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The patency rate of small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels is the determinant for their application in coronary artery bypass grafting. The coronary artery is innervated by vagus nerves. The origin of vagus nerves is rich in brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF). We have investigated whether BDNF could improve the patency rate of small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels through promoting stem cell homing and paracrine activity. In vitro, we isolated early and late endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and found BDNF could promote single clone formation and paracrine function of EPCs, and could also induce the proliferation, migration and differentiation of late EPCs. BDNF could enhance the capturing of EPCs in parallel-plate flow chamber. Flow cytometric analysis and laser-scanning confocal microscope showed BDNF could enhance the mobilization and homing of C57BL/6 mouse EPCs after wire injury. Based on it, BDNF was coupled to the lumen surface of the blood vessel matrix material incubated with collagen through SPDP to construct BDNF-modified small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessel. The blood vessel patency rate was significantly higher than that of control group 8 weeks after implantation in rats and the endothelialization level was superior to control. These results demonstrate that BDNF can effectively improve patency of small-diameter tissue-engineered blood vessels through stem cell homing and paracrine, and it is expected to play an important role in the construction of substitutes for coronary artery bypass grafting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The estimation of doubly spread underwater acoustic channels is addressed. By exploiting the sparsity in the delay-Doppler domain, this paper proposes a fast projected gradient method (FPGM) that can handle complex-valued data for estimating the delay-Doppler spread function of a time-varying channel. The proposed FPGM formulates the sparse channel estimation as a complex-valued convex optimization using an ℓ1-norm constraint. Conventional approaches to complex-valued optimization split the complex variables into their real and imaginary parts; this doubles the dimension compared with the original problem and may break the special data structure. Unlike the conventional methods, the proposed method directly handles the complex variables as a whole without splitting them into real numbers; hence the dimension will not increase. By exploiting the block Toeplitz-like structure of the coefficient matrix, the computational complexity of the FPGM is reduced to O(LNlogN), where L is the dimension of the Doppler shift and N is the signal length. Simulation results verify the accuracy and efficiency of the FPGM, indicating that is robust to parameter selection and is orders-of-magnitude faster than standard convex optimization algorithms. The Kauai experimental data processing results are also provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Normal oxygen level is critical for niches that together with other components of the niche play vital role in regulating stem or tumor cells behavior. Hypoxia plays an important role in normal development and disease progression, including the growth of solid tumors. The hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) are the key mediators of the cellular response to hypoxia. In this review, we focused on the role of HIFs on bone tumor formation. Further, we also emphasized how hypoxia, stem cells, and its niches regulate the bone tumorigenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The microstructure of M-doped SnO2 (M=Cr3+, Cu2+ and Pd2+) prepared by the sol–gel method and their gas-sensing performance were investigated. In particular, we focus on the effects of metallic ions on the hydrogen sensing behavior of the SnO2-based sensor. It is found that hydrogen gas response of SnO2 can be enhanced evidently by adding Pd2+, while such effect from Cr3+ and Cu2+ exhibits somewhat slight. A theoretical study based on first principles calculation shows that SnO2–Pd (110) surface enable adsorb more H2 gas and receive larger electrons from adsorbed H2 molecule, thereby holding the potential for the improvement of gas response to hydrogen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Controlled release of neurotrophic factors to target tissue via microsphere-based delivery systems is critical for the treatment strategies of diverse neurodegenerative disorders. The present study aims to investigate the feasibility of the controlled release of bioactive nerve growth factor (NGF) with ionically cross-linked chitosan microspheres (NGF–CMSs). The microspheres were prepared by the emulsion-ionic cross-linking method with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as an ionic cross-linking agent. The size and distribution of the microspheres, SEM images, Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), encapsulation efficiency, in vitro release tests and bioactivity assay were subsequently evaluated. We found that the microspheres had relatively rough surfaces with mean sizes between 20 and 31μm. FT-IR results provided evidence of ionic interaction between amino groups and phosphoric groups of chitosan and STPP. The NGF encapsulation efficiency ranged from 63% to 88% depending on the concentration of STPP. The in vitro release profiles of NGF from NGF–CMSs were influenced by the concentration of STPP. NGF–CMSs which were cross-linked with higher concentration of STPP showed slower but sustained release of NGF. In addition, the released NGF from NGF–CMSs was capable of maintaining the viability of PC12 cells, as well as promoting their differentiation. Taken together, our findings suggest that NGF–CMSs are capable of releasing bioactive NGF over 7 days, thus having potential application in nerve injury repair. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the local surface heat-transfer coefficient on the shell side of a longitudinal-flow shell-and-tube heat exchanger with a multiparallel channel (MPC) inlet and outlet. Under the conditions of with or without a fluid flow distributor (FDB) in the inlet region of the heat exchanger, some characteristics (such as the local Nussult number (Nu) distribution, local-mean Nudistribution, overall heat-transfer performance, and pressure drop) were investigated. The investigation results reveal the distribution of the local surface Nuvalue in the inlet region, and they give a reasonable mechanism analysis. It was suggested that not only the uniformity of both the fluid flow and the local Nudistribution was effectively improved by FDBs, but also that the global heat-transfer surface Nuvalue of the heat exchanger was enhanced by more than 10% with the pressure drop increasing slightly by FDBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Context: Newborns are subject to pain during routine invasive procedures. Pain caused by immunization injections is preventable, but remains untreated in neonates. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of three nonpharmacological pain relief strategies on newborns’ pain, physiological parameters, and cry duration before, during, and after hepatitis B intramuscular (IM) injection. Methods: In this prospective, randomized clinical trial, we enrolled 165 newborns (gestational age, ≥36 weeks). The infants received IM injections and were randomized to three treatment groups: nonnutritive sucking (NNS), 20% oral sucrose, or routine care. Pain was measured by the Neonatal Facial Coding System, physiological signals by electrocardiogram monitors, and cry duration using a stopwatch. Results: Pain was significantly lower among infants in the NNS (B =−11.27, P <0.001) and sucrose (B =−11.75, P <0.001) groups than that in controls after adjusting for time effects, infant sleep/wake state, number of prior painful experiences, and baseline pain scores. Infants in the NNS and sucrose groups also had significantly lower mean heart and respiratory rates than the controls. Cry duration of infants receiving sucrose was significantly shorter than those in the NNS (Z =−3.36, P <0.001) and control groups (Z =−7.80, P <0.001). Conclusion: NNS and oral sucrose can provide analgesic effects and need to be given before painful procedures as brief as a one-minute IM injection. Sucrose orally administered two minutes before injection more effectively reduced newborns’ pain during injection than NNS. Both nonpharmacological methods more effectively relieved newborns’ pain, stabilized physiological parameters, and shortened cry duration during IM hepatitis injection than routine care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We report the microstructure and gas-sensing properties of La–TiO2 nanobelts prepared by the hydrothermal method. In particular, we make a comparison of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensing properties between La–TiO2 nanobelts and La–TiO2 nanospheres. The results show that La–TiO2 nanobelts exhibit higher gas response as well as lower working temperature as compared to that of La–TiO2 nanospheres, suggesting that the gas sensing properties of nanocrystals can be significantly improved by tailoring the shape and the surface structure of nanocrystals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim. To determine the prevalence of depression level of older men in Macau and identify factors that predict depression. Background. Studies have revealed the contribution of psychosocial factors such as stress, dissatisfaction at work and stressful life events to older men and the mental health burdens pose a grave threat to their quality of life. Design. A descriptive survey. Method. The study was conducted from July-August 2004 in six parishes in Macau; 839 older men aged 60+ completed a structured questionnaire. Outcome measures. Predisposing characteristics, social and daily activities, health history and need/behaviours and depression level were collected. Multiple logistic regression models were used to identify factors to predict older men who will have depression. Results. The prevalence rate of depression of older men was 8·6%. It showed that a history of stroke ( p = 0·039), insomnia ( p < 0·001), palpitations ( p = 0·014), poor social network ( p = 0·005) and self-perceived health status ( p = 0·001) and perceived low ability to meet living costs ( p < 0·001) were significant risk factors for depression. Conclusion. We should focus on older men by reducing their burden to meet living costs, improving their sleep quality and helping them to expand their social network. These should help in both prevention and recognition of the onset of depression. Those with the low social network scores could be targeted for more intensive support from the beginning. Relevance to clinical practice. It is important to screen regularly for depression status among older men in the community. Attention to poor perceived health and not enough on the ability to meet living costs were needed and important to follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of the parameters of a multipath underwater acoustic channel is of great interest for a variety of applications. This paper proposes a high-resolution method for jointly estimating the multipath time delays, Doppler scales, and attenuation amplitudes of a time-varying acoustical channel. The proposed method formulates the estimation of channel parameters into a sparse representation problem. With the ℓ1-norm as the measure of sparsity, the proposed method makes use of the basis pursuit (BP) criterion to find the sparse solution. The ill-conditioning can be effectively reduced by the ℓ1-norm regularization. Unlike many existing methods that are only applicable to narrowband signals, the proposed method can handle both narrowband and wideband signals. Simulation results are provided to verify the performance and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, indicating that it has a super-resolution in both delay and Doppler domain, and it is robust to noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The electronic properties of Mg-doped perfect SrTiO3 and crystals containing oxygen vacancies systems are investigated by first principles calculation. Dopant formation energy results show that the Mg atoms preferentially enter the Sr site in SrTiO3. Substitution of Ti by Mg brings some acceptor levels, which introduces the p-type conductivity of SrTiO3. Creation of oxygen vacancies in SrTiO3 introduces donor levels, which can contribute to the n-type conductivity. In SrTiO3 containing oxygen vacancies system, a self-compensation effect will occur when Ti is substituted by Mg, and the system undergoes n-type to p-type transition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective.: Amplification of hTERC is found to be an important genetic event in the progression from cervical dysplasia to cervical cancer. The hTERC value in predicting high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), in high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) positive thinprep samples with atypical squamous cells (ASC) or a low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) was explored in this study. Methods.: A total of 300 thinprep cytology specimens (129 of ASC-US, 82 of LSIL, and 89 of ASC-H) with positive HR-HPV DNA was detected by a two-probe dual-color FISH panel, targeting hTERC and the centromeric region of chromosome 3 (CSP3). Using >2 signals for hTERC together with ≥2 signals for CSP3 to define abnormal nucleus, and the cutoff value was set at 6.5 per random 200 nuclei displayed increased hTERC signals and/or tumor ploidy. Statistical analyses were based on histologic findings of colposcopy biopsies, allowing CIN2 or worse (CIN2+) as the positive criterion. Results.: The FISH results were systematically analyzed among groups, based on histologic diagnosis, cytologic finding, HR-HPV viral load, and age status. hTERC presented good consistency with histology, and had satisfactory sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy among different groups, with less difference intergroup. The individual hTERC positive nuclei ratio was generally increased with severity of the cervical lesions. Conclusions.: hTERC could be a stable predictor in assuring the risk of high-grade CIN in women with mild cytologic abnormality and positive HR-HPV, and the individual positive nuclei ratio of it might be helpful in identifying morbid grade for cervical lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) detection for p16ink4a expression as an alternative triage for high risk HPV positive women in cervical cancer screening. Methods: Totally 191 cervical cell specimens from women with HPV positive were collected. The p16ink4a expression by FISH and liquid-based thin-layer cytology was performed and followed by colposcopy with or without biopsied histologic examination for all participants. The relationship between p16ink4a expression and histologic diagnosis, as well as cytology was analyzed. Results: The positive rate of p16ink4a was 5.35% in normal or inflammation cases, 56.67% in CIN 1, 83.78% in CIN 2–3, 100.00% in carcinoma, respectively, with a significance between

Abstract: Most of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are often harmful or even toxic for environment, which require in situ detection. Here, we demonstrate that the TiO2 additive can enhance significantly gas-sensing properties of the SnO2-based sensor to VOCs, independent of its content and the concentration of tested gases. The improved gas-sensing quantities of matter, i.e., maximum sensitivity, minimum gas concentration, optimal operating temperature, and response and recovery times, are found to satisfy the basic needs for a practical application, which renders the TiO2–SnO2 composite material promising for the development of sensor devices to VOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is well known that there exist two fundamental limitations in the linear discriminant analysis (LDA). One is that it cannot be applied when the within-class scatter matrix is singular, which is caused by the undersampled problem. The other is that it lacks the capability to capture the nonlinearly clustered structure of the data due to its linear nature. In this paper, a new kernel-based nonlinear discriminant analysis algorithm using minimum squared errors criterion (KDA-MSE) is proposed to solve these two problems. After mapping the original data into a higher-dimensional feature space using kernel function, the MSE criterion is used as the discriminant rule and the corresponding dimension reducing transformation is derived. Since the MSE solution does not require the scatter matrices to be nonsingular, the proposed KDA-MSE algorithm is applicable to the undersampled problem. Moreover, the new KDA-MSE algorithm can be applied to multiclass problem, whereas the existing MSE-based kernel discriminant methods are limited to handle twoclass data only. Extensive experiments, including object recognition and face recognition on three benchmark databases, are performed and the results demonstrate that our algorithm is competitive in comparison with other kernel-based discriminant techniques in terms of recognition accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) mobilization and homing are critical to the development of an anti-thrombosis and anti-stenosis tissue-engineered blood vessel. The growth and activation of blood vessels are supported by nerves. We investigated whether nerve growth factors (NGF) can promote EPCs mobilization and endothelialization of tissue-engineered blood vessels. In vitro, NGF promoted EPCs to form more colonies, stimulated human EPCs to differentiate into endothelial cells, and significantly enhanced EPCs migration. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that NGF treatment increased the number of EPCs in the peripheral circulation of C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, the treatment of human EPCs with NGF facilitated their homing into wire-injured carotid arteries after injection into mice. Decellularized rat blood vessel matrix was incubated with EDC cross-linked collagen and bound to NGF protein using the bifunctional coupling agent N-succinmidyl3-(2-pyridyldit-hio) propionate (SPDP). The NGF-bound tissue-engineered blood vessel was implanted into rat carotid artery for 1 week and 1 month. NGF-bound blood vessels possessed significantly higher levels of endothelialization and patency than controls did. These results demonstrated that NGF can markedly increase EPCs mobilization and homing to vascular grafts. Neurotrophic factors such as NGF have a therapeutic potential for the construction of tissue-engineered blood vessels in vivo. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Through amending the SENKIN code of CHEMKIN III chemical kinetics package, a computational model of gas explosion in a constant volume bomb was built, and the detailed reaction mechanism (GRI-Mech 3.0) was adopted. The mole fraction profiles of reactants, some selected free radicals and catastrophic gases in the process of gas explosion were analyzed by this model. Furthermore, through the sensitivity analysis of the reaction mechanism of gas explosion, the dominant reactions that affect gas explosion and the formation of catastrophic gases were found out. At the same time, the inhibition mechanisms of water on gas explosion and the formation of catastrophic gases were analyzed. The results show that the induced explosion time is prolonged, and the mole fractions of reactant species such as CH4, O2 and catastrophic gases such as CO, CO2 and NO are decreased as water is added to the mixed gas. With the water fraction in the mixed gas increasing, the sensitivities of the dominant reactions contributing to CH4, CO2 are decreased and the sensitivity coefficients of CH4, CO and NO mole fractions are also decreased. The inhibition of gas explosion with water addition can be ascribed to the significant decrease of H, O and OH in the process of gas explosion due to the water presence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studies the stationary points of the multimodulus blind equalization criterion in a noiseless communication channel and proposes two adaptive Newton algorithms. It is shown in this paper that the stationary points of the multimodulus criterion can be grouped into two categories, according to the power of equalizer output. The stationary points having the same equalizer output power with that of the transmitted symbols are desirable global minima, while the stationary points having less equalizer output power than that of the transmitted symbols are saddle points. A pseudo Newton learning algorithm and a full Newton learning algorithm minimizing the multimodulus criterion are proposed. By using the matrix inversion lemma, both Newton algorithms can be efficiently implemented with a computational complexity of , where is the tap length of equalizer. Computer experiment results are presented. It is found that the full Newton algorithm performs well in both static and time-varying communication channels, while the pseudo Newton algorithm performs well only in static communication channels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fe3O4/silica composite nanospheres with different surface structure and morphology were synthesized by changing reaction conditions. As-synthesized nanospheres were characterized by high performance particle sizer (HPPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption and thermogravimetry (TGA). Besides thoroughly characterization, the particles were used for DNA extraction. We found that the particle surface structure and morphology affected the nucleic acid extraction efficiency. When comparing different samples with the same silanol density (1018), the one with a surface area of 60.37m2/g extracted DNA most effectively. Also, with increasing silanol density per surface area, DNA extraction efficiency increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new near-field multiple source localization algorithm for joint range and direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation is proposed. Via joint diagonalization of a set of matrices, the array manifold matrix is estimated and the automatically paired DOA and range parameters are obtained subsequently. The proposed algorithm does not require any search over the parameter space or any additional 2-D parameter paring procedure or high-order statistics (HOS) computation compared with the existing near-field source localization methods. Simulation results validate that the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the estimated DOA and range parameters are close to the Cramer–Rao bounds (CRBs). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Monodisperse NiO hierarchical nanoflowers fabricated by nanobundles have been successfully synthesized under hydrothermal conditions followed by a calcination treatment. It is amazingly observed that the bundle-like nanoflowers possessed the emanative needle-like ends on the nanoscale, which was different from the previous 3D hierarchical architectures only fabricated by nanosheets, entire solid rod-like and emanative needle-like structures. Furthermore, based on the further experiments, the amount of ethylene glycol (EG, 99.5 wt%) play a key role on the formation of emanative needle-like ends and constructions of the 3D hierarchical flower-like architectures, and the relative formation mechanism was primarily discussed. Such an unexpected morphology may provide a non-trivial behavior driven by the properties of emanative needle-like ends and electron transformation continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique nanoflower assembled from porous nanosheets was synthesized successfully via a novel one-step hydrothermal method for the first time. Namely, there was no calcination conducted on the whole preparation process, which was different from what the previous researches did. The unique architecture was characterized in detail using X-ray diffractometer, field-emission electron microscope. A possible growth mechanism was further proposed. We find that the obtained material shows a very excellent gas-sensing performance due to unique architecture with lots of pores on the petals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A KY converter has the characteristics of non‐pulsating output current, low‐output voltage ripple and no right‐half plane zero in continuous conduction mode which can overcome the drawbacks of the conventional boost and buck–boost converters. However, when the KY converter is implemented into an integrated circuit, its discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) operation cannot be avoided due to a small‐inductor value. The boundary for the DCM operation region, DCM dc voltage and small‐signal transfer functions are proposed, which fill the gap of the DCM operation theory for the KY converter. Simulation results, using MATLAB and Cadence, are provided to verify the deduced DCM operation theory of the KY converter. The DCM closed‐loop controller design can be achievable in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanomaterials with low-dimensional architectures frequently exhibit novel functional properties. In current work, NiO nanobelts with well-defined morphologies and uniform size have been successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Furthermore, a novel growth mechanism of NiO nanobelts has been proposed in detail. Surprisingly, it is worth mentioning that the sodium oxalate is of great benefit to the formation of NiO one-dimensional nanostructures and plays a vital role on tailoring morphologies of nanobelts on the basis of further comparative experiments. Such a synthetic way may open up an avenue to prepare some other oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum trioxides (MoO 3 ) with flower-like hierarchical structure and distinct nanobelts have been synthesized via a hydrothermal method. A series of comparative experiments show that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and HNO 3 have evident impact on forming the morphologies of MoO 3 . Interestingly, the add order of CTAB and HNO 3 can be also a determinant factor in the assemble process. This research is of great significance in the preparations, characterizations and applications of various 1D and 3D semiconductor metal oxides. The possible growth mechanism is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we used first-principles calculations based on density functional theory to discuss the changes in the adsorption structure, adsorption energy, bonding and electronic structure of typical sulphide gas molecules on the perfect γ-Fe(1 1 1) surface and its vacancy and doping sites, and did a comparative study. We constructed their adsorption model and determined the best adsorption site, explaining the adsorption mechanism and dissociation mode. [Display omitted] • DFT is used to calculate the adsorption of typical sulphide gas molecules on the surface of γ-Fe(1 1 1). • The adsorption configurations of typical sulphide gas molecules on γ-Fe(1 1 1) surface were constructed respectively. • The adsorption structure, adsorption energy, bonding and the change of electronic structure were discussed in detail. • The generation of vacancy defects will promote the dissociation and adsorption of sulfide gas molecules. In this work, based on the first-principles method of density functional theory (DFT), the adsorption and dissociation paths of sulphide gas molecules on pure, vacancy-defective, Ni-doped and Cr-doped γ-Fe(1 1 1) surfaces have been studied systematically. The results show that H 2 S, COS, CH 3 SH can be spontaneously adsorbed on these four surfaces. Significant adsorption properties, changes in molecular structure and charge transfer indicate that chemical adsorption has taken place. The calculation results of the density of states show that the electronic orbitals between the sulphide molecules and the substrate surface are hybridized, indicating the formation of new chemical structures between them. Meanwhile, the chemical bonds of the three sulphide molecules are easy to break during the adsorption process, and the products are adsorbed on the surface in a more stable form. This work can provide theoretical guidance for anticorrosion and material selection of natural gas pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing water use and relieving negative environmental consequences contribute to regional water and ecological sustainability. This work examined water resource efficiency (WRE) and the effects of effective crop water use from the perspective of the water footprint. WRE was defined as the ratio of consumptive field water use (CWU) to the total crop water footprint (CWF), including the blue water footprint applied (BWFA), green water footprint (GWF), and grey water footprint (GYWF). WRE for the cultivation of the main crops (rice, wheat, maize, beans, and tubers) produced in China during the period of 1996–2015 was determined from estimates of provincial CWFs and CWUs. The results show that national CWF was estimated as 678.5 Gm³, of which GWF comprised 55.1%; the national crop CWU was approximately 455.6 Gm³ in the period considered, and this included 82.1% green and 17.9% blue water. The spatial patterns of CWF and CWU densities differed greatly but were stable over time, with increasing trends exhibited from 1996 to 2015. The national WRE for crops was 0.672, and that for beans was 0.869, an efficiency larger than that of any other crop. The indices for rice and wheat were approximately 0.630. WRE cannot be replaced by the global efficiency (GEF) or generalized efficiency (GE) indices, either for scientific evaluations or for considerations of spatial distributions. This study aids in the evaluation of effective water resource consumption by considering the process of agricultural water use, and also the impact of crop production on water quality and quantity. Hence, WRE is an advanced indicator linking measurements of water footprint with assessments of crop management and the sustainability of regional water resources. [Display omitted] • Water resources effectiveness (WRE) was assessed from the water footprint perspective. • WRE was 0.672 and varied among crops in grain production of China. • It's needs to reduce crop water footprint and improve WRE in rice production of China. • WRE is an improvement of agricultural water use efficiency evaluation index system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel approach is proposed and investigated to reduce unburned hydrocarbon emissions from a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine by using in-cylinder catalysts. The combustion and emission characteristics of this HCCI engine are numerically simulated in three cases, i.e., the baseline engine with an uncoated piston crown, the engine with a platinum coating on the top and side surfaces of the piston crown (full coated case) and the engine with a platinum coating only on the side surface of the piston crown (partial coated case). A detailed reaction mechanism of methane oxidation on platinum catalyst is adopted. The results show that the unburned hydrocarbons of the HCCI engine arise primarily from sources near the combustion chamber wall, such as flame quenching at the entrance of crevice volumes and at the combustion chamber wall, and the adsorption and desorption of methane into and from the cylinder wall. The in-cylinder catalyst gives rise to a reduction of exhaust unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions by approximately 15% with the full coating of platinum catalyst on the piston crown, however, with the partial coating, the in-cylinder catalyst can reduce the UHC emissions by approximately 20%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A combined study of zircon U-Pb dating, Hf isotopes and trace elements has been carried out for granodioritic neosomes of migmatites from the Tianjingping area in northwestern Fujian Province. Zircons are characterized by zoning, higher Th/U ratios (mostly ⩾0.1), HREE enrichment, and positive Ce and negative Eu anomalies, and show features similar to magmatic or anatectic zircons. Apparent 206Pb/238U ages for the zircons are 447±2 Ma (95% conf., MSWD = 0.88), corresponding to a Caledonian event. εHf(f) values are -13.3 to -9.7, indicating a crustal source. Two-stage Hf model ages are 1.7 to 1.9 Ga, suggesting that protolith of the migmates was probably formed in the Paleoproterozoic. The granodioritic neosomes have the characteristics of peraluminous calc-alkaline granite, and their REE patterns and trace elements spidergrams show features of middle to upper crustal rocks. Together with previous studies, we conclude that the protolith of the Cathaysia basement in the Tianjingping area was likely formed in the middle-late Paleoproterozoic and experienced partial melting during the Caledonian period. The recognition of Caledonian reworking of the Paleoproterozoic basement in the Cathaysia Block provides a new insight into the tectonic evolution of the Cathaysia Block in the Caledonian period and the interaction between the Cathaysia Block and the Yangtze Block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of conjugated copolymers derived from 9-ethylhexyl-2,7-carbazole (Cz) and 4,7-di(4-hexylthien-2-yl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DHTBT) was synthesized by Suzuki polycondensation. The photo- and electro-luminescent properties of these polymers were investigated. Efficient energy transfer from the Cz segment to the DHTBT unit occurs even if the DHTBT content as low as 1 mol%. PL emission was red-shifted significantly from 645 nm to 700 nm with the increase in DHTBT content by 1–50 mol%. PL efficiencies decreased with the increase in DHTBT content in the polymers from 55% for PCzDHTBT1 gradually down to 7% for PCzDHTBT50. EL emission of these polymers red-shifted from 640 nm to 690 nm when the DHTBT content increased from 1 mol% to 50 mol%. The highest external quantum efficiency was 1.67% for PCzDHTBT25 with the maximum luminescence of 870 cd/m2 in the device configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer/PFN/Ba/Al. The enhancement of device performances could be due to the improved electron injection by inserting the amino-containing polyfluorene (PFN) layer. These polymers are promising candidates as a red emitter in the full-color polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The combustion processes of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines whose piston surfaces were coated with catalyst (platinum) are numerically investigated. The detailed reaction mechanism of methane oxidation on platinum catalyst is adopted. Mathematical models of three different levels, namely, a single-zone model, a multi-zone model, and a multidimensional one are developed. The effects of catalytic combustion on the ignition timing, the emissions of hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxide (NO x ), and the combustion characteristics of HCCI engines are analyzed through the single- and the multi-zone models. The results show that due to the catalytic coating the ignition timing is advanced, the emissions of HC and CO are decreased, while the emissions of NO x are elevated, and that the indicated fuel conversion rate and the combustion efficiency are increased. Furthermore, through the multidimensional model, the inhomogeneity of the temperature and species concentration fields as well as the turbulence effect are considered. It is shown that the temperature and HC, CO concentration fields in the cylinder are more homogeneous because of the effects of catalytic combustion. Finally, a brief comparison of the above three models is presented. Advantages, drawbacks and applicabilities of each model are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The equation of stress intensity factors(SIF) of internally pressurized thick-walled cylinder was used as the reference case. SIF equation of rotating thick-walled cylinder containing a radial crack along the internal bore was presented in weight function method. The weight function formulas were worked out and can be used for all kinds of depth of cracks, rotating speed, material, size of thick-walled cylinder to calculate the stress intensity factors. The results indicated the validity and effectiveness of these formulas. Meanwhile, the rules of the stress intensity factors in rotating thick-walled cylinder with the change of crack depths and the ratio of outer radius to inner radius were studied. The studies are valuable to engineering application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Whether syphilis influences lymphocyte apoptosis has not been reported so far.Goal: The goals of this study were to determine whether syphilis influences lymphocyte apoptosis and to investigate the molecular mechanism of apoptosis.Study Design: Peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) immunophenotypes, apoptosis, and expression of Fas (CD95) and Bcl-2 were detected by flow cytometry in 33 patients with secondary early syphilis and 30 healthy subjects.Results: Compared with the control subjects, the percentage of CD4 T cells and the ratio of CD4:CD8 were significantly decreased, and that of CD8 T cells and the apoptotic rates of PBLs and CD4 T cells were obviously increased in syphilitic patients. Fas overexpression and Bcl-2 downexpression in the syphilitic group were observed in PBLs and CD4 cells but not in CD8 and CD19 cells.Conclusions: The increased apoptosis of PBLs and CD4 T cells by Fas-mediated death pathway and downexpression of Bcl-2 protein could account for immune dysfunction in secondary early syphilis, which is responsible for the incomplete clearance of Treponema pallidum from the lesions and the chronic infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction between Ti(OPri)4 and 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQ) resulted in TiQ2(OPri)2, 1 in 90% yield. Further reaction of 1 with water yielded [TiQ2(μ-O)]4·nH2O, 2·nH2O, n=2 or 6 depending on whether the sample was dried. The structures of 1 and 2·6H2O were determined by X-ray diffraction method. In 1 and 2 the bonding situations around the pseudo-octahedrally coordinated Ti(IV) are very similar. The two oxygen atoms from Q− ligands are trans to each other, while the two nitrogen atoms are cis to each other and trans to the other two oxygen atoms of OPri in 1 and μ-O in 2. The [Ti(μ-O)]4 eight-membered ring is puckered. There is extensive hydrogen bonding of four water molecules with [TiQ2(μ-O)]4, two on each side of the eight-membered ring of [Ti(μ-O)]4. The two water molecules on the same face of the eight-membered ring are further hydrogen bonded to another water molecule. A novel feature in 2 is that the plane of each Q− ligand is parallel to that of another Q− ligand coordinated to a neighboring Ti(IV) in an eclipsed conformation. The average distance between the corresponding atoms in the parallel Q− ligands is 3.6 A˚. It is an indication that there is a strong non-bonding interaction between each pair of parallel Q− ligands. The hydrogen bonds and the non-bonding interactions lead to the most severely distorted plane of the [Ti(μ-O)]4 eight-membered ring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

OBJECTIVE: Chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HBC) or both constitute the majority of cases of liver diseases in China. Pathologists often need to differentiate between the morphological features of HBV and HCV. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in inflammatory activity, fibrosis and morphological characteristics in various types of chronic viral hepatitis. METHODS: Inflammatory activity and degree of fibrosis in liver biopsies taken from 224 patients with chronic hepatitis were determined according to the Diagnostic Criteria of Chronic Hepatitis, China, 1995 . Each of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) and the hepatitis C virus nuclear core protein (CP10 ) were detected on paraffin sections of the biopsies by using immunohistochemical methods. Patients were divided into HBV, HCV and HBV + HCV infection groups and the differences among these groups were assessed on the basis of histopathological characteristics including inflammatory activity, fibrosis, steatosis, intrahepatic cholestasis, Councilman bodies and ground-glass hepatocytes. RESULTS: The HCV infection group had more severe inflammatory activity, fibrosis and intrahepatic cholestasis than did the HBV infection group. The degree of inflammatory activity and fibrosis in the HBV + HCV infection group was moderate, but the degree of intrahepatic cholestasis was the most severe of the three study groups. Ground-glass hepatocytes were only noted in HBV-infected specimens. There was no difference in the occurrences of steatosis and Councilman bodies among the three study groups. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of inflammatory activity and fibrosis induced by HCV in hepatocytes is more severe than that induced by HBV. The histological changes observed in liver infected by both HBV and HCV are no more severe than those observed in liver infected with either HBV or HCV. Intrahepatic cholestasis may... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geospatial cellular automata (Geo-CA) models have encountered challenges in computing efficiency and scalability when conducting large-scale land use change simulation applications. Parallel computing has proven to be effective to address these challenges. However, parallelization strategies for existing parallel Geo-CA models are always optimized for specific models and lack applicability to others. Besides, most parallel Geo-CA models focus on parallelizing land use change simulations, ignoring land use transition rule mining. Moreover, there is a lack of effective parallel strategies for demand-constrained land use change simulation on distributed heterogeneous architectures. This study proposes a parallel framework on hybrid parallel computing architectures applicable for raster-based Geo-CA models to enhance their computing efficiency and scalability while maintaining simulation accuracy. The framework provides parallelization strategies for both the land use transition rule mining for multiple land use types and the demand-constrained land use change simulation on distributed heterogeneous architectures. The framework was employed to parallelize two contemporary Geo-CA models, i.e., PLUS and MCCA. Experiments showed that the parallelized models achieved significant improvements in computing efficiency and scalability, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed framework for large-scale land use change simulation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify and describe existing models for predicting knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: The electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inception to May 2023 for any studies to develop and validate a prediction model for predicting knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text qualifications, and extracted data. Risk of bias was assessed using the PROBAST. Data extraction of eligible articles was extracted by a data extraction form based on CHARMS. The quality of evidence was graded according to GRADE. The results were summarized with descriptive statistics. Results: The search identified 2693 records. Sixteen articles reporting on 26 prediction models were included targeting occurrence (n = 9), others (n = 7), progression (n = 5), persistent (n = 2), incident (n = 1), frequent (n = 1), and flares (n = 1) of knee pain. Most of the studies (94%) were at high risk of bias. Model discrimination was assessed by the AUROC ranging from 0.62 to 0.81. The most common predictors were age, BMI, gender, baseline pain, and joint space width. Only frequent knee pain had a moderate quality of evidence; all other types of knee pain had a low quality of evidence. Conclusion: There are many prediction models for knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis that do show promise. However, the clinical extensibility, applicability, and interpretability of predictive tools should be considered during model development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil-immersed power transformers generate characteristic gases after failure,Therefore, it is necessary to analyse and monitor the soluble gases in transformer oil samples. In this study, the DFT calculation method was used to study the adsorption properties of H2, CO, C2H2, and C2H4 gases in oil on both intrinsic MoTe2 and Rh-doped MoTe2 films. In order to analyse the adsorption characteristics, this paper first obtains the most stable Rh-doped MoTe2 monolayer model through the modelling and computational analysis of different doping sites, then, the adsorption of these gases on the material surface is studied by analysing adsorption energy, charge transfer, total state density, parting density, energy band structure, differential charge density map, molecular front orbital and desorption time, and finally concludes that Rh-MoTe2 monolayer film is the ideal material for hydrogen sensing elements, due to the extremely long desorption time of CO gas, indicating that CO gas is hard to desorption on the surface of adsorbent,which shows that this process has played a certain role in promoting CO removal. Highlights Study focused on gas adsorption using DFT: Rh-MoTe2 ideal for hydrogen sensing and effective for CO removal, intrinsic MoTe2 ineffective and required metal doping. Rh doping enhanced conductivity and gas adsorption capacity in MoTe2. Rh-MoTe2 was suitable for detecting H2, C2H2, and C2H4 gases. Desorption times vary with temperature, with CO removal particularly effective at higher temperatures. Findings suggest potential applications for Rh-MoTe2 in gas sensing and removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been recognized as a potential trigger for the transformation of benign melanocytic nevi into melanoma. However, the mechanisms governing the formation and progression of melanocytic nevi remain poorly understood. This lack of understanding is partly due to the difficulty in isolating and culturing nevus tissues in vitro, resulting in a dearth of robust ex vivo models for nevi. Therefore, the establishment of a reliable melanocytic nevus model is imperative. Such a model is essential for elucidating nevus pathogenesis and facilitating the development of effective therapeutic interventions. Therefore, we have sought to establish an ex vivo nevus explant model to study UVR stimulation. And the structural integrity and tissue activity of the ex vivo nevi explant model was evaluated. We then observed melanogenesis and proliferation activity of the explants after UVR stimulation. There was less blister formation after Day 3 in nevi explants under our modified medium conditions. The nevi explant was able to maintain almost the same morphological structure and tissue activity as in vivo tissue within 24 h. Following UVR stimulation, we observed increased melanogenesis and proliferation activity in nevi explants. Nevi explants could serve as an ex vivo model for UVR‐induced nevi stimulation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) plays an important role in tea production, and there are many studies on the enzymatic synthesis of theaflavins using PPO; however, using a purified PPO isozyme (PPOI) instead of a crude PPO enzyme to obtain monomeric theaflavin in vitro is a novel approach that has rarely been previously reported. In the present study, a tea PPOI was purified and used for the enzymatic synthesis of theaflavin monomers. Tea leaf PPOI was purified 12.90‐fold, with recovery yield of 1.30% via the sequential use of precipitation with 30%−80% saturated (NH4)2SO4, Q‐Sepharose Fast Flow anion exchange chromatography and Sephadex G‐75 gel filtration chromatography. Subsequently, PPOI was used in the enzymatic synthesis of theaflavins: under various pH, temperatures, reaction times and catechin substrate composition and concentration, only the amount of theaflavin components produced was changed, and no other theaflavin component apart from the theaflavin monomer was produced. These results highlight the importance of monomeric theaflavin synthesis using purified PPOI isozyme and provide insight into PPO in the context of tea production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the case of an individual with PHP, Turner syndrome and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Case: A 16-year-old girl was referred to our hospital with chief complaint of short stature. She presented with round chubby facies, short neck, obesity and short stature. Radiography indicated short metatarsals and metacarpals, which mainly affected the second, third and fourth digits. Biochemistry revealed hyperphosphatemia, increased serum concentrations of parathyroid hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone, elevated levels of follicular-stimulating hormone and prolactin, and increased thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroglobulin antibody. Radiographic examination revealed delayed bone age and pelvic ultrasonography demonstrated an immature uterus. Karyotype analysis showed 46,X,i(Xq10), while molecular analysis revealed a same sense mutation in exon 5 of GNAS (ATC → ATT, Ile).The specific diagnosis was made of Turner syndrome in the presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and PHP. She was treated with calcium supplementation, calcitriol and thyroxine. Conclusions: This is the first case report to describe a combination of Turner syndrome with these other clinical entities, and their co-existence should be considered and further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants have various self-defense mechanisms against biotic attacks, involving both physical and chemical barriers. Physical barriers include spines, trichomes, and cuticle layers, whereas chemical barriers include secondary metabolites (SMs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Complex interactions between plants and herbivores occur. Plant responses to insect herbivory begin with the perception of physical stimuli, chemical compounds (orally secreted by insects and herbivore-induced VOCs) during feeding. Plant cell membranes then generate ion fluxes that create differences in plasma membrane potential (Vm), which provokes the initiation of signal transduction, the activation of various hormones (e.g., jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and ethylene), and the release of VOCs and SMs. This review of recent studies of plant–herbivore–infection interactions focuses on early and late plant responses, including physical barriers, signal transduction, SM production as well as epigenetic regulation, and phytohormone responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]