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Waxy maize is one of the main fresh-eating maize types, and a mutation of the waxygene causes the waxy character of maize grains. China is rich in waxy maize landraces, and Yunnan and its surrounding areas, are the place of origin and genetic diversity center of Chinese waxy maize. The six known waxy alleles of Chinese waxy maize are wx-D7, wx-D10, wx-Cin4, wx-124, wx-Reina, and wx-Xuanwei. The mutation sites of these alleles all occur in the coding region of the waxygene, however, the mechanism by which the waxy characteristic is caused by the mutation in the regulatory region has only been reported rarely in maize. In this study, 405 waxy maize landraces from Yunnan were used as materials to identify the insertion and deletion of a large sequence fragment in the upstream ∼3.5 kb regulatory region of the waxygene by molecular marker detection. Three different waxy alleles were identifed in this study: wx-PIF/Harbinger, wx-hATand wxElote2.These three types of mutations all represented transposons inserted into the regulatory region of the waxygene. Wx-PIF/Harbingerwas a 304-bp MITE class transposon insertion belonging to the PIF/Harbingerfamily, while wx-hATwas a 560-bp MITE class transposon insertion belonging to the hATfamily, and wx-Elote2was a 6 560-bp LTR-like transposon insertion. In this study, the alleles were identifed for more than 70% of the waxy maize landraces in Yunnan, which provids a basis for the utilization of these waxy maize landraces.

Accurate small traffic sign recognition is more important for the safety of intelligent transportation systems. A recognition framework named attentive context region‐based detection framework (AC‐RDF) is proposed in this paper. We construct the attentive context feature for the recognition of small traffic signs, which combines the target information and the contextual information by the concatenation operation following a pointwise convolutional layer. The proposed attentive context feature exploits the surrounding information for a given object proposal. Next, we propose a novel attentive loss function to replace the original cross‐entropy function. It distinguishes hard negative samples from easy positive ones in the total loss, allows the proposed framework to obtain enough training, and further improve the recognition accuracy. The proposed method is evaluated on the challenging Tsinghua‐Tencent 100K dataset. The experimental results indicate that the attentive context region‐based detection framework is superior at detecting small traffic signs and achieves state‐of‐the‐art performance compared with other methods.

The main purpose of the paper is to propose a new method to achieve separating periodic impulse signal among multi-component mixture signal and its application to the fault detection of rolling bearing. In general, as local defects occur in a rotating machinery, the vibration signal always consists of periodic impulse components along with other components such as harmonic component and noise; impulse component reflects the condition of rolling bearing. However, different components of multi-component mixture signal may approximately have same center frequency and bandwidth coincides with each other that is difficult to disentangle by linear frequency-based filtering. In order to solve this problem, the author introduces a proposed method based on resonance-based sparse signal decomposition integrated with empirical mode decomposition and demodulation that can separate the impulse component from the signal, according to the different Q-factors of impulse component and harmonic component. Simulation and application examples have proved the effectiveness of the method to achieve fault detection of rolling bearing and signal preprocessing.

The present study aimed to investigate the gastroprotective activity of the total alkaloids from the bark of Phellodendron amurense and identify their possible mechanism. Total alkaloids were obtained through an alcohol extraction method and were analyzed using LC-MS/MS. Chronic gastric ulcers were induced by acetic acid (0.14 mol/L) filter paper on the gastric serosa. The antiulcer effect of total alkaloids was evaluated using the ulcer area, the ulcer inhibition ratio, and epidermal growth factor. The gastroprotective mechanism of total alkaloids was revealed using the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline. The results showed that oral administration of total alkaloids (30 mg/kg/day) obviously decreased the ulcer area (7.67 ± 2.06 mm²; p<0.01) compared with the model group (15.15 ± 2.34 mm²). The ulcer inhibition ratio of the total alkaloids group (50%) was higher than the omeprazole-treated group (46%), which showed that the antiulcer effect of the total alkaloids may be superior to omeprazole. Besides, the total alkaloids significantly increased the epidermal growth factor level and accelerated the healing of ulcers. Histological examination of gastric tissues also supported the same conclusion. In addition, the total alkaloids significantly elevated the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline (both p<0.01 compared to the model group). Our data indicates that total alkaloids of Cortex Phellodendri exerts a beneficial gastroprotective effect and the involved mechanism is likely neurohumoral regulation. Thus, Cortex Phellodendri may develop into a promising clinical medicinal agent for improving the quality of ulcer healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxysophocarpine is an alkaloid extracted from Sophora alopecuroides. We investigated the analgesic effect of oxysophocarpine on carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain in mice, in order to explore its possible mechanisms. Mouse ear swelling tests and carrageenan-induced paw edema tests were used to investigate the effects of oxysophocarpine on inflammatory pain in mice. Morphological changes on inflamed paw sections were measured by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The mRNA and protein expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, cyclooxy-genase-2, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and prostaglandin E2 were investigated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, westernblot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In our results, oxysophocarpine shows a significant anti-inflammatory effect in the mouse ear swelling test. Oxysophocarpine also significantly reduced the paw edema volume and improved mechanical allodynia threshold value on carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain, as well as relieved paw tissues inflammatory damage and reduced the numbers of neutrophils in mice. Oxysophocarpine significantly suppressed over-expression of cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and prostaglandin E2, and inhibited the over-phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. Based on these findings we propose that oxysophocarpine attenuates inflammatory pain by suppressing the levels of phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, cyclooxygenase-2, prostaglandin E2, tumor necrosis factor α, inter- leukin-1 beta and interleukin-6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The odor-resistant property of socks is often linked with the antibacterial activity, depending on the antimicrobials used in odor-resistant finishing. However, antibacterial activity tests are not suitable for odor-resistant socks finished using non-antibacterial agents. In this study, a new method was developed to evaluate the odor-resistant effects of newly developed undyed, anti-odor cotton socks treated with a non-antibacterial agent. Worn, undyed (treated and untreated) cotton socks were sprayed with silver nitrate solution for color development under UV light. The resulting shade would be from white to brown, depending upon the intensities of the odor. A preliminary positive correlation between K/Svalues (color strength) and odor intensities with were found with the organoleptic test. The color strength method was more objective and had better reproducibility than the organoleptic test.

AbstractA three-year study over the Bai, Jingpo and Huayaodai communities in Yunnan Province reveals that the community development is significantly influenced in various ways by such cultural factors as the concepts of development; concepts and traditions of inter-community relationships, consumption, marriage and gender; patterns of decision-making and production, resource and income allocation; as well as the role of information dissemination systems, religion and ritual. Based on the analysis over the interactive relevance between each factor and community development, some strategies and methods for dealing with such a cultural relevance in development projects are recommended.

DNA Lesion and HprtMutant Frequency in Rat Lymphocytes and V79 Chinese Hamster Lung Cells Exposed to Cadmium: Zhou Jianhua, et al.Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Radiation Medicine and Public Health, Soochow University, China—Cadmium is a potential carcinogenic environmental and occupational pollutant. A wide variety of mutagens have been shown to cause DNA damage, but it is not yet clear whether the DNA damage is relative to inducement of mutations. DNA damage and the formation of mutations at the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl trans ferase (HPRT) induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl2) were investigated with rat lymphocytes and V79 Chinese hamster lung cells. The hprtmutant frequency (MF) assay was used as the method to measure gene mutation in the rat lymphocytes and V79 cells exposed to CdCl2, and comet assay analysis was performed to detect DNA lesion and repair in CdCl2-induced V79 cells. The results showed that CdCl2treatment caused a strong genotoxic effect and a marginal effect on the frequency of gene mutations. The hprtmutant frequencies in the rat lymphocytes and V79 cells exposed to CdCl2were statistically higher than those of the negative control. There was statistical significance in TL, TD and percentage of comet cell with tails. CdCl2treatment can induce DNA single-strand breaks. There was a dose-dependent increase between CdCl2and DNA lesion. After cells were treated with CdCl2and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the TL and TD declined with repair time increasing, which indicated that DNA damages were repaired gradually. However, DNA repair with treatment of CdCl2was slower than that of H2O2in V79 cells, which suggests that CdCl2affected DNA repair of damaged cells. The study also showed that the hprtMF and comet assay can be used for genotoxicity testing of heavy metals. DNA damage detected with the comet assay may be relative to mutagenesis.

We conducted prenatal diagnosis by haplotype analysis, using newly developed microsatellite markers, in eight Fukuyama type congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD) families. In addition to six new families, two previously reported families were re-examined by haplotype analysis including detection of an ancestral founder haplotype (138–183–301) for 3 microsatellite markers closest to the FCMD gene, designated D9S2105–D9S2107–D9S172, the distances of which from the FCMD gene are presumed to be ~140, ~20, and ~280 kb, respectively. Five fetuses from five families were diagnosed as nonaffected, and were subsequently confirmed to be healthy. Three fetuses of the other three families were diagnosed as having a high probability of being affected by FCMD. In the prenatal diagnosis conducted for these eight families, the ancestral founder allele was observed in 13 of 16 (81%) FCMD-bearing chromosomes. Detection of the ancestral haplotype facilitated achieving accurate prenatal diagnosis of FCMD. The brains of all three fetuses prenatally diagnosed as FCMD-affected showed the initial stage of cortical dysplasia, strong evidence of FCMD. Am. J. Med. Genet. 77:310–316, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The rotator cuff repaired construct must establish a contiguous and functioning tendon-bone junction (TBJ) to provide adequate stability. However, fibrocartilage deficiency and bone loss were hardly reversed after physical suture, especially in chronic rotator cuff tear. In this study, we synthesized an injectable methylcellulose (MC)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based thermo-sensitive hydrogel, which delivered kartogenin (KGN)-loaded mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGs). Physicochemical studies the revealed phase transition temperatures of 35 °C and its ability to induce chondrogenesis and osteogenesis differentiation of tendon derived stem cells (TDSCs). Furthermore, experiments in rabbit chronic rotator cuff tear (RCT) model confirmed the fibrocartilage and bone layer regenerative capability of the injected bioactive hydrogel, which could in turn support the ultimate tensile stress of the repaired rotator cuff. The bioactive agents-loaded hydrogel reported in this study is a valuable addition to the arsenal of biomaterials in applications to chronic tendon-bone junction injuries.

This paper studies the degree of state fragility and the influence of climate change on fragility by the building of a state fragility assessment model. Firstly, based on the collected data, we constructed a three-level fragility assessment system. Five comprehensive indexes of the government, safety, society, climate and economy are obtained by PCA (Principal Component Analysis) from 16 representative primary indicators. The weights of five indexes are determined by the Entropy Method. Finally, we got the SFI (State Fragility Index) through the MADM (Multi-Attribute Decision Making) model. Secondly, we selected the Central African Republic and chose the year of 2014 as the sample which had the largest increasing rate to study how the variable of climate change impacted on a state's fragility. We found that there was a drought increasing its CSI and Economy Fragility Index (EFI) and consequently made the state more fragile. Then we use the TSM (Time Series Method) to predict the fragility index of Central Africa in 2014 without the impact of climate change. The improvements can be seen from the declines in its state fragility (from 1.75 to 1.68) and the results of the CSI and EFI.

We propose a scheme to investigate the interplay between the Kondo-exchange interaction and the quantum spin Hall effect with ultracold fermionic alkaline-earth-metal atoms trapped in two-dimensional optical lattices using ultracold collision and laser-assisted tunneling. In the strong Kondo-coupling regime, although the loop trajectory of the mobile atom disappears, collective dynamics of an atom pair in two clock states can exhibit an unexpected spin-dependent cyclotron orbit in a plaquette, realizing the quantum spin Hall effect of the Kondo singlet. We demonstrate that the collective cyclotron dynamics of the spin-zero Kondo singlet is governed by an effective Harper-Hofstadter model in addition to second-order diagonal tunneling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues, including an article on India in the July 2012 issue, an article titled "Shaoxing: A Picturesque Water Town in Southern China," and an article on China's healthcare sector.

We find that, for the near horizon static isotropic metric, all of the massless field equations of the spin ≤2 have the same characteristic: they can be reduced to the Fuchsian-type equation with three regular singular points. Three general solutions, corresponding to different parameter values, are obtained. Two of the solutions have discrete imaginary frequencies. Based on the results above, we obtain exact formulas for the quasinormal modes of the Rindler-type spacetime. We also derive an elegant wave equation, which is the fundamental formula of the perturbation theory for general static spherically symmetric spacetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]