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Gefapixant is a P2X3 receptor antagonist that has shown promise for the treatment of refractory and unexplained chronic cough. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of gefapixant compared with placebo after 12 weeks of treatment for refractory chronic cough or unexplained chronic cough.

NiMoB alloy films were deposited on silicon substrate by electroless deposition for diffusion barrier application in copper interconnects technology. NiMoB(40nm)/SiO2/Si and NiMoB(20nm)/Cu (40nm)/NiMoB(40nm)/SiO2/Si samples were prepared and annealed at temperatures ranging from 400◦C to 600◦C. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Four Point Probes (FPP) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to investigate the phases, composition, sheet resistance and surface morphology. The results showed that electroless deposited NiMoB film can be used as an effective Cu diffusion barrier layer until 500◦C. And the failure mechanism is that NiMoB crystallized and grains grew after annealing at high temperature, a large number of Cu grains passed through NiMoB film via grain boundaries and then reacted with Si substrate and oxygen, causing the generation of highly resistive Cu4Si and CuO.

CoMoB film was prepared on Si substrate via electroless deposition as the diffusion barrier for ULSI-Cu metallization. Annealing experiments of CoMoB(30nm) film and CoMoB(10nm)/Cu (40nm)/CoMoB(30nm)/SiO2/Si multi-films were carried out in the temperature range from 400◦C to 700◦C. Failure temperature and mechanism of Cu diffusion in CoMoB film were discussed. The composition, sheet resistance and morphology of the film were investigated by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Four Point Probe (FPP) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively. It can be concluded that the failure temperature of CoMoB film is 600◦C. The main reason of failure is that a large number of Cu particles passed through CoMoB grain boundary and reacted with Si substrate to generate Cu4Si with high resistance.

Porous silicon (PS) was prepared with catalyst of Cu nanoparticles in HF/H2O2 solutions. The effects of the key fabrication parameters (amount of copper, etching temperature and concentration of H2O2) on the nanostructure of PS were systematically investigated and discussed. The experimental results indicated that the porosity of PS increased with the amount of copper, the reaction temperature and the concentration of H2O2, respectively. Copper can be used as catalyst to assist in etching silicon and the evolution process of copper nanoparticles was explored showing that the mass of copper experienced a drastic reduction in the first 60 seconds. A mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of PS by Cu-assisted chemical etching.

In this work, directional solidification was performed for multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingot casting. The initial nucleation at the bottom of the silicon melt could be controlled by changing the cooling rate from 9 to 20μm/s. Metallographic microscope, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Microwave photoconductivity decay meter (μ-PCD) and four-point probe resistivity tester were used to investigate the microstructure, crystal orientation and electrical properties of the mc-Si ingots. The obtained results showed that cooling rate at 17μm/s is the optimum condition for the mc-Si ingots casting, under which the prepared ingot has lower dislocation density of 6×10-3 cm-2, better electrical properties, more uniformer resistivity distribution with an average value of 0.68 Ω×cm and higher minority carrier lifetime with a maximum value of 1.8 μs than that of in the other cooling rate conditions.

Stain etching, one step metal assisted chemical etching (1-MACE) and two-step metal assisted chemical etching (2-MACE) were used for preparing porous silicon powders (PSPs) based on metallurgical silicon powder. The influences of different oxidants species and concentrations on the structure of PSP were discussed. The results indicated that the different oxidant species has an important effect on the morphology and structure of PSP. In stain etching, there is still a challenge for fabricating PSP with uniform and controlled pore size structure. In contrast, metal-assisted chemical etching method is easier to prepare PSPs sample with uniform depth and pore size than stain etching, In 1-MACE, the growth rate of the PSPs pore was between 0.05 and 0.10 μm/min, which is far less than that of 2-MACE (about 0.2~0.5 μm/min). Furthermore, 2-MACE showed more advantages than stain etching and 1-MACE in controlling of pore size range and structure.

Aluminium metal matrix composites reinforced with WC ceramic particles were manufactured through warm accumulative roll bonding (ARB) in this study. The microstructures of the composites exhibited excellent particles distribution in the matrices. Compared with the mechanical properties of ARB monolithic pure Al, the Al/WC composites exhibited higher tensile strength. The shear lag theory modified was used in considering the yield strength of the composites. The results indicated that the effects of WC particles in Al/WC composite lead to the thermal expansion dislocation strengthening, small subgrain strengthening, Orowan strengthening and geometrically necessary dispersion strengthening.

The number of chromosomes and karyotype of Hibiscus mutabilisf. mutabiliswere analyzed with the root tip squash method. The results showed that H. mutabilisf. mutabilisis diploid, the chromosome number of the somatic cell is2n = 92 and the index of relative length is 16L + 12M2 + 56M1 + 8S. The karyotype formula is K(2n) = 2x = 92 =86m + 6smand the asymmetrical index of the karyotype is 54.54%. The karyotype is 2C.

In this paper, a new capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) is designed by using SU-8 material, and the theory of elastic thin plate is used to deduce the relationship between the pressure and capacitance of the structure. Simulation has been done about SU-8 CMUT by finite element method software ANSYS. The deformation of CMUT under acoustic pressure, the relationship between frequency, thickness and sensitivity, as well as the acoustic impedance and reflection coefficient of SU-8 material also have been studied through the simulation. The results turn out that SU-8 has the advantages of big dynamic range, high sensitivity and small acoustic impedance, so it has broad application in the ultrasonic field.

The number of ehromosome and karyotype of Hibiscus syriacus L. was analyzed with the root tips squash method. The results showed that the H. syriacus is tetraploid, the ehromosome number of the somatic cell of H. syriacus is 2n=56, and the index of relative length (IRL)= 16L+12M2+8M1+20S. The karyotype formula is K(2n)=4x=56=32m+16sm+8st, and the asymmetric index of karyotype is 62.90%. The karyotype belongs to 2B.

Large-area SiNWs has been successfully fabricated through one-step metal-assisted chemical etching process at room temperature. The effects of key fabrication parameters (AgNO3 concentration, Fe (NO3)3 concentration, and etching time) on the nanostructure SiNWs were carefully investigated by SEM, TEM, respectively. The results show that AgNO3 concentration and Fe (NO3)3 concentration play important roles to the lengths and arrangements of SiNWs arrays in one-step MACE. The morphological transition of Si surfaces from solid nanowires to porous nanowires can be found with increasing AgNO3 concentration and Fe (NO3)3 concentration, which indicates that the re-dissolved Ag+ would work as the main oxidative species for oxidizing the silicon substrate and forming SiNWs in the HF/ AgNO3/ Fe (NO3)3 etching system. The length of SiNWs is increased with increasing AgNO3 concentration from 0.005 mol/L to 0.02 mol/L and etching time, the chemical polish phoenomenon can be observed when the Fe (NO3)3 concentration increases to 0.5 mol/L. A novel mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of SiNWs in HF/ AgNO3/ Fe (NO3)3 solution.

The effects of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Glomus mosseae, Paraglomus occultum and Glomus etunicatum, on the growth and nutrient uptake of the Prunus maritima, cultured with or without NaCl, were evaluated. Plant biomass, AM colonization and spore density were also assessed. Salt stress adversely affected plant N, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn and Mn nutrient acquisition, except for Fe, resulting in an important reduction in shoot dry biomass. Inoculation of the AM fungus strongly promoted AM colonization and spore density, plant dry biomass, root/shoot dry weight ratio and nutrient uptake by P. maritima, regardless of salinity level. Among the three Glomus species, the total dry biomass of beach plum plants associated with G. mosseae and G. etunicatum was significantly higher than that of the control plants (48 and 43%, respectively), and so is the total leaf area (34 and 33 %, respectively). These findings suggest that inoculation with specific AMF therefore constituted an alternative method to relieve stress of soil salinization on beach plum.

Based on construction and research situation of agricultural informatization in tropical areas of China, through building two-level evaluation index system of agricultural informatization level, agricultural informatization level in tropical areas of China was quantitatively calculated by entropy method, and main provinces in tropical areas of China were classified according to agricultural informatization level by hierarchical cluster analysis method. The results show that influence degree of agricultural informatization index from big to small in turn is information infrastructure, information resources, information talent, and information industry, and agricultural informatization of Eastern coastal in tropical areas of China develops more rapidly than Midwest. At last suggestions to promote agricultural informatization in tropical areas of China are put forward.

Pluronic F87/Poly (lactic acid) block copolymer (PLA-F87-PLA) was synthesized by bulk polymerization. Paclitaxel-loaded PLA-F87-PLA nanoparcticles were prepared by a dialysis method. The loading efficiency was determined by UV. The results showed that the loading efficiency of paclitaxel for PLA-F87-PLA nanoparticles was 69%. In vitro release behavior of paclitaxel-loaded PLA-F87-PLA nanoparticles was studied by HPLC. In vitro release behavior showed an initial rapid release followed by a slow release. The biocompatibility of nanoparticles was measured by MTT. The viability of paclitaxel-loaded PLA-F87-PLA nanoparticles was less than that of free paclitaxel. The results indicated that PLA-F87-PLA copolymer has good biocompatibility.

Functional floating bead (F-FB), prepared by anchoring the organic sulfonic acid on the surface of the blackberry-like structural FB, was used as both the inorganic substrate and the in situ dopant for the in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole to obtain the plypyrrole/functional floating bead (PPy/F-FB) nanocomposite material. The composites possess high electrical conductivity at room temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the thermal stability of PPy/F-FB composites was enhanced and these can be attributed to the retardation effect of sulfonic acid-functionalized FB as barriers for the degradation of PPy. The morphology of PPy/FB composites showed the well-defined blackberry-like morphology.

The unfragile guaranteed-cost control problem of a class of uncertain state-delay sampled system is discussed. Applying Lyapunov method, and combining the properties of matrix inequality, the sufficient condition of robust stability is given, and the unfragile guaranteed-cost controller is designed. Finally a numerical example illustrates the effectiveness and the availability for the design.

(R)-tert-butyl (1-hydroxybut-3-yn-2-yl) carbamate, an key intermediate of the natural product jaspine B which was isolated from various sponges and endowed with cytotoxic activity against several human carcinoma cell lines, was synthesized from L-Serine in overall yield 41% through seven steps, including esterification, Boc protection, acetonization, reduction,Corey-Fuchs reaction and deprotection.

A highly convergent formal synthesis of Ieodomycins A and B was achieved in 7 steps. The key features involved in the synthetic sequence of Ieodomycins A and B are the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and the Mukaiyama aldol reaction[. The synthesis of C-3 epimer of Ieodomycins A and B was also accomplished in good yields, but now just Heptyl diene aldehyde was getted thought 4 steps. Use Geraniol as meterials to make the corresponding aldehyde (1) via Swern oxidation. Though epoxidation, Wittig reaction and HIO4 oxidation to get the intermediate . Useing it though few steps, the target molecule can be getted.

Aiming at deficiency of fractal image compression, encoding time length and large amount of calculation, an improved algorithm of fractal compression is proposed based on the average deviation. First,divided image into blocks by using the characteristics of the average deviation, then determined the image block matching constraints by the application of the scale factor to simplify the calculation method, and finally limited the search range with the constraints, thus decrease the amount of the search range, improve the efficiency of the domain block matching. The simulation results show that the improved algorithm can reduce the computation of block matching, and improve the fractal image coding efficiency.

In the present study, controlled release characteristics of new nanosized PLA-Pluronic-PLA block copolymer vesicles comprising of amphiphilic poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and Pluronic block copolymers (PEO-PPO-PEO) have been evaluated as an oral insulin carrier. The mean size of vesicles was 78 nm for PLA-F127-PLA and 165 nm for PLA-P85-PLA copolymer. The mean insulin entrapment efficiency was 59.6% for PLA-P85-PLA and 26.4% for PLA-F127-PLA. The in vitro release characteristics of insulin from vesicles exhibited an initial burst in the range of pH 1.2-7.4 dissolution mediums. The presence of PLA-Pluronic-PLA vesicles improved the stability of insulin in the gastrointestinal fluids than that of the phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of insulin. More importantly, the released insulin from the vesicles maintained their biological activity. The results from this studies demonstrated that biodegradable PLA-Pluronic-PLA can self-assemble with insulin, form insulin-encapsulated vesicles, and is good carrier materials for oral insulin/protein delivery.

Xiao-Yan-Hua-Jie-San (XYHJS), a traditional Chinese prescription, is used as a medication recipe to clinically treat inflammation and hepatitis. In previous study, we reported the hepatoprotective effects of XYHJS by increasing an antioxidant enzyme activity in mice. In the present study, the main bioactive components of XYHJS and their antioxidant activity were further investigated by using different model systems in vitro. The total phenolics content in the extract of XYHJS was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Analysis of the major phenolic compounds in the extract of XYHYS was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatographic (TLC) method. The total phenolic content of the extract was 2.84 ± 0.06 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g extract powder. The phenolic acid in XYHJS was found to be gallic acid (GA). The content of GA was 2.80 mg/ml by HPLC (n=5, RSD=1.26%). Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of XYHJS extract was determined by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity and hydroxyl free radicals (·OH) scavenging activity assay. The radical scavenging activity of XYHJS increased significantly in a concentration-dependent manner. At a concentration of 2.5 mg/ml, the DPPH and ·OH scavenging activity was 89.94% and 91.53%, respectively. It can be concluded that the content of GA in XYHJS is very high and it is the main contributor to the antioxidant activity of XYHJS. Our study indicates that XYHJS prescription could be considered to be an effective agent in the prevention of various liver diseases associated with oxidative stress.

Amygdalin was catalytic degraded by extracellular enzymes mixture from Aspergillus niger and a novel product, phenyl-(3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyl-tetrahydro-pyran-2-yloxy)-acetonitrile (PTMT), with high antitumor activity was identified and purified. To measured the Pharmacokinetic of amygdalin and its products, a simple and rapid SPE-HPLC method was set up. The analysis was performed on an Agilent HPLC system with a C18 ODS column (250 × 4.6 mm i.d.) by gradient elution with 0.05% formic acid in water and 0.05% formic acid in acetonitrile as the gradient mixtures. The flow rate was 1ml/min, the detection wavelength was 215 nm and the column temperature was kept at 25°C. The HPLC assay was carried out within 9 min. The retention times of amygdalin, mandelonitrile, prunasin, PTMT andbenzaldehyde were 3.14, 5.93, 6.82, 7.35 and 8.33 min, respectively. The mean absolute recoveries of three analysts were over 98%. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for were 0.02 and 0.04 μg/ml for amygdalin and benzaldehyde, 0.03 and 0.05 μg/ml for mandelonitrile, and 0.03 and 0.04 μg/ml for prunasin and PTMT.

Wind turbine blade model is analyzed based on finite element method. Research and comparison of blade natural frequencies is made in different rotational working conditions taking into account external factors such as the rotational inertia force. Also the relationship between the composite ply angle and natural frequency is analyzed. The result shows that the nature frequency of wind turbine blade is influence greatly by the stress stiffening effect for the blade rotation. And the nature frequency of wind turbine blade can be designed by adjusting the single fiber layer ply angle of blade.

ABSTRACTTD-1792 is a first-in-class glycopeptide-cephalosporin heterodimer that exhibits bactericidal activity against Gram-positive pathogens. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, active-control, phase II trial in patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by suspected or confirmed Gram-positive organisms. Patients 18 to 65 years old were randomized to receive 7 to 14 days of either TD-1792 (2 mg/kg of body weight intravenously [i.v.] every 24 h [q24h]) or vancomycin (1 g i.v. q12h, with dosage regimens adjusted per site-specific procedures). A total of 197 patients were randomized and received at least one dose of study medication. Rates of clinical success at the test-of-cure evaluation were similar in all analysis populations. Among 170 clinically evaluable patients, cure rates were 91.7% and 90.7% in the TD-1792 and vancomycin groups, respectively (95% confidence interval [CI] of −7.9 to 9.7 for the difference). In microbiologically evaluable patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusat baseline (n= 75), cure rates were 94.7% in the TD-1792 group and 91.9% in the vancomycin group. Microbiological eradication of Gram-positive pathogens (n= 126) was achieved in 93.7% and 92.1% of patients in the TD-1792 and vancomycin groups, respectively. Seven patients were discontinued from study medication due to an adverse event (AE): 2 and 5 in the TD-1792 and vancomycin groups, respectively. AEs were of similar types and severities between the two groups, other than pruritus, which was more common in patients who received vancomycin. No patients in the TD-1792 group experienced a serious AE. This study supports further clinical development of TD-1792 in patients with Gram-positive infection.

The medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi has been used widely in traditional Chinese medicine for anti-inflammation, anticancer, antiviral and antibacterial infections, reducing the total cholesterol level and decreasing blood pressures. Baicalein and baicalin are two major flavonoid of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, exhibit various bioactivities. In the present study, the stimulatory activity of baicalin and baicalein derived from Scutellaria baicalensis on insulin secretion in vitro was investigated using HIT-T15 cell, a Syrian hamster transformed β-cell line. The survival rate of cells treated with baicalin or baicalein (0.01-0.5 mg/ml) increased significantly (P < 0.05). In the presence of 5.6 mM glucose, baicalin or baicalein (0.01-0.5 mg/ml) increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and cellular ATP levels in HIT-T15 cells. Baicalin and baicalein exhibited significant stimulatory activity in a dose-dependent manner without apparent cytotoxicity at concentrations less than 0.1 mg/ml. The results obtained in this study suggest that baicalin or baicalein increases the insulin secretion of HIT-T15 cells by the enhancement of β-cells activity and cellular ATP levels. Baicalin or baicalein could be candidates for a new class of anti-diabetic drugs.

There are over 20 kinds of Acer wild and cultivated plants (including the introduced species cultivated and varieties) in Jiangsu Province, approximately accounting for 13% of species across China. Jiangsu is the province with resourceful Acer plants in China. The application characteristics, problems existed and countermeasures of Acer plant on the Qixia Mountain Scenic Resort in Nanjing are analyzed based on the illustration of their resources in Jiangsu province and their application value in gardens.

The aims of this study were to determine the population pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in Chinese adult liver-transplant recipients and to identify factors that may account for this variability.

So as to design the pavement planer, it is necessary to study the milling performance of cement concrete. In this work, a coupled thermo-mechanical plane-strain large deformation milling finite element simulation is presented to analyze the cement concrete milling process and predict the stress and temperature field. A model for actual cutter and milling cylinder is set up. Chip separation is considered by applying shear fracture failure criteria and element deletion and adaptive mesh technique. Two contact pairs are defined. Contact pair 1 defines the milling path, and contact pair 2 defines to prevent the formed chip enter into the milling cylinder. The cutter surface friction and heat conduction are considered. The computation indicates that the maximal equivalent stress reaches 1.4MPa and maximal equivalent strain reaches 1.1 in the pavement, and maximal cutter temperature reaches 729℃. Improving suggestions are put forward.

A finite element method is used to simulate the deep drawing processes of nickel coating with steel substrate into battery shells. The Belytschko-Wong-Chiang shell elements are used and the kinematical work hardening model is adopted, while the ties with failure contact criterion is given to the coating and substrate interface. The stress-strain field and interfacial stresses in the drawing processes are obtained. The nickel coating appeared to be yielded in the drawing processes, of which the maximum effective stress reached 241MPa, and the biggest effective strain reached 0.7524. The interfacial stresses in the coating and substrate varied during the drawing process, and their maximal values reached 40MPa in compressive state.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an extremely ubiquitous polysaccharide of extracellular matrix in body and plays various biological roles. In this study, cell viability, insulin secretion and cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration were investigated in HIT-T15 cells after HA-treatment. The cell viability was determined by the MTT assay while the insulin secretion was detected by ELISA technique. The Flou-3/AM was applied to probe intracellular free calcium concentration. HA (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg/dish) increase insulin secretion in the 3 or 25 mM glucose-stimulation for 4 h. Cytosolic Ca2+ fluorescent intensity in HA-treatment groups (0.25, 0.5, 1.0 mg/dish) is significantly higher than that in control group. This study implied that the increasing of insulin secretion of HIT-T15 cells by HA-coating result from the enhancement of cytosolic Ca2+. And these data also provide some information on design biocompatibility when HA used as a biomaterial for bioartificial pancreas.

Nitroreductase (NR) was modified on glass carbon electrode and used in nitrobenzene analysis. Both cyclic voltammetry (CV) and triple potential step chronocoulometry (TPSC) with a narrow potential step interval were used. The modification of nitroreductase improved the sensitivity and selectivity of nitrobenzene detection. Both the peak area and peak current were examined for quantitative analysis, showing a linear relation between nitrobenzene concentration and peak area, and a logarithmic relation for peak current, with correlation coefficients of 0.9981 and 0.9993, respectively. Statistical tests to evaluate the reliability of TPSC showed that there was no evidence of systematic error, and it was not significantly different from CV or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The new method could avoid most interferents, showing good selectivity.

So as to design the pavement planer, it is necessary to study the milling performance of asphalt concrete. In this work, a coupled thermo-mechanical plane-strain large deformation orthogonal cutting finite element model is presented to simulate the asphalt concrete milling process and predict the stress and temperature field on the cutter. Chip separation is considered by applying shear fracture failure criteria and element deletion and adaptive mesh technique. Two contact pairs are defined. Contact pair 1 defines the milling path, and contact pair 2 defines to prevent the formed chip enter into the workpiece. The Johnson-Cook’s constitutive relation is adopted for the asphalt material. The cutter surface friction and heat conduction are considered. The computation indicates that the maximal cutting force will change from 3.967KN to 10.494KN if the cutting speed is between 1000mm/s and 2000mm/s for the pavement planer of BG2000.

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) rarely consume grass-type feedstuffs in the commercial aquaculture industry. In this study, the effects of dietary Pennisetum sineseRoxb meal (PSRM) on the growth, lipid accumulation, and intestinal health of juvenile grass carp were explored. Six practical isonitrogenous (crude protein, 28.61%) and isocaloric (gross energy, 14.69 kJ g–1) diets with increasing PSRM contents (0.0%, 5.0%, 10.0%, 15.0%, 20.0%, and 25.0%; at the expense of soybean meal, wheat meal, and soybean oil) were formulated to feed juvenile grass carp for eight weeks. Fish fed 5–25% PSRM showed significantly increased growth and decreased feed conversion ratios compared with fish fed the control diet; fish that were fed 5% PSRM showed the best growth and feed efficiency. Diets supplemented with 5–25% PSRM significantly reduced lipid accumulation in the hepatocytes of grass carp, as indicated by the suppression of the hepatopancreas index, hepatic crude fat content and lipid droplet distribution, and hepatic triglyceride and free fatty acid (FFA) contents. Dietary PSRM also significantly decreased the lipid content in the adipose tissue by reducing the intraperitoneal fat index (5–25%) and adipocyte size (25%). At the transcript level, dietary PSRM decreased the lipid anabolic capacity and increased the lipid catabolic capacity in both the hepatopancreas and intraperitoneal fat tissues. Dietary PSRM attenuated enteritis-like histological features and reduced the mRNA levels of inflammation-related genes in the midgut of grass carp. Finally, several genes associated with anorexia were significantly upregulated when the dietary PSRM level reached 20%. Collectively, our study shows that diets supplemented with PSRM could improve growth, suppress lipid accumulation in the hepatopancreas and adipose tissue, and improve the intestinal health of juvenile grass carp. We suggest that the supplementation level of PSRM should be 5% for optimal results and should not exceed 20%.

The Partin nomogram uses preoperative Gleason grade, serum prostate specific antigen and clinical stage to predict pathological outcome after radical prostatectomy. It was developed and validated in a select population of patients at 3 academic institutions. Although the nomogram is widely used, it has yet to be validated in a community based population. We assessed the performance of the nomogram in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urological Research Endeavor, a nationwide, community based observational disease registry of men with prostate cancer.

Secondary cancer treatment is common after definitive local therapy for prostate cancer and it may be an indicator of the efficacy and cost of primary local treatment. We determined predictors of secondary cancer treatment in patients initially treated with radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation.

Purpose: The clinical usefulness of a newly developed ultrasound hyperthermia system was evaluated.

While wild silkworms have served humans for several thousand years, little attention on cold hardiness has been paid to these economically important species. In the present study, supercooling capacity and low temperature tolerance of Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi (Gue´rin-Me´neville) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), an economic insect reared both for silk production as well as human food, were examined under laboratory conditions. The supercooling points (SCPs) of pupae dropped significantly from a mean of −15.6°C in prediapause to −20.1°C in diapause, and then increased to −17.5°C during postdiapause development. Sex and voltinism influenced body mass but had no significant effect on the SCP. Our data demonstrated that cold tolerance of A. pernyi is tightly linked to life stage. Exposure of eggs to −5°C for up to 8 h had no effect on the hatching rate, whereas silkworm larvae failed to break through the chorion and hatch following a 4–8-h exposure to −10°C. Mean SCPs of intact eggs and naked larvae one day before hatching were similar, −23.3°C and −22.3°C, respectively, indicating that chorion does not significantly affect SCP. Comparison of lower lethal temperature (LLT50) and SCP means suggested that both pupae and eggs of A. pernyi are chill intolerant. These data will improve our understanding of low temperature tolerance in this commercially important species.