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Five new phenylpropanoid allopyranosides (1 – 5), along with five known compounds (6 – 10) were isolated from the rhizomes of Cimicifuga dahurica. Their structures were established by means of spectroscopic analyses and chemical methods, as well as comparison with literatures. The anti-inflammatory activities of all isolates were evaluated. Compounds 6 , 9 and 10 exhibited inhibitory effects on PGE 2 production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages with IC 50 values of 19.72, 6.33 and 39.90 µM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In a large underground powerhouse, the surrounding rock mass at the intersection of the caverns has multiple free faces. This rock mass is more susceptible to stability issues because of its peculiar structure. This paper takes the Baihetan underground powerhouse as a case study example, wherein the failure issue of multi-freeface surrounding rock mass appears prominent. Through analysis of monitoring data from multi-point extensometers, it has been concluded that the average daily deformation of the main powerhouse sidewall on downstream side in the presence of multi-freeface rock mass proves larger than that on upstream side; the maximum deformation reaches 0.48 mm/d, overshadowing that at the rock anchor beam as well. The multi-freeface surrounding rock mass is not only more subject to large deformation but also shows more sensitivity to positional change in the working face. Moreover, the sidewall and rock anchor beam witness greater spatial deformation compared with the arch area from a spatial perspective, and from the point of time the time-related deformation presents a step growth, which tends to eventually converge. The failure mechanism is also discussed, where fiercer stress redistribution and denser cracks account for the greater deformation of the multi-freeface surrounding rock mass. In general, a wide range of underground powerhouse stability issues has arisen with respect to huge-scale and adverse geological conditions since the construction of the Baihetan Hydropower Station, and settling these issues will undoubtedly have milestone significance with regard to the construction and development of hydropower engineering projects among the worldwide. Highlights • Spatial-temporal characteristics of deformation in powerhouse are studied. • Deformation at different location in powerhouse is analyzed contrastively. • Large deformation evolution of multi-freeface surrounding rock mass is discussed. • Failure mechanism of multi-freeface surrounding rock mass is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate the effects of carbon-nitrogen ratio (CNR) on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission and quantify N 2 O spatial distribution in subsurface wastewater infiltration system (SWIS), layered sampling method was introduced. Results showed that low N 2 O emission rate (1.43 mg/m 2 ·h) and conversion rate (0.1% accounting for influent TN) were obtained when CNR increased up to as high as 10. The highest N 2 O emission (3.14 mg/m 2 ·h) was observed at CNR of 6. Instead, independent of CNR variations, 0–75 cm was the main contributor for N 2 O emission. The results indicated that layered sampling method is necessary in revealing N 2 O spatial distribution in soil layers. Carbon source availability and nitrogen load and their ratio (i.e. CNR) determined N 2 O emission rate. CNR of medium level leads to an increase in N 2 O emission rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the excavation process of the underground powerhouse caverns at the Houziyan Hydropower Station, some failure phenomena (including split, spalling, ballooning and cracking of the shotcrete layer) occurred and posed a great threat to the safety of the structure, construction equipment and people's lives. Monitoring data show that the surrounding rock mass deformation at several locations (more than 17% of the total monitoring points) is larger than 50 mm after the sixth step of excavation, which is beyond the average deformation of completed underground main powerhouse caverns under similar scale and in-situ stress conditions in China. The field investigations, monitoring data and numerical simulations indicate that high second principal stress with a direction sub-vertical to the axis of the main powerhouse has a remarkable effect on the deformation and failure of the underground powerhouse. The failure types along the depth of the high sidewall at the main powerhouse can be identified as peeling off at the surface and slabbing and spalling at the near surface and deeper tension fracture failure. The failure at the high sidewall of the main powerhouse has obvious time effects. Expanding the deep fractures, tension and sliding of weak structural planes is highly correlated with the increase of the deformations, and the high second principal stress leads to an increase of the dynamic unloading effects and unloading relaxation degree, which lead to a higher occurrence of crack expansion and deep fractures. Meanwhile, the relatively high second principal stress exacerbated the stress concentration at the upstream spandrel and downstream arch foot of the main powerhouse and led to serious ballooning and cracking of the shotcrete layer and split failure of the surrounding rock mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides falling into water bodies can generate impulsive waves. The process of wave generation induced by far subaerial granular landslide has been investigated through series physical experiments. The slide Froude number has been quantified considered the parameters of slide mass and water such as grain size, water depth and impact angle. The effect of impact angle, grain size and water depth on the variation of generated wave amplitude is 0.11%, 1.52% and 2.89% respectively when every 1% change in the value of the parameter. On the three governing parameters the water depth is the most sensitive to the wave amplitude, secondly the grain size and final for the impact angle. The intruding pattern of granular debris, the landslide generated wave types and maximum wave amplitude have been systematically discussed. The degree of impact interaction between the slides and water under different conditions is characterized by the value of the slide Froude number, and the empirical relationships linking the slide Froude number with the produced wave amplitude and wave classifications have been conducted based on experimental data, which is useful to illustrate the triggering mechanisms and dynamic process of impact landslide waves on high debris avalanches. • Landslide-generated wave experiments from subaerial granular debris were conducted in different conditions. • Degree of impact interaction between slides and water can be characterized by value of slide Froude number. • Wave classification and maximum amplitude of landslide generated wave were quantized based on slide Froude number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Three new iridoid glucosides, 6″-O-trans-feruloylgenipin gentiobioside (1), 2′-O-trans-caffeoylgardoside (2), jasmigeniposide A (3), and one new bis-iridoid glucoside, jasmigeniposide B (4), along with six known analogues (5–10), were isolated from the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and chemical methods. Anti-virus activity of isolated compounds were evaluated in vitro and only compound 9 showed moderate inhibitory activity against H1N1 with 50% effective concentration (EC50) value of 104.36μM, and selective index (SI) value greater than 4.79. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background & Aims: Immunodominance is an important feature of antiviral, antitumor, and antibacterial cellular immune responses, but it is not well demonstrated in the immune responses against Helicobacter pylori. Antigen-specific CD4+ T cells protect mice against infection with H pylori. We investigated the immunodominant CD4+ T-cell response to neuraminyllactose-binding hemagglutinin (HpaA), which is a conserved, H pylori–specific colonization factor that is being investigated as an antigen for vaccination strategies. Methods: HpaA-specific CD4+ T cells were expanded with autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells that had been incubated with recombinant HpaA and characterized using overlapping synthetic peptides. We compared the percentage of CD4+ T cells with specificity for HpaA88–100, restricted to HLA-DRB1*1501, among 59 H pylori–infected subjects with different gastric diseases. Results: We identified and characterized several immunodominant CD4+ T-cell epitopes derived from HpaA. The immunodominant CD4+ T-cell responses specific to HpaA88–100 were observed in most H pylori–infected individuals who expressed HLA-DRB1*1501 and were significantly more abundant in patients with less severe diseases (P < .05). Conclusions: The HLA-DRB1*1501–restricted immunodominant CD4+ T-cell response to HpaA88–100 is associated with reduced risk of severe gastric diseases. Further study of these and other immunodominant CD4+ T-cell responses to H pylori will provide insight into mechanisms of protective immunity and aid in vaccine design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Kasabach–Merritt syndrome (KMS) refers to the combination of large neonatal vascular tumors and thrombocytopenic coagulopathy. However, a standard treatment regimen for KMS has not yet been established. We report a case of a 6-week-old male infant with life-threatening KMS who was successfully treated with transarterial embolization and corticosteroids. One week after initiating the corticosteroid treatment, his platelet counts recovered, and the lesion growth halted. The approach with corticosteroid therapy resulted in an excellent response that was maintained long enough for us to perform transarterial embolization therapy. The combination of transarterial embolization and corticosteroid therapy should be considered as an option for Kasabach–Merritt syndrome. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Vaccine-mediated Th1-biased CD4+ T cell responses have been shown to be crucial for protection against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). In this study, we investigated whether a vaccine composed of CD4+ T cell epitopes together with Th1 adjuvants could confer protection against H. pylori in a mouse model. We constructed an epitope-based vaccine, designated Epivac, which was composed of predicted immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitopes from H. pylori adhesin A (HpaA), urease B (UreB) and cytotoxin-associated gene A product (CagA). Together with four different Th1 adjuvants, Epivac was administered subcutaneously and the prophylactic potential was examined. Compared to non-immunized mice, immunization with Epivac alone or with a Th1 adjuvant significantly reduced H. pylori colonization, and better protection was observed when an adjuvant was used. Immunized mice exhibited a strong local and systemic Th1-biased immune response, which may contribute to the inhibition of H. pylori colonization. Though a significant specific antibody response was induced by the vaccine, no correlation was found between the intensity of the humoral response and the protective effect. Our results suggest that a vaccine containing CD4+ T cell epitopes is a promising candidate for protection against H. pylori infection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The subsurface wastewater infiltration (SWI) system proved to be an effective and low-cost technique for decentralized sewage treatment in areas without adequate domestic treatment facilities. Field-scale experiments were conducted through a deep SWI system, with effective depth of 1.5m, under hydraulic loading rates of 0.040, 0.065, 0.081 and 0.10m3/m2 d. Taking the hydraulic and treatment efficiencies into consideration, the hydraulic loading rate of 0.081m3/m2 d was recommended. Under this condition, NH3–N, TN, and COD removal efficiencies were 86.2±3.0, 80.7±1.9 and 84.8±2.1%, respectively. In the effluent, NH3–N concentration declined to 2.3–4.4mg/L, accounting for 63.2–65.6% of TN. NO3–N concentration increased from 0.2 to 0.3mg/L in the influent to 2.0–2.5mg/L in the effluent. The nitrifying bacteria number declined with increased depth, while the amount of denitrifying bacteria increased. The analysis of results about the nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria distribution indicated that the most effective ranges for nitrification and denitrification process were 0.3–0.7m and 0.7–1.5m, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using dc magnetron sputtering, Fe/Pt/Au multilayer films were prepared, and the effects of Au layer thickness and annealing temperature on structure and magnetic properties of the Fe/Pt/Au multilayer films were investigated. The as-deposited Fe/Pt/Au multilayer films have good periodic structure with composition modulation along the growth direction. The stress stored in the as-deposited films promoted the ordering of the films annealed at 400°C. When the films were annealed at 500°C, the thicker Au layer could restrain the order–disorder transformation region volume and lead to the decrease of the ordered volume fraction with Au layer thickness increasing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of caffeic acid amide derivatives 2-cyano-(3-substituted phenyl)acrylamides were synthesized via Knoevenogal condensation of substituted benzaldehydes with cyanoacetamides. The structure of compound 1f was determined as E-isomer by X-ray diffractive analysis. The biological screening tests in vitro showed that compound 1b has obvious inhibitory activities against human gastric carcinoma cell line BGC-823, human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line KB and human hepatoma cell line BEL-7402 with IC50 values of 5.6μg/mL, 13.1μg/mL and 12.5μg/mL, respectively. Some preliminary structure–activity relationships (SAR) were also proposed which may provide a direction for further study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Forty caffeate analogues were synthesized via a convenient method starting from vanillin with moderate to good yields. The testing of biological activity of these compounds against HIV-1 integrase indicates that four compounds: bornyl caffeate, bornyl 2-nitrocaffeate, 5-nitrocaffeic acid and 5-nitrocaffeic acid phenethyl ester (5-nitroCAPE) possess a good HIV integrase inhibitory activity, IC50 19.9, 26.8, 25.0 and 13.5μM, respectively. Twelve caffeate analogues were tested by MTT assay on growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma BEL-7404, human breast MCF-7 adenocarcinoma, human lung A549 adenocarcinoma and human gastric cancer BCG823 cell lines, respectively. And the best result is IC50 5.5μM for CAPE against BEL-7404. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Polycrystalline La0.65−x Eu x Sr0.35MnO3 (x =0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.30) samples are prepared by sol–gel method, and all of them have a single hexagonal perovskite structure, revealed by X-ray diffraction. The working temperature of the potential cooling material can be changed easily by La-site doping, which is beneficial for the future application in various temperature ranges. Upon an application of a magnetic field of 15kOe, it is found that the maximum isothermal entropy change (ΔS M) for the La0.65−x Eu x Sr0.35MnO3 with x =0.20, reaching a value of 1.67Jkg−1 K−1, occurs at relatively low temperature 301K. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]