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Aims: Abuse of methamphetamine has aroused concern worldwide. Stimulant use and sexual behaviours have been linked in behavioural and epidemiological studies. Although methamphetamine‐related neurofunctional differences are reported in previous studies, only few studies have examined neurofunctional changes related to methamphetamine and sexual cues in methamphetamine dependence from short‐ to long‐term abstinence. Methods: Neurofunctional changes were measured using a cue‐reactivity task involving methamphetamine, sexual, and neutral cues in 20 methamphetamine abusers who were evaluated after a short‐ (1 week to 3 months) and long‐term (10–15 months) abstinence. Results: Five brain regions mainly involved in the occipital lobe and the parietal lobe were found with the group‐by‐condition interaction. Region‐of‐interest analyses found higher sexual‐cue‐related activation than other two activations in all five brain regions in the long‐term methamphetamine abstinence group while no group differences were found. Negative relationships between motor impulsivity and methamphetamine‐ or sexual‐cue‐related activations in the left middle occipital gyrus, the superior parietal gyrus and the right angular gyrus were found. Conclusions: The findings suggested that methamphetamine abstinence may change the neural response of methamphetamine abusers to methamphetamine and sexual cues, and the neurofunction of the five brain regions reported in this study may partly recover with long‐term methamphetamine abstinence. Given the use and relapse of methamphetamine for sexual purposes, the findings of this study may have particular clinical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Although numerous studies have investigated the regulation of estrogen (E2) on the female reproductive system, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the specific genes and pathways involved in E2 regulation of the uterus and breast. Aims. The aim of this study was to explore the shared genes and pathways involved in estrogen regulation of the uterus and mammary gland, which could provide a theoretical basis for disease treatment. Methods. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to identify potential genes and pathways associated with E2 regulation of the uterus and breast. Key results. The analysis revealed 233 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in datasets GSE89321 and GSE95783 (adjusted-P < 0.05). Additionally, five KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathways were identified: Glutathione Metabolism Pathway, Chagas Disease Pathway, Leishmaniasis Pathway, Complement and Coagulation Cascades Pathway, and p53 Signalling Pathway. A protein interaction network was constructed, and 10 hub genes (Alb, Il1a, Serpine1, Timp1, Ccl11, Fos, Krt19, Krt7, Lcn2, and C3) were selected, with Alb being the highest scoring hub gene. The study also predicted the association of Mo-mir-200a-5p and Mo-Mir-200a-3p with Alb and Krt19. Furthermore, 28 DEGs were identified in E2 regulation of the mammary gland, encompassing pathways such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia, ErbB Signalling Pathway, Th1 and Th2 Cell Differentiation, Th17 Cell Differentiation, and Transcriptional Misregulation in Cancer. Hub genes in the mammary gland included Pgr, Gata3, Areg, Prom1, Stat5a, Cldn4, Greb1, Tfap2c, Pdk4, and Mb. Prom1, Prom2, Fam84a, and Padi2 were found to be common DEGs in E2 regulation of both the uterus and mammary gland. Conclusions. The findings of this study, together with functional annotation and pathway analysis, suggest that Alb serves as a marker protein in E2 regulation of uterus development. Additionally, Prom1, Prom2, Fam84a, and Padi2 are identified as common DEGs involved in E2 regulation of both the uterus and mammary gland. Implications. This study provides comprehensive omics data to elucidate the mechanisms underlying estrogen regulation of the uterus and mammary gland, opening up new research directions for disease treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the impact of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) modification on coking coal’s wettability, our research focuses on coking coal and uses SDBS as the surfactant in the experiment. The surface tension, scanning electron microscope, FTIR, contact angle measurement, and reverse osmosis experiment are employed to measure the microscopic characteristics and wettability of raw coking coal, water-soaked coal, and coal soaked in 0.0005%, 0.005%, and 0.05% SDBS solutions. Finally, the dust reduction efficiency was determined by spray dust reduction experiments. We analyzed the effect of varying mass fractions of SDBS on coking coal’s wettability. The findings indicate that the surface of coal samples soaked in water and SDBS solution become rough. Adding clean water and SDBS solution improves the coal samples’ wettability. Among various coal samples soaked in different solutions, the one treated with 0.005% SDBS solution exhibits the smallest contact angle, significantly higher moisture absorption, and the most pronounced wetting effect. Soaking the coal samples in 0.005% SDBS solution can achieve the highest dust reduction efficiency. In summary, soaking the coal samples in no matter clean water or SDBS solution can enhance the wettability of coal dust, while soaking in 0.005% SDBS solution has a better effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meiotic recombination is key to the repair of DNA double-strand break damage, provide a link between homologs for proper chromosome segregation as well as ensure genetic diversity in organisms. Defects in recombination often lead to sterility. The ubiquitously expressed Rad51 and the meiosis-specific DMC1 are two closely related recombinases that catalyze the key strand invasion and exchange step of meiotic recombination. This study cloned and sequenced the coding region of cattle-yak Rad51 and determined its mRNA and protein expression levels, evaluated its molecular and evolutionary relationship as well as evaluated the histo-morphological structure of testes in the yellow cattle, yak and the sterile cattle-yak hybrid. The Rad51 gene was amplified using PCR, cloned and sequenced using testicular cDNA from yak and cattle-yak. Real-time PCR was used to examine the expression levels of Rad51/DMC1 mRNA in the cattle, yak and cattle-yak testis while western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the protein expression and localization of Rad51/DMC1 protein in the testicular tissue sections. The results revealed that the mRNA and protein expression of Rad51 and DMC1 are extremely low in the male cattle-yak testis with a corresponding higher incidence of germ cell apoptosis. There was also thinning of the germinal epithelium possibly due to the depletion of the germ cells leading to the widening of the lumen area of the cattle-yak seminiferous tubule. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that the low expression of Rad51 and DMC1 may contribute to the male hybrid sterility in the cattle-yak. • F1 male hybrids between male yellow cattle and yak referred to as cattle-yak exhibits sterility while the female is fertile. • Male cattle–yak sterility is attributed to meiotic arrest at prophase I. • Rad51 which plays a crucial role in recombination is under-expressed in the male cattle-yak testis. • There is a higher incidence of germ cell apoptosis in the cattle-yak. • There is thinning of the germinal epithelium and widening of the seminiferous tubule lumen area in the cattle-yak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chest X-ray is routinely requested by pediatricians for children with suspected pneumonia, but has been demonstrated to be an insensitive method with relatively low accuracy. Computed tomography (CT) allows for the characterization of the consolidation in pneumonia but has a high risk of radiation exposure in children. Lung ultrasonography can identify subpleural lung consolidation in adults, but it is not accepted in routine clinical practice and is also not used for the diagnosis of children with pneumonia. The objective of the present study was to compare diagnostic parameters of lung ultrasound with chest X-ray in children with suspected pneumonia, using CT as a reference standard. Medical records of 949 children, aged ≤16 years, with suspected pneumonia were reviewed. Data regarding the chest radiograph, lung ultrasound and chest CT were collected and analyzed. Beneficial score analysis for each diagnostic modality was evaluated according to the pneumonia severity index. The chest radiograph successfully detected subpleural lung consolidation and dense lung opacity. The lung ultrasound successfully detected pleural effusion and perilesional inflammatory edema. The chest CT successfully detected a liquefied area, enhancement and necrosis of the lungs. Compared with the chest CT, the lung ultrasound displayed 0.906 sensitivity and 0.661 accuracy, while the chest radiograph displayed 0.793 sensitivity and 0.559 accuracy. For a pneumonia severity index of <3, the chest CT displayed a good beneficial score, followed by the lung ultrasound and chest radiograph. In conclusion, lung ultrasound is a non-invasive and simple method that could be used for the diagnosis of suspected pneumonia in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cocrystal modification strategy has been applied to 3,5-dichlorosalicylic acid (DCA) through the addition of various liquid pyrazine derivatives: 2,3-dimethylpyrazine (2,3-DMP); 2,5-dimethylpyrazine (2,5-DMP); and 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (TMP). Three new cocrystals (2,3-DMP-DCA = 1:2 for 1; 2,5-DMP-DCA = 1:2 for 2; and TMP-DCA = 1:1 for 3) have been obtained, all of which were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyses and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The Hirshfeld surface analysis has been performed to illustrate the intermolecular interactions. The results revealed that hydrogen bonding and other weaker interactions such as halogen bonding contacts and π···π stacking participated in a cooperative way to stabilize the supramolecular structures and different methyl substitutions changed the bonding mode and intermolecular force of pyrazine derivative cocrystals. Thermodynamic results showed that the stability of liquid pyrazine spices can be improved and the decomposition temperature for cocrystal 3 is higher than the other cocrystals. This work provides an approach to solidification of liquid pyrazine spices for more applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In friction stir welding (FSW), the microstructure, mechanical properties of the welded joint and the welding quality of the welding materials are affected by the temperature in the core area of the stirring tool. In this paper, the real-time detection of temperature in the core area of the stirring tool is realised, which is of great significance in improving the quality of the welding. A method for measuring the temperature in the core area is proposed based on the temperature measurement principle of the infrared thermal imager. Firstly, the relationship between the surface temperature of the welding material in the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and the temperature in the core area of the stirring tool is established based on the principle of temperature measurement using a thermal detector to produce an infrared image and the theory of heat radiation. Then, a heat source transfer model is constructed in the core area. The surface temperature of the welding material in the TMAZ is calculated using the Gauss method. Finally, the temperature in the core area of the stirring tool is obtained. At the same time, the accuracy and feasibility of the temperature measurement method is verified through measurement of the temperature of the core area by choosing to bury a thermocouple from the side of the welding material through transverse drilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Catalyst for direct synthesis of light olefins from syngas. • Zinc oxide was structural promoter, and alkali metal was electronic promoter in modification of iron catalyst. • The synergistic effect of Na and Zn maximized the selectivity to light olefins in process from syngas to olefins. • The FeZn catalyst has a high activity and stability in the reaction of syngas to light olefins. Abstract The modified iron catalysts for direct synthesis of light olefins from syngas were investigated. A series of catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation method and characterized by SEM, BET and X-ray diffraction methods. Catalytic performance of the catalysts was tested in a fixed-bed reactor. The experimental results showed that Zn-modified iron catalyst displayed a high selectivity for light olefins and one through CO conversion. Alkali metal modified catalytic performances as electronic promoter that promoted the formation of light olefins. Meanwhile, the combination of Na + and Zn is a key factor to optimize the light olefins selectivity of catalyst in syngas to light olefins. The modified iron catalyst (Fe/Zn molar ratio = 1, prepared by co-precipitation using Na 2 CO 3 as precipitant) displayed a CO conversion of 95.09%, a light olefins selectivity of 53.32%, and an olefin/paraffin ratio up to 6.91. That catalyst has high stability and activity in the performance test time on stream of 100 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Paeonia lactiflora Pall is rich in various active ingredients such as polysaccharides and total flavonoids while having ornamental value. It has potential application value in the development of food and cosmetics. Objective: To study the in vitro efficacy of Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil. Methods: Firstly, the levels of linolenic acid and linoleic acid in Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil were quantified using gas chromatography. The impact of Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil on the proliferation rate of B16F10 cells was assessed through the CCK‐8 method, while the melanin content of B16F10 cells was determined using the sodium hydroxide lysis method. The inhibitory effects of Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil on elastase, collagenase and hyaluronidase were evaluated by biochemical techniques in vitro. Lastly, the hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane test (HET‐CAM) was conducted to confirm the absence of eye irritation caused by Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil. Results: Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil within a certain volume concentration range (0.5%–4%) had no effect on the proliferation of B16F10 cells. Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil showed significant inhibition of elastase, collagenase and hyaluronidase. Notably, the highest concentration tested, 4% Paeonia lactiflora Pall seed oil, yielded the most pronounced outcomes without causing any irritation. Conclusion: A certain concentration of Paeonia lactiflora Pall seeds oil has a significant effect on decreasing the melanin content in B16F10 cells and inhibiting the activities of elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase, which can provide a reference for the development of pure natural cosmetics raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a confirmed risk factor for hyperlipidemia, type‑II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. MicroRNAs (miRs) have emerged as an important field of study within energy metabolism and obesity. A previous study demonstrated miR‑1275 to be markedly down‑regulated during maturation of human preadipocytes. It has been reported that miR‑1275 dysregulates expression in several types of cancer and infections. Little is currently known about the regulation of miR‑1275 transcription. The aim of the current study was to explore the mechanism underlying the expression of miR‑1275 in mature human adipocytes. After differentiation, human adipocytes were incubated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α and interleukin‑6. The results of reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that miR‑1275 can be down‑regulated by TNF‑α and IL‑6, in human mature adipocytes. Bioinformatic analysis was used to predict nuclear factor (NF)‑κB binding sites of miR‑1275's promoter region. Luciferase assay and rescue experiments were performed in HEK293T cells. NF‑κB was involved in regulating miR‑1275 transcription by binding to its promoter. In response to TNF‑α, NF‑κB was bound to the promoter of miR‑1275 and inhibited its transcription. These results indicated that inflammatory factors could regulate miR‑1275 transcription through NF‑κB and influencing miR‑1275 effects on obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most frequent malignant primary bone tumor arising from primitive bone‑forming mesenchymal cells in children and adolescents. The dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been reported in OS, and these aberrantly expressed miRNAs are involved in the initiation and progression of OS. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and functions of miRNA‑302a (miR‑302a) in OS and its underlying mechanism. It was found that the expression of miR‑302a was reduced in OS tissues and cell lines. The low expression of miR‑302a was significantly correlated with tumor‑node‑metastasis stage and metastasis. The ectopic overexpression of miR‑302a inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells. Bioinformatics analysis showed that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 9 (ADAM9) was a potential target gene of miR‑302a. Subsequently, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses revealed that miR‑302a regulated the expression of ADAM9 at the post‑transcriptional level in OS cells. In addition, a luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR‑302a directly targeted the 3'untranslated region of ADAM9. In clinical OS tissues, the mRNA expression of ADAM9 was upregulated and inversely correlated with the expression of miR‑302a. In addition, the effects of ADAM9 knockdown on cell proliferation, migration and invasion were similar to those induced by the overexpression of miR‑302a in OS cells. These findings suggested that miR‑302a inhibited OS cell growth and metastasis by targeting ADAM9. miR‑302a may serve as a potential therapeutic target for patients with OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

n-Dodecyltriethoxysilane (DTEOS) modified NaHSO4/MCM-41 catalysts (silanized catalysts) were synthesized by different impregnation sequences and evaluated in the liquid-phase dehydration of castor oil. The samples were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, SEM, TEM, FT-IR spectroscopy, XPS, 29Si MAS NMR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, NH3-TPD, and pyridine-FT-IR spectroscopy. The analyses demonstrated that silanization enhanced the hydrophobicity of the catalysts, and the impregnation sequence of silanized catalysts had a significant effect on the NaHSO4 dispersion, surface area, acid distribution, and hydrophobicity of the silanized catalysts. The catalytic activity of the silanized catalysts was much higher than that of NaHSO4/MCM-41. Among the silanized catalysts, the catalyst prepared by simultaneous impregnation with DTEOS and NaHSO4 showed the highest iodine value of 141.8 [g(I2) per 100 g] and lowest hydroxyl value of 11.3 [mg(KOH) ·g-1]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major disasters typically impact large areas, cause considerable damages, and result in significant human and economic losses. The timely and accurate estimation of impacts and damages is essential to better understand disaster conditions and to support emergency response operations. Geo-information drawn from various sources at multi spatial-temporal scales can be used for disaster assessments through a synthesis of hazard, exposure, and post disaster information based on pertinent approaches. Along with the increased availability of open sourced data and cooperation initiatives, more global scale geo-information, including global land cover datasets, has been produced and can be integrated with other information for disaster dynamic damage assessment (e.g., impact estimation immediately after a disaster occurs, physical damage assessment during the emergency response stage, and comprehensive assessment following an emergency response). Residential areas and arable lands affected by the flood disaster occurring from July to August 2015 in Myanmar were assessed based on satellite images, GlobeLand30 data, and other global open sourced information as a study case. The results show that integrating global open geo-information could serve as a practical and efficient means of assessing damage resulting from major disasters worldwide, especially at the early emergency response stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaporins (AQPs) are water-specific membrane channel proteins that regulate water homeostasis for cells and organisms. AQP5 serves an important role in the maintenance of mucosal water homeostasis, and potentially contributes to mucosal edema and inflammation formation in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The aim of the present study was to explore the expression pattern of AQP5 and the effect of glucocorticoids on AQP5 expression in rats with CRS. The rats were randomly divided into three equal groups, as follows: CRS, dexamethasone (dexa) treatment and control groups. A polyvinyl acetal material containing Staphylococcus aureus was inserted into the left nasal cavity of each rat from the CRS and dexa groups. On the 90th post-operative day, the dexa group received dexamethasone (2 mg/kg/day) via intraperitoneal injection for 7 days. The controls did not receive any treatment. The expression of AQP5 in the sinonasal mucosa was determined using immunohistochemistry and quantitative PCR. The immunoreactivities of AQP5 were primarily noted in the epithelial lining and glandular cells, the vascular endothelium and in the goblet cells in the sinonasal mucosa. The AQP5 mRNA expression level was significantly higher in the dexa group than in the control and CRS groups (P=0.006 and P=0.014, respectively). However, no significant difference was indicated between the CRS and control groups (P=0.760). In conclusion, the current study suggests that glucocorticoids induce AQP5 expression in the sinonasal mucosa of CRS rats, which highlights AQP5 as a potential target in the diagnosis and treatment of CRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shenzhen Vanke Center is constructed of a composite frame and cable system, which is a novel structural system and leads to a tedious, complex, and lengthy construction process. The structural construction process simultaneously affects the shape of the Shenzhen Vanke Center and the final structural force state. To control the construction process and make sure the construction is safe, a structural health monitoring system for the Shenzhen Vanke Center construction has been implemented, which includes monitoring of the cable tensioning phase and superstructure construction phase. In this paper, the Shenzhen Vanke Center and its construction process are first introduced. The monitoring data for a standard unit of the whole structure was selected for study. For the cable tensioning phase, these data include the cable forces, strains of the bottom floor's steel beams, and concrete-filled steel column and structural displacements; for the superstructure construction phase, the data include the cable forces and structural displacements. According to this monitoring data, a comprehensive understanding for the performance of the structure and key members in the construction phase are shown and discussed. The analysis results indicate that the construction monitoring system of the Shenzhen Vanke Center is stable and reliable. It also has many functions, such as to guide the cable tensioning, to grasp the changes in strain of key members, to control the structural construction deformation, to conduct the construction process, and to ensure safe structural construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To decrease the cost of instrumentation for the strain and displacement monitoring method that uses sensors as well as considers the structural health monitoring challenges in sensor installation, it is necessary to develop a machine vision-based monitoring method. For this method, the most important step is the accurate extraction of the image feature. In this article, the edge detection operator based on multi-scale structure elements and the compound mathematical morphological operator is proposed to provide improved image feature extraction. The proposed method can not only achieve an improved filtering effect and anti-noise ability but can also detect the edge more accurately. Furthermore, the required image features (vertex of a square calibration board and centroid of a circular target) can be accurately extracted using the extracted image edge information. For validation, the monitoring tests for the structural local mean strain and in-plane displacement were designed accordingly. Through analysis of the error between the measured and calculated values of the structural strain and displacement, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed edge detection operator are verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor suppressor p53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancers. Most of the mutations are missense leading to loss of p53 function in inducing apoptosis and senescence. In addition to these autonomous effects of p53 inactivation/dysfunction on tumorigenesis, compelling evidence suggests that p53 mutation/inactivation also leads to gain-of-function or activation of non-autonomous pathways, which either directly or indirectly promote tumorigenesis. Experimental and clinical results suggest that p53 dysfunction fuels pro-tumor inflammation and serves as an immunological gain-of-function driver of tumorigenesis via skewing immune landscape of the tumor microenvironment (TME). It is now increasingly appreciated that p53 dysfunction in various cellular compartments of the TME leads to immunosuppression and immune evasion. Although our understanding of the cellular and molecular processes that link p53 activity to host immune regulation is still incomplete, it is clear that activating/reactivating the p53 pathway in the TME also represents a compelling immunological strategy to reverse immunosuppression and enhance antitumor immunity. Here, we review our current understanding of the potential cellular and molecular mechanisms by which p53 participates in immune regulation and discuss how targeting the p53 pathway can be exploited to alter the immunological landscape of tumors for maximizing therapeutic outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoralen and isopsoralen are two isomers and main effective components within Psoralea corylifolia. In order to investigate the salt-processing effect on tissue distribution characters of psoralen and isopsoralen, a sensitive and accurate ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (UHPLC-MS/MS) method has been developed and validated for simultaneous determination of the 2 components in rats’ tissues after administration of the extracts that came from either crude or salt-processed Psoralea corylifolia L. Data displayed that both areas under the curve (AUC) of psoralen and isopsoralen from salt-processed scurfpea fruit group were significantly increased compared with that of the crude herb group, especially in heart (p<0.05), ovary, and testes (p<0.001). Though the RE and RCmax of psoralen and isopsoralen in all of the investigated organs were over 1.0, generative organs kept the maximum value. The experiment manifested that salt-processing of scurfpea fruit can increase the distribution of psoralen and isopsoralen to generative organs, heart and spleen, and the distribution of psoralen and isopsoralen to generative organs is significantly higher compared to heart and spleen (p<0.01). Results indicate that salt-processing of scurfpea fruit can significantly increase the distribution of psoralen and isopsoralen to generative organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-based organic conjugated materials, such as conjugated polymers, graphene, fullerenes are wildly used in the fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells, organic field-effect transistors and lithium sulfur batteries, because of their advantages in terms of the tunable band gap, low-cost, simple fabrication, light-weight and flexibility. Electronic and chemical structures at metal/organic and organic/organic interfaces are the key factors that strongly influence the performance of these photoelectric devices. Therefore, it's urgently needed to deeply understand the relationship between the interfacial structure and the performance of the devices involved. This will guide us to design rational interfaces to fabricate devices with higher efficiency and performances. In this paper, we investigate the multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems for evaluating the performances of the photoelectric devices with hesitant fuzzy linguistic Information. Then, a model based on the hesitant fuzzy linguistic weighted geometric (HFLWG) operator to evaluate the performances of the photoelectric devices is presented. Finally, an illustrative example for evaluating the performances of the photoelectric devices is given to verify the developed approach and to demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infections are identified as the most common preventable cause of death in pediatric oncology patients. Assessing and stratifying risk of infections are essential to prevent infection in these patients. To date, no tool can fulfill this demand in China. This study aimed to develop a nursing work-based and Chinese-specific tool for pediatric nurses to assess risk of infection in oncology patients. This research was a modified Delphi study. Based on a literature review, a 37-item questionnaire rating on a 0–5 scale was developed. Twenty-four experts from 8 hospitals in 6 provinces of China were consulted for three rounds. Consensus for each item in the first round was defined as: the rating mean was>3 and the coefficient of variation (CV) was<0.5. Consensus for each item in the second round was defined as CV<0.3. Consensus among experts was defined as: P value of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W)<0.05. After three rounds of consultation, a two-part tool was developed: the Immune Status Scale (ISS) and the Checklist of Risk Factors of Infection (CRFI). There were 5 items in the ISS and 14 in the CRFI. Based on the ISS score, nurses could stratify children into the low-risk and high-risk groups. For high-risk children, nurses should screen risk factors of infection every day by the CRFI, and twice weekly for low-risk children. Further study is needed to verify this tool's efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antitumor and antiangiogenic effects of artemisinic acid in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Various cell signalling pathways (VEGF, m-TOR and AKT signalling pathways) and MTT assay were used. The in vivo antitumor activity of artemisinic acid was evaluated by means of tumor xenograft mouse model. Transwell cell migration assay was used to examine the chemotactic motility of the human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), while as endothelial cell capillary-like tube formation assay was used to evaluate the effect of artemisinic acid on the tube formation in HUVECs. We found that artemisinic acid considerably reduced both the volume and weight of concrete tumors and reduced angiogenesis in a xenograft mouse tumor model in vivo. Further, artemisinic acid suppressed the VEGF-induced cell migration and capillary-like tube formation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Artemisinic acid was found to suppress the VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR2 and also the activity of AKT and m-TOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore characteristic gene mutations in nonsmall-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients with wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and sensitivity to Tarceva therapy; to observe the efficacy and safety of Tarceva therapy for NSCLC patients with wild-type EGFR. Materials and Methods: NSCLC patients with wild-type EGFR and KRAS were selected. Their tumor specimens were assessed for mutations in seven key genes in pathways downstream of EGFR, including HRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, AKT1, MEK1, and PTEN. Then the patients were subjected to Tarceva therapy to explore the relationship between curative effects and any gene mutations. Results: Among 10 cases, one NRAS mutation was detected in one patient who was resistant to Tarceva, and no mutations were detected in the other patients. Seven cases responded to Tarceva; 1 case obtained partial relief, and 6 cases were in stable condition. Conclusion: Patients with wild-type EGFR can also benefit from Tarceva therapy. However, an association between Tarceva therapy sensitivity and mutations in genes downstream of EGFR was not detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the role of nimotuzumab in combination with chemotherapy in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through progress-free survival, changes in tumor marker expression and adverse drug reactions. Materials and Methods: A total of 59 NSCLC patients were randomized into two groups. The treatment group (n = 30) received nimotuzumab (200 mg) with docetaxel (60 mg/m2) and carboplatin (area under curve = 5), whereas the control group (n = 29) received chemotherapy at the same dosage. All patients received two cycles of treatment lasting for 42 days. The serum tumor biomarker levels were measured on the day before treatment and at 60 days after treatment. Results: The efficacy of treatment for the treatment and control groups were 36.7% and 27.6%, respectively; this difference was not statistically significant. However, progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly prolonged by 1 month in the treatment group. Peripheral blood CYFRA21-1 decreased significantly during treatment with a more extensive decrease in the treatment group, although the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. The neuron-specific enolase levels significantly decreased across all 59 patients. The carcinoembryonic antigen levels decreased significantly in the treatment group, but remained stable in the control group throughout the treatment period. Nimotuzumab was well tolerated by patients with only three cases of Grades I and II skin rash and no other toxic symptoms. Conclusion: Nimotuzumab with docetaxel and carboplatin can enhance the short-term clinical efficacy by extending the duration of PFS and was generally well tolerated by patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the combined power quality +disturbance recognition, an automated recognition method based on wavelet packet entropy (WPE) and modified incomplete S-transform (MIST) is proposed in this paper. By combining wavelet packet Tsallis singular entropy, energy entropy and MIST, a 13-dimension vector of different power quality (PQ) disturbances including single disturbances and combined disturbances is extracted. Then, a ruled decision tree is designed to recognize the combined disturbances. The proposed method is tested and evaluated using a large number of simulated PQ disturbances and some real-life signals, which include voltage sag, swell, interruption, oscillation transient, impulsive transient, harmonics, voltage fluctuation and their combinations. In addition, the comparison of the proposed recognition approach with some existing techniques is made. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively recognize the single and combined PQ disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins (SEs) in the serum from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and its involvement in the condition. Thirty CRS patients without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), 40 CRS patients with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood was obtained and analyzed to measure the serum levels of total IgE, specific IgE to SEA, SEB and SEC, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) using ImmunoCAP assays. The positive rate and level of serum specific IgE to SEB, but not to SEA or SEC, were significantly higher in CRSwNP patients compared with the controls (P=0.027 and P=0.021, respectively). No significant differences were found between CRSsNP patients and controls, or between CRSsNP and CRSwNP patients. Serum total IgE was significantly elevated and positively correlated with SEB-specific IgE in the CRSsNP (P<0.001; r=0.393, P=0.032) and CRSwNP (P<0.001; r=0.581, P<0.001) groups. ECP was also significantly increased in the CRSsNP (P=0.002) and CRSwNP (P<0.001) groups, but not correlated with specific IgE to SEs in either CRS group. The results suggest that SEB may play a role in the pathogenesis of CRSwNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a novel vibration piezoelectric energy harvester, which is a micro piezoelectric cantilever with multi-beam. The characteristics of the PZT (Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3) thin film were measured; XRD (X-ray diffraction) pattern and AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) image of the PZT thin film were measured, and show that the PZT (Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3) thin film is highly (110) crystal oriented; the leakage current is maintained in nA magnitude, the residual polarisation Pr is 37.037 μC/cm², the coercive field voltage Ec is 27.083 kV/cm, and the piezoelectric constant d33 is 28 pC/N. In order to test the dynamic performance of the energy harvester, a new measuring system was set up. The maximum output voltage of the single beam of the multi-beam can achieve 80.78 mV under an acceleration of 1 g at 260 Hz of frequency; the maximum output voltage of the single beam of the multi-beam is almost 20 mV at 1400 Hz frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of surface chemisorbed hydrogen atoms and hydrogen atoms in the subsurface region of diamond on surface conductivity, models of hydrogen atoms chemisorbed on diamond with (100) orientation and various concentrations of hydrogen atoms in the subsurface layer of the diamond were built. By using the first-principles method based on density functional theory, the equilibrium geometries and densities of states of the models were studied. The results showed that the surface chemisorbed hydrogen alone could not induce high surface conductivity. In addition, isolated hydrogen atoms in the subsurface layer of the diamond prefer to exist at the bond centre site of the C-C bond. However, such a structure would induce deep localized states, which could not improve the surface conductivity. When the hydrogen concentration increases, the C-H-C-H structure and C-3Hbc-C structure in the subsurface region are more stable than other configurations. The former is not beneficial to the increase of the surface conductivity. However, the latter would induce strong surface states near the Fermi level, which would give rise to high surface conductivity. Thus, a high concentration of subsurface hydrogen atoms in diamond would make significant contributions to surface conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a nonlinear full car model considering the nonlinear and hysteretic characteristics of the shock absorber is developed. An approach to integrate the hybrid shock absorber model into the vehicle model using system identification techniques is then presented. To validate the approach, parameter identification of the nominal linear full car model and parameter identification of the full car model with nonlinear/hysteresis shock absorber force input are compared. The target vehicle is tested on an MTS Systems Corporation tire-coupled 4-post road simulator and the experimental data validate the system identification methods proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectric spectroscopy (DS) is an important technique for scientific and technological investigations in various areas. DS sensitivity and operating frequency ranges are critical for many applications, including lab-on-chip development where sample volumes are small with a wide range of dynamic processes to probe. In this work, we present the design and operation considerations of radio-frequency (RF) interferometers that are based on power-dividers (PDs) and quadrature-hybrids (QHs). Such interferometers are proposed to address the sensitivity and frequency tuning challenges of current DS techniques. Verified algorithms together with mathematical models are presented to quantify material properties from scattering parameters for three common transmission line sensing structures, i.e., coplanar waveguides (CPWs), conductor-backed CPWs, and microstrip lines. A high-sensitivity and stable QH-based interferometer is demonstrated by measuring glucose-water solution at a concentration level that is ten times lower than some recent RF sensors while our sample volume is ~ 1 nL. Composition analysis of ternary mixture solutions are also demonstrated with a PD-based interferometer. Further work is needed to address issues like system automation, model improvement at high frequencies, and interferometer scaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2010, China had an elderly population of 1.78 billion people. As in other societies around the world, China is facing a growing challenge in providing care for its elderly citizens. Ensuring the highest quality of care for elderly patients, many of whom have senile dementia, is directly related to the performance of nursing assistants. Methods: With the goal of investigating the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of nursing assistants who care for senile dementia patients in nursing homes in Xi'an, China, we distributed a survey and analyzed the responses. Results: Nursing assistants showed dedication and sincerity in their care for senile dementia patients. However, their performances in the categories of life nursing and mental nursing reveal room for improvement. Further, the nursing assistants did not display adequate knowledge about senile dementia. Based on survey results, the knowledge of the nursing assistants concerning nursing safety was comparatively adequate. Conclusion: Nursing assistants who care for senile dementia patients in nursing homes in Xi'an, China, require further training that expands their knowledge and increases their capabilities. We recommend that nursing homes in Xi'an offer a standardized professional nurse/nurse assistant training course that focuses on care for elderly patients with senile dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Metabolic syndrome (MS) and hepatitis B (HBV) infection are two major public health problems in China. There are few studies about their association, and the results of these studies are contradictory. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the association between MS and HBV in a Shanghai community-based cohort. Methods Nine hundred seventy-six Shanghai residents were recruited from the Putuo community. 480 HBV infections were in exposed group and 496 non-infections in unexposed group. All metabolic-related parameters and hepatitis B serology were tested with routine biochemical or immunological methods. "Exposed" was defined by HBV infection represented by hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and without anti-virus treatment. "Unexposed" were subjects who didn't infect with HBV (Represented by HBsAg) and no MS when they entered the cohort. MS was defined based on the updated National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and related 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for the association between HBV infection and MS over a 20-year follow-up period. Results Of 976 subjects recruited, 480 had latent HBV infection (exposed subjects). After adjusting for age, the crude HR was 2.46 (95% CI: 1.77, 3.41). After adjusting for potential risk factors of MS (gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet), the HR was 2.27 (95%CI: 1.52, 3.38). Conclusions This 20-year follow-up retrospective cohort study in Shanghai showed a positive association between HBV infection and MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, microRNA (miRNA) microarrays were used to detect differentially expressed miRNAs in the myocardial tissues of rat models under stress, to screen target miRNA candidates for miRNA therapy of stress-induced myocardial injury. Rats were bound and suspended in order to induce acute stress (AS) and chronic stress (CS) models. miRNA microarrays were used to detect differentially expressed miRNA in the myocardial tissues of the stressed and control groups. In comparison to the normal control, there were 68 differentially expressed miRNAs in the AS model, of which 32 were upregulated and 36 were downregulated. There were 55 differentially expressed miRNAs in the CS model, of which 20 were upregulated and 35 were downregulated. Of the 123 miRNAs, 15 miRNAs were differentially expressed between the AS and CS groups, of which four were significantly upregulated (rno-miR-296, rno-miR-141, rno-miR-382 and rno-miR-219-5p) and 11 were downregulated (significantly downregulated, rno-miR-135a and rno-miR-466b). The stress of being bound and suspended induces myocardial injury in the rats. Myocardial injury may cause the differential expression of certain miRNAs. Psychological stress may lead to the significant upregulation of rno-miR-296, rno-miR-141, rno-miR-382 and rno-miR-219-5p in addition to the significant downregulation of miR-135a and miR-466b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to understand the role of surface texturing in microalgal cell attachment to solid surfaces. Two microalgal species, Scenedesmus dimorphus and Nannochloropsis oculata, were studied on solid carriers made of nylon and polycarbonate. Ridge, pillar and groove at micro-scale were engineered on the solid carriers. Cell response to the textured surfaces was separately described by the Cassie and Wenzel models and the contact point theory. Comparison between measured and model-predicted contact angles indicated that the wetting behavior of the textured solid carriers fell into the Wenzel state, which implied that algal cells could fully penetrate into the designed textures, but the adhesion behavior would be dependent on the size and shape of the cell. Experimental results showed that the attachment was preferred when the feature size was close to the diameter of the cell attempting to settle. Larger or smaller feature dimensions had the potential to reduce cellular attachment. The observation was found to qualitatively comply with the contact point theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Shikimic acid (SA) produced from the seeds of Chinese star anise (Illicium verum) is a key intermediate for the synthesis of neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), an anti-influenza drug. However, plants cannot deliver a stable supply of SA. To avoid the resulting shortages and price fluctuations, a stable source of affordable SA is required. Although recent achievements in metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli strains have significantly increased SA productivity, commonly-used plasmid-based expression systems are prone to genetic instability and require constant selective pressure to ensure plasmid maintenance. Cofactors also play an important role in the biosynthesis of different fermentation products. In this study, we first constructed an E. coli SA production strain that carries no plasmid or antibiotic marker. We then investigated the effect of endogenous NADPH availability on SA production. Results The pps and csrB genes were first overexpressed by replacing their native promoter and integrating an additional copy of the genes in a double gene knockout (aroK and aroL) of E. coli. The aroGfbr, aroB, aroE and tktA gene cluster was integrated into the above E. coli chromosome by direct transformation. The gene copy number was then evolved to the desired value by triclosan induction. The resulting strain, E. coli SA110, produced 8.9-fold more SA than did the parental strain E. coli (ΔaroKΔaroL). Following qRT-PCR analysis, another copy of the tktA gene under the control of the 5Ptac promoter was inserted into the chromosome of E. coli SA110 to obtain the more productive strain E. coli SA110. Next, the NADPH availability was increased by overexpressing the pntAB or nadK genes, which further enhanced SA production. The final strain, E. coli SA116, produced 3.12 g/L of SA with a yield on glucose substrate of 0.33 mol/mol. Conclusion An SA-producing E. coli strain that carries neither a plasmid nor an antibiotic marker was constructed by triclosan-induced chromosomal evolution. We present the first demonstration that increasing NADPH availability by overexpressing the pntAB or nadK genes significantly enhances SA production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we consider a subclass of strongly spirallike functions on the unit disk D in the complex plane C, namely, strongly almost spirallike functions of type β and order α.We obtain the growth results for strongly almost spirallike functions of type β and order α on the unit disk D in C by using subordination principles and the geometric properties of analytic mappings. Furthermore we get the growth theorems for strongly almost starlike functions of order α and strongly starlike functions on the unit disk D of C. These growth results follow the deviation results of these functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Minimization is a case allocation method for randomized controlled trials (RCT). Evidence suggests that the minimization method achieves balanced groups with respect to numbers and participant characteristics, and can incorporate more prognostic factors compared to other randomization methods. Although several automatic allocation systems exist (e.g., randoWeb, and MagMin), the minimization method is still difficult to implement, and RCTs seldom employ minimization. Therefore, we developed the minimization allocation controlled trials (MACT) system, a generic manageable minimization allocation system. System Outline. The MACT system implements minimization allocation by Web and email. It has a unified interface that manages trials, participants, and allocation. It simultaneously supports multitrials, multicenters, multigrouping, multiple prognostic factors, and multilevels. Methods. Unlike previous systems, MACT utilizes an optimized database that greatly improves manageability. Simulations and Results. MACT was assessed in a series of experiments and evaluations. Relative to simple randomization, minimization produces better balance among groups and similar unpredictability. Applications. MACT has been employed in two RCTs that lasted three years. During this period, MACT steadily and simultaneously satisfied the requirements of the trial. Conclusions. MACT is a manageable, easy-to-use case allocation system. Its outstanding features are attracting more RCTs to use the minimization allocation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidural electrical stimulation has been applied in clinics for many years. However, there is still a concern about possible injury to spinal nerves. This study investigated electrical field and current density distribution during direct epidural electrical stimulation. Field distribution models were theoretically deduced, while the distribution of potentials and current were analyzed. The current density presented an increase of 70-80%, with one peak value ranging from - 85° to 85° between the two stimulated poles. The effect of direct epidural electrical stimulation is mainly on local tissue surrounding the electrodes, concentrated around the two stimulated positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimensionality reduction is necessary for gene expression data classification. In this paper, we propose a new method for reducing the dimensionality of gene expression data. First, based on a sparse representation, we developed a new criterion for characterizing the margin, which is called sparse maximum margin discriminant analysis (SMMDA); this approach can be used to find an optimal transform matrix such that the sparse margin is maximal in the transformed space. Second, using SMMDA, we present a new feature extraction method for gene expression data. Third, based on SMMDA, we propose a new discriminant gene selection method. During gene selection, we first found the onedimensional projection of the gene expression data in the most separable direction using SMMDA. Then, we applied the sparse representation technique to regress the projection, and we obtained the relevance vector for the gene set. Discriminant genes were then selected according to this vector. Compared with the conventional method of maximum margin discriminant analysis, the proposed SMMDA method successfully avoids the difficulty of parameter selection. Extensive experiments using publicly available gene expression datasets showed that SMMDA is efficient for feature extraction and gene selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaporation of the mixture solution of Cu(ClO)·6HO, KOH and ( S)-2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid affords a Cu(II)-K(I) coordination compound 1. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that 1 is a one-dimensional comb-like coordination polymer in the P222 space group with crystal cell parameters a = 10.989(2) Å, b = 15.939(3) Å, c = 22.511(5) Å, V = 3943(1) Å and Z = 4. Graphical Abstract: Evaporation of the mixture solution of Cu(ClO)·16HO, KOH and ( S)-2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid affords a Cu(II)-K(I) coordination compound 1 with a one-dimensional comb-like structure.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: PtAu-alloy nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully prepared by simultaneous reduction of H2PtCl6·6H2O and HAuCl4·3H2O with sodium borohydride as a reducing reagent and sodium citrate as a stabilizing reagent. The morphology and composition of the composite catalyst were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the PtAu alloy nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 3.5nm and narrow size distribution are supported on MWCNTs. Electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid at the PtAu/MWCNTs nanocomposite electrode was investigated in a solution containing 0.50M H2SO4 as a supporting electrolyte and 0.50M formic acid by cyclic voltammogram and chronoamperometry. The results demonstrate that the PtAu/MWCNTs catalyst exhibits higher activity and stability for electro-oxidation of formic acid than the commercial Pt/C catalyst, reflecting by its lower onset potential (−0.05V), oxidation mainly occurring in low potential range of −0.05±0.65V and higher peak current density of 3.12mAcm−2. The result of CO stripping voltammetry discloses that gold in the PtAu/MWCNTs nanocomposite enhances the catalytic activity and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received great attention due to their fascinating structures and intriguing potential applications in various fields. Herein, we report the first example of the utilization of MOFs for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). MOF-199 with unique pores and open metal sites (Lewis acid sites) was employed as the coating for SPME fiber to extract volatile and harmful benzene homologues. The SPME fiber was fabricated by in situ hydrothermal growth of thin MOF-199 films on etched stainless steel wire. The MOF-199-coated fiber not only offered large enhancement factors from 19613 (benzene) to 110860 (p-xylene), but also exhibited wide linearity with 3 orders of magnitude for the tested benzene homologues. The limits of detection for the benzene homologues were 8.3-23.3 ng L-1. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for six replicate extractions using one SPME fiber ranged from 2.0% to 7.7%. The fiber-to-fiber reproducibility for three parallel prepared fibers was 3.5%-9.4% (RSD). Indoor air samples were analyzed for the benzene homologues using the SPME with the MOF-199-coated fiber in combination with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. The recoveries for the spiked benzene homologues in the collected indoor air samples were in the range of 87%-106%. The high affinity of the MOF-199-coated fiber to benzene homologues resulted from the combined effects of the large surface area and the unique porous structure of the MOF-199, the π-π interactions of the aromatic rings of the analytes with the framework 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid molecules, and the π-complexation of the electron-rich analytes to the Lewis acid sites in the pores of MOF-199. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After over 30 years of development, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is now facing a very important stage in its history. The explosive development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has assisted the rapid development of SERS, especially during the last 5 years. Further development of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is mainly limited by the reproducible preparation of clean and highly surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates. This review deals with some substrate-related issues. Various methods will be introduced for preparing SERS substrates of Ag and Au for analytical purposes, from SERS substrates prepared by electrochemical or vacuum methods, to well-dispersed Au or Ag nanoparticle sols, to nanoparticle thin film substrates, and finally to ordered nanostructured substrates. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the advantages and weaknesses of different methods in preparing SERS substrates. Closely related to the application of SERS in the analysis of trace sample and unknown systems, the existing cleaning methods for SERS substrates are analyzed and a combined chemical adsorption and electrochemical oxidation method is proposed to eliminate the interference of contaminants. A defocusing method is proposed to deal with the laser-induced sample decomposition problem frequently met in SERS measurement to obtain strong signals. The existing methods to estimate the surface enhancement factor, a criterion to characterize the SERS activity of a substrate, are analyzed and some guidelines are proposed to obtain the correct enhancement factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel type of palladium nanoparticles-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite-electrode with electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction is presented. The nanocomposite was prepared by magnetron sputtering deposition with Pd in Ar atmosphere on MWNTs, which were synthesized on Ta plates by chemical vapor deposition. Both scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were employed to observe the surface morphology. The Pd nanoparticles, with diameters around 5 nm, are dispersed at the tips and on the sidewalls of the MWNTs. Voltammetry, amperometry and electrochemical impedance measurements were used to demonstrate the strong electrocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite in acid solution. Compared to the bare MWNT electrode, the PdNPs/MWNT nanocomposite shows a positive shift of the O2 reduction current at onset potentials from +400 to +500 mV, a concurrent 1.5-fold increase in the O2 reduction peak current with high stability. The successful preparation of PdNPs/MWNTs nanocomposite by magnetron sputtering deposition opens a new path for an efficient dispersion of promising nanoparticles for fuel cells and O2 sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identification of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) silenced by CpG methylation uncovers the molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis and potential tumor biomarkers. Loss of heterozygosity at 11q25 is common in multiple tumors including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). OPCML, located at 11q25, is one of the downregulated genes we identified through digital expression subtraction. Methodology/Principal Findings: Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed frequent OPCML silencing in NPC and other common tumors, with no homozygous deletion detected by multiplex differential DNA-PCR. Instead, promoter methylation of OPCML was frequently detected in multiple carcinoma cell lines (nasopharyngeal, esophageal, lung, gastric, colon, liver, breast, cervix, prostate), lymphoma cell lines (non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphoma, nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma) and primary tumors, but not in any non-tumor cell line and seldom weakly methylated in normal epithelial tissues. Pharmacological and genetic demethylation restored OPCML expression, indicating a direct epigenetic silencing. We further found that OPCML is stress-responsive, but this response is epigenetically impaired when its promoter becomes methylated. Ecotopic expression of OPCML led to significant inhibition of both anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of carcinoma cells with endogenous silencing. Conclusions/Significance: Thus, through functional epigenetics, we identified OPCML as a broad tumor suppressor, which is frequently inactivated by methylation in multiple malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has received renewed interest in recent years in fields such as trace analysis, biorelated diagnosis, and living cell study. However, the interference of impurities left on the surface from the preparation process of substrates or adsorbed from the ambient environment limits to some extent the application of SERS for analysis of trace or unknown samples. In the present paper, we propose a method to prepare clean SERS substrates by a combined method of chemical adsorption of iodide on the Au surface to remove the surface impurities and electrochemical oxidation of the adsorbed iodide to obtain a clean and impurity-free surface for SERS measurement. Time-dependent control experiment of untreated and treated substrate reveals that this method is very effective in obtaining substrates free of impurities. SERS mapping demonstrates the SERS activity of the substrate is homogeneous over the whole surface. The obtained clean substrate enables us to study the structures of the cell membrane with SERS and even to perform SERS mapping to visualize the distribution of amino acids over the membrane of a living cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have implanted boron (B) ions (dosage: 5×1014 cm-2) into diamond and then hydrogenated the sample by implantating hydrogen ions at room temperature. A p-type diamond material with a low resistivity of 7.37mΩcm has been obtained in our experiment, which suggests that the hydrogenation of B-doped diamond results in a low-resistivity p-type material. Interestingly, inverse annealing, in which carrier concentration decreased with increasing annealing temperature, was observed at annealing temperatures above 600 °C. In addition, the formation mechanism of a low-resistivity material has been studied by density functional theory calculation using a plane wave method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laboratory studies suggest that flavonoids are antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic. To investigate the associations between commonly consumed flavonoid compounds and lung cancer, the authors conducted a population-based case-control study of 558 lung cancer cases and a group of 837 controls.Methods: Dietary intakes of flavonoids were estimated by combining the intake frequency (collected by a food frequency questionnaire), portion size, and food composition data. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence limits (95% CLs) with an adjustment for potential confounders, including age, sex, race-ethnicity, years of schooling, smoking status, pack-years of tobacco smoking, and daily energy intake.Results: Lung cancer was associated inversely with the consumption of epicatechin (in 10 mg per day increment: OR, 0.64; 95% CL, 0.46-0.88), catechin (4 mg per day increment: OR, 0.49; 95% CL, 0.35-0.70), quercetin (9 mg per day increment: OR, 0.65; 95% CL, 0.44-0.95), and kaempferol (2 mg per day increment: OR, 0.68; 95% CL, 0.51-0.90) among tobacco smokers. There was little association between lung cancer and the flavonoid compounds mentioned above among nonsmokers. Regardless of smoking status, there was little association with total flavonoids: thearubigins, hesperetin, naringenin, and myricetin. In addition, consumption of vegetables, tea, and wine, all of which are rich sources of flavonoids, was associated inversely with lung cancer among tobacco smokers.Conclusions: Certain flavonoid compounds, including epicatechin, catechin, quercetin, and kaempferol, were associated inversely with lung cancer among tobacco smokers, but not among nonsmokers. Further studies of these associations may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurpose:To evaluate the efficacy, safety and early visual quality of the AcrySof ReSTOR multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) following cataract surgery. Setting:Eye Center of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan Shierming Eye Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, China. Methods:After small-incision phacoemulsification, AcrySof ReSTOR IOLs were implanted in 20 subjects (40 eyes, ReSTOR group). Monofocal IOLs were implanted in 18 subjects (36 eyes, control group). Three to six months following bilateral implantation, visual acuity, depth of focus, corneal astigmatism, contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity, visual field and spherical aberration were compared between the groups. A subjective outcome questionnaire was also completed by the subjects. Results:Uncorrected near visual acuity 0.5 or better was achieved by 92.5 of the ReSTOR eyes. In the monofocal eyes, only 33.3 of the eyes achieved uncorrected near visual acuity of 0.5 or better. There was no statistical difference between corrected near, distance visual acuity, and uncorrected distance visual acuity in the 2 groups (p > 0.05). In patients with visual acuity 0.5 or better, the depth of focus was 4.87 ± 1.09 and 2.08 ± 0.69 dpt in the ReSTOR and control groups, respectively. The contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity and visual field of both groups were similar (p > 0.05). The spherical aberration of the 2 groups was similar (t = –0.37, p = 0.71). Visual disturbances were minimal with only 1 patient in each group complaining of glare at night. Conclusion:The AcrySof ReSTOR multifocal IOL is a safe and effective treatment for cataracts.Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calibration of the micro force sensors is necessary for the measurement of microNewton forces, which are critical to analytical applications of micro force sensor in the analysis of micromanipulators, microrobots and microgrippers. This paper proposes a novel calibration system to calibrate PZT thin film micro force sensor using the bimorph probe as the loading part. Sensitivities of PZT thin film micro force sensors were calibrated by the calibration system composed of the drive system and the testing system. The drive system combines 3-dimensional positioning stage, a bimorph probe and a frequency synthesizer, and the testing system combines an electronic balance for static state or a charge amplifier and a lock-in amplifier for the quasi static state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of test pulse forces has been drawn up using a Semiconductor Strain Transducer (SST) as sensor. The experimental principles have been discussed and the force loading process can be carried out, when the parabolic laser thruster is irradiated by a single laser pulse. The experimental results have been analysed and the cause for the force curve surge explained. The impulse coupling coefficient, obtained in this experiment, is very close to those reported in the scientific literature. This indicates that this pulse force measuring system is reliable and beneficial in developing the test for the instantaneous pulse force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]