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Diosgenin, a steroidal sapogenin, has attracted attention worldwide owing to its pharmacological properties, including antitumor, cardiovascular protective, hypolipidemic, and anti-inflammatory effects. The current diosgenin analysis methods have the disadvantages of long analysis time and low sensitivity. The aim of the present study was to establish an efficient, sensitive ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) approach for pharmacokinetic analysis of diosgenin amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) using tanshinone IIA as an internal standard (IS). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered diosgenin ASD, and orbital blood samples were collected for analysis. Protein precipitation was performed with methanol-acetonitrile (50 : 50, v/v), and the analytes were separated under isocratic elution by applying acetonitrile and 0.03% formic acid aqueous solution at a ratio of 80 : 20 as the mobile phase. MS with positive electron spray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring modes was applied to determine diosgenin and IS with m/z 415.2⟶271.2 and m/z 295.2⟶277.1, respectively. This approach showed a low limit of quantification of 0.5 ng/ml for diosgenin and could detect this molecule at a concentration range of 0.5 to 1,500 ng/ml (r = 0.99725). The approach was found to have intra- and inter-day precision values ranging from 1.42% to 6.91% and from 1.25% to 3.68%, respectively. Additionally, the method showed an accuracy of -6.54 to 4.71%. The recoveries of diosgenin and tanshinone IIA were 85.81–100.27% and 98.29%, respectively, with negligible matrix effects. Diosgenin and IS were stable under multiple storage conditions. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the Cmax and AUC0⟶t of diosgenin ASD were significantly higher than those of the bulk drug. A sensitive, simple, UPLC-MS/MS analysis approach was established and used for the pharmacokinetic analysis of diosgenin ASD in rats after oral administration.

Besides biotechnology, nano-CT, the ideal technology, can also be used to observe three-dimensional nanostructures in intact cells as part of research into the characteristics of tight oil characteristics. There are few applications in the process and it is still in the early stage of development, but the advantages shown by 3D nanostructure technology are very strong and have strong applicability. Even in the face of tight oil reservoirs with poor physical properties, rapid decline in oil production after volume fracturing, and low oil recovery, it also shows very strong advantages. In order to promote the study of tight oil characteristics and avoid various problems, this article studies the characteristics of tight oil reservoirs based on nano-CT. The results show that the introduction of nano-CT technology into the study of tight oil reservoir characteristics can meet the market demand of tight oil and increase by 3.54%. It can continuously expand and develop rich oil resources under the condition of protecting geology and reservoirs, providing strong technical support for the next generation of large-scale tight oil storage and efficient growth, and can be used to a certain extent for research. The resulting reservoir characteristics solve the problem of excess resources.

Quantum machine learning is emerging as a strategy to solve real-world problems. As a quantum computing model, parameterized quantum circuits provide an approach for constructing quantum machine learning algorithms, which may either realize computational acceleration or achieve better algorithm performance than classical algorithms. Based on the parameterized quantum circuit, we propose a hybrid quantum-classical convolutional neural network (HQCCNN) model for image classification that comprises both quantum and classical components. The quantum convolutional layer is designed using a parameterized quantum circuit. It is used to perform linear unitary transformation on the quantum state to extract hidden information. In addition, the quantum pooling unit is used to perform pooling operations. After the evolution of the quantum system, we measure the quantum state and input the measurement results into a classical fully connected layer for further processing. We demonstrate its potential by applying HQCCNN to the MNIST dataset. Compared to a convolutional neural network in a similar architecture, the results reveal that HQCCNN has a faster training speed and higher testing set accuracy than a convolutional neural network.

Myocardial fibrosis is the main morphological change of ventricular remodelling caused by cardiovascular diseases, mainly manifested due to the excessive production of collagen proteins. SRY-related high mobility group-box gene 9 (SOX9) is a new target regulating myocardial fibrosis. Bellidifolin (BEL), the active component of G. acuta, can prevent heart damage. However, it is unclear whether BEL can regulate SOX9 to alleviate myocardial fibrosis. The mice were subjected to isoproterenol (ISO) to establish myocardial fibrosis, and human myocardial fibroblasts (HCFs) were activated by TGF-β1 in the present study. The pathological changes of cardiac tissue were observed by HE staining. Masson staining was applied to reveal the collagen deposition in the heart. The measurement for expression of fibrosis-related proteins, SOX9, and TGF-β1 signalling molecules adopted Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The effects of BEL on HCFs, activity were detected by CCK-8. The result showed that BEL did not affect cell viability. And, the data indicated that BEL inhibited the elevations in α-SMA, Collagen I, and Collagen III by decreasing SOX9 expression. Additionally, SOX9 suppression by siRNA downregulated the TGF-β1 expression and prevented Smad3 phosphorylation, as supported by reducing the expression of α-SMA, Collagen I, and Collagen III. In vivo study verified that BEL ameliorated myocardial fibrosis by inhibiting SOX9. Therefore, BEL inhibited SOX9 to block TGF-β1 signalling activation to ameliorate myocardial fibrosis.

Nowadays, people’s demand for underground mineral resources is increasing, and geological disasters have occurred frequently in recent years. Geological disasters refer to geological effects or geological phenomena that are formed under the action of natural or man-made factors, causing loss of human life and property, and damage to the environment; such as landslides, collapses, mudslides, and ground subsidence. Under such a background, people must accelerate the exploration of complex geological structures. This paper is aimed at using the methods and concepts of deep reinforcement learning. Deep learning is to learn the inherent laws and representation levels of sample data. The information obtained during these learning processes is of great help to the interpretation of data such as text and images. In this way, the fine geology of complex fault-block reservoirs is modeled and studied. Geological structures and phenomena are discussed through convolutional neural network models and computer techniques. At the same time, the multitask bird recognition network is used to extract and classify geological images, so as to construct geological model maps with different spatial structures. Finally, the quality of the fault reconstruction model, the calculation of reservoir geological simulation reserves, and the evaluation of the water injection development effect of complex fault blocks are analyzed. In the evaluation of the development effect of water injection in complex fault blocks, comparing the relationship curve between the actual comprehensive water content and the oil recovery factor with the standard curve, the comprehensive water content of the initial block increased rapidly. Through timely and dynamic water allocation and comprehensive management, the water cut rising speed is controlled. The current comprehensive water cut of the reservoir is between 60% and 80%, the actual curve is between 25% and 35%, and the estimated waterflooding recovery is about 30%.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption along with the recent emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) applications provides many unique knowledge and decision-making abilities all through the built environment’s life cycle. The ability to connect online sensors utilized in surroundings in real time has led to the definition of the Digital Twin (DT) of the Building Design. The goal of Digital Twins is to synchronize the physical world with a virtual platform for seamless management and control of the construction process, infrastructure solutions, environmental monitoring, and other life span processes within building design. Most of the researchers focused on either BIM or DT in the construction of building application. In this research work, a novel hybrid model of Digital Twin-Building Information Modeling (DT-BIM) is proposed. This model does the process of identifying the shortage of resources, analyzing requirement, performing decision, dispatching the resources, and updating all the process in the database with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Hence, this hybrid model provides improved results when compared to the implementation of the individual technology to the same application. The study results revealed that these hybrid technologies help in assisting the dispatch systems in the construction projects to a greater extent.

Trigger-action programming (TAP) is an intelligent tool, which makes it easy for users to make intelligent rules for IoT devices and applications. Unfortunately, with the popularization of TAP and more and more rules, the rule chain from multiple rules appears gradually and brings more and more threats. Previous work pays more attention to the construction of the security model, but few people focus on how to accurately identify the rule chain from multiple rules. Inaccurate identification of rule chains will lead to the omission of rule chains with threats. This paper proposes a rule chain recognition model based on multiple features, TapChain, which can more accurately identify the rule chain without source code. We design a correction algorithm for TapChain to help us get the correct NLP analysis results. We extract 12 features from 5 aspects of the rules to make the recognition of the rule chain more accurate. According to the evaluation, compared with the previous work, the accuracy rate of TapChain is increased by 3.1%, the recall rate is increased by 1.4%, and the precision rate can reach 88.2%. More accurate identification of the rule chain can help to better implement the security policies and better balance security and availability. What’s more, according to the rule chain that TapChain can recognize, there is a new kind of rule chain with threats. We give the relevant case studies in the evaluation.

Background. An increasing number of studies have indicated that the abnormal expression of certain long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is linked to the overall survival (OS) of patients with myeloma. Methods. Gene expression data of myeloma patients were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE4581 and GSE57317). Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed to construct and validate the prediction model. Single sample gene set enrichment (ssGSEA) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were used to predict the function of a specified lncRNA. Results. In this study, a seven-lncRNA signature was identified and used to construct a risk score system for myeloma prognosis. This system was used to stratify patients with different survival rates in the training set into high-risk and low-risk groups. Test set, the entire test set, the external validation set, and the myeloma subtype achieved the authentication of the results. In addition, functional enrichment analysis indicated that 7 prognostic lncRNAs may be involved in the tumorigenesis of myeloma through cancer-related pathways and biological processes. The results of the immune score showed that IF_I was negatively correlated with the risk score. Compared with the published gene signature, the 7-lncRNA model has a higher C-index (above 0.8). Conclusion. In summary, our data provide evidence that seven lncRNAs could be used as independent biomarkers to predict the prognosis of myeloma, which also indicated that these 7 lncRNAs may be involved in the progression of myeloma.

Double primary support structures could effectively solve the problem of large deformation of surrounding rock for soft rock tunnels. However, the mechanical behavior of this new support structure is still incomplete, and the design method should be revised. Based on the theory of energy conversion, this paper analyzes the support characteristic curve of double primary support and puts forward the dynamic design method of double primary support. Considering that the secondary lining can be set after monitoring the deformation amount and deformation rate of the first primary support, its support parameters can be dynamically adjusted according to the actual situation. By applying the double primary support design method in the Maoxian tunnel of Chenglan Railway, the field monitoring results show that the double primary support has a significant effect on the energy release of surrounding rocks, greatly reducing the load acting on the secondary lining and ensuring the safety and reliability of the tunnel structure.

Exonic deletions and duplications within DMD are the main pathogenic variants in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD). However, few studies have profiled the flanking sequences of breakpoints and the potential mechanism underlying the breakpoints in different fragile regions of DMD. In this study, 896 Chinese male probands afflicted with DMD/BMD were selected from unrelated families and analyzed using multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification of the DMD gene, in which we identified exon deletions in 784 subjects and duplications in 112 subjects. Deletions occurred most frequently in the genomic region encompassing exons 45–55, accounting for 73% of all deletion patterns. Furthermore, to unravel the potential mechanism that induced breaks, DMD gene capture and sequencing were performed to identify the breakpoints in 37 subjects with deletions encompassing exons 45–55 of DMD; we found that DMD instability did not arise from a single cause; instead, long‐sequence motifs, nonconsensus microhomologies, low‐copy repeats, and microindels were embedded around the breakpoints, which may predispose DMD to instability. In summary, this study highlights the heterogeneous characteristics of the flanking sequences around the breakpoints and helps us to understand the mechanism underlying DMD gene instability., In this study, we discovered that DMD instability did not arise from a single cause; instead, long sequence motifs, nonconsensus microhomologies, micro indels, low‐copy repeats and micro indels were embedded around the breakpoints, which may predispose DMD to instability.

We discuss a continuum-based model describing the deformations of lipid membranes subjected to intramembrane viscosity. Within the frame work of the theory of an elastic surface, the membrane equilibrium equations and the expressions of viscous stress are obtained. The corresponding deformation energy of the membrane is computed via the first and second fundamental form of surface. A compatible linear model is also formulated within the prescription of superposed incremental deformations through which the deformation profiles of the membrane is obtained. It is shown that the intramembrane viscous flow gives rise to straining effects on the membranes. Further, the corresponding dynamic edge conditions reduce to purely elastic boundary conditions in the limit of vanishing viscous effects. Lastly, admissible sets of velocity fields are also examined and are used to formulate membrane shape equations and the associated dynamic boundary conditions.

Image hashing schemes have been widely used in content authentication, image retrieval, and digital forensic. In this paper, a novel image hashing algorithm (SSL) by incorporating the most stable keypoints and local region features is proposed, which is robust against various content-preserving manipulations, even multiple combinatorial manipulations. The proposed algorithm combines S_cale invariant feature transform (SIFT) with S_aliency detection to extract the most stable keypoints. Then, the L_ocal binary pattern (LBP) feature extraction method is exploited to generate local region features based on these keypoints. After that, the information of keypoints and local region features are merged into a hash vector. Finally, a secret key is used to randomize the hash vector, which can prevent attackers from forging the image and the hash value. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed hashing algorithm can identify visually similar images which are under both single and combinatorial content-preserving manipulations, even multiple combinations of manipulations. It can also identify maliciously forged images which are under various content-changing manipulations. The collision probability between hashes of different images is nearly zero. Besides, the evaluation of key-dependent security shows that the proposed scheme is secure that an attacker cannot forge or estimate the correct hash value without the knowledge of the secret key.

In this study, a chemical investigation on the fruits of Livistona chinensis (FLC) led to the isolation and identification of 45 polyphenols and 5 alkaloids, including two new compounds (Livischinol (1) and Livischinine A (46)), an undescribed compound (47) and 47 known compounds. FLC was predicted with novel potential antidiabetic function by collecting and analyzing the potential targets of the ingredients. Compound 32 exhibited significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity ( I C 50 = 5.71 μM) and 1, 6, and 44 showed the PTP1B inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 9.41-22.19 μM, while that of oleanolic acid was 28.58 μM. The competitive inhibitors of PTP1B (compounds 1 and 44) formed strong binding affinity, with catalytic active sites, proved by kinetic analysis, fluorescence spectra measurements, and computational simulations, and stimulated glucose uptake in the insulin-resistant HepG2 cells at the dose of 50 μM. In addition, FLC was rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds so that they could be developed as nutraceuticals against diabetes.

We recently showed that both nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and its surface plasminogen- (Plg-) binding proteins interact with lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) in a lysine-dependent manner. Because Lp(a) can be taken up by macrophages, we postulated that it serves as an opsonin to enhance phagocytosis of NTHi by macrophages. Based on colony-forming unit (CFU) counts, Lp(a) was found to increase U937 macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of NTHi49247 and NTHi49766 by 34% and 43%, respectively, after 120 min. In contrast, Lp(a) did not enhance phagocytosis of Escherichia coli BL21 or E. coli JM109, which were unable to bind to Lp(a). As with U937 macrophages, Lp(a) was capable of increasing phagocytosis of NTHi49247 by peripheral blood mononuclear cell-derived macrophages. Opsonic phagocytosis by Lp(a) was inhibited by the addition of recombinant kringle IV type 10 (rKIV10), a lysine-binding competitor; moreover, Lp(a) did not increase phagocytosis of NTHi by U937 macrophages that were pretreated with a monoclonal antibody against the scavenger receptor CD36. Taken together, our observation suggests that Lp(a) might serve as a lysine-binding opsonin to assist macrophages in rapid recognition and phagocytosis of NTHi.

Up to now only nine whole genome sequences of avian avulavirus 6 (AAvV‐6) had been documented in the world since the first discovery of AAvV‐6 (AAvV‐6/duck/HongKong/18/199/77) at a domestic duck in 1977 from Hong Kong of China. Very limited information is known about the regularities of transmission, genetic and biological characteristics of AAvV‐6 because of the lower isolation rate and mild losses for poultry industry. To better further explore the relationships among above factors, an AAvV‐6 epidemiological surveillance of domestic poultry and wild birds in six provinces of China suspected of sites of inter‐species transmission and being intercontinental flyways during the year 2013–2017 was conducted. Therefore, 9,872 faecal samples from wild birds and 1,642 cloacal and tracheal swab samples from clinically healthy poultry of live bird market (LBM) were collected respectively. However, only one novel hemagglutination‐negative AAvV‐6 isolate (AAvV‐6/mallard/Hubei/2015) was isolated from a fresh faecal sample obtained from mallard at a wetland of Hubei province. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of this AAvV‐6 isolate (AAvV‐6/mallard/Hubei/2015) indicated that this isolate grouping to genotype I were epidemiological intercontinentally linked with viruses from the wild birds in Europe and America. Meanwhile, at least two genotypes (I and II) are existed within serotype AAvV‐6. In additional, this novel hemagglutination‐negative AAvV‐6 isolate in chicken embryos restored its hemagglutination when pre‐treated with trypsin. These findings, together with data from other AAvV‐6, suggest potential epidemiological intercontinental spreads among AAvV‐6 transmission by wild migratory birds, and reveal potential threats to wild birds and domestic poultry worldwide.

Objective. To investigate the effect of EA on regional cerebral blood flow, cognitive deficits, inflammation, and its probable mechanisms in chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI) rats.Methods. Rats were assigned randomly into sham operation group (sham group) and operation group. For operation group, CCI model was performed using the permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) method, and then rats were further randomly divided into model group and electroacupuncture (EA) group. 2/15 Hz low-frequency pulse electric intervention was applied at “Baihui” and “Dazhui” acupoints in EA group. Four weeks later, Morris water maze test was adopted to assess the cognitive function, using laser Doppler flowmetry to test changes of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF); double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) to measure proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β); western blot to test the protein expression quantities of proinflammatory cytokines, JAK2, and STAT3; and RT-PCR to test JAK2 mRNA and STAT3 mRNA in the hippocampus in each group.Results. Compared with the model group, learning and memory abilities and rCBF and IL-6 expression of the EA group enhanced markedly; IL-1βand JAK2 significantly decreased; TNF-αand STAT3 also declined, but the difference was not apparent.Conclusion. Our research suggests that EA can improve cognitive deficits which may be induced by increasing rCBF and anti-inflammatory effect.

Neuroinflammation has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Electroacupuncture (EA) is an irreplaceable method in traditional Chinese medicine that is used for treating neurodegenerative diseases in clinical and experimental studies. The aim of this study was to examine whether EA improves cognitive dysfunction caused by surgery and to investigate the pathological mechanism of TLR2 and TLR4 in the hippocampus of aged rats. A rat model of POCD was established and treated with EA or minocycline. Both EA- and minocycline-treated rats performed significantly better than untreated operated rats in spatial memory tasks of the Morris water maze (MWM) test, spending comparatively greater amounts of time in the target zone during the probe test. Additionally, decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and HMGB1) and decreased TLR2 and TLR4 protein expression in the hippocampus of EA- and minocycline-treated rats were detected. Our data suggested that EA treatment alleviated the cognition performance deficit and neuroinflammation in aged rats following surgery, which may be mediated by inhibiting the expression of hippocampal neuroinflammatory cytokines through the microglia/TLR2/4 pathway.

The macerals, including fusinitic coal containing 72.20% inertinite and xyloid coal containing 91.43% huminite, were separated from Shengli lignite using an optical microscope, and their combustion reactivity was examined by thermogravimetric analysis. Several combustion parameters, including ignition and burnout indices, were analyzed, and the combustion kinetics of the samples were calculated by regression. Fusinitic coal presented a porous structure, while xyloid coal presented a compact structure. The specific surface area of fusinitic coal was 2.5 times larger than that of xyloid coal, and the light-off temperature of the former was higher than that of the latter. However, the overall combustion reactivity of fusinitic coal was better than that of xyloid coal. The combustion processes of fusinitic and xyloid coals can be accurately described by both the homogeneous model and the shrinking core model. The features of xyloid coal agree with the shrinking core model when its conversion rate is 10%–90%. The activation energy of fusinitic coal during combustion can be divided into three phases, with the middle phase featuring the highest energy. The activation energy of xyloid coal is lower than that of fusinitic coal in the light-off phase, which may explain the low light-off temperature of this coal.

With the rapid development of mobile devices and wireless technologies, mobile social networks become increasingly available. People can implement many applications on the basis of mobile social networks. Secure computation, like exchanging information and file sharing, is one of such applications. Fairness in secure computation, which means that either all parties implement the application or none of them does, is deemed as an impossible task in traditional secure computation without mobile social networks. Here we regard the applications in mobile social networks as specific functions and stress on the achievement of fairness on these functions within mobile social networks in the presence of two rational parties. Rational parties value their utilities when they participate in secure computation protocol in mobile social networks. Therefore, we introduce reputation derived from mobile social networks into the utility definition such that rational parties have incentives to implement the applications for a higher utility. To the best of our knowledge, the protocol is the first fair secure computation in mobile social networks. Furthermore, it finishes within constant rounds and allows both parties to know the terminal round.

An online resistance grain moisture detector is designed, based on the model of the relationship between measurement frequency and grain moisture and the nonlinear correction method of temperature. The detector consists of lower computer, the core function of which is the sensing of grain resistance values which is based on V/F conversion, and upper computer, the core function of which is the conversion of moisture and frequency and the nonlinear correction of temperature. The performance of the online moisture detector is tested in a self-designed experimental system; the test and analysis results indicate that the precision and stability of the detector can reach the level of the similar products, which can be still improved.

The presence of residual stress in steel members can significantly compromise the stiffness and fatigue life of steel structural components. This influence becomes more serious for the wide butt welds in the construction of large-sized steel members due to the different residual stress distribution from the normal size butt welds. This paper experimentally studied the residual stress in the wide butt welds through an 8-experiment test program. High residual stress was produced during the wide butt welding and this stress was observed to be even higher than the yield strength of the steel. Moreover, this residual stress in the steel plate was firstly compressive and then transferred into tensile stress with the increase in the distance away from the butt weld line. The magnitude of the residual stress increased with the increase in the width of the welding seams. This paper also developed a finite element model by SYSWELD to simulate the residual stress produced by the wide butt welding. The accuracy of the FE simulation was checked by the reported test results. In order to reduce the residual stress, the ultrasonic peening method was adopted. The analysis results indicated that ultrasonic peening method effectively reduced the residual stress caused by the wide butt welding during the construction.

Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a serious pathogenic threat to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and other salmonids. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphisms have been closely linked to disease susceptibility. In this study, polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism, cloning and sequencing were used to examine MHC class II β chain gene (DAB) polymorphisms and analyse their association with IHNV in rainbow trout. The DAB exon 2 was amplified from 104 resistant and 91 susceptible fish. Forty-five different alleles were identified, 30 of which were novel. Individuals possessed between one and four alleles, indicating that the genome harbours at least two closely related DAB exon 2 loci. The percentages of amino acid mutations in the peptide binding region (PBR) and non-PBR were 66.67% and 45.28% respectively. The rate of non-synonymous substitutions occurred at a significantly higher frequency than synonymous substitutions, suggesting the existence of balancing selection for maintenance of polymorphisms at the DAB exon 2 locus. The alleles Onmy-DAB*0201 (P

Objective. To elucidate the extent of food contamination by enterohemorrhagicEscherichia coli(EHEC) O157 in Eastern China.Methods. A total of 1100 food and animal fecal samples were screened for EHEC O157. Then, molecular characterization of each isolate was determined.Results. EHEC O157 was isolated as follows: pig feces, 4% (20/500); cattle feces, 3.3% (2/60); chicken feces, 1.43% (2/140); pork, 2.14% (3/140), milk, 1.67% (1/60); and chicken meat, 1.67% (1/60). Thestx1,stx2,eae, andhlyAgenes were present in 26.7% (8/30), 40% (12/30), 63.3% (19/30), and 50% (15/30) of the O157 isolates, respectively. Molecular typing showed that strains from fecal and food samples were clustered into the same molecular typing group. Furthermore, the isolates from pork and pig feces possessed the same characterization as the clinical strains ATCC35150 and ATCC43889. Biofilm formation assays showed that 53.3% of the EHEC O157 isolates could produce biofilm. However, composite analyses showed that biofilm formation of EHEC O157 was independent of genetic background.Conclusions. Animal feces, especially from pigs, serve as reservoirs for food contamination by EHEC O157. Thus, it is important to control contamination by EHEC O157 on farms and in abattoirs to reduce the incidence of foodborne infections in humans.

Summary Infectious hematopoietic necrosis is a serious viral disease of salmonids, including rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, and causes tremendous economic losses to the rainbow trout farming industry. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are crucial elements of adaptive immunity in vertebrate organisms and have been linked with the resistance to numerous pathogenic diseases. In this study, polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) followed by cloning and sequencing were used to examine polymorphisms in the DAA genes (specifically DAA exon 2 of MHC class IIα) of rainbow trout and investigate their association with the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) resistance in rainbow trout. Seventeen alleles were resolved, including 13 novel alleles. Individuals possessed between two and five alleles, indicating that the genome harbours at least three closely-related DAA exon 2 loci. The ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitutions suggested that DAA exon 2 is under positive selection. A greater variability of amino acids and non-synonymous nucleotide substitution rate was evident in the peptide-binding region (PBR) than in the non-PBR (27.75%). Importantly, the analyses revealed that certain MHC class IIα alleles appear to confer resistance to IHNV in rainbow trout, while others confer susceptibility. The most common alleles in the resistant populations of rainbow trout, Onmy-DAA*1301 and Onmy-DAA*0304, confer resistance to IHNV and were not present in the susceptible population. Hence, these alleles may be ideal molecular markers that can assist the breeding of IHNV resistance in rainbow trout.

Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) is used to make TiO2working electrodes for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Different CIP processes, varying pressures from 50 MPa to 200 MPa and holding time 1 s up to 600 s, are performed to study the effect of CIP on the resistivity of TiO2electrode thin films and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSCs. The results show that the CIP process has significantly improved the PCE of DSC devices. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis indicates a clear correlation between the PCE enhancement and the resistivity reduction in TiO2thin films after various CIP processes. Porosity reduction and localized joints formed between some TiO2nanoparticles due to the friction heat in the CIP process are believed to be responsible for the resistivity reduction of the TiO2working electrode thin films.

Because of concerns about indoor air quality, there is growing awareness of the need to reduce the rate at which indoor materials and products emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To meet consumer demand for low emitting products, manufacturers are increasingly submitting materials to independent laboratories for emissions testing. However, the same product tested by different laboratories can result in very different emissions profiles because of a general lack of test validation procedures. There is a need for a reference material that can be used as a known emissions source and that will have the same emission rate when tested by different laboratories under the same conditions. A reference material was created by loading toluene into a polymethyl pentene film. A fundamental emissions model was used to predict the toluene emissions profile. Measured VOC emissions profiles using small-chamber emissions tests compared reasonably well to the emissions profile predicted using the emissions model, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach to create a diffusion-controlled reference material. Practical Implications To calibrate emissions test chambers and improve the reproducibility of VOC emission measurements among different laboratories, a reference material has been created using a polymer film loaded with a representative VOC. Initial results show that the film’s VOC emission profile measured in a conventional test chamber compares well to predictions based on independently determined material/chemical properties and a fundamental emissions model. The use of such reference materials has the potential to build consensus and confidence in emissions testing as well as ‘level the playing field’ for product testing laboratories and manufacturers.

The concept and the model of water potential, which were widely used in agricultural field, have been proved to be beneficial in the application of vacuum drying model and have provided a new way to explore the grain drying model since being introduced to grain drying and storage fields. Aiming to overcome the shortcomings of traditional deep bed drying model, for instance, the application range of this method is narrow and such method does not apply to systems of which pressure would be an influential factor such as vacuum drying system in a way combining with water potential drying model. This study established a numerical simulation system of deep bed corn drying process which has been proved to be effective according to the results of numerical simulation and corresponding experimental investigation and has revealed that desorption and adsorption coexist in deep bed drying.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is an important public health problem with high rates of mortality, morbidity, and disability, but no clinically proven treatment strategy is available to date. Scalp acupuncture (SA) refers to a therapy for treating diseases by needling and stimulating the specific areas of the scalp. The evidence from clinical studies suggested that SA therapy may produce significant benefits for patients with acute ICH. However, the therapeutic mechanisms are yet not well addressed. Therefore, in this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview on the history and mechanisms of SA therapy on acute ICH. Although SA has been practiced for thousands of years in China and could date back to 5 BC, SA therapy for acute ICH develops only in the recent 30 years. The possible mechanisms associated with the therapeutic effects of SA on ICH include the influence on hematoma, brain edema, and blood brain barrier, the products released from haematoma, the immune and inflammatory reaction, focal perihemorrhagic hypoperfusion and hemorheology, neuroelectrophysiology, and so on. At last, the existence of instant effect of SA on acute ICH and its possible mechanisms are presented.

Drying plays an important role in the postharvesting process of grain. To ensure the quality of the dried grain and improve the intelligent level in drying process, a digital simulation of corn drying machine system based on a virtual instrument was established for 5HSZ dryer, automatically control the air temperature, and predict the discharging speed of grain and so forth. Finally, an online measurement and automated control software of grain parameters were developed to provide the changes of moisture, temperature, humidity, and germination rate in the process of drying. The study carried out in the actual processing showed that it can meet the requirements of the actual drying operation, effectively control the stability of the grain moisture, and keep the dry food quality.

Co-Fe-B films were prepared by electroless plating. As-deposited films were thermomagnetically treated in the applied magnetic field of 500 Oe with different field directions at 300°C for 1 hour. The effects of magnetic field direction of thermomagnetic treatment on the structure and magnetic properties of Co-Fe-B thin films were investigated. It is found that two phases existed in annealed Co-Fe-B films: one is weak crystallized CoFe phase, the other being amorphous phase. The surface morphologies of the treated films are found to be affected by the direction of thermomagnetic treatment field. The results also show that the magnetic properties of thermomagnetically treated films are influenced greatly by the treatment field direction.

Journal of nanomaterials 2010(894303), (2010). doi:10.1155/2010/894303, Published by Hindawi Publ., New York, NY