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This paper presents a simulation model for a preemptive transportation system where vehicles can have tasks dynamically reassigned to optimize overall efficiency. The model, built using Flexsim software, includes 9 storage areas and 8 vehicles. Exponential distributions, validated with real logistics warehouse data, generate stochastic task arrivals. Recursive logic implements the preemption algorithm. Comparative analysis over a 10-hour duration shows that the preemptive mode increases average transport volume by 13 % and reduces vehicle travel distance by 13 % compared to a non-preemptive baseline. The results demonstrate the value of preemptive transportation in enhancing system responsiveness and operational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α- and β-FeSe thin films were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Compared to the other parameters, the growth temperature shows decisive influence on the phase transition of the FeSe samples. In temperature-dependent electrical measurements, n-type to p-type reversion was observed for both the α- or and β-FeSe samples. Furthermore, the p-type character of the films becomes more and more obvious with increasing the Se/Fe atomic ratio in the samples. Ferromagnetism was observed in the α-FeSe films although which is not supported by calculation on density of states. The ferromagnetic character shows significant dependence on Se/Fe atomic ratio in the films and was attributed to the Fe vacancies or Fe clusters in the α-FeSe thin films. The magnetic domain and hysteresis loop of the β-FeSe thin films are also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which investigated the influence of oxygen pressure on epitaxial quality of lanthanum...strontium...AlTa Oxygen... thin films deposited by laser ablation on different substrates. Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) is the most popular tool in gene editing; however, off-target mutagenesis is one of the biggest impediments in its application. In our previous study, we proposed the HH theory, which states that sgRNA/DNA hybrid (hybrid) extrusion-induced enhancement of hydrophobic interactions between the hybrid and REC3/HNH is a key factor in cleavage initiation. Based on the HH theory, we analyzed the interactions between the REC3 domain and hybrid and obtained 8 mutant sites. We designed 8 SpCas9 variants (V1–V8), used digital droplet PCR to assess SpCas9-induced DNA indels in human cells, and developed high-fidelity variants. Thus, the HH theory may be employed to further optimize SpCas9-mediated genome editing systems, and the resultant V3, V6, V7, and V8 SpCas9 variants may be valuable for applications requiring high-precision genome editing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two stars of stellar binaries can be tidally disrupted by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) in sequence. In this contribution, we review our recent study about double tidal disruption events (DTDEs) with SMBHBs. With the help of scattering experiments, we find that the time interval between two successive tidal disruption events (TDEs) depend on the semimajor axis of incident stellar binaries. For stellar binaries with 1 M⊙ for each companion star and a semimajor axis less than 100 au, the maximum time interval is about 150 days when the stellar binary is tidally disrupted by an SMBH. However, for an SMBHB, the time intervals can be very large, and the maximum can exceed 10,000 years. Moreover, we also compare the probabilities of a DTDE with the time interval larger than 150 days by the SMBHB and of two separate TDEs by the SMBH with the same time interval. We find that, for the time interval of 150 days to 15 years, the probability of DTDEs by the SMBHB with a large mass ratio (i.e., qbhb ≳ 0.1) is larger than that of the SMBH scenario. Finally, according to our results, we suggest that DTDEs with the time interval of 150 days to 15 years could be useful tools for finding SMBHB candidates with the mass ratio qbhb ≳ 0.1 at galactic centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which described the 2a[sub0]x2b[sub0]xc[sub0] superstructure in bi-based cuprate superconductors using electron diffraction. Characteristics of the superconductors; Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusions.

Hidradenitis suppurativa ( HS) is a chronic disease of follicular occlusion. It involves the axilla, groin, perianal and perineal regions, and is characterized by recurrent draining sinuses, skin abscesses and disfiguring scars. Loss-of-function mutations in the genes encoding γ-secretase have been identified as a cause of HS. We collected skin samples from three patients with HS from a Chinese family carrying a NCSTN mutation (c.1258C>T (p.Q420X)) and three unrelated healthy controls ( HCs). Expression level of nicastrin in skin tissue and cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts of patients and HCs was determined by real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting. We found that the mRNA and protein levels of nicastrin were significantly reduced in the whole skin, epidermis, dermis, and cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts compared with HCs. Therefore, we conclude that haploinsufficiency of the NCSTN gene caused by the nonsense mutation c.1258C>T (p.Q420X) contributes to the occurrence of HS in this family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early Late Pleistocene late archaic human remains from Xujiayao, northern China, reveal several abnormalities of the neurocranial vault. The Xujiayao site is located on the northwestern boundary of the Nihewan Basin, and on the basis of various indicators, it dates to the early Late Pleistocene. Among the 15 human neurocranial elements found at Xujiayao in the 1970s, three elements show minor traumatic lesions of the external table: the largely complete Xujiayao 5a immature parietal bone, the Xujiayao 8 small piece of anterior right parietal bone and the Xujiayao 12 partial occipital bone. The lesions are all superior to the temporal or nuchal lines and hence were subcutaneous, covered only by the pericranium, the galea aponeurotica and the overlying skin. The external tables are variably concave with irregular bone within the bony depressions, and the diploë show varying degrees of involvement. The Xujiayao abnormalities join a series of minor neurocranial healed lesions among Pleistocene humans, as well as more pronounced healed neurocranial and facial trauma. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Kaposi's sarcoma ( KS) is an unusual illness that may be associated with human herpes virus 8 ( HHV-8) infections, and appears mainly in Jews, Italians and Greeks. There is a lack of patient data in Xinjiang regarding the clinical characteristics of KS. Objectives To review the clinical characteristics of a series of patients with KS in Xinjiang, Northwest China, over 16-year period. Methods A retrospective analysis of patients referred to a Xinjiang hospital in Northwest China with classic KS ( CKS) and AIDS-associated KS ( AIDS- KS) between January 1997 and April 2013 was performed. Reviewed information included demographics, clinical features, histopathological traits, treatment and presence of HHV-8 infection. Results During the study period, 105 patients with a diagnosis of KS, including 77 CKS and 28 AIDS- KS, were referred to our hospital. Mean age at diagnosis was 55.8 ± 16.8 years (range: 25-85 years). There were 70 (90.9%) males and 7 (9.1%) females (male-to-female ratio: 10 : 1) having CKS and 21 (75.0%) males and 7 (25.0%) females (male-to-female ratio: 3 : 1) with AIDS- KS. Most of the patients were Uyghur, including 67 CKS and 24 AIDS- KS. The rate of multifocal lesions at diagnosis was 98.1% (103/105). The most common area of lesions was between 1% and 5% of CKS and AIDS- KS . The main types of lesions were nodules, patches and plaques. The lower extremity and foot were the most common locations for CKS and AIDS- KS. In addition to skin damage, the penis, mouth, lymph nodes and interstitial lung tissues were involved in some cases. No second primary malignancy was diagnosed. Systemic chemotherapy and radiotherapy were effective treatments for CKS. The HHV-8 positivity rate was 98.98% in 98 KS cases. Conclusions In Xinjiang, most CKS and AIDS- KS patients were older Uyghur men. AIDS- KS was found predominantly among 30-year-old Uyghur patients, compared with 60 years for those having CKS. The latter exhibited certain characteristics such as disseminated skin disease; in some patients, the condition was accompanied by lymphedema, visceral or lymph node involvement, but no secondary malignancies. In addition, the HHV-8 positivity rate associated with KS was very high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of China's economy, the continuous improvement of people's living standards and the rapid development of the taxi industry in China, the trip volume of urban taxi and the traveling demands rise rapidly. In this paper, based on the goal and direction of taxi price adjustment of Beijing, from the perspective of economic behavior choice of pedestrians, through the cost-demand equilibrium and the break-even analysis, it finds taxi demands are negatively correlated to fixed costs and the private car population is negatively correlated to the relative traveling cost of the private by the public transportation. Finally, combined with the influence of current taxi software application, thus it puts forward the targeted taxi traffic demand management policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in tissue density cause a variety of scattering coefficients. To quantify optical coherence tomography (OCT) images for diagnosis, the tissue's scattering coefficient is estimated by curve fitting the OCT signals to a confocal single backscattering mode.The results from a group of 30 mice show that the scattering coefficients of bone, skin, liver, brain, testis, and spleen can be categorized into three groups: a scattering coefficient between 1.947 and 2.134mm-1: bone and skin; a scattering coefficient between 1.303 and 1.461mm-1: liver and brain; a scattering coefficient between 0.523 and 0.634mm-1: testis and spleen.The results indicate that the scattering coefficient is tissue specific and could be used in tissue diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of programmed death-1 ( PD-1) as well as cytokine/chemokine expression and its correlation with virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis B ( CHB) is unclear. This study was conducted in 29 treatment-naïve patients undergoing telbivudine treatment for 52 weeks. The results showed that PD-1 expression on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was positively correlated with hepatitis B virus ( HBV) DNA levels ( r = 0.621, P < 0.0001; r = 0.548, P = 0.002, respectively), and in virological responders, this decrease was directly correlated with a decrease in HBV DNA levels ( r = 0.664, P = 0.002; r = 0.572, P = 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, at the end of 52 weeks, in virological responders, the decreased rate in the frequency of PD-1+ CD8+ T cells was significantly higher than in non-virological responders (58.3% vs 25.7%, P = 0.001), and at weeks 24 and 52, in virological responders, PD-1 expression on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was lower than in non-virological responders ( P = 0.01 and P = 0.035; P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). In 34 cytokines/chemokines detected in serum, IP-10 expression was positively correlated with viral load, level of ALT and PD-1 expression on CD8+ and CD4+ T cells at baseline ( r = 0.36, P = 0.055, r = 0.635, P < 0.0001, r = 0.414, P = 0.026, and r = 0.402, P = 0.030, respectively). Moreover, the decrease in IP-10 in serum directly correlated with a decrease in ALT levels ( r = 0.751, P < 0.0001). At weeks 24 and 25, IP-10 expression was significantly lower than baseline in virological responders (both P = 0.005); however, this was not observed in nonresponders. Based on the above findings, PD-1 and IP-10 may be used as predictors for virological response, and blockade of their pathway may improve the outcome of patients with CHB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To quantify OCT images of rectal tissue for clinic diagnosis, the scattering coefficient of the tissue is extracted by curve fitting the OCT signals to a confocal single model. A total of 1000 measurements (half and half of normal and malignant tissues) were obtained from 16 recta. The normal rectal tissue has a larger scattering coefficient ranging from 1.09 to 5.41 mm-1with a mean value of 2.29 mm-1 (std:±0.32), while the malignant group shows lower scattering property and the values ranging from 0.25 to 2.69 mm-1 with a mean value of 1.41 mm-1 (std:±0.18). The peri-cancer of recta has also been investigated to distinguish the difference between normal and malignant rectal tissue. The results demonstrate that the quantitative analysis of the rectal tissue can be used as a promising diagnostic criterion of early rectal cancer, which has great value for clinical medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of tracking control for a class of uncertain time-delay non-linear system with state constraint is addressed. To prevent constraint violation, the tangent barrier Lyapunov function (TBLF) is firstly used for time-delay nonlinear system. By ensuring boundedness of the TBLF in the closed loop, besides those limits are not transgressed, the authors also tackle scenarios wherein parametric uncertainties and time delays are presented. Asymptotically tracking stable in the sense of uniformly ultimate boundedness is achieved without violation of the constraint. Finally, the performance of the proposed control has been illustrated through a chaotic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is the most common adverse event induced by capecitabine. Some clinicians think that HFS is a type of inflammation limited to the hands and feet and can be prevented with a COX-2 inhibitor (celecoxib). Methods: We designed a single-center, prospective randomized clinical trial to test the hypothesis. From August 2008 to December 2010, stage II and III colorectal cancer patients receiving capecitabine-based chemotherapy enrolled in the trial voluntarily. All patients were divided randomly into two groups treated with or without celecoxib. All adverse events were recorded. Results: Grade 1 and grade 2 HFS were more common in the capecitabine group than in the capecitabine/celecoxib group (74.6% versus 57.4%, P = 0.034, 29.6% versus 14.7% P = 0.035). The use of celecoxib (P < 0.001, P = 0.003) and the level of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (P = 0.048, P = 0.014) affected the incidence of grade 1 and 2 HFS, as determined by log-rank analysis. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that the use of celecoxib was the only factor that affected the incidence of ≥ grade 1 HFS [Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.556, P = 0.001] and ≥ grade 2 HFS (HR: 0.414, P = 0.005). Conclusions: Celecoxib can be used effectively and safely to prevent capecitabine-related HFS. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Summary The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and significance of l-arginine and ageing on nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway and ET-1 in penile tissue of rats. The different months old rats were divided into control group and experiment group randomly, the content of NO, cGMP, the changes of activity of Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS) and the content of endothelin-1(ET-1) in penile tissue were determined. Along with ageing, NO and the activity of NOS in penile tissue increased at first and then decreased ( P < 0.001). The content of cGMP reduced obviously ( P < 0.001), the content of ET-1 had a tendency to increase, and the ratio of ET-1/NO increased significantly ( P < 0.001 or P < 0.01). After feeding rats with l-arginine for some time, both the activity of NOS and the content of cGMP increased significantly in penile tissue ( P < 0.001), while there was no obvious change in the content of ET-1. Our study shows that whether the smooth muscle cells relax or contract might be decided by the content of cGMP and value of ET-1/NO in penile tissue. l-arginine had significant effect on increasing the activity of NOS and the content of NO and cGMP, indicating that l-arginine has potential clinical value to be used in treating ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosized Mn powders were fabricated by milling Mn flakes in pure ethyl alcohol followed by homogenization. XRD analysis confirms single-phase characterization of the product and shows it has a grain size of 40 nm. The ZFC and FC magnetizations exhibit a large irreversibility with onset of about 60 K. The fit of the Curie--Weiss relation indicates strong AFM interaction in the considered system. A large coercive field and shifted hysteresis loops, i.e. He = 83.6 kA/m, are observed at 5 K in the 2 T field cooling case. The analysis indicates that surface anisotropy can lead to the occurrence of large exchange bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycelia of Pleurotus ostreatus were grown in whey permeate (WP)-based medium with lactose content of 4.5% or in controlled synthetic medium, and harvested after 4, 8, 12, or 16 days of fermentation at 25 °C. Biomass production, crude water-soluble polysaccharide (WSP), ash content, mineral profile, and crude protein content were determined. Harvesting time and type of medium interacted to alter the chemical content of mycelia. Mycelia grown in whey permeate had greater (P < 0.01) WSP and ash contents than mycelia grown in the synthetic medium. Maximum production of WSP was obtained on the 12th day (5.9 x 10² ± 38 mg WSP g-1 dried mycelia) from mycelia grown in the WP-based medium. Biomass production of mycelia in whey permeate was found to be low but positively correlated to WSP content (r = 0.67, P = 0.02). Mycelia grown in whey permeate harvested on the 8th day had the highest ash content (14% ±1%). Calcium was found to be the main constituent in the ash of mushroom mycelia, which was followed by phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Data in this research suggested that whey permeate was more favorable than the synthetic medium for production of more crude WSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a deformation kinetics approach to modelling dwell fatigue. The kinetics of dislocation pile-up is formulated as a competition between dislocation glide and climb. The continuously distributed dislocation theory is used to model the nucleation of Zener–Stroh– Koehler (ZSK) cracks in anisotropic materials. The mechanism of interaction between a fatigue crack and microZSK cracks is also elucidated and a dwell fatigue life equation is derived based on the above considerations. The model is validated using data reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its inherent advantages such as reasoning in the format of heuristic rules based on human experience and less stringent requirement on environmental description, fuzzy logic is a promising tool for the robot motion planning in 3-dimensional dynamic environment. In general, in the Cartesian space, the variables used in characterizing the motion of a mobile robot, such as position, velocity, and force relative to other objects or coordinate frames, contain both the magnitude and the pointing information. In previous studies, the fuzzy reasoning on the pointing information was often developed based on the decomposition of the pointing vector followed by conventional fuzzy logic technique on individual vector components. Consequently, when multiple pointing variables are involved, the number of fuzzy variables that need to be considered simultaneously becomes large and the rule base may become very complex, which diminishes the advantages of the fuzzy reasoning approach. In this research, we tackle this issue by implementing a new fuzzy reasoning approach based on vector-format fuzzy variables. To achieve this, a set of new membership functions is defined for the vector-format fuzzy variables, followed by the establishment of a series of new vector-based fuzzification, fuzzy inference, and defuzzification procedures. By treating the multidimensional variables as unitary linguistic variables, the number of fuzzy variables in the fuzzy propositions and therefore the scale of the rule base can be reduced considerably. As an application example, the proposed new fuzzy reasoning approach for motion planning is applied to an Underwater Robotics Vehicle (URV) operating in an oceanic environment, where the pointing of the goal and the pointing vectors of the obstacles are treated as vector-type fuzzy variables, which leads to a compact and significantly simplified rule base. The motion planner can successfully guide the URV to move in the complicated dynamic environ-ment in a real-time fashion, which clearly demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of the new fuzzy logic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniform arrays of periodic nanoparticles with 80-nm period are formed on 6H-SiC crystal irradiated by circularly polarized 400-nm femtosecond laser pulses. In order to understand the formation mechanism, the morphology evolvement as a function of laser pulse energy and number is studied. Periodic nanoripples are also formed on the sample surface irradiated by linearly polarized 400-, 510- and 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses. All these results support well the mechanism that second-harmonic generation plays an important role in the formation of periodic nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to construct the eukaryotic expression vectors for sense tankyrase and to investigate the effects of tankyrase transfection on smooth muscle cells of corpus cavernosum in the rat. After the eukaryotic expression vectors for sense tankyrase were constructed and identified smooth muscle cells of rat corpus cavernosum were transfected with the recombinant plasmids of sense tankyrase (pcDNA-TNKS). Levels of DNA and RNA were then evaluated. Measurement of telomerase activity was conducted by TRAP-ELISA assay, the length of telomere by Southern blot and the growth curve by MTT assay. We have found that the eukaryotic expression vectors for sense tankyrase were constructed and the recombinant plasmids of sense tankyrase were transfected into smooth muscle cells of rat corpus cavernosum successfully; no significant differences in telomerase activity were observed between TNKS-transfected cells (SMC-TANKS), zero-load- transfected cells (SMC-Zeo), and non-transfected cells (SMC) (P > 0.05). The length of telomere in SMC-TANKS was longer than that in SMC-Zeo or SMC (P [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which derived a higher-order plane-stress theory for laminates consisting of isotropic layers. Stress and displacement functions of isotropic layers; Boundary value problem example; Discussion.

The optical and electrical properties of FeSe thin films are studied by both optical absorption and Hall measurements, which suggest that ferromagnetic FeSe is a metal instead of a semiconductor. No absorption gap is observed in the whole spectrum range from far infrared to ultraviolet. Temperature dependent transport measurement indicates that FeSe has a resistivity about 10-3 Ω cm. It is also found that there is a transition from n-type conductivity at low temperatures to p-type conductivity at higher temperatures in FeSe, which is attributed to the two-carrier transport nature and the thermal activation of localized carriers in the thin film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cd1-xFexS thin films with different Fe contents were grown on c-plane sapphire by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The resistivity of the thin films was found to increase with the addition of more Fe contents into the Cd1-xFexS thin films by elevating the growth temperature, which was attributed to the ionization of holes from trivalent Fe ions. High density Fe doping eventually reversed the conductivity of Cd1-xFexS thin film from n to p type. With increasing Fe content, the band-to-band transition at 2.5 eV was suppressed while the emission from the donor-acceptor pairs at 2.0–2.4 eV finally dominated the photoluminescence spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Meteorology Administration chemistry model Chinese Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment (CUACE) is online integrated into the mesoscale operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) model (GRAPES_Meso5.1) and aerosol‐cloud‐radiation interaction is achieved to establish the first version (V1) of chemistry‐weather (CW) interacted model GRAPES‐Meso5.1/CUACE CW V1. The most polluted winter 2016–2017 is selected to study the meteorology impacts on haze/fog prediction, the impact of aerosol‐radiation, aerosol‐cloud and CW interaction (ARI, ACI, CWI) on haze/fog prediction and NWP. Single way model without CWI displays reasonable PM2.5 and visibility prediction in general. However, modeled PM2.5 peaks are underestimated and visibility valleys are overestimated during haze/fog pollution, the underestimation of relative humidity (RH) contributes major to this misestimation; CWI model cut the negative bias of PM2.5 peaks and the positive bias of visibility valleys. The improvement of 5 and 3 km low visibility by CWI during severe haze/fog period is more obvious than that of 10 km, which just compensates for the largest deficiency in low visibility prediction related with severe haze/fog by single way model; The NWP including sea level pressures, RH, temperature, wind speed are also improved by CWI from surface to upper troposphere; ARI contributes larger to the predicted PM2.5,visibility and NWP improvement than that of ACI, their relative contributions varies with model vertical height and the overlapping condition of cloud and aerosols. Due to the joint contribution of RH and PM2.5, CWI's improving on visibility is larger than PM2.5. This study illustrates the importance of including CWI in air quality prediction model. Plain Language Summary: Double way atmospheric chemistry model considering complete aerosol‐radiation‐cloud interaction is the hot and difficult issue in climate, weather and air quality (AQ) modeling. Focusing on better prediction of haze/fog pollution in China, the first version (V1) of chemistry‐weather (CW) interacted model GRAPES‐Meso5.1/CUACE CW V1 is established by online coupling the Chinese Meteorology Administration CUACE chemistry model with the updated operational mesoscale weather model GRAPES_Meso5.1 and the further completion of aerosol‐cloud‐radiation interaction in it. The meteorology impacts on haze/fog prediction including PM2.5 and visibility is discussed. The impacts of aerosol‐cloud interaction (ACI), aerosol radiation interaction (ARI) and the both (CWI) on haze/fog prediction and mesoscale NWP is further studied. The study results shows that the important impacts of relative humidity on high PM2.5 and low visibility and the improving of PM2.5, low visibility prediction and NWP by ARI, ACI and CWI during haze/fog episode, indicating the importance of CW model in better AQ prediction and NWP in polluted region. Key Points: An online chemistry‐weather (CW) interacted GRAPES_Meso5.1/Chinese Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment CW V1.0 model with aerosol‐radiation‐cloud interaction is establishedSingle way model shows basic reasonable haze/fog prediction including visibility and PM2.5 in most polluted subregions in ChinaCW Interaction improves PM2.5, visibility and numerical weather prediction from surface to upper troposphere to varying degree [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and powerful gait recognition algorithm is proposed. The method of procrustes shape analysis is used to produce procrustes mean shape (PMS) as a compressed representation of gait sequence. PMS is regarded as the gait signature for classification. Quite different and novel, instead of using the procrustes mean shape distance as a similarity measure, a novel shape descriptor, shape context, to measure the similarity between two PMSs is introduced. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other approaches in terms of recognition accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper entitled “An extreme case of the generalized optimal discriminant transformation and its application to face recognition” [X.J. Wu, J.P. Lu, J.Y. Yang, S.T. Wang, J. Kittler, An extreme case of the generalized optimal discriminant transformation and its application to face recognition, Neurocomputing 70(4–6) (2007) 828–834] contains several flaws. The main one is corrected in this note. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), phenolic content, and crude water-soluble polysaccharide (WSP) were determined for Lentinus edodes mycelia grown on both whey permeate (WP)-based medium with lactose content of 4.5% and controlled medium, and harvested after 5, 10, 15, or 20 d of fermentation at 25 °C. Both methanol extracts and water extracts of L. edodes in this study were found to exhibit high free radical scavenging capacity. The harvesting time was found to contribute to most of the variability in the free radical scavenging capacity. High levels of antioxidant capacities (0.28 ± 0.03 and 0.29 ± 0.06 mmol TAE/g dry weight for methanol and water extracts, respectively) were observed in mycelia grown on whey permeate and harvested on day 10. Harvesting time and the type of media can interact to alter the chemical content of mycelia. Mycelia grown in whey permeate had greater ( P < 0.05) WSP than mycelia grown in the synthetic media. High levels of WSP (4.1 × 102± 71 mg polysaccharide/g dried mycelia) were found in mycelia grown in whey permeate and harvested on day 10. Whey permeate grown mycelia had phenolic compounds ranging from 4.2 ± 0.1 to 8.0 ± 0.8 mg GAE/g dried mycelia. The overall means of total phenolic contents of mycelia grown in whey permeate were 5.9 ± 0.5 and 6.2 ± 0.6 mg GAE/g dried mycelia for methanol and water extracts, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structures, magnetic, and dielectric properties for the ordered double perovskites LnPbCoSbO6 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd) have been investigated. The crystal structure has been solved by Rietveld refinements of X-ray diffraction data in the monoclinic space group P21/n (No. 14). The Co2+ and Sb5+ ions are almost fully ordered over the B-site, and the octahedral framework displays significant tilting distortion according to the Glazer's tilt system a-a-c+. As the result of lanthanide contraction from La3+ to Nd3+, the B-site sublattice distortions become stronger accompanying with the reduction of the tolerance factor and coordination number. The magnetization measurements show an antiferromagnetic ordering with large effective magnetic moments (μeff) suggesting that the orbital component is significant. The maximum values of isothermal magnetization increase with the decrease in radii of rare earth ions, which is attributed to the weakening of antiferromagnetic interaction via Co2+-O-Sb5+-O-Co2+ paths. The dielectric constants present frequency dependence and monotonically decrease with the ionic radii reduction from La3+ to Nd3+ due to the suppression of electron transfer. These results indicate that the magnetic and dielectric properties can be tuned by controlling the degree of lattice distortion, which is realized by introducing different Ln3+ ions at the A-site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A formulation based on the linearized shallow shell theory has been developed by Delale and Erdogan to determine the stress intensity factors of a shell with a through-the-thickness crack. The drawback in the formulation is that the crack-face closure at the compressive edges when a cracked shell is subjected to a bending load is not taken into account, which results in the penetration of material at the crack faces. The present research is aimed to improve the formulation by including the effect of the crack-face closure on the stress intensity factors. Simulation of the closure is achieved by a line contact at the compressive edges of the crack faces. The unknown contact force is then computed by solving a mixed-boundary value problem iteratively to ensure that either the normal displacement of the crack face at the compressive edges equals zero or the contact pressure equals zero along the crack length. The results have shown that the crack-face closure significantly influences the magnitude of the stress intensity factors and tends to reduce the maximum stress intensity factor. The magnitude of the reduction varies with the curvatures of the shell and the ratio of the two curvatures as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a theoretical analysis of specially-orthotropic shells containing a crack in terms of a crack-closure theory. The formulation of Delale and Erdogan for crack problems in shells is extended to include the effect of crack-face closure. The influence of material orthotropy and shell curvatures on the closure behaviour and consequently on the stress intensity factor are studied. It is demonstrated that crack-face closure has a significant impact on the stress intensity factor and it tends to reduce the maximum stress intensity factor. The crack-face closure effect on the stress intensity factor increases with the shell radii. In flat plates, as a special case of shells when the shell radii become infinitely large, the difference of the closure stress intensity factor between the closure case and non-closure case has a maximum. The influence of material orthotropy on the closure behaviour varies with the ratio of the two shell curvatures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Crack-face closure occurs when a shell or plate containing a through-the-thickness crack is subjected to a bending load, which leads to lower stress-intensity factors than those expected from non-closure assumption. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the effect of crack-face closure on the stress intensity factors of an axially and a circumferentially cracked cylindrical shell subjected to bending moment respectively. The presented analysis extends the shallow shell theories of Delale and Erdogan by incorporating the effect of crack-face closure. In keeping consistent with the shear deformation shell theory, crack-face closure is modeled by a line contact at the compressive edges of the crack face. The unknown contact force is computed by solving a mixed-boundary value problem iteratively, i.e. along the crack length, either the normal displacement of the crack face at the compressive edges is equal to zero or the contact pressure is equal to zero. The results show that the distribution of the contact force along the crack is generally nonuniform. Furthermore, it is found that, similar to the case of spherical shells, crack closure may occur over the full length or only some segments of the crack in cylindrical shells, depending on the geometry of the shell and the nature (direction) of applied bending load. Comparisons of the stress intensity factor ratios between the closure solutions and the non-closure solutions reveal that the crack-face closure influences significantly the magnitude of the stress intensity factors and it tends to reduce the maximum stress intensity factor. The closure effect of crack face on the stress intensity factors is highest when the shell radius becomes very large for a given crack length and shell thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to its role as one of the largest staple food crops in the world, rice (Oryza sativa L.) currently serves as an important bioreactor in molecular pharming. Although some studies have been conducted on the effects of foreign protein expression on rice, most of them use mature seeds and focus on proteomic changes. In this study, the effects of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) transformation on immature rice seeds were studied by means of physiological and transcriptome sequencing method. Starch and sucrose content and their associated enzyme activities of immature seeds were determined. After extracting RNA from immature seeds, Illumina HiSeqTM 2500 was used for RNA sequencing. The content of starch and sucrose and activities of related enzymes in transgenic FGF21 immature rice seeds were greater than those of wild type. In total, 1762 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among non-transgenic wild type (CK) and transgenic lines (T1, T2, and T3). Meanwhile, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis indicated that the top two enriched processes were starch and sucrose metabolism and plant–pathogen interactions. Most DEGs of the plant–pathogen interactions pathway were downregulated, while expression patterns were more complex for DEGs of starch and sucrose metabolic pathways. Ultimately, these results could be used to reveal mechanisms underlying transgenic seed quality changes induced by FGF21 transformation and could also serve as an exploratory study into the use of transcriptome technique for safety evaluation of rice bioreactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was to determine whether the expression of genes involved in intestinal water and ion transport would be affected by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 both in vitro and in vivo. First, 36 male piglets (4 d old) were randomly allotted to either the control or the ETEC K88 group. Each group had 6 replicates with 3 piglets per replicate. All piglets were fed with the same diets for 17 d. On d 15, piglets in the ETEC K88 group were challenged with ETEC K88 (serotype O149:K91:K88ac) at 1 × 108 cfu per pig, whereas those in the control group received the same volume of sterile PBS. After being challenged with ETEC K88 for 72 h (d 18), 1 piglet from each replicate was selected for slaughter to collect samples from the jejunum, ileum, and colon. The mRNA expression and protein abundance of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in the ileum and colon were increased compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the mRNA expression of Na-K-Cl cotransporter 1 (NKCC1) in the ileum and colon was increased by ETEC K88 challenge (P < 0.05), whereas in the jejunum, both its mRNA and protein expression were increased by ETEC K88 treatment (P < 0.05). Additionally, an established porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2) was used to investigate the effect and possible mechanism of ETEC K88 on expression of water channel aquaporins (AQP) and ion transporters. Cells (1.17 × 106 per well) were grown in 6-well plates and treated with ETEC K88 at a multiplicity of infection of 50:1 for 3 h. The mRNA expression of AQP3, AQP11, and Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3) in IPEC-J2 cells was reduced after ETEC K88 treatment (P < 0.05). Further analyses using western blotting also demonstrated that ETEC K88 decreased the protein expression of AQP3, AQP9, and AQP11 in IPEC-J2 cells (P < 0.05). Moreover, the phosphorylation levels of protein kinase A (PKA) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-response element binding protein (CREB) were decreased by ETEC K88 challenge (P < 0.05). The results indicate that ETEC K88 challenge induced differential expression of intestinal ion transporters and AQP in young piglets, probably by regulation of the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway. This study might provide new insights about the importance of fluid homeostasis in control of ETEC-induced diarrhea in young piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The KIT gene plays an important role in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma (MM). In recent years, activating mutations in KIT have been recognized as oncogenic. A number of therapies have been established, which provide significant clinical benefits for patients with MM with KIT mutations. Thus, detection of KIT mutations can have profound therapeutic implications. Aim. To investigate KIT gene expression in MMs in Chinese Uyghur and Han patients with mutations in KIT, and to identify the clinical features associated with KIT mutations and c-KIT expression. Methods. In total, 105 MMs (56 from Uyghur and 49 from Han patients) were selected from patients in the Uyghur Autonomous region. Formalin-fixed, paraffin wax-embedded tumour sections were analysed for c-KIT expression using immunohistochemistry. Exons 11 and 13 of KIT were analysed for the presence of mutations using PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. Results. Of the 105 MMs, 13 (10 Han and 3 Uyghur) were found to have mutations in KIT. Thus, the frequency of KIT mutations in Han patients was significantly higher than that in Uyghur patients (P = 0.02). We detected c-KIT expression in 71.4% and 42.9% of the tumour tissue samples collected from the Uyghur and Han patients, respectively. Conclusion. In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, chronic suninduced damage MM is the most prevalent MM among Chinese Uyghur patients, whereas acral and mucosal MMs are the most prevalent in Uyghur patients. Mutations in the KIT gene do not correlate with c-KIT expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the relative role of landscape context (city, suburb and exurb) and distance to the edge (from forest edge to 45 m in interior) on plant diversity of natural forests in Wuhan city. The results indicated that landscape context had significant effects on plant diversity, and both landscape context and distance to the edge affect vegetation and disturbance characteristics. Landscape context was the main factor affecting richness of woods, herbs, indigenous species, forest generalists and insect or wind pollination species. These species tended to be higher in exurban forests while non-indigenous species were higher in the urban forests. The number of non-indigenous species, forest specialists, herbs and insect pollination species also depended on distance to the edge or on both interactions. Richness of non-indigenous species decreased with increasing distance to the edge in urban forest. Vegetation characteristics that shrub cover was lower and disturbance characteristics that disturbed cover and human activity were higher in the urban edge than in the suburb and exurb edge, which decreased from the edge to the interior. Therefore, we should prioritize the preservation of less disturbed and frequented forests (suburban and exurban) to buffer the invasion of non-indigenous species, and to reserve more indigenous species. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Increased numbers of TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells in the peripheral blood of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in the United States and United Kingdom have been reported. However, the proportions of TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells and their involvement in the pathogenesis of SLE in Chinese populations are yet to be determined. Methods: A total of 120 SLE patients, 38 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 43 normal control subjects were examined. The proportion of TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells in the peripheral blood, Fas expression on these cells, and intracellular cytokine levels in these cells were assessed using flow cytometry. Plasma cytokine concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The percentages of TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells were increased in Chinese SLE patients, particularly in active SLE patients, correlated with decreased Fas expression on these cells. IL-17 and IL-21 levels in the blood and in TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells from SLE patients were increased. Moreover, a positive correlation was evident between IL-17- and IL-21-producing TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells. Conclusions: Increased TCRαβ+CD4−CD8− T cells expressing inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17 and IL-21, may be implicated in the pathogenesis of SLE in patients. Appropriate IL-17- and/or IL-21 blockage may be utilized as a novel immunotherapeutic strategy for SLE patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Recent work using genome-wide association studies ( GWAS) in Chinese Han and white populations have discovered several novel psoriasis susceptibility genes. Aim To examine whether the risk loci for psoriasis identified in previous GWAS in a white population are also associated with psoriasis in a Chinese Uygur population in Xinjiang. Methods Genotyping analysis of eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) associated with psoriasis was performed for 539 patients with psoriasis and 749 controls, all of Chinese Uygur descent, using a commercial assay. Results Two SNPs had an association with psoriasis in this Chinese Uygur population: SNP rs495337 in the gene encoding for zinc finger protein 313 ( P < 0.001; OR = 0.80) and SNP rs20541 of the gene encoding for interleukin-13 ( P < 0.001; OR = 0.82). In subgroup analyses, the two SNPs were significantly associated ( P < 0.05) with type I psoriasis, Rs495337 showed statistically difference between positive family history of psoriasis patients and controls whereas rs20541 might preferentially associated with negative family history psoriasis patients. Interestingly, using multifactor dimensionality reduction, a significant two-locus interaction was seen between rs495337 and rs20541, with a crossvalidation consistency of 4/5 and average balanced prediction (accuracy 55.5%, P < 0.001). Conclusions ZNF313 and IL-13 are associated with risk for psoriasis in a Chinese Uygur population, and there is an effect of interaction between the two genes on this risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study of solidification behavior and the corresponding microstructure of Co-Cr-W and Co-Cr-Mo alloy systems using the differential scanning calorimetry technique. The influence of main constituents on the solidification behavior and associate microstructures of these alloys are investigated. It is found that chemical composition influences significantly the solidification behavior of cobalt-based alloys. Solution-strengthened alloy has the highest solidification temperature and narrowest solidification range. Presence of carbon decreases the solidification temperature and increases the solidification range. Addition of boron greatly decreases the solidification temperature. Carbon content dominates the solidification behavior of cobalt-based alloys when the contents of the solution-strengthening elements Mo and Ni are within their saturation in the solution matrix. However, as these contents reach a certain level, formation of intermetallic compounds changes the solidification behavior of these alloys remarkably. Increase in the contents of solution-strengthening elements reduces the solid solution transformation temperature and the eutectic temperature when carbon content is constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss a rigorous treatment of the refractive scintillation caused by a two-component interstellar scattering medium and a Kolmogorov form of density spectrum. It is assumed that the interstellar scattering medium is composed of a thin-screen interstellar medium (ISM) and an extended interstellar medium. We consider the case that the scattering of the thin screen concentrates in a thin layer represented by a δ function distribution and that the scattering density of the extended irregular medium satisfies the Gaussian distribution. We investigate and develop equations for the flux density structure function corresponding to this two-component ISM geometry in the scattering density distribution and compare our result with the observations. We conclude that the refractive scintillation caused by this two-component ISM scattering gives a more satisfactory explanation for the observed flux density variation than does the single extended medium model. The level of refractive scintillation is strongly sensitive to the distribution of scattering material along the line of sight (LOS). The theoretical modulation indices are comparatively less sensitive to the scattering strength of the thin-screen medium, but they critically depend on the distance from the observer to the thin screen. The logarithmic slope of the structure function is sensitive to the scattering strength of the thin-screen medium, but is relatively insensitive to the thin-screen location. Therefore, the proposed model can be applied to interpret the structure functions of flux density observed in pulsar PSR B2111 + 46 and PSR B0136 + 57. The result suggests that the medium consists of a discontinuous distribution of plasma turbulence embedded in the interstellar medium. Thus our work provides some insight into the distribution of the scattering along the LOS to the pulsar PSR B2111 + 46 and PSR B0136 + 57. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes angiogenesis and plays important roles in neovascularization and development of tissues. VEGF receptors (VEGFRs) are high-affinity receptors for VEGF and are originally considered specific to endothelial cells. We have previously shown that keratinocytes from human normal skin express VEGFRs. This poses the question of whether these receptors are also expressed by epidermal appendages, as epidermal appendages are lined with epithelial cells. Objective. To investigate the expression of VEGFR-2 compare with VEGF in epidermal appendages, including hair follicles, eccrine sweat glands and sebaceous glands. Methods. Monoclonal antibodies to VEGF and VEGFR-2 were used for immunohistochemical examination of cryostat-cut sections of normal human skin specimens from 11 donors undergoing cosmetic surgery. Results. Immunoreactivities for VEGF and VEGFR-2 principally showed parallel intense expression in anagen hair follicle (including outer root sheat, inner root sheath, dermal papillae epidermal matrix), sebaceous glands (ductal and secretory portions) and eccrine sweat glands (ductal and secretory portions), respectively. In particular, abundant expression of VEGF was found in the follicular basement membrane zone surrounding the bulb matrix and in the ductal and secretory portions of eccrine sweat glands. Conclusion. A potential VEGF/VEGFR-2 autocrine pathway may be defined by the coexpression of VEGF and VEGFR-2 in human skin epidermal appendages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel compound carbide, VWC, is designed to incorporate into Stellite 21, in order to achieve an improved wear-resistant composite, plasma transferred arc (PTA) hardfacing. Different contents of VWC in the composite, 5, 10, and 20% (in weight), are tested. The microstructures of the hardfacing specimens are studied using, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) plus, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray techniques. The influence of VWC additive on the mechanical properties of the Co solid solution in Stellite 21 matrix is investigated with a nano-indentation technique. The hardness and wear resistance of the hardfacing specimens are evaluated on a Wilson Rockwell machine and a ball-on-disc tribometer, respectively. It is found that the hardness and wear resistance of the VWC/Stellite 21 composite layer are much higher than those of pure Stellite 21, The presence of the VWC reinforcement changes the microstructure of the Stellite 21 matrix and strengthens the Co solid solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have measured the positions of 74 pulsars from regular timing observations using the Nanshan radio telescope at Urumqi Observatory between 2000 January and 2004 August (MJD 51500–53240). Proper motions were determined for these pulsars by comparing their current positions with positions given in pulsar catalogues. We compare our results to earlier measurements in the literature and show that, in general, the values agree. New or improved proper motions are obtained for 16 pulsars. The effect of period fluctuations and other timing noise on the determination of pulsar positions is investigated. For our sample, the mean and rms transverse velocities are 443 and 224 km s−1, respectively, agreeing with previous work even though we determine distances using the new NE2001 electron density model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electron crystallographic image-processing technique based on the combination of high-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction has been developed to investigate the commensurate structural modulation in the high-T, superconductor (Pb[sub0.5]Sr[sub0.3]Cu[sub0.2])Sr[sub2](Ca[sub0.6]Sr[sub0.4])Cu[sub2]O[suby]. After symmetry averaging, a structure image was obtained by image deconvolution at the resolution limited by that of the electron microscope. Then phase extension was employed to enhance the image resolution up to about 1.25 A by means of the electron diffraction data corrected with an empirical method. In the final projected potential map. the occupational and/or positional modulation is clearly observed for all atoms, including oxygen. The key points of determining superstructures by the technique are studied and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First in this paper, the nonlinear stability for a high speed railway passenger car is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Numerical methods are used to evaluate the Hopf bifurcation point and limit cycles of the vehicle system. And full scale roller rig test is carried out for the validation of the theoretical analysis. Then the H∞ robustness control theory is applied to design an actively controlled secondary lateral suspension. The controller is designed according to a simple car body-bogie frame model. Numerical computation shows that the use of active secondary suspension can not only ensure the hunting stability, but also improve the dynamic responses of the high speed passenger car. An attempt is made to realize active control for the secondary lateral suspension forces and to carry out test validation on roller rig. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granular thin film samples composed of Fe clusters embedded in CdFeS were prepared with using low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Temperature dependence of the resistivity of the granular film follows well the relationship for the tunneling transport between the iron granules. A large negative magnetoresistance of about 2.2% at 0.1 T was observed at room temperature due to the presence of Fe clusters. The hysteresis behavior observed in the magnetoresistance corresponded exactly to those of the hysteresis loop in the magnetization measurement, which evidently showed the correlation between the magnetoresistance and global magnetization in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniform ZnSe nanowires are observed on the ablation crater on ZnSe crystal surface irradiated by femtosecond lasers in air, while other parts of the sample surface are not polluted. The nanowire growth rate is about 5 μm/s, it is higher than that fabricated by chemical vapor deposition method by a factor of 104. The nanowire length and diameter can be controlled by varying laser pulse energy and pulse number. The formation mechanism is studied and found to be self-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]