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Successful application of deep machine learning could reduce time-consuming and labor-intensive clinical work of calculating the amount of radiographic bone loss (RBL) in diagnosing and treatment planning for periodontitis. This study aimed to test the accuracy of RBL classification by machine learning.A total of 236 patients with standardized full mouth radiographs were included. Each tooth from the periapical films was evaluated by three calibrated periodontists for categorization of RBL and radiographic defect morphology. Each image was pre-processed and augmented to ensure proper data balancing without data pollution, then a novel multitasking InceptionV3 model was applied.The model demonstrated an average accuracy of 0.87 ± 0.01 in the categorization of mild ( 15%) or severe (≥ 15%) bone loss with fivefold cross-validation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values of the model were 0.86 ± 0.03, 0.88 ± 0.03, 0.88 ± 0.03, and 0.86 ± 0.02, respectively.Application of deep machine learning for the detection of alveolar bone loss yielded promising results in this study. Additional data would be beneficial to enhance model construction and enable better machine learning performance for clinical implementation.Higher accuracy of radiographic bone loss classification by machine learning can be achieved with more clinical data and proper model construction for valuable clinical application.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of soft pellet creep feed (SPCF) on growth performance and intestinal development in piglets.Methods: A total of 18 sows and their litters of crossbred piglets (14±2 days, 3.73±0.72 kg) were assigned to one of three dietary groups receiving i) powder creep feed (PCF), ii) hard pellet creep feed (HPCF) or iii) SPCF during the pre-weaning period. After weaning, piglets were selected for continuous evaluation of the three diets on growth performance and intestinal health.Results: In the pre-weaning period, the average daily feed intake and average daily dry matter intake were significantly higher in the SPCF group than the HPCF group (pClostridium, Enterobacter and Escherichia coli were also observed in the SPCF group, and the sucrase and maltase activity was higher (p

Orostachys cartilaginous is a traditional herbal medicine and its cell cultures contain large amounts of polysaccharides. To utilize the cultured O. cartilaginous cells, this study purified the crude polysaccharides of O. cartilaginous cells by macroporous resin absorption and optimized the purification process in the experiment of orthogonal design with four factors (sample concentration and volume, and eluent concentration and volume) and three levels; the antibacterial and anti-cancer effects of the purified polysaccharides (OTP) were further examined. The results showed that polysaccharide purity reached 95 % in the optimized group, i. e., 1.6 mg/mL of sample (crude polysaccharides) concentration, 3.0 bed volume (BV) of sample volume, 65 % eluent (ethanol) concentration, and 3.0 BV of eluent volume. In the antibacterial experiment, the growth of three bacterial species, i. e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis was inhibited by OTP, whereas that of Escherichia coli was not affected; the largest diameter of the inhibitory zone was found on B. subtilis; the extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity and the electrical conductivity, nucleic acid, and protein levels of B. subtilis increased after OTP treatment, indicating that the inhibition of B. subtilis growth was caused by the leakage of cell contents. In the anti-cancer experiment, OTP decreased the cell viabilities of the tested human cancer cells, i. e., AGS (gastric cancer), HCT116 (colon cancer), HepG2 (liver cancer), and HeLa (cervical cancer), and the highest inhibitory effect was on HCT116. OTP promoted HCT116 apoptosis and affected the expression of apoptosis-related proteins, i. e., the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 decreased and that of bcl-2 associated X protein, cytochrome c, caspase 9 and caspase 3 increased. The findings of the present study suggest that O. cartilaginous cell cultures have a potential application in food or drug production.

Computed tomography (CT)-assessed body composition is considered a novel prognostic factor for cancer patients. Owing to the need for new prognostic markers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients undergoing radiotherapy, we investigated the impact of body composition on outcomes in this patient population. We retrospectively evaluated 109 HCC patients receiving radiotherapy. The skeletal muscle index, subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI), and visceral adipose tissue index within 1 mo, before radiotherapy were assessed based on a single CT image slice at the level of the third lumbar (L3) vertebra. The impact of body composition parameters on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed. Overall, 62 (56.9%) patients died, and 47 (43.1%) patients experienced recurrence during a median follow-up period of 20.5 mo. Multivariate analysis revealed that SATI was an independent prognostic factor for both PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.542

Periodontitis is a biofilm-related chronic inflammatory disease characterized by gingivitis and bone loss in the teeth area. Approximately 61 million adults over 30 suffer from periodontitis (42.2%), with 7.8% having severe periodontitis in the United States. The measurement of radiographic bone loss (RBL) is necessary to make a correct periodontal diagnosis, especially if the comprehensive and longitudinal periodontal mapping is unavailable. However, doctors can interpret X-rays differently depending on their experience and knowledge. Computerized diagnosis support for doctors sheds light on making the diagnosis with high accuracy and consistency and drawing up an appropriate treatment plan for preventing or controlling periodontitis. We developed an end-to-end deep learning network HYNETS (Hybrid NETwork for pEriodoNTiTiS STagES from radiograpH) by integrating segmentation and classification tasks for grading periodontitis from periapical radiographic images. HYNETS leverages a multi-task learning strategy by combining a set of segmentation networks and a classification network to provide an end-to-end interpretable solution and highly accurate and consistent results. HYNETS achieved the average dice coefficient of 0.96 and 0.94 for the bone area and tooth segmentation and the average AUC of 0.97 for periodontitis stage assignment. Additionally, conventional image processing techniques provide RBL measurements and build transparency and trust in the model's prediction. HYNETS will potentially transform clinical diagnosis from a manual time-consuming, and error-prone task to an efficient and automated periodontitis stage assignment based on periapical radiographic images., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables

In this study, an efficient phosphorus-containing flame retardant, PAPBTCA, was synthesized from phytic acid, pentaerythritol, and 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid, and its structure was characterized. PAPBTCA was finished on cotton fabrics by the pad-dry-curing process, and the flame retardancy, flame-retardant durability, and wrinkle resistance of the obtained flame-retardant fabrics were investigated. It should be noted that the heat release rate value of the flame-retardant cotton fabrics treated with 200 g/L PAPBTCA decreased by 90% and its excellent flame retardancy was maintained after 5 washing cycles. Meanwhile, the wrinkle resistance of flame-retardant cotton fabrics has been significantly improved. In addition, compared with the control, the breaking force loss of PAPBTCA-200 in the warp and weft directions was 24% and 21%, respectively. This study provides a new way to utilize natural phosphorus-based flame retardants to establish multifunctional finishing for cotton fabrics.

Increasing evidence indicates that nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 3 (Nrf3) is connected with tumorigenesis. However, the relationship between Nrf3 and tumor drug resistance remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the effect and mechanism of action by which Nrf3 regulated the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). We found Nrf3 was significantly increased in colon cancer tissues. Furthermore, we observed that Nrf3 knockdown and overexpression can significantly affect the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-FU in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, Nrf3 promoted the expression of RELA, P-RELA, and BCL-2. Inhibition of NF-κB partly reversed the effects of Nrf3 overexpression, resulting in the resistance of colon cancer cells to 5-FU. Overall, the study revealed that Nrf3 was connected to the sensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-FU, and its possible mechanism was related to the NF-κB signaling pathway, which provided a new target for overcoming the resistance of colon cancer cells to 5-FU.

This paper evaluates the remaining useful life (RUL) of the product when its degradation path follows the Wiener process with mixed random effects. In the discussed model, the random effects are included into drift and diffusion parameters of Wiener process to describe the heterogeneity among different products. The expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is adopted to estimate the model parameters. The exact expressions of the probability density functions (PDFs) and cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of the lifetime and the RUL distributions of products are derived. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to show the effectiveness of the mixed random effect model. The results show that the mixed random effect model has a better performance than that of the fixed effect, random volatility and random drift models.

AIM Smoking is a risk factor for periodontitis. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of smoking on clinical outcomes of non-surgical periodontal therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Electronic databases were searched to screen studies published before May 2020. The included studies had to have two groups: smokers (S) and non-smokers (NS) with periodontitis. The outcomes evaluated were differences between groups in probing depth (PD) reduction and clinical attachment level (CAL) gain after non-surgical periodontal therapy. Meta-regressions were conducted to evaluate correlations between outcomes and other contributing factors. RESULTS Seventeen studies were included. The post-treatment PD reduction in the S group was smaller than in the NS group (weighted mean difference in PD reduction: -0.33 mm, 95% confidence interval (CI): [-0.49, -0.17], p

The ocean surface electromagnetic (EM) scattering properties have important applications in marine environmental monitoring and detection of target on the sea. In this article, the accurate model i...

The species-rich Gesneriaceae are typically a tropical family in Asia, showing a monophyletic radiation and high endemism in Southwest China and Hainan Island. The Chinese species have diverse floral traits and pollination systems, but the detailed patterns of diversity and possible differentiations between Hainan Island and the Chinese mainland remain unclear. Here, we enumerate the species diversity and proportion of endemics of Gesneriaceae for Hainan Island and the nearby Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Guangdong. We then investigate the species evolutionary histories and main floral traits to evaluate speciation and pollination syndromes for the island and mainland flora. We recognize 24 (eight endemic) species on Hainan Island, 236 (106 endemic) in Yunnan, 211 (120 endemic) in Guangxi, 97 (28 endemic) in Guizhou, and 60 (20 endemic) in Guangdong. Although Hainan Island harbors fewer species than nearby regions, probably due to its smaller area, its endemic ratio is high, only slightly lower than Guangxi. A phylogenetic tree based on nuclear ITS 1/2 and chloroplast Trn L-F indicated most Hainan-endemic species were genetically close to species from Southeast Asia, rather than mainland China. For most floral traits, e.g., growth form, corolla type and color, Hainan Island species show no differences from other regions. Hainan Island and Yunnan Province have equal proportions of species with four or two stamens, whereas most species in other regions have two stamens. Hainan Island has a much higher percentage (21%) of actinomorphic species than other regions (< 10%). Most species in Hainan Island have exserted stamens, while stamens are included in most species in other regions. We did not find any increased tendency in floral traits that promote selfing for the island flora. Generalist pollination mechanisms, supported by characters such as actinomorphic corolla, appear to provide sufficient reproductive assurance in pollinator-depauperate Hainan Island.

In this paper, wideband radar clutter characteristics of composite rough surface are analyzed. Firstly, Gauss spectrum and the modified JONSWAP spectrum are introduced to establish the geometrical model of ground and near sea in adjacent region. Secondly, a facet-based scattering model is utilized to obtain the scattering from composite rough surface. Sub-band synthesis method is applied to calculate the wideband radar clutter amplitude of scattering cells. Finally, the spectrum characteristics of the composite rough surface's clutter are analyzed. The comparison between single environment and composite are given. The influence of grazing angle on clutter characteristic is discussed.

In this study, SiO2/Al2O3 composites (C-SLNs) were successfully synthesized using chitosan as the template for drug delivery. The C-SLNs had higher specific surface areas (244–607 m2/g), total pore volumes (0.19–0.34 cm3 g−1), and narrow mesopore size distribution. The porosity of the C-SLNs prepared under high Si/Al ratio conditions was achieved mostly by the formation of wider pores that were distributed in the meso-/macro-pores. And, the C-SLNs were used as a levofloxacin carrier to study its drug release behavior, which exhibited an initial fast release followed by a sustained release and antibacterial effectiveness over a long period.

Feng, X.; Wan, M., and Li, S., 2020. The design of marine remote sensing image fusion model based on dynamic load balancing strategy. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 943–946. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.In this work, a model of marine remote sensing image fusion based on dynamic load balancing is proposed. The remote sensing image acquisition system based on Android intelligent device obtains the marine remote sensing image, and enhances and registers the image based on the fuzzy theory and template matching, respectively, to realize the image preprocessing. Based on the preprocessing results, considering the small number of objects in the marine remote sensing image, the target area is divided by the idea of quad tree structure. At the same time, the task allocation strategy of dynamic load balancing and the idea of parallel computing are used to propose the task allocation algorithm processing model of the cluster system for the fusion processing of the image in the target area, so as to achieve the fusion of marine remote sensing image. It can be known that the proposed model takes less time and has superior average gradient and clarity of image.

In this work, superhydrophobic surfaces were successfully prepared by grafting of octanol on the surface of electrospun silica nanofibers (SNFs). The chemical compositions and microstructures of the prepared SNFs surfaces were investigated by using N2 full isotherms, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and contact angle measurements. The results indicate that the surface of SNFs changed from being superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic by octanol surface grafting. The contact angle of the octanol-grafted SNFs was close to 150.2° because their surface was modified by –(CH2)6–CH3 groups. The 3D network of SNFs networks and the low surface energy of the alkyl side chains played important roles in creating the superhydrophobic surface of the SNFs.

An optical bandpass filter (OBF) is an important element whose properties considerably influence the output performance of a single side band multicarrier source based on a re-circulating frequency shifter. The influence of the OBF in the loop on the output spectrum is theoretically analyzed. Numerical simulations and experiments are also carried out. Results show that the steepness and deepness of a nonflat-top filter influence the stability of the spectrum of an output multicarrier. To obtain multicarrier output with tone to noise ratio (TNR) >26 dB and error vector magnitude (EVM)

Experiments according to the current domestic situation of bio-treatment cooking fume, domesticated the activated sludge which taken from the oxidation ditch of the sewage treatment plant by using the simulated cooking fumes, discussed the concentration and morphology variation of activated sludge, researched the degradation ability of microorganism on cooking fume, the change of bacteria amount were studied in the whole process. Research showed that the sludge concentration decreased to 2878mg/L when the acclimatization time reached 50days; outlet and inlet oil concentration were consistent when the acclimatization time reached 30days while liquid fume concentration decreased to 8.436mg/L, the degradation rate of activated sludge on liquid fume was about 75% after 30 days; Microbial biomass increased first and then down become stable finally.

A new species, Thrixspermum odoratum X.Q. Song, Q.W. Meng & Y.B. Luo from Hainan Island, south China, is described and illustrated. It belongs in sect. Thrixspermum and is closely related to T. tsii, but differs by having dense and distichous bracts, an irregularly-shaped clump or an erect lamellum at the base of lip, longer midlobe of lip, and fragrant flowers. A key to the five species of sect. Thrixspermum in China is presented. Thrixspermum odoratum is a host-specific epiphyte, being found only on one tree species.

Keratin is an important protein used in wound healing and tissue recovery. In this study, keratin was modified chemically with iodoacetic acid (IAA) to enhance its solubility in organic solvent. Poly(hydroxybutylate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and modified keratin were dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and electrospun to produce nanofibrous mats. The resulting mats were surface-characterized by ATR-FTIR, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The purem-keratin mat was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapor to make it insoluble in water. The biodegradation testin vitro showed that the mats could be biodegraded by PHB depolymerase and trypsin aqueous solution. The results of the cell adhesion experiment showed that the NIH 3T3 cells adhered more to the PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats than the PHBV film. The BrdU assay showed that the keratin and PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats could accelerate the proliferation of fibroblast cells compared to the PHBV nanofibrous mats.

A new species, Galearis huanglongensis Q.W.Meng & Y.B.Luo, is described and illustrated. It is similar to Galearis cyclochila (Franch. & Sav.) Soo and Galearis diantha (Schltr.) P.F.Hunt, but differs in having a short spur, two elliptical lateral stigma lobes and distinctly separated bursicles. This new species is known only from the type locality, the Huanglong Valley, Songpan County, western Sichuan, China, growing amongst mosses under alpine shrubs at an elevation of about 3000 m. Based on two years of observations of its population size, the species was categorized as critically endangered CR (B1a, B2a) according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 3.1. The micromorphology of pollinia and seeds was observed by scanning electron microscopy and compared with that of G. cyclochila and G. diantha. The results supported G. huanglongensis Q.W.Meng & Y.B.Luo as a new species. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158, 689–695.

Background: The aim of this paper is to review the major quantitative and qualitative therapeutic outcomes for gingival recession defects in the esthetic zone. Methods: PubMed and MEDLINE were searched for entries up to April, 2012. For the assessment of quantitative parameters, criteria for considering studies for this assessment was based on the most current systemic review by Chambrone published in April, 2012. For the assessment of qualitative parameters, only studies that evaluated the soft tissue esthetic outcome of recession areas treated with root coverage procedures were included. Findings: Quantitative measurements of root coverage, such as percentage of root coverage and the percentage of gingival augmentation, provide objective assessment and the advantage of reliability. However, parameters that account for the global esthetic evaluation are not evaluated by the quantitative measurements. On the other hand, qualitative evaluation, such as scarring, texture, volume, color, gingival contour, and the location of mucogingival junction, is subjective and per se imperfect. It is limited to esthetic appearance and cannot replace the clinical quantitative assessment. More explicit criteria are required to improve the reliability of scales for esthetic assessment. Conclusions: The final esthetic goal of a root coverage procedure should include the achievement of complete root coverage and the complete soft tissue integration.

A new species, Gastrodia longitubularis Q.-W. Meng, X.-Q. Song & Y.-B. Luo from Hainan Island, southern China is described and illustrated. This is the first species of Gastrodia recorded from Hainan Island. Diagnostic characters, description, detailed illustration and taxonomic comments are given. This species is closely related to G. gracilis, which is characterized by tuberous rhizome with flesh roots, lax inflorescence and nearly united perianth tube. Gastrodia longitubularis distinctly differs from G. gracilis by having slender, glabrous, long perianth tube, horizontal or slightly downward bending flowers. The habitat was investigated in detail and its conservation status was assessed as a critically endangered EN (B2a, C2a) according to the IUCN threatened category criteria based on data from five years’ observations. The genus Gastrodia R. Br. (Orchidaceae) contains saprophytic orchids distributed in warm areas of Madagascar, tropical Asia, Oceania, Japan and China (Jones 1991, Seifenfaden 1992, Leou 2000). It is a small genus of 16� 31 species, characterized by a fleshy tuber or coralloid underground stem, absence of leaves, union of sepals and petals and two mealy pollinia without caudicles (Dressler 1993, Seifenfaden and Wood 1995, Leou 2000, Chung and Hsu 2006). Despite clear diagnostics and readily recognized characters, most Gastrodia species are unknown to botanists. During a botanical orchid expedition to Hainan Island, southern China, an unknown species of Gastrodia was collected from the tropical mountain rain forest. In general appearance, this species is similar to G. gracilis Blume distributed in Taiwan and Japan, but the morphological anatomy of floral organs and a careful field observation on its habitat have revealed that it is easily distinguished from G. gracilis by having a slender, glabrous, long perianth tube, horizontal or slightly downward bending flowers, and thus represents an undescribed species.

Biodegradable and biocompatible poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer of microbial polyester, was fabricated as a nanofibrous mat by electrospinning. The specific surface area and the porosity of electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mat were determined. When the mechanical properties of flat film and electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mats were investigated, both the tensile modulus and strength of electrospun PHBV were less than those of cast PHBV film. However, the elongation ratio of nanofiber mat was higher than that of the cast film. The structure of electrospun nanofibers using PHBV-trifluoroethanol solutions depended on the solution concentrations. When x-ray diffraction patterns of bulk PHBV before and after electrospinning were compared, the crystallinity of PHBV was not significantly affected by the electrospinning process. Chondrocytes adhered and grew on the electrospun PHBV nanofibrous mat better than on the cast PHBV film. Therefore, the electrospun PHBV was considered to be suitable for cell culture.

The nanofiber deposition method, by electrospinning, was employed to introduce antibacterial activity and biocompatibility to the surface of poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) textiles. The polymer blends of PET and chitosan were electrospun on to the PET micro-nonwoven mats for biomedical applications. The PET/chitosan nanofibers were evenly deposited on to the surface, and the diameter of the nanofibers was in the range between 500 and 800 nm. The surface of the nanofibers was characterized using SEM, ESCA, AFM, and ATR-FTIR. The wettability of the PET nanofibers was significantly enhanced by the incorporation of chitosan. The antibacterial activity of the samples was evaluated utilizing the colony counting method against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results indicated that the PET/chitosan nanofiber mats showed a significantly higher growth inhibition rate compared with the PET nanofiber control. In addition, the fibroblast cells adhered better to the PET/chitosan nanofibers than to the PET nanofibers mats, suggesting better tissue compatibility. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007

Lactobionic acid, bearing a beta -galactose group, was coupled with poly(allyl amine) to provide synthetic extracellular matrices together with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The hepatocytes were encapsulated in Ba-alginate capsules with galactosylated poly(allyl amine) (GA) and PVA as extracellular matrices. From microscopic observation, it was revealed that the microcapsule prepared has a highly porous structure with interconnected pores and pore sizes ranging between 50-150 nm on both the surface and the cross-section. It was found, from the permeability experiment of microcapsules using FITC-dextrans with different molecular weights, that the capsule has a molecular weight cut off (MWCO) of 120 kDa, showing the potential that it can function as an immunoprotecting wall. The hepatocytes, cultured with GA and PVA in the core of the microcapsule, rapidly aggregated within a day, thus resulting in good metabolic functions such as albumin synthesis and ammonia removal.

Macrocyclic Ni(II) complex and hydrophilic polyurethane (PU) were used to modify activated glassy carbon (GC) electrodes for the electrocatalytic oxidation and selective detection of norepinephrine (NE). The Ni(II) complex was electropolymerized using cycling potentials, and the Ni(II) complex-modified electrode had a negatively shifted oxidation potential and increased current in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. The linear range and detection limit were from 0.10 to 10 μM (390 nA μM −1 , R =0.999) and 7.7 nM (signal-to-noise ratio, S/ N =3) by amperometry with flow injection, respectively. The Ni(II) complex-modified electrodes were coated with hydrophilic PU for higher selectivity. Hydrophilic anionic PU was produced by the hydrolysis of PU containing γ-benzyl l -glutamate (PUBLG) segments. The hydrophilic PU-coated electrodes increased the selectivity for NE over ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). Moreover, NE in a human urine sample was detected with higher sensitivity, reproducibility, and stability than by using Nafion-coated electrodes. Therefore, hydrophilic PU and Ni(II) complex can be used as new electrode materials for the electrocatalysis and selective electroanalysis of NE. In particular, hydrophilic PU can be used as an alternative anionic material to Nafion for better urine compatibility.

The biodegradable and biocompatible poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer of microbial polyester, was fabricated as nanofibrous mats by electrospinning. Image analysis of the electrospun nanofibers fabricated from a 2 wt% 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solution revealed a unimodal distribution pattern of fiber diameters with an observed average diameter of ca. 185 nm. The fiber diameter of electrospun fabrics could be controlled by adjusting the electrospinning parameters, including the solvent composition, concentration, applied voltage, and tip-to-collector distance. Chondrocytes derived from rabbit ear were cultured on a PHBV cast film and an electrospun PHBV nano-fibrous mat. After incubation for 2 h, the percentages of attached chondrocytes on the surfaces of the flat PHBV film and the PHBV nanofibrous mat were 19.0 and 30.1%, respectively. On the surface of the electrospun PHBV fabric, more chondrocytes were attached and appeared to have a much greater spreaded morphology than did that of the flat PHBV cast film in the early culture stage. The electrospun PHBV nanofabric provides an attractive structure for the attachment and growth of chondrocytes as cell culture surfaces for tissue engineering.

We have fabricated gelatin-immobilized polyurethane foams (PUFG) by dipping polyurethane foam (PUF) in an aqueous solution containing gelatin and by subsequent reaction with glutaraldehyde after freeze-drying. Gelatin aqueous solutions of different concentrations were used as the dipping solutions to control the amount of immobilized gelatin. The average pore size of PUF decreased with an increase in gelatin concentration. It was found from the hepatocyte adhesion experiment that the amount of hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1, prepared by using a 1% aqueous gelatin solution, was higher than that on other PUFGs. The hepatocytes inoculated in PUFG1 were slightly aggregated as the incubation time increased. The cells inoculated in PUFG1 showed higher ammonia removal ability than those monolayer-cultured on a gelatin-immobilized polystyrene dish (PSG) after 1 and 4 days of incubation time. The inoculated cells exhibited higher albumin secretion relative to monolayer-cultured hepatocytes on PSG. Albumin secretion by hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1 was increased by the presence of serum and was further increased by both the presence of serum and cytokines. The results obtained from a 3-(3,4-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated that PUFG can provide a better microenvironment for hepatocyte culture along with nutrition and metabolite transfer through the high porosity of PUF.

Polyurethanes containing z-lysine segments in the main chain (PULL) were synthesized from 4,4′-diphenylmethyl diisocyanate, poly(tetramethylene glycol), and z-lysine oligomer as a chain extender. PULL film was treated with a 10% HBr–acetic acid solution and subsequently with a saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution to produce a primary amine group on the surface. Heparin-immobilized PULL (PULL-H) was prepared by the coupling reaction of PULL surface amine groups and heparin carboxylic acid groups. The surface-modified PULLs were then characterized by attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, and a contact angle goniometer. The concentration of amine groups and heparins introduced on the PULL surfaces were about 2.1 μmol/cm2 and 1.9 μg/cm2, respectively. To assess in vitro blood compatibility, the interaction of modified PULLs with plasma proteins and platelets was examined. In the experiments with plasma proteins, plasma recalcification time and activated partial thromboplastin time were significantly prolonged on PULL-H compared to those on the other surfaces. The percentage of serotonin released from platelets adhering on PULL-H was less than that on the other surfaces, demonstrating a good in vitro blood compatibility. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1959–1969, 2003

Poly(ether urethanes) containing γ-benzyl L-glutamate segments in the main chains (PUBLG) were synthesized from 4,4′-diphenylmethyl diisocyanate, poly(tetramethylene glycol) and γ-benzyl L-glutamate oligomer as a chain extender. The surface modification of the PUBLG film was carried out by means of a hydrolysis reaction and heparin immobilization. The surface-modified PUBLGs were then characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. In vitro blood compatibility of surface-modified PUBLGs was investigated using plasma proteins, platelets and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Activated partial thromboplastin time was prolonged on heparin-immobilized PUBLG (PUBLG-H), suggesting the binding of immobilized heparin to antithrombin III. The release of serotonin from adhering platelets was significantly suppressed on PUBLG-H when compared to the other substrates. In the peripheral blood mononuclear cells experiments, the adhesion and activation of the cells were significantly suppressed on PUBLG-H and the amount of interleukin-6 released from peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with surface-modified PUBLGs decreased with a decrease in peripheral blood mononuclear cells adhesion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An automated headspace solvent free microextraction (HS-SFME) based gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed for discrimination of Radix Angelica sinensis (RAS) from different cultivation regions. The MS data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) to rapidly find the potential characteristic components of RAS from top-geoherb region and non top-geoherb region. Totally, fifty-one volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified, in which β-ocimene, α-pinene, 3-methylbutanal, heptanes, butanal were identified as potential markers for distinguishing RAS from top-geoherb region and non top-geoherb region. Sulphur dioxide was detected in some commercial RAS samples, which implied that sulphur-fumigation might be the main reason for the quality inconsistencies of commercial RAS samples. These results suggested that RAS from top-geoherb region and non-top geoherb region could be discriminated by the method. And characteristic chemical markers found in current study can be used for ensuring consistent quality of top-geoherb of RAS.

The spin structure of nucleons is presented in the framework of an extended quark model which in addition to the conventional qqq structure also takes into account qqqq admixtures in the nucleon wave functions, where the qqqq components are in colored quark cluster configurations. The axial vector weak coupling constant and spin distributions for polarized nucleons as well as spin content are obtained for the lowest positive parity qqqq configurations in flavor-spin dependent interaction. In particular, the contributions of the down and strange quarks to the proton spin and the sum rule for polarized neutron are negative, in agreement with recent experiments.

In this study, N-doping porous carbons (NPCs) with a 3D aperiodic hierarchical and layered structure were prepared by the sodium hydride (NaOH) activation of graphite nanofibers (GNFs)/polypyrrole (PPY) composites. The effects of the N groups and structural features on the CO2 adsorption capacity of NPCs were investigated by N2 full isotherms, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The CO2 adsorption capacity was measured by the CO2 isothermal adsorption at 25°C and 1 atm. It was found that GNFs served as a substrate and layered graphitic carbons were formed by the thermal annealing of PPY. The content of N groups and textural properties of NPCs were enhanced with increasing activation temperature, resulting in improved CO2 adsorption capacity. The CO2 adsorption isotherms showed that GPK-600 exhibited the best CO2 adsorption capacity of 88.8 mg/g when the activation temperature was 600°C. The result indicates that the pore size and its distribution of NPCs lead to feasible contact CO2, and the presence of high N groups on the NPCs could have resulted in further stabilization of the surface effect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40517.

To identify the common Tibetan herb Chuan-Bu.Local herbalists were visited to observe which plants were being used as Chuan-Bu. Samples of the indigenous plants were collected at the same time. Leaf materials were collected from field surveys. Total genomic DNA was extracted from silica gel-dried leaf samples. The PCR products were purified and directly sequenced.As the origin of Chuan-Bu in Tibet autonomous region was authenticated, two species were determined, i. e. Euphorbia stracheyiand E. wallichii. Also, based on our earlier research, the origin of Chuan-Bu in Gansu province, is from E. kansuensis. The sequences of ITS1 for E. stracheyi and E. wallichii were 261 bp in size, and 221 bp in ITS2, respectively. The size of the 5.8S coding region was 164 bp for all species examined in the genus. Especially, there was a heterozygous locus in ITS1 (C/G; position 72) for E. stracheyi. The nucleotide divergence between sequences of the 6 species in pairwise comparisons was calculated and the result showed that the variable site could be detected in each pairwise comparison of sequences. Also, there were 8 point mutations in the 5.8S coding region.nrDNA ITS sequences can be used as the molecular markers to identify the Tibetan herb Chuan-Bu and such Traditional Chinese Medicines from the same genus Euphorbia as E. lathyris, E. humifusa and E. pekinensis.

Cloud computing is a revolutionary computing paradigm which enables flexible, on-demand and low-cost usage of computing resources. However, those advantages, ironically, are the causes of security and privacy problems, which emerge because the data owned by different users are stored in some cloud servers instead of under their own control. To deal with security problems, various schemes based on the Attribute- Based Encryption (ABE) have been proposed recently. However, the privacy problem of cloud computing is yet to be solved. This paper presents an anonymous privilege control scheme AnonyControl to address the user and data privacy problem in a cloud. By using multiple authorities in cloud computing system, our proposed scheme achieves anonymous cloud data access, finegrained privilege control, and more importantly, tolerance to up to (N -2) authority compromise. Our security and performance analysis show that AnonyControl is both secure and efficient for cloud computing environment., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, conference, IEEE INFOCOM 2013

Ovary is located inside peritoneal cavity. However, a huge malignant ovarian tumor may get involved with retroperitoneal structures.We reported a case of a 70-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of increased abdominal distention and was subsequently found to have a giant abdominal mass. A huge low signal intensity mass with the involvement of retroperitoneal structures was showed on MRI. At operation, we found that the tumor pushed mesentery and small bowel upwards with the encasement of 10 cm jejunum and was fixed posteriorly to vena cava, aorta, right iliac vessels, and right ureter. It was dissected from the retroperitoneal structures and resected en bloc with the involved jejunum.Although ovary is located inside peritoneal cavity, a huge malignant ovarian tumor may get involved with retroperitoneal structures. So, great care should be taken not to injury the retroperitoneal structures as vena cava, mesenteric vessels, iliac vessels, and ureters.

The factors that influence the generation of a high-quality optical frequency comb (OFC) based on a recirculating frequency shifter (RFS) due to the maximum output power and noise figure of Er-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) are studied theoretically and experimentally. Based on the theoretical analysis, numerical simulations and experiments under different EDFA parameters have been carried out. The results show that the performance of the OFC based on a RFS can be improved effectively by optimizing the maximum output power and the noise figure of the EDFA.

Biopolymer chitosan templated bimodal porous silica materials with uniform macroporosity and narrowed mesopore size distribution were synthesized via fast precipitation of chitosan–silica hybrid composites (Chi/ SiO2 ). Clear Chi/ SiO2 solutions containing the biopolymer chitosan and siloxane-based inorganic network were prepared by hydrolysis of sodium metasilicate in the presence of biopolymer chitosan. The relative amount of chitosan in as-made Chi/ SiO2 was analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Chi/ SiO2 was calcined at 600°C for 5 h in the presence air to remove chitosan, and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. These porous silica products had high specific surface area of 500–550 m2/g, narrow pore size distribution and also bicontinuous macropore structure.

This dissertation is mainly concerned with the study of the continuity of positive functionals on topological *-algebras and of the representations of topological *-algebras by operators on a Hilbert space. In each case, both the locally convex and the non-locally convex topological *-algebras are considered. First we examine the general situation; then we discuss the results for the various known classes of topological *-algebras as special cases of our general considerations. These algebras include bounded algebras, MQ*-algebras, uniformly A-convex algebras and Banach algebras for the locally convex case, and F-algebras and p-normed algebras for the non-locally convex case. Meanwhile we relax the condition for the requirement of an identity element and the condition on the continuity of the involution map in the algebra. In this way we partially generalize some previous results, and the known results in some cases follow from ours. Those that are not particular cases of our results will also be discussed. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)