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Aiming at the problem of inaccurate feature extraction of low illumination images, a method is proposed that fuses Scale Invariant Feature Transform into SuperPoint. Firstly, the low illumination image is light-enhanced. Secondly, SuperPoint and SIFT features are fused at feature map level, changing the deep neural network weight by labeling the prob output of the network with the SIFT of input image as the maximum of the current prob at pixel-level. Finally, the loss function is constructed based on homography transformation, its principle between image pairs is used to realize the constraint on network parameters. The training and evaluation are conducted on ExDark dataset, tests and comparisons are conducted on multiple indicators of SOTA on HPatches common dataset. The experimental results show that our method improves the precision and recall than SuperPoint, and performs well in multiple evaluation indicators. &nbsp

Background Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the cornerstone of treatment for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, a 10-year survival rate was rarely reported. Methods Clinical efficacies and acute hematologic toxicities of 177 patients newly diagnosed with locoregionally moderate or advanced NPC and treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into three groups: IMRT alone, CCRT [neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) + CCRT, CCRT, NC + CCRT + adjuvant chemotherapy (AC)], and non-CCRT (NC + IMRT + AC, IMRT + AC). Results The median follow-up time was 48.4 months (range, 3.0–178.9 months). The most common acute hematologic toxicities were limited to grade 0–2 (153 cases, 86.4%). The 10-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were 66.6%, 77.9%, 92.9%, and 83.0%, respectively. A significant difference in OS among the three groups was observed (P = 0.01). CCRT and non-CCRT significantly improved OS compared with IMRT alone, with a 29.9% and 25.8% increase in 10-year OS (P = 0.01), respectively. Conclusions In the era of IMRT, acute hematologic toxicities were well tolerated with chemoradiotherapy for treating NPC, while distant metastasis was the most common failure pattern, especially for patients with N3 stage disease. Compared with IMRT alone, the CCRT scheme (CCRT, NC + CCRT + AC, NC + CCRT) may improve the OS of patients newly diagnosed with locoregionally moderate or advanced NPC, and non-CCRT (NC + IMRT + AC, IMRT + AC) may be an alternative scheme. Additional randomized trials are warranted to confirm the findings.

IntroductionEpidemiological studies show that women have a higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than men. Peripheral estrogen reduction during aging in women is proposed to play a key role in this sex-associated prevalence, however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We previously found that transcription factor early growth response-1 (EGR1) significantly regulates cholinergic function. EGR1 stimulates acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene expression and is involved in AD pathogenesis. We aimed to investigate whether the triple-transgenic AD (3xTg-AD) mice harboring PS1M146V, APPSwe, and TauP301L show sex differences in β-amyloid (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-Tau), the two primary AD hallmarks, and how local 17β-estradiol (E2) may regulate the expression of EGR1 and AChE.MethodsWe first sacrificed male and female 3xTg-AD mice at 3–4, 7–8, and 11–12 months and measured the levels of Aβ, p-Tau, EGR1, and AChE in the hippocampal complex. Second, we infected SH-SY5Y cells with lentivirus containing the amyloid precursor protein construct C99, cultured with or without E2 administration we measured the levels of extracellular Aβ and intracellular EGR1 and AChE.ResultsFemale 3xTg-AD mice had higher levels of Aβ compared to males, while no p-Tau was found in either group. In SH-SY5Y cells infected with lentivirus containing the amyloid precursor protein construct C99, we observed significantly increased extracellular Aβ and decreased expression of intracellular EGR1 and AChE. By adding E2 to the culture medium, extracellular Aβ(1–42) was significantly decreased while intracellular EGR1 and AChE expression were elevated.DiscussionThis data shows that the 3xTg-AD mouse model can be useful for studying the human sex differences of AD, but only in regards to Aβ. Furthermore, in vitro data shows local E2 may be protective for EGR1 and cholinergic functions in AD while suppressing soluble Aβ(1–42) levels. Altogether, this study provides further in vivo and in vitro data supporting the human epidemiological data indicating a higher prevalence of AD in women is related to changes in brain estrogen levels.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. A) The hydrodynamic size of FePt, MOFePt, pLMOFePt-TGO. B) Hydrodynamic size change of pLMOFePt-TGO pLMOFePt-TGO in a different medium. Figure S2.The particle size and polymer dispersity index (PDI) change of pLMOFePt-TGO in (A) distilled water, (B) PBS, and (C) DMEM with standing time. Figure S3. A-F) XPS high-resolution spectra of Fe2p, Pt4f, Si2p, S2p C1s, and full spectra in pLMOFePt-TGO. Figure S4. Zeta potential of FePt, MOFePt,pLMOFePt-TGO. Figure S5. A) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of pLMOFePt-TGO. B) Thermogravimetric curve of TAM, MOFePt, and MOFeP-T. C) The UV-vis standard curve of GOx. D) The loading rate of FePt and GOx calculated by ICP-MS analysis and UV-vis standard curve of GOx in E). Figure S6. A) pH value change of different concentration glucose solution treated with pLMOFePt-TGO. B) Cumulative release profile of FePt from pLMOFePt in various pH solutions. The internalization of pLMOFePt in MCF-7 cells: C) low magnification of Bio-TEM observation and D) high magnification of Bio-TEM observation. Figure S7. A) Pharmacokinetic curves of FePt and pLMOFePt analyzed by ICP-MS. B) The standard curve of intracellular acidity obtained by fluorescent probe BCECF-AM. C) The fluorescence spectrum of MCF-7 cells stained with BCECF-AM to assess cellular acidity. Figure S8. The viability of MCF-7 cells treated with pLMOFePt-TGO at the absence and presence of (A) DFOM, (B) Fer-1, (C) NAC, and (D) Z-VAD-FMK. Figure S9. The images of 4T1 cells stained with JC-1 A) and BODIPY B), respectively after treatment with FePt and pLMOFePt-TGO. Figure S10. (A) The tube formation of C166 cells treated with different concentrations of pLMOFePt-TGO; (B) corresponding number of tube formation. Figure S11. H&E staining images of the vital organs in different treatment groups. Figure S12. Ki67 staining images of MCF-7 tumor-bearing mice treated with different samples.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Viability of S. japonicum males exposed to PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vitro. Table S2. Viability of S. japonicum females exposed to PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vitro. Table S3. Viability of S. japonicum juveniles exposed to PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vitro. Table S4. Antischistosomal effects of S. japonicum juvenile (14 days) treated by PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vivo. Table S5. Antischistosomal effects of multiple developmental stages of S. japonicum treated by PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vivo. Table S6. Antischistosomal effects of adult (28 days) of S. japonicum treated by PZQ and DW-3-15 at different combinations of concentrations in vivo.

Additional file 2: Table S. The hydrogen bonds and other intermolecular interaction involved during mGluR5 and α-syn interaction.

In the era of Big Data, more and more Big Data technologies and Big Data products are emerging. Organization of a Proof of Concept (PoC) testing is important for an enterprise to choose proper Big Data products. This paper introduces typical Big Data vendors and their products, and analyzes the process of preparing a PoC testing. It also illustrates how to design test cases for a PoC testing. In conclusion, it emphasizes that testers should have a deep understanding of business requirements and business processes in order to organize an effective PoC testing program.

In order to obtain the spatiotemporal situation of the evaporation duct accurately from a small amount of measurement data which is mixed into the noise during the transmission process affecting the high-precision reconstruction, this paper proposes an approximate message passing method (AMP) based on variable parameter threshold to realize the denoising reconstruction of noisy signals. By improving the threshold function in AMP, it is more suitable for the sparse characteristics of the evaporation duct parameters and converging more quickly. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that the overall performance of the denoising reconstruction method proposed in this paper is better than the control group.

Procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2), which affects collagen synthesis, is associated with breast cancer. The purpose of the study is to detect the expression of PLOD2 in breast cancer and to evaluate the correlation between PLOD2 and clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of patients with breast cancer. 50 paired samples including breast cancer tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were formalin-fixed and evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The results revealed that PLOD2 expression in breast cancer tissues was much higher than that in tissues adjacent to breast cancer. High expression of PLOD2 was positively associated with tumor stage (P = 0.003) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001). However, high expression of PLOD2 was negatively related to Ki-67 (P < 0.001) while positively related to progesterone receptor (PR) (P = 0.001). PLOD2 expression was positively related to the metastasis of breast cancer. Therefore, high expression of PLOD2 was identified as a poor prognostic biomarker for patients with breast cancer. These results suggest a novel molecular mechanism in breast cancer tumorigenesis, thus providing a potential therapeutic target of breast cancer.

Generally, the pore pressure for a pre-drill well is predicted using empirical parameters, which are regressed from the drilled well's data. However, for areas with large geological differences, empirical parameters which are obtained using traditional methods may fail because intense tectonic movement would result in huge differences between the pre-drill well and drilled well. Firstly, in order to overcome this problem, the method of fault stability analysis is introduced. Analysis indicates that when abnormal overpressure exceeds a certain value, the fault ruptures and the overpressured fluid escapes, so that there is an upper limit of pore pressure (ULPP) for the stable fault. Secondly, the influences of fault angle, formation Poisson ratio and modulus of elasticity on the ULPP are discussed further. The results show that the ULPP of a fault with angle of 65.2° is the minimum, and the critical angle increases with the increase of internal friction coefficient. For reverse faults and strike faults, the influences of Poisson ratio and modulus of elasticity are small, but for normal faults these are significant. Finally, three kinds of ULPP for these different faults are proposed, respectively. The application of this method in the Xihu Sag in the East China Sea has proved that reference to ULPP can verify and correct regressed empirical parameters, so as to improve pore pressure prediction accuracy.

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of metal nanoparticles (MNs) has been widely applied in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to improve the radiation of excitons. The LSPR wavelength and intensity of MNs and the coupling between MNs and excitons greatly affect the LSPR effect on exciton radiation. In this work, silica coated silver nanocubes (Ag@SiO2 NCs) were doped in the electron transport layer (ETL) of a solution-processed multilayered white OLED (WOLED). Due to the sharp edges and corners, Ag NCs have strong LSPR effect and can effectively enhance the radiation of nearby excitons. With an appropriate concentration of Ag@SiO2 NCs, the WOLED achieved two fold improvement in the current efficiency comparing with the control device without Ag@SiO2 NCs incorporated. The working mechanism of the Ag@SiO2 NCs based WOLED was investigated in detail. For the solution-processed OLED, excitons usually form and recombine near the interface of emission layer and electron transport layer (EML/ETL) because the commonly used host material (such as polyvinylcarbazole, PVK) has the unipolar hole transport property. So the Ag@SiO2 NCs in ETL greatly enhanced the radiation of the excitons located near the EML/ETL interface, which mostly contributed to the performance enhancement of the Ag@SiO2 NCs based WOLED. Study on a group of devices with Ag@SiO2 NCs doped in different locations indicated that Ag@SiO2 NCs in ETL showed more effective LSPR effect than those in hole injection layer. Electroluminescence and photoluminescence spectra of the WOLEDs declared that the Ag@SiO2 NCs simultaneously improved the radiation intensities of the blue and yellow excitons and helped the WOLED maintain the good chromaticity stability, which was mainly attributed to the wide LSPR wavelength range (450–650 nm) of the Ag@SiO2 NCs. The SiO2 coating layer of the Ag@SiO2 NCs played the important role in the LSPR enhanced emission. On the one hand, it formed an appropriated distance between the Ag NCs and the extions, helping to generate the strong coupling between them. On the other hand, it suppressed the effect of Ag NCs on charge trapping, keeping the stability of the carrier transport in the device. Our research demonstrate MNs can effectively improve the performance of OLEDs by carefully designing the device structure.

Figure S1 Histopathological analysis of organs stained with H&E. Histopathology showing normal morphology from the acute toxicity test. (A) heart, (B) liver, (C) spleen, (D) lung, (E) kidney, (F) pancreas; scale bar = 100 μm. Figure S2 Histopathological analysis of organs stained with H&E. Histopathology showing normal morphology from the acute toxicity test. (A) stomach, (B) jejunum, (C) duodenum, (D) uterus, (E) ovaries, (F) orchis; scale bar = 100 μm. Figure S3 Histopathological analysis of organs stained with H&E. Histopathology showing normal morphology from eight dead rats. (A) heart, (B) liver, (C) spleen, (D) lung, (E) kidney, (F) pancreas; scale bar = 100 μm. Figure S4 Histopathological analysis of organs stained with H&E. Histopathology showing normal morphology from eight dead rats. (A) stomach, (B) jejunum, (C) duodenum, (D) uterus, (E) ovaries, (F) orchis; scale bar = 100 μm (PPTX 1332 kb)

Energy efficiency is an important factor to optimize the multi-hop forwarding strategy. PD (Pairing-inspired Dijkstra) multi-hop data forwarding algorithm is proposed to share cellular spectrum resources with D2D (device-to-device) users. Candidate multiplexing channel model is established in our proposal. Based on this model, PD algorithm solves the issue on channel and path selection. PD algorithm includes two parts, KM dichotomous matching algorithm and multiple iterations for Dijkstra algorithm. Under energy efficiency and QoS (Quality of Service) constraint, PD algorithm selects optimal transmission path among D2D users. Furthermore, the energy efficiency and transmission delay are evaluated in simulation section under PD, Dijkstra and CD (Closest to Destination) algorithm. Simulation results indicate that PD has better performance on energy efficiency and E2E (End to End) delay.

This paper presents a study on the effect of luffa fibres by different chemical treatments of luffa fibres on cracking resistance and drying shrinkage of cement mortar. This research is aimed at using natural vegetable fibres to improve the performance of cementitious materials for sustainable construction. XRD was carried out to characterize the crystallinity of treated luffa fibres. By changing the chemical treatment parameters, the relationship between different treatment conditions and crystallinity index was investigated. SEM was used to characterize the microstructure of luffa fibres. The early cracking and drying shrinkage of cement mortar with the addition of treated luffa fibres were experimentally studied. The results revealed that treated luffa fibres had a stronger effect on the early cracking than untreated luffa fibres, while the effect on the drying shrinkage of cement mortar was comparable between treated and untreated luffa fibres.

Ultrasonic motor is a special kind of actuator for motion control system. Because of the peculiar mechanism of ultrasonic motor, control circuit is needed for the operation of ultrasonic motor. The performance of ultrasonic motor depends on the topology and modulation method of control circuit. A novel type of control circuit for ultrasonic motor, H-bridge control topology using phase-shift PWM method, is proposed in this paper. Two kinds of implementary circuits are designed and analyzed. On the basis of the new designed circuit, the difference of performances between the phase-shift H-bridge circuit and push–pull circuit is analyzed. The experimental results proved that, the performance of the proposed control circuit is good.

To improve the resolution of the seismic section after deconvolution, a method based on frequency-domain experience mode decomposition was proposed. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method is usually used to analyze the time domain non-stationary signal, in order to better recover original reflection coefficient sequence, empirical mode decomposition was implemented for frequency-domain amplitude spectrum. Through the different characteristics between the equivalent filter amplitude after deconvolution and reflection coefficient sequence amplitude in frequency-domain, the real reflection coefficient sequence was recovered. Simulation results indicate that the method is effective and feasible.

Periodic noise is an important manifestation of the drill string vibration signal noise. In order to extract the characteristics of the signals which reflect the situation of the tools in drilling, the periodic components which influence the original drill string vibration signal in the well field were researched and the independent component analysis algorithm which is on the basis of negative entropy for periodic vibration noise separation was adopted. At the same time, the effect of algorithm demixing was improved where periodic noise components which existed in three directions of drill string vibration signals were used, combining with the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to seek the optimal mixed matrix by which the multi-channel mixed-signal of independent component analysis algorithm could be structured. This method in operation was fast. And after separation each signal was of high similarity. Through the experimental simulation, the method was proven effective in the drill string vibration periodic noise signal separation.

Nowadays, with the increasing awareness of environmental and economic issues, energy efficiency has received an enormous amount of attention. In this paper, we investigate an energy-saving algorithm called Greedy Base Station Sleeping (G- BSS), based on clustering for Device-to-Device (D2D) communication in cellular network and derive the energy utility function to evaluate energy consumption of the implementation scenario. In addition, a novel user association scheme is developed for the first time to solve the communication problem of users in sleep cells, in which the D2D clusters in sleep cells associate to the selected inter-CH (Cluster Head) in neighbor cells according to location information and residual energy, namely forming a merger cluster. Extensive simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithm reduces efficiently energy consumption and achieves low delay.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is widely used in military operations, especially underwater missions. However, prolonged and continuous inhalation of HBO can cause central nervous system oxygen toxicity (CNS-OT), which greatly limits HBO's application. The regulation of astrocytes to the metabolism of adenosine is involved in epilepsy. In our study, we aimed to observe the effects of HBO exposure on the metabolism of adenosine in the brain. Furthermore, we aimed to confirm the possible mechanism underlying adenosine's mediation of the CNS-OT. Firstly, anesthetized rats exposed to 5 atm absolute HBO for 80 min. The concentrations of extracellular adenosine, ATP, ADP, and AMP were detected. Secondly, free-moving rats were exposed to HBO at the same pressure for 20 min, and the activities of 5'-nucleotidase and ADK in brain tissues were measured. For the mechanism studies, we observed the effects of a series of different doses of drugs related to adenosine metabolism on the latency of CNS-OT. Results showed HBO exposure could increase adenosine content by inhibiting ADK activity and improving 5'-nucleotidase activity. And adenosine metabolism during HBO exposure may be a protective response against HBO-induced CNS-OT. Moreover, the improvement of adenosine concentration, activation of adenosine A1R, or suppression of ADK and adenosine A2AR, which are involved in the prevention of HBO-induced CNS-OT. This is the first study to demonstrate HBO exposure regulated adenosine metabolism in the brain. Adenosine metabolism and adenosine receptors are related to HBO-induced CNS-OT development. These results will provide new potential targets for the termination or the attenuation of CNS-OT.

By combining 7-diethylamino-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carbohydrazide with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine into one molecule,fluorescent probe [7-diethylamino-2-oxo-N′-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine-2H-chromene-3-carbohydrazide](DC) was synthesized for dsetection of H2PO-4 in acetonitrile.Spectrophotometric titration indicated the formation of a 1∶1 complex of H2PO-4 with DC.With the fluorescence spectra,the apparent red shift of UV absorption and the changes for the solution color from orange yellow to purple were observed as binding DC with H2PO-4.The experiment showed that DC was highly selective for H2PO-4,much more than those anions such as F-,NO-3,Cl-,Br-and I-.By the exclusive selectivity of DC to H2PO-4,it was predicted that as a fluorescent probe,and by means of fluorescence and UV-Visible absorption spectrum,H2PO-4can be rapidly identified by a enhanced fluorescence from DC.

Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is the bioactive compound of licorice and has been used as an herbal medicine because of its anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was designed to investigate the effects of GA on leukemia cells growth, migration, and the mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer activities of GA. MTT test was used to detect the effect of GA on TF-1 leukemia cell growth. Wound closure assay and Transwell were adopted to assess the effect of GA on TF-1 migration and invasion. Migration and invasion related proteins including AKT and mTOR were detected by western blot assay. We further used western blot and immunofluorescence assay to evaluate the effect of GA on STAT3 phosphorylation in vitro. We also evaluated the anti-tumor effect of GA in TF-1 tumor bearing BALB/c mice model. The present study showed GA significant inhibit of TF-1 proliferation in a dose and time-dependent manner. GA could remarkably inhibit TF-1 cell migration and invasion; meanwhile effectively suppress AKT, mTOR, and STAT3 phosphorylation in TF-1 cells. GA in 100 mg/kg/ could inhibit the tumor growth in vivo and down-regulated AKT, mTOR, and STAT3 phosphorylation in TF-1 tumor tissues. Our findings suggest that GA is a promising therapeutic agent for leukemia that targets the AKT/mTOR/STAT3 pathway.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) have potential applications in cell and gene therapies for cardiac disease. The cardiac-specific transcription factors GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA4) and T-Box protein 5 (TBX5) are considered to be pivotal in cardiogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of GATA4 and TBX5 on cardiomyogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The BMSCs were initially isolated and identified. Vectors harboring cardiac transcription factor genes GATA4 and TBX5 or empty vectors were transferred into BMSCs. Cardiomyogenic cells differentiated from BMSCs were identified by expression of cardiac-specific markers including cardiac troponin T, connexin 43, β-myosin heavy chain, and myosin light chain-2 using immunocytochemical staining, western blotting, and quantitative real-time PCR. The ultrastructures of the differentiated cells were examined by transmission electron microscopy, which were similar to those of fetal cardiomyocytes. The differentiated cells exhibited L-type calcium current activities reflective of the electrophysiological characteristics of cardiomyocytes. These findings indicate that exogenous expression of cardiac-specific transcription factors GATA4 and TBX5 enhance cardiomyogenic differentiation of BMSCs

Amino acid sequences of C. bowringi and other insect used in phylogenetic analyses. (PDF 814Â kb)

Amino acid sequences of C. bowringi and other insect used in phylogenetic analyses. (PDF 814Â kb)

We study the thermodynamic properties of random transverse field mixed spin system in the presence of single-ion anisotropy on a square lattice. By making use of the effective field theory and a cutting approximation, the detailed phase diagrams are described and some interesting results are found under trimodal random transverse field distribution. A small single-ion anisotropy can magnify magnetic ordering region at low temperatures and existence of a large transverse field can assist the occurrence of reentrant phenomena. With increasing disorder, second-order phase transitions are shown to change into first-order phase transitions. The trajectory of the tricritical point in the phase space as a function of disorder is presented. These indicate a strong correlation with the corresponding to trimodal transverse field distribution.

With the development of science and technology, especially since the application of computer technology, computer aided instruction (CAI) has also entered the thousands on thousands of classroom. Now the computer assisted instruction (CAI) has become an advanced teaching means of quality education in teaching. CAI for the convenience and efficiency of English classroom teaching at the same time, its disadvantages inevitably highlights. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of CAI, which is expected to play a good role in the educational and teaching activities.

Cumulants matching method for seismic wavelet extraction is ultimately a multi-parameters, multi-extremes nonlinear functional optimization process. in this paper, a novel improved PSO algorithm (Adaptive Chaotic Embedded Particle Swarm Optimization, ACEPSO) has been proposed to be applied in wavelet parameters estimation. ACEPSO embeds chaotic variables in standard particle swarm optimization algorithm, and adjusts parameters nonlinearly and adaptively. It also estimates particles whether being focusing or discrete by judging the population fitness variance of particle swarm and average distance amongst points, then chaotic researching is applied to escaping from premature convergence. Simulation experimental results in wavelet extraction of synthetic seismogram and real seismic records show that this algorithm has high precision, good applicability and stability in seismic wavelet estimation.

This article gives an overview of important property of the integrated management of agricultural product quality safety system, analyzes the lightweight characteristics of Spring technical system, hierarchical organization of MVC, and the technology SSH+ Ajax associated with the Spring framework system. On the basis of this technical system, we design the quality management system of agricultural products under B/S model. This article points out that this system is realized mainly through consumers' information feedback and order management; then discusses operation environment, expandability, portability and security of the system.

Presently, there are more than 50 cities in China which are confronting or will confront the problem of resources exhaustion. These cities with resources as mainstay industry are gradually falling into recession with a low economic growth. Their positioning for transformation is in urgent need of solutions. As new technology in surveying develops, it is necessary to take advantage of RS (Remote Sensing) and GIS (Geographic Information System) to analyze the space-time characteristics of the transformation cities, in order to enhance the quality, the science and rationality of decision-making in municipal development positioning. This article aims to provide a new approach for overcoming difficulties confronted by cities of the world. Data sources involved in the transition positioning study on resource-exhausted cities' development are outlined in the article. The article also focuses on introducing the new technology of remote sensing information resources and the applied research based on remote sensing to monitor the dynamics of urban development, and probes into a practical, operable way for resources-exhausted cities' transformation by using new technologies. At the same time, GIS technology applications have experienced an evolution from data storage management and search queries to the space-time analysis as the main body, being toward to a stage of development for support of the regional system of forecasting the evolution of spatial structure, dynamic simulation and optimization of the structure of space.

Chromatic stability and purity cannot be acquired easily in the top-emitting white organic light-emitting diode (TWOLED) due to its special device structure with metal film as both anode and cathode. Blue/red/blue emission layers are utilized to optimize the chromaticity and to improve the stability. Then step-doping is introduced into the red emission layer to further improve the device stability. In order to explain the mechanism of the improvement in chromaticity stability, effects of step-doping on the device performances are analyzed in detail. Experimental results refleal that the built-in electric field induced by the step-doping changes the carrier drifting and exciton recombination in emission layers. When the doping concentration gradually increases from the anode side to the cathode side (increasing step-doping), the built-in electric field is facilitated to suppress the electron drafting and the exciton diffusing, which helps control the exciton recombination zone. Color stability can be improved in the TWOLED with increasing step-doping. Additionally, as an important factor influencing the emission spectra of TWOLEDs, microcavity resonance is calculated and used to explain the variation of spectra induced by device structural changes.

Several reports have indicated that combinatorial regimens with DNA and protein vaccines can elicit both strong immune responses, to circumvent the limits of each vaccine. Surprisingly little was known on HBV vaccine. Here, we investigated the immunization effects of several regimens in BALB/c mice. The level of total antibody and isotypes of IgG were determined by ELISA. Cellular immune responses were assayed by measuring the production of cytokines and CTL activity after re-stimulation for 7 days in vitro with tumor cells CT26/S stably expressing HBsAg. The efficacy of immunoprotection against the challenge of transplanted CT26/S was also examined. The regimen involving twice priming pVAX(S) encoding HBsAg and once recombinant HBsAg protein (rHBsAg) boosting, induced strong and homogenous antibody responses. This regimen induced significant stronger responses of interleukin-12 and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in splenocytes, and elicited stronger CD8+ CTL responses and greater immunopretectional efficacy than those elicited by immunization with rHBsAg or pVAX(S) alone. Our regimen may thus provide a strategy for developing an improved immunization against HBV and many other pathogens.

Making use of the effective field theory (EFT) and a cutting approximation, in the framework of Ising model, we investigate the thermodynamic properties of a random transverse mixed spin system with a crystal field. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of crystal field, transverse field and random concentration on phase transitions of the system. Our studies find that a smaller crystal field cannot change the percolation threshold of the critical transverse field in the presence of a random transverse field, and that the reentrant phenomena shall appear in the range of random concentration concerned when the transverse field takes a larger value, where as the reentrant phenomena do not occur and when the transverse field takes a smaller value. These new thermodynamic properties have not been reported in previous works so far as we know. We give a series of pha se diagrams and discuss them in detail.

In this paper, a novel platform for simultaneous measurement of relative humidity (RH) and temperature using dual Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs) based on C-shaped fiber was demonstrated. The sensor was composed by splicing two sections of C-shaped fiber between single mode fiber (SMF). Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are filled in the two sections of C-shaped fibers to increase sensitivity to temperature and RH. This is the first demonstration that solid polymer materials can be added to the C-shaped fiber interferometers for sensing. In our experiment, RH sensitivities of -0.128 nm/%RH and 0.038 nm/%RH in the range of 20%RH to 45%RH, and temperature sensitivities of 0.022 nm/°C and -0.722 nm/°C in the temperature range of 15 °C to 45°C, were acquired for dual FPIs, respectively. We verified that it is possible to use the sensitivity matrix method to measure two parameters simultaneously. In addition, it has the benefits of simple structure, excellent stability and high sensitivity, and has a broad application prospect in agriculture, food processing and environmental measurement. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed A refractive index (RI) fiber sensor with low detection limit hut large dynamic range is proposed and demonstrated using an exposed core microstructured optical fiber. The exposed-core fiber is highly birefringent due to its asymmetry and also supports multimode propagation; thus, can be used simultaneously as a Mach-Zehnder and Sagnac interferometer. The Mach-Zehnder interference is significantly more phase sensitive to RI due to a longer effective path length difference. This leads to a lower detection limit compared to that for the Sagnac interferometer, which has a larger free spectral range that allows the dynamic range of the RI measurement to be extended. By combining these two interferometers, the proposed sensor achieves a detection limit of as low as 6.02 x 10(-6) refractive index units (RIU) while maintaining a large dynamic range from 1.3320 to 1.3465 RIU. The proposed sensor also has the advantages of biocompatibility, low cost, high stability, small size, ability to operate remotely and to be fabricated.