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Tinea capitis is still common in developing countries, such as China. Its pathogen spectrum varies across regions and changes over time.This study aimed to clarify the current epidemiological characteristics and pathogen spectrum of tinea capitis in China.A multicentre, prospective descriptive study involving 29 tertiary hospitals in China was conducted. From August 2019 to July 2020, 611 patients with tinea capitis were enrolled. Data concerning demography, risk factors and fungal tests were collected. When necessary, the pathogens were further identified by morphology or molecular sequencing in the central laboratory.Among all enrolled patients, 74·1% of the cases were in patients aged 2-8 years. The children with tinea capitis were mainly boys (56·2%) and were more likely than adults to have a history of animal contact (57·4% vs. 35·3%, P = 0·012) and zoophilic dermatophyte infection (73·5% vs. 47%). The adults were mainly female (83%) and were more likely than children to have anthropophilic agent infection (53% vs. 23·9%). The most common pathogen was zoophilic Microsporum canis (354, 65·2%), followed by anthropophilic Trichophyton violaceum (74, 13·6%). In contrast to the eastern, western and northeastern regions, where zoophilic M. canis predominated, anthropophilic T. violaceum predominated in central China (69%, P 0·001), where the patients had the most tinea at other sites (20%) and dermatophytosis contact (26%) but the least animal contact (39%). Microsporum ferrugineum was the most common anthropophilic agent in the western area, especially in Xinjiang province.Boys aged approximately 5 years were the most commonly affected group. Dermatologists are advised to pay more attention to the different transmission routes and pathogen spectra in different age groups from different regions.

Chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI) is a severe condition of peripheral artery disease with high amputation and mortality. Pain and infection cause insufficient nutrient intake and protein loss in CLTI patients,while malnutrition is very prevalent in patients with CLTI and associated with poor prognosis.More and more studies have shown that malnutrition increases the risk of amputation and mortality,delays the time of wound healing.Moderate and severe malnutrition are independent risk factors for amputation and mortality in CLTI patients undergoing surgical or endovascular revascularization.Nutritional screening tools such as Geriatric nutritional risk index,Mini Nutritional Assessment and Controlling nutritional status can help to stratify patients with nutritional risk.Identification of patients with nutritional risk and nutritional intervention can improve the prognosis of CLTI patients.慢性肢体威胁性缺血（CLTI）是周围血管疾病最严重阶段，截肢率和病死率较高。疼痛、感染可引起CLTI患者营养物质摄入不足和蛋白丢失，患者的营养不良发生率较高。越来越多的研究结果表明，营养不良会增加截肢、死亡风险，延迟创面的愈合时间，是CLTI患者接受血运重建后截肢及死亡风险的独立危险因素。营养筛查工具如老年营养风险指数、微型营养评价、营养控制状态等可帮助筛查出有营养风险的CLTI患者，对其进行营养干预可以改善预后。.

Direction of arrival (DOA) estimation performance may degrade substantially when linear frequency modulation (LFM) signals are spectrally-overlapped in time-frequency (TF) domain. In order to solve this problem, the single-source TF points selection algorithm based on Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) and Hough transform is studied in this paper. Firstly, the signal intersections in TF domain can be solved based on the Hough transform. Secondly, by removing multiple-source TF points at intersections according to the empirical threshold value which is calculated by using the statistical experiment method, we can get single-source TF points set. Then, based on the Euclidean distance operator, single-source TF points set belonging to each signal can be obtained according to the property that TF points of the same signal have the same eigenvector. Finally, the averaged spatial TF distribution matrix is constructed and DOA estimation is realized based on the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm. In this way, the proposed algorithm can resolve the TF non-disjoint LFM signals because it can automatically select single-source TF points set of each signal. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed algorithm possesses higher angular resolution and has pretty good DOA estimation precision compared with existing algorithms.

Pain is one of the most common complications of burn patients. Burn from onset to rehabilitation is a long and complex process, during which dressing change, debridement, operation, and rehabilitation may cause different degrees of pain to the patients. As one of the means of non-pharmaceutical pain management, the interventional effect of virtual reality technology has gradually been recognized by more and more researchers. This paper reviewed the definition, the interventional mechanisms, and the interventional effect on burn pain of virtual reality technology, to provide a reference for clinical application of virtual reality technology in pain management of burn patients.疼痛是烧伤患者最常见的并发症之一，烧伤从发病到康复是一个漫长复杂的过程，其间伤口换药、清创、手术及康复等均会为患者造成不同程度的疼痛。虚拟现实技术作为非药物疼痛管理的手段之一，其干预效果已逐渐得到了越来越多研究者的认可。本文对虚拟现实技术的定义及其对疼痛的干预机制和烧伤疼痛中的干预效果进行综述，为虚拟现实技术在临床烧伤患者疼痛管理方面的应用提供参考。.

Suspension bed are often used to treat and nurse the wounds of burn patients in clinic. Because of the suspension force, the patients' activities are limited, and they stay in bed for a long time, which is very easy to cause foot drop, affecting the recovery of the patients. Aiming at this problem, we designed and made a foot drop prevention baffle made of stainless steel, which could withstand the buoyancy of the suspension bed, adjust the feet forwardly and backwardly, to the left and right according to the height of the patients and the distance of the feet to be separated, and keep the foot in a positive and external rotation position according to the comfort of the patients, which achieved good results in clinical application.临床常应用悬浮床治疗及护理烧伤患者创面，由于悬浮力致患者活动受限，加之长时间卧床，极容易引发足下垂，影响患者的康复。针对此问题，笔者选用不锈钢设计制作了应用于卧悬浮床患者的足下垂预防挡板，在耐受悬浮床浮力的同时，可根据患者的身高、双足拟分开的距离进行前后、左右调节，并能够根据患者的舒适度使足部保持正位及外旋位，临床应用效果良好。.

Children are a high-risk group of burn, and burn pain is a special type of pain. Because children of different ages have different cognitive ability and behavioral response to pain, thus it is particularly difficult to effectively evaluate the pain. It is very important for medical staff to understand the pain of children, to define the adverse reactions of pain, to evaluate and take appropriate pain intervention measures in time and effectively. In this paper, different evaluation methods of burn pain in children and non-drug intervention related measures were reviewed in order to provide references for clinical practice.小儿是发生烧伤的高危人群，烧伤疼痛是一种特殊类型的疼痛。由于不同年龄段的患儿对疼痛的认知能力及行为反应存在差异，故针对小儿进行有效疼痛评估尤为困难。了解患儿的疼痛，明确疼痛的不良反应，及时有效地评估及采取合适的疼痛干预措施对于医护人员至关重要。本文针对小儿烧伤疼痛的不同评估方法及非药物干预相关措施进行综述，以期为临床提供参考。.

BACKGROUND All-soft suture anchors (ASSAs) are commonly used for shoulder labral repair and capsulorrhaphy in patients with shoulder instability. While these anchors may have some specific advantages over other types of suture anchors, little is known about the prevalence and time-dependence of bone cyst formation and tunnel expansion after implantation of ASSAs. The aim of this study was to quantify the proportions of cyst formation and tunnel expansion around ASSAs and to characterize and test for differences in abnormalities observed at different postoperative time points. METHODS Thirty patients who were treated with arthroscopic shoulder stabilization surgery with ASSAs (1.4 mm; JuggerKnot, Biomet) underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan of the operatively treated shoulder at 1 month (10 patients), 6 months (10 patients), or 12 months (10 patients) postoperatively. Demographic and operative data were collected, and CT scans were evaluated for cyst formation, tunnel expansion, and tunnel volume measured in cubic millimeters. Statistical analyses were performed to detect differences in these outcomes among the follow-up groups. All shoulders were stable at all time points of the study, and there were no incidents of recurrent instability during the study period. RESULTS Ninety-one suture anchors were evaluated in 30 patients. Tunnel expansion was identified in the large majority of patients in the 6-month and 12-month follow-up groups, with a significant increase in these proportions compared with the 1-month follow-up group (p = 0.002). Mean tunnel volumes also significantly increased over the study period (p < 0.001). The presence of cyst formation was negligible in all 3 follow-up cohorts. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated low rates of cyst formation but a significantly increased tunnel volume 6 and 12 months after shoulder labral surgery with ASSAs. There was no association with the initial tunnel location. Additional well-controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed to identify potential associations among tunnel expansion, intraoperative technique, and clinical outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

In this paper, a novel rasorber with both Frequency Selective Surface and absorptive periodical structure is developed. This rasorber works as a radome and an absorber. Firstly, the design procedure of the unit cell of this rasorber is explained. Then, the characteristics of the manufactured rasorber are measured. The characteristics include the transmission/reflection coefficients of the rasorber, the radiation properties of the horn antenna covered by the novel rasorber and the scattering features of this rasorber. In the passband, the gain of the antenna with our rasorber radome is only 1~2 dB lower than the one of the horn antenna without any radome. Furthermore, the radome has little effect on the radiation patterns of the horn antenna. In the absorptive bands of the rasorber, the electric level of the scattered electromagnetic wave from the rasorber can be 16.5 dB lower than the one from a metallic plane with the same size as the rasorber. The feature proves that this rasorber can be a good candidate in the stealth radar radome area.

In order to improve the direction-finding efficiency of the correlative interferometer and reduce the size of the lookup table, this paper proposes the one dimensional sorting lookup table-two dimensional linear interpolation (1DSLUT-2DLI) algorithm. Firstly, the uniform circular array (UCA) model is established and the direction finding (DF) theory of the correlative interferometer is analyzed. A new lookup table is obtained by proceeding the ascending order for the first dimensional phase differences and a one dimensional iterative filtering method is used to look up the new table to get the direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. Compared to the exist methods, the 1DSLUT algorithm can reduce the computational complexity greatly. Considering the burden of a big lookup table, this paper proposes the 2DLI algorithm. Through the Taylor expansion, the conclusion that the phase difference is approximately linear in a small angle range is obtained. So, the linear interpolation can be applied to calculate the phase differences in the azimuth direction and elevation direction. On this basis, we conclude the equations to get the DOA estimation using the 2DLI algorithm. In this way, the size of the lookup table is reduced greatly, which decreases the computational complexity greatly also. The numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the 1DSLUT-2DLI algorithm and it can obtain a pretty high DOA estimation precision with a low computational complexity and a small lookup table.

A geometrically symmetrical fractal structure is presented in this paper to provide an alternative approach for the miniaturization design of microstrip bandpass filters (BPFs). The generation process of the geometric geometry is described in detail, and a new fractal resonator called Greek-cross fractal resonator (GCFR) is produced by etching the proposed fractal configuration on the surface of the conventional dual-mode meandered loop resonator. Four microstrip BPFs based on the first four iterations GCFR are modeled and simulated. The simulation results show that with the increase of the number of iterations, the central frequency of the BPF is gradually moving towards the low frequency, which indicates that the proposed fractal resonator has the characteristic of miniaturization. In addition, the parameter optimization and surface current density distribution are also analyzed in order to better understand the performance of the BPF. Finally, a compact dual-mode BPF based on the third iteration GCFR is designed, fabricated and measured. The measurement results are in good agreement with the simulation ones.

Based on Dechirping algorithm and uniform circle array(UCA), a new 2-D direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm of linear frequency modulation (LFM) signals is proposed in this paper. The algorithm uses the thought of Dechirping and regards the signal to be estimated which is received by the reference sensor as the reference signal and proceeds the difference frequency treatment with the signal received by each sensor. So the signal to be estimated becomes a single-frequency signal in each sensor. Then we transform the single-frequency signal to an isolated impulse through Fourier transform (FFT) and construct a new array data model based on the prominent parts of the impulse. Finally, we respectively use multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm and rotational invariance technique (ESPRIT) algorithm to realize 2-D DOA estimation of LFM signals. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the algorithm proposed.

Children with burns often have uncooperative behaviors such as crying and struggling when changing dressing because of pain and fear, which affects dressing change of medical staff and increases the psychological burden of the family members of children and dressing change personnel. In order to solve the above problems, the author's team designs and makes the mobile soothing screen for pediatric dressing change. Dressing change personnel are isolated from the children's sight through the screen's shielding function, and the children's favorite program showed on the tablet computer attracts the children's attention. The wound dressing change is completed by using the disposal window on the screen, which has good clinical application effects.小儿烧伤换药时因疼痛、恐惧常出现哭闹、挣扎等不配合行为，从而影响医护人员换药，增加患儿家属及换药人员的心理负担。为解决上述问题，笔者团队设计制作小儿换药用移动式安抚屏风，通过屏风的遮挡作用将换药人员隔离在小儿视线之外，平板电脑播放患儿喜爱的节目，转移其注意力，同时利用屏风上的处置窗口完成创面换药，临床应用效果较佳。.

Pancreatic fistula is one of the most common and serious complications after digestive tract reconstruction.Grade A pancreatic fistula is defined as biochemical fistula only when the drainage fluid amylase level is elevated without affecting clinical decision-making.It is not a true pancreatic fistula, or a real surgical complication.Surgeons should pay more attention to the diagnosis and treatment of B and C pancreatic fistula, and it is more valuable to reduce the occurrence of B and C pancreatic fistula.Pancreatic fistula is not a purely surgical technical problem, but the quality of surgical reconstruction is very important.For pancreatic surgeons, the reconstruction of the pancreatic stump digestive tract after pancreaticoduodenectomy is accompanied by both opportunities and challenges.胰瘘是消化道重建术后最常见、最严重的并发症之一，临床处理困难。只有引流液淀粉酶升高而不影响临床治疗决策改变的A级胰瘘被定义为生化漏，其被认为不是真正意义上的胰瘘，也不是真正的手术并发症。临床医师应将注意力集中于B、C级胰瘘的诊治，减少B、C级胰瘘的发生更具临床价值。胰瘘不是单纯的外科技术性问题，但外科重建质量至关重要。关于胰十二指肠切除术后胰腺残端消化道重建的研究，对于胰腺外科医师来说，机遇与挑战并存。.

To investigate the genetic polymorphisms and mutations of 30 Y-STR loci in Chinese Han males and to evaluate its forensic application.The DNA extracted from blood samples of 1 005 unrelated males and 1 008 father-son pairs （1 949 individuals in all） in Chinese Han population were typed using developed 30 Y-STR loci identification system. The parameters of population genetics and the mutation rates of each locus were analysed statistically.A total of 983 haplotypes were found in 1 005 unrelated males from Chinese Han population, of which 963 were unique. The overall haplotype diversity （HD） and discrimination capacity （DC） were 0.999 955 and 0.978 109, respectively. Totally 340 alleles were detected on 30 Y-STR loci, the value of gene diversity （GD） ranged from 0.410 3 to 0.952 3. The GD values of 24 out of the 30 loci were over 0.6. There were 30 269 allele transfers in 1 008 father-son pairs, one mutation in 68 father-son pairs, and the mutation of three father-son pairs occurred at two loci. On 26 Y-STR loci, 74 mutations were detected in 71 father-son pairs. The average mutation rates were 2.4×10⁻³ （95% CI： 1.9×10⁻³-3.1×10⁻³）. Seventy-three mutation events were one-step mutation （98.6%）, 1 mutation event was two-step mutation （1.4%）.The multiplex PCR system with 30 Y-STR loci has high genetic polymorphism and low mutation rates in Chinese Han males. Therefore, the system shows important values in Y-STR database construction and population genetic research.30个Y-STR基因座在中国汉族人群中的多态性与突变.调查30个Y-STR基因座在中国汉族男性人群中的遗传多态性和突变情况，研究其法医学应用效能。.应用自行建立的30个Y-STR基因座检测系统对中国汉族人群1 005名男性无关个体和1 008对父子（1 949人）的血样进行Y-STR分型，统计各基因座的群体遗传学参数与突变情况。.1 005名中国汉族男性无关个体共检出983种单倍型，其中963种仅检出1次，总体单倍型多样性（HD）和识别能力（DC）分别为0.999 955和0.978 109。30个Y-STR基因座共检出340个等位基因，基因多样性（GD）为0.410 3~0.952 3，24个基因座GD值大于0.6。1 008对父子共有30 269次等位基因传递，68对父子仅1个基因座发生突变，3对父子的突变同时发生在2个基因座上。在71对父子间涉及的26个基因座中观察到74次突变，平均突变率为2.4×10⁻³［95% CI为（1.9×10⁻³，3.1×10⁻³）］，其中一步突变73次（98.6%），两步突变1次（1.4%）。.该30个Y-STR基因座复合扩增体系在中国汉族男性人群中具有较高的遗传多态性及较低的突变率，在Y-STR数据库建设和群体遗传学研究中具有重要价值。.法医遗传学；多态现象，遗传；突变；Y染色体；短串联重复.

Coating the Li-rich layered oxide cathode Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 with small amount of conductive carbon is realized by low-temperature sucrose carbonization in air. Carbon coating gives rise to a small amount of Mn3+ on the surface of the Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2. The 1.2 wt% carbon-coated Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 shows obviously enhanced electrochemical performances, especially in improving rate capability and suppressing the voltage fading during long-term and high-rate cycling. According to the analysis from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), the improvements on the electrochemical performances are mainly because the coated carbon layer can function by not only increasing the electronic conductivity at the interface with electrolyte but also improving bulk electronic and ionic conductivity by small amounts of Mn3+. Therefore, carbon coating is a promising approach to improve the cyclic stability of the Li-rich layered oxides.

A novel thin radome made by metamaterial is presented, with the properties like the sandwich where the middle acts as a pass band filter at an expected frequency band, while others behave as absorbers. This new radome consists of three layers including metal goblets-shape the frequency selective surface (FSS) layer, a substrate and a resistive square loops. Compared with the traditional invisible radome, the new radome’s two absorptive bands were separated by one transmission band, which is a challenge for the traditional ones. Except for the analysis of absorption property, the effects of the radome for the antenna are also simulated and some useful conclusions are drawn. Also, it has the advantages of simple structure for the easy fabrication, which could be more attracting in practical radome.

Pediatric soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 10% of all pediatric malignancies. Malignant ectomesenchymoma is rare biphasic sarcomas consisting of both mesenchymal and neuroectodermal elements. Approximately 64 cases have been reported in the literature and are believed to arise from pluripotent embryologic migratory neural crest cells. We report a 4-year-old boy who initially presented with a pelvic mass and inguinal lymphadenopathy at 6 months of age. Inguinal lymph node biopsy revealed a distinct biphasic tumor with microscopic and immunophenotypic characteristics diagnostic for both alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and poorly differentiated neuroblastoma. The patient received national protocol chemotherapy against rhabdomyosarcoma with good response and presented with a cerebellar mass 21 months later. The metastatic tumor revealed sheets of primitive tumor cells and diagnostic areas of rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma were identified only by immunohistochemistry. Cytogenetic analysis of metastatic tumor demonstrated complex karyotype with multiple chromosomal deletions and duplications. The patient received national protocol chemotherapy against neuroblastoma and adjuvant radiotherapy after surgical resection of the cerebellar tumor with good response. He is currently off from any treatment for 18 months with no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Airport Group is a nonlinear complex system with dynamic changes and feedback mechanisms. It is difficult for a general model to simulate an airport group. This paper adopts the system dynamics method to establish the airport group efficiency evaluation model, adjust the variable parameters, and verify the policies implemented in each airport in this airport group. The study found that the overall efficiency of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Airport Group has increased year by year. However, the Beijing Capital International Airport has experienced over-utilization of resources in the past three years. The efficiency of Tianjin Binhai International Airport has been rising, changing from the excessive resource redundancy in 2010 to the nearly full use of airport resources in 2017. Although the efficiency of Shijiazhuang Zhengding Airport has increased, the airport resources have been still wasteful. Through the simulation of the airport group, we can understand the efficiency of the airport group and each airport, and fully understand the integrity of the airport group and the mutual impact mechanism between the airports.

Previous studies suggested that monocytes may play a vital role in infection and sepsis following burn injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether burn injury had any effect on the levels of expression of monocyte cell-surface receptors at different phases post burn injury. Ten adult burn victims with burns of25% of the total body surface area were included in this study. Blood samples were collected on the first, third and seventh day post burn injury. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells were extracted, with or without lipopolysaccharide stimulation. The monocyte phenotypes of CD14, CD16, HLA-DR, CD163, TLR2 and TLR4 were characterized by flow cytometry. Six healthy volunteers were recruited as controls. The percentage of expressed CD14+ monocytes increased during the first day, and then decreased on the third and seventh day after burn injury. The percentages of CD14+ cells expressing CD16 and HLA-DR decreased on the first day, followed by an increase on the third and seventh day post burn. In comparison, the percentage of CD14+ monocytes expressing TLR2 and TLR4 was higher on the first day in burn patients than that of control participants, followed by no change on the third and seventh day post burn injury. There was no significant difference in the percentages of CD14+ expressing CD163 between the two groups. This study showed that the expression of the specific receptors on the surface of monocyte is affected by burn injury. The changes in the expression levels of these receptors may contribute to burn-induced infection susceptibility.

Applying competency models to identify and develop capabilities of civil servants is now a leading strategy for every government. However, an ideal competency model usually contains too many intended competencies, impeding implementation. Recently, some scholars and experts argued that there is a maximum of eight competencies for effective assessment. Hence, how to simplify a set of competencies becomes an important issue. This study is presented as a test case to extend practical applications of rough set theory (RST) in the human resource field of Government. A well-known data mining technique, RST is a relatively new approach to this problem and is good at data reduction in qualitative analysis. Hence, the rough set approach is suitable for dealing with the qualitative problem in simplifying a set of competencies. This paper slimmed a set of competencies using RST, thus helping the Taiwan Government to better understand the perceived competency levels of its civil servants. Using the rough set analysis, this paper successfully reduced the numerous essential competencies into a more compact set, by omitting low-consensus competencies.

We report that the green-emitting polymer—poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), a copolymer of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8), formed two distinct interfaces with calcium and cesium, respectively, as observed in photoemission measurements. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy showed that Ca formed a stable interface with F8BT without significantly changing the electronic structure of F8BT, which is in contrast to the Cs/F8BT interface where bipolaron states occurred in the forbidden gap as a result of charge transfer processes. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy revealed that Ca covalently bonded with the sulfur atoms whereas Cs preferably interacted with the nitrogen in the F8BT. The results are useful to account for the undesirable device performance using CsF/Al as a cathode in the F8BT-based polymer light-emitting device. The exposure of Cs/F8BT interface to residual gases at a pressure of 2.0×10−9 mbar for 2 and 12 h, respectively, slightly and largely eliminated the gap states. Depos...

Since ytterbium (Yb) possesses a low work function of 2.6 eV and Yb fluoride generally has a high negative free energy of formation, it is conceivable to use Yb, either directly or parasitically, with a metal fluoride, as a cathode in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this work, the electronic structure and chemistry at the interface of Yb/poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT) were investigated by ultraviolet and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (UPS and XPS, respectively). We found that the deposition of Yb on top of F8BT foremost formed organometallic complexes with the sulfur but interacted partly with the nitrogen of F8BT, and eventually formed a Yb–C complex at higher Yb coverages. In the UPS spectra, Yb deposition increased the relative peak intensities corresponding to the σ-bonds originated from the aliphatic side chains, implying that some of the π-conjugated carbons in the polymer backbone may be destroyed. These results agree well with the disappearance of the π-to-π* tra...

In this article we study the interface between poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) and different alkali metals (Cs, K, Na, and Li) by photoelectron spectroscopy. The low work-function alkali metals led to low or no electron injection barrier at the PFO interface. From the ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, alteration of electronic structures upon Cs, K, Na, or Li doping into PFO represented a charge transfer process among them. Two new gap states known as bipolaron states were found above the highest-occupied molecular orbital of PFO. Variations in the intensity and feature of these gap states with increasing coverage of the alkali metals were correlated with changes of C 1s shakeup peaks acquired from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. From the deduced energy level diagram, it is suggested that the new gap states may reduce the radiative recombination of holes and electrons in the polymer light-emitting devices. Films exposed either to residual gases at a pressure of 2.0×10−9 mbar for 3 h or to small am...

The effect of oxygen on the interface formation between Ca electrode and a poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) film was investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The XPS results indicated that strong interaction between Ca and C occurred and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMO's) of PFO were affected upon a submonolayer Ca deposition. After ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ exposure, the interaction between Ca and C was reduced and the LUMO of PFO was partially recovered. However, too much ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ exposure $(g{10}^{5}\mathrm{L}$ in our experiments) would again deteriorate the original LUMO and result in a very wide band gap, which might be due to changes in the chemical structures of PFO in the Ca-doped region after extra ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ exposure. The UPS results confirmed that the deformed UPS spectrum after Ca deposition can be partially recovered and the Ca-induced bipolaron states in the former forbidden energy gap could be removed upon ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ exposure.

Plasma flow control, based on plasma aerodynamic actuation (PAA), has become a newly-rising focus of international aerodynamic and thermodynamic fields. Nanosecond-pulse surface discharge is considered to be a new way of generating plasma aerodynamic actuation. When it comes to the practical application, the altitude at which plasma flow control is expected to be adopted is about 10-20km, where the static pressure is only 40-185 Torr, and it is much lower than atmospheric pressure. In this paper, with a three-electrode plasma sheet actuator, the electrical and plasma characteristics of nanosecond-pulse surface discharge are experimentally investigated under varying pressures. A RO4350B (high frequency circuit material, Rogers) plate with the thickness of 1 mm and relative permittivity constant of 3.48 is taken as the dielectric layer of the plasma sheet actuator. The discharge pattern changes from dielectric barrier discharge to sliding discharge when the pressure is under 200Torr. As the pressure decreases from 760 Torr to 5 Torr, N2(C3Πu) vibrational temperature decreases slightly at first and then increases remarkably. With the pressure of about 80 Torr, the change of discharge mode from a filamentary type to a glow type has been observed. In the filamentary mode, the electron temperature hardly changes, while in the glow mode, the electron temperature increases obviously with the decrease of pressure.

To investigate whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 4 and 5 affect the susceptibility of Legionella pneumophila infection in a Han Chinese population by in vitro assay. Fifty-four (n = 54) healthy subjects were genotyped for SNPs (TLR2 (C597T) [rs3804099], TLR4 (G2244A), TLR4 (A2299G) [AF177765] and TLR5 (C1174T) [rs5744168]). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained from these subjects and stimulated with live L. pneumophila for 24 h. The mRNA expression levels of adapter protein myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) were determined using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After 24 h of L. pneumophila stimulation, the mRNA expression level of MyD88 was significantly lower with TLR2 (C597T) CT/TT (p = 0.0482) or TLR5 (C1174T) CC homozygotes (p = 0.0223) in comparison to PBMCs with other genotypes. The mRNA expression level of MyD88 was significantly higher with TLR4 (G2244A) GG/GA than AA homozygotes (p = 0.0352). No significant difference was found in PBMCs with genotypes TLR4 (A2299G) AA, AG or GG (p > 0.05). Supernatant from cultures of PBMCs with genotype TLR2 (C597T) CT/TT or TLR5 (C1174T) CC were found to have higher levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 after L. pneumophila stimulation. TLR4 (G2244A) GG/GA alleles were found to have lower levels of TNF-α (p = 0.0367) and higher levels of IL-6 (p = 0.0317) in comparison to cells with AA alleles. No significant association was observed between the TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels and genotype TLR4 (A2299G) after L. pneumophila stimulation (p > 0.05). Our findings suggested that healthy subjects who were positive for the TLR2 (C597T) CT/TT and TLR5 (C1174T) CC alleles had a superior innate immune response to L. pneumophila than other genotypes in the evaluated Han Chinese population, whereas no association was found for the TLR4 (A2299G) [AF177765] polymorphism with L. pneumophila susceptibility. It is not clear from our study if TLR4 (G2244A) [AF177765] is associated with susceptibility to L. pneumophila infection.

Background Cholesterol gallstone disease is a very common disease in both industrialized and developing countries. Many studies have found that cholesterol gallstones are more common in women than men. The molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between female gallstone disease and hepatic sterol transporters are still undergoing definition and have not been evaluated in humans. Aims The aim of this study is to probe for underlying hepatic molecular defects associated with development of gallstones in female. Methods/Results Fifty-seven nonobese, normolipidemic Chinese female gallstone patients (GS) were investigated with 12 age- and body mass index-matched female gallstone-free controls (GSF). The bile from the female GS had higher cholesterol saturation than that from the female GSF. The hepatic NPC1L1 mRNA levels were lower in female GS, correlated with SREBP2 mRNA. NPC1L1 downregulation was confirmed at protein levels. Consistently, immunohistochemistry showed decreased NPC1L1 expression in female GS. Conclusions The decreased hepatic NPC1L1 levels in female GS might indicate a downregulated reabsorption of biliary cholesterol in the liver, which, in turn, leads to the cholesterol supersaturation of bile. Our data are consistent with the possibility that hepatic NPC1L1 may be mediated by SREBP2.

The electronic structure of poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) film on a Au-coated Si substrate was investigated by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). From the UPS measurement, we obtained the ionization potential (Ip) of the PFO film, Ip=5.60±0.05 eV. From the XPS shake-up peaks of the C1s core level, we estimated the electron energy band gap (Eg) of the film, Eg=3.10±0.10 eV. By comparing the Eg with the optical absorption gap, we found that the value of Eg is closer to the optical absorption maximum than to the optical absorption edge. Therefore, we suggest that the optical absorption maximum may be a better approximation than the optical absorption edge in estimating Eg.

The effects of ambient storage, thermal annealing, and ion irradiation on the electronic structure of poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) films were investigated using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was shown that PFO is a rather stable material used for light-emitting devices.