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Architected porosity in masonry structures can be created by transforming stock materials into a lattice of interlocking units through an automated batch process. Porous masonry forms numerous enclosed cavities for thermal performance and reduces material usage while maintaining structural integrity. This work investigates the potential and limits of digital tectonics of porous masonry through a complete process of design, manufacturing, and construction. The confluence of digital fabrication with tectonic exploration opens new dimensions unattainable by traditional stereotomy. Interlocking materials inspired by Abeille vault and digital stereotomy have made rapid progress. Following the theory of poetic construction, this work proposes that masonry construction should evoke visual or haptic enhancement through the fulfillment of pragmatic functions. We formulated a design challenge for a confined dry masonry wall for the envelope of the 2226 building. It assumes batch-cutting bespoke units out of large blocks of high-strength foam. Through a process of cutting and reassembling, the stock material is topologically expanded into a porous structure. A series of prototypes were developed to explore novel articulation, structural and thermal performance, and economical manufacturing. One can perceive the logic of porous construction through visual and haptic empathy. The materialization process interacts with the design masonry units and the interlocking mechanism. For future practice in masonry, the porosity should be planned at multiple scales (molecular scale, aggerate scale, construction scale) across the life cycle of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(K,Na)NbO3 based ceramics are considered to be one of the most promising lead-free ferroelectrics replacing Pb(Zr,Ti)O3. Despite extensive studies over the last two decades, the mechanism for the enhanced piezoelectricity in multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO3 ceramics has not been fully understood. Here, we combine temperature-dependent synchrotron x-ray diffraction and property measurements, atomic-scale scanning transmission electron microscopy, and first-principle and phase-field calculations to establish the dopant-structure-property relationship for multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO3 ceramics. Our results indicate that the dopants induced tetragonal phase and the accompanying high-density nanoscale heterostructures with low-angle polar vectors are responsible for the high dielectric and piezoelectric properties. This work explains the mechanism of the high piezoelectricity recently achieved in (K,Na)NbO3 ceramics and provides guidance for the design of high-performance ferroelectric ceramics, which is expected to benefit numerous functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Erdős-Rényi (ER) random graph G(n, p) analytically characterizes the behaviors in complex networks. However, attempts to fit real-world observations need more sophisticated structures (e.g., multilayer networks), rules (e.g., Achlioptas processes), and projections onto geometric, social, or geographic spaces. The p-adic number system offers a natural representation of hierarchical organization of complex networks. The p-adic random graph interprets n as the cardinality of a set of p-adic numbers. Constructing a vast space of hierarchical structures is equivalent for combining number sequences. Although the giant component is vital in dynamic evolution of networks, the structure of multiple big components is also essential. Fitting the sizes of the few largest components to empirical data was rarely demonstrated. The p-adic ultrametric enables the ER model to simulate multiple big components from the observations of genetic interaction networks, social networks, and epidemics. Community structures lead to multimodal distributions of the big component sizes in networks, which have important implications in intervention of spreading processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a variant of the timber grid shell, the timber Voronoi shell, whose surface is reticulated by Voronoi tessellation and whose edges are made of discrete dimensional timber. This work explores form-finding methods of the Voronoi shell as a compressive funicular shell. Two closed-form solutions to shape initialization are proposed. We develop methods for minimizing the deviation from coplanarity between timber members and adjacent surface normal in order to facilitate manufacturing. A well-defined fabrication process is important for making the physical structure consistent with the structural model. A 6-axis robot with a motor spindle is employed to prefabricate the timber so the in situ manual assembly becomes easier. A parametric model describes the joint details. We formulate the robotic toolpath as a closed-form function of the resultant mesh from form finding. Thus, a general-purpose programming language can directly implement the mesh optimization and manufacturing processes without CAD or CAM software. The physical implementations, including an exhibition pavilion, validated the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (HTT) is an important process shaping eukaryote genomes, yet very few studies have quantified this phenomenon on a large scale or have evaluated the selective constraints acting on transposable elements (TEs) during vertical and horizontal transmission. Here we screen 307 vertebrate genomes and infer a minimum of 975 independent HTT events between lineages that diverged more than 120 million years ago. HTT distribution greatly differs from null expectations, with 93.7% of these transfers involving ray-finned fishes and less than 3% involving mammals and birds. HTT incurs purifying selection (conserved protein evolution) on all TEs, confirming that producing functional transposition proteins is required for a TE to invade new genomes. In the absence of HTT, DNA transposons appear to evolve neutrally within genomes, unlike most retrotransposons, which evolve under purifying selection. This selection regime indicates that proteins of most retrotransposon families tend to process their own encoding RNA (cis-preference), which helps retrotransposons to persist within host lineages over long time periods. Horizontal transfer (HT) and evolution of transposable elements (TEs) has rarely been quantified on a large scale. Here, the authors screen 307 vertebrate genomes and infer 975 HT events (93% in ray-finned fishes); all TEs involved in HT evolve within genomes under purifying selection, as do most retrotransposons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial cells are important components of peripheral nerve stumps that contribute to Schwann cell migration and peripheral nerve regeneration. Let-7d modulates the phenotype of Schwann cells and affected peripheral nerve regeneration. However, the regulatory roles of let-7d on endothelial cells remain undetermined. In this study, by transfecting cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with let-7d mimic or let-7d inhibitor, we investigated the biological effects of let-7d on endothelial cells. EdU proliferation assay showed that upregulated let-7d decreased the proliferation rates of HUVECs while downregulated let-7d increased the proliferation rates of HUVECs. Transwell-based migration assay and wound-healing assay demonstrated that let-7d inhibited the migration ability of HUVECs. Matrigel assay suggested that let-7d decreased the numbers of formed meshes and suppressed the tubulogenesis of HUVECs. RNA sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, gene expression validation, and luciferase assay suggested that let-7d directly targeted interferon-induced protein 44 like (IFI44L) gene and negatively regulated the expression of IFI44L. Taken together, our study illuminated the inhibitory roles of let-7d on the proliferation, migration, and tubulogenesis of endothelial cells, identified the target gene of let-7d, and deepened the understanding of the biological effects of let-7d on key elements of peripheral nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there are some documented examples on population dynamics of transposable elements (TEs) in model organisms, the evolutionary dynamics of TEs in domesticated species has not been systematically investigated. The objective of this study is to understand population dynamics of TEs during silkworm domestication. In this work, using transposon-display we examined the polymorphism of seven TE families [they represent about 59% of silkworm (Bombyx mori) total TE content] in four domesticated silkworm populations and one wild silkworm population. Maximum likelihood (ML) was used to estimate selection pressure. Population differentiation and structure were performed by using AMOVA analysis and program DISTRUCT, respectively. The results of transposon-display showed that significant differentiation occurred between the domesticated silkworm and wild silkworm. These TEs have experienced expansions and fixation in the domesticated silkworm but not in wild silkworm. Furthermore, the ML results indicated that purifying selection of TEs in the domesticated silkworm were significantly weaker than that in the wild silkworm. Interestingly, an adaptation insertion induced by BmMITE-2 was found, and this insertion can reduce the polymorphism of the flanking regions of its neighboring COQ7 gene. Our results suggested that TEs expanded and were fixed in the domesticated silkworm might result from demographic effects and artificial selection during domestication. We concluded that the data presented in this study have general implication in animal and crop improvements as well as in domestication of new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a systematic method for producing double-sided minimal surfaces by wire-cut machines. A link between minimal surfaces and ruled surfaces is pursued through wire cutting. Weierstrass parameterization is employed to define minimal surfaces (R3) over a complex plane (C). Our method consists of three components. First, the orthogonal double-sided cuts match a pair of orthonormal tangent vectors on the surface. Second, A closed-form expression for the principal directions facilitates the global quadrangulation of minimal surfaces. Third, the CNC machine’s toolpath results from the surface’s analytic characterization. Asymptotic cutting and principal cutting are compared in terms of collisions and cutting error. We employed a general-purpose language (Java) to create machine instructions from the Weierstrass representation of minimal surfaces. Thus, the entire workflow from mathematical modeling to production involves no 3D models or CAD/CAM software. Both a 5-axis wire cutter and a customized robotic system were tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TC1/Mariner transposons belong to class II transposable elements (TEs) that use DNA-mediated “cut and paste” mechanism to transpose, and they have been identified in almost all organisms. Although silkworm (Bombyx mori) has a large amount of TC1/Mariner elements, the genome wide information of this superfamily in the silkworm is unknown. In this study, we have identified 2670 TC1/Mariner (Bmmar) elements in the silkworm genome. All the TEs were classified into 22 families by means of fgclust, a tool of repetitive sequence classification, seven of which was first reported in this study. Phylogenetic and structure analyses based on the catalytic domain (DDxD/E) of transposase sequences indicated that all members of TC1/Mariner were grouped into five subgroups: Mariner, Tc1, maT, DD40D and DD41D/E. Of these five subgroups, maT rather than Mariner possessed most members of TC1/Mariner (51.23%) in the silkworm genome. In particular, phylogenetic analysis and structure analysis revealed that Bmmar15 (DD40D) formed a new basal subgroup of TC1/Mariner element in insects, which was referred to as bmori. Furthermore, we concluded that DD40D appeared to intermediate between mariner and Tc1. Finally, we estimated the insertion time for each copy of TC1/Mariner in the silkworm and found that most of members were dramatically amplified during a period from 0 to 1 mya. Moreover, the detailed functional data analysis showed that Bmmar1, Bmmar6 and Bmmar9 had EST evidence and intact transposases. These implied that TC1/Mariner might have potential transpositional activity. In conclusion, this study provides some new insights into the landscape, origin and evolution of TC1/Mariner in the insect genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helentrons represent a novel subtype of Helitrons. However, the evolutionary history of Helentrons in organisms is not clearly understood. In this study, we performed structure and autonomous partner analyses, which revealed that bm_455, a TE obtained from the Bombyx mori TE database, BmTEdb, was a member of Helentrons but not a long-terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon. Further analyses showed that bm_455 was also present in a wide range of insects including lepidopterans, coleopterans and hymenopterans using a homology-based search strategy. Several lines of evidence (high sequence identity, discontinuous distribution and lack of intense purifying selection) suggested that these elements could have been transferred into these species in part by horizontal transfers (HTs). Because Helentrons can capture host gene fragments, HTs of Helentrons might have a huge impact on their host genome evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rosa monophyletic group of transposons is a group of transposable element with characteristics of encoding a DD41D motif in the catalytic domain. However, biology and evolutionary history of this monophyletic group are still poorly understood. In this study, we report the first description for the presence of a rosa transposon in the silkworm Bombyx mori. Further analyses confirmed that this element in the silkworm genome had recently amplified and might still be capable of transposition. In addition, we present evidence, based on searches of publicly available insect genomes, that a new clade of the rosa monophyletic group was identified. Interestingly, analysis of their three dimensional structures suggested that these proteins showed highly similar protein structures with that of the Mos1 transposase. These results provided useful insights into the functionality of these transposases and their structural and functional deviations from other transposases in the Tc1/mariner superfamily. Meanwhile, sequence and phylogenetic analysis confirmed that DD41D and maT elements might represent another independent large group of the Tc1/ mariner superfamily. Importantly, the result of the comparison of terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) validated that DD41D and maT elements almost had identical consensus terminal sequences (5′-CAGGGTGNSNCA-3′), implying they might have similar cleavage sites or patterns during the process of their transposition. In a word, this study will enrich and expand our knowledge of the Tc1/ mariner superfamily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the area of 3D digital engineering and 3D digital geometry processing, shape simplification is an important task to reduce their requirement of large memory and high time complexity. By incorporating the content-aware visual salience measure of a polygonal mesh into simplification operation, a novel feature-aware shape simplification approach is presented in this paper. Owing to the robust extraction of relief heights on 3D highly detailed meshes, our visual salience measure is defined by a center-surround operator on Gaussian-weighted relief heights in a scale-dependent manner. Guided by our visual salience map, the feature-aware shape simplification algorithm can be performed by weighting the high-dimensional feature space quadric error metric of vertex pair contractions with the weight map derived from our visual salience map. The weighted quadric error metric is calculated in a six-dimensional feature space by combining the position and normal information of mesh vertices. Experimental results demonstrate that our visual salience guided shape simplification scheme can adaptively and effectively re-sample the underlying models in a feature-aware manner, which can account for the visually salient features of the complex shapes and thus yield better visual fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-structural tungsten oxide (WO·0.33HO) samples were prepared using a hydrothermal method in the presence of different salts NaSO and CaCl respectively. The experimental results showed that pH value of the reaction solution greatly affects crystal morphology of the final products. To explore the photocatalysis originated from nanonetwork hierarchical structure, the photodegradation of methylene blue was carried out under simulated sunlight irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the WO·0.33HO nanonetworks was compared with that of the nanoplates, and the former showed a higher photocatalytic activity owing to its novel hierarchical structure. Our investigation demonstrates that nanonetwork hierarchical structure can promote sunlight absorption due to higher specific surface area. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are correlated with a more malignant phenotype in many cancers. This study was designed to evaluate the predictive value of the expression of MAPK phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK), as the key regulatory mechanism of the MAPKs, in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods: We assessed the expressions of MKP-1 and p-ERK in twenty subjects at different differentiation degree of SCC and five normal lungs by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Results: Immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR assay showed that the expression of MKP-1 was gradually decreased as tissue type went from normal lung tissues to increasingly undifferentiated carcinoma, and it was negatively correlated with tumor differentiation ( P<0.01). However, the expression of p-ERK or ERK was gradually increased as tissue type went from normal lung tissues to increasingly undifferentiated carcinoma, and it was positively correlated with tumor differentiation ( P<0.01). Conclusions: Our data indicates the relevance of MKP-1 and p-ERK in SCC as a potential positive and negative prognostic factor. The imbalanced expression of MKP-1 and p-ERK may play a role in the development of SCC and these two molecules may be new targets for the therapy and prognosis of SCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two one-dimensional transition-metal-centered polyoxotungstates, that is, [Cu(en)][Cu(en)(HO)][Cu(en)(phen)][CuWO]·3HO ( 1) (en = ethylenediamine, phen = phenanthroline) and [Cu(en)][Cu(en)(HO)][VWO(VO)]·3HO ( 2) have been synthesized hydrothermally and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, electrochemical analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Single-crystal structural analysis reveals that both of them represent one-dimensional structures constructed from transition-metal-centered Keggin-type polyanions bridged by secondary metal coordination groups of Cu-ligand. Noticeably, compound 1 exhibits a helical chain-liked structure, and the anion is coordinated by three Cu-ligand units, representing a copper-centered and tri-supported Keggin structure. In compound 2, the polyoxoanion [VWO(VO)] represents a V-centered tetra-capped pseudo-Keggin structure, and is coordinated by four Cu-ligand units. The three-dimensional supramolecular structures of compounds 1 and 2 are constructed through intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. The electrochemical and thermalstable properties of 1 and 2 are also studied. The results show the redox properties of polyoxotungstates are retained in title polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Nb-doped SrBi4Ti4O15 (SBT) was produced by conventional method. Structural and ferroelectric properties of SBT were examined as a function of niobium composition. Analyzing the structure futures of SBT by XRD, XPS and Raman spectrum, Nb5+ substituted Ti4+ to form NbO6 octahedron and did not change the structure of SBT. The XRD patterns indicated the formation of the single phase of SBT for x = 0.01and 0.03 and secondary phase of Sr3Ti2O7 appeared when x > 0.1. To compare the effect of Nb doping, the ferroelectric properties (hysteresis loop, piezoelectric coefficient) of Nb-doped SBT were measured. The SBT doped with x = 0.15 was found to exhibit higher remanent polarization with d 33 = 17 pC/N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAim:The hygiene hypothesis suggests a lack of bacterial infections would favor the development of allergic diseases. Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) infection can inhibit allergen-induced asthma reactions, but the underlying mechanism of this infection on the immunological responses is unclear. T-regulatory (Treg) cells are thought to play a role as a crucial immunoregulatory cells that are capable of regulating adaptive immune responses. We conducted this study to investigate whether the protective effect of the BCG vaccination on allergic pulmonary inflammation is associated with the alteration of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells in a murine asthma model and the mechanisms of Treg cells.Methods:Newborn C57BL/6 mice were vaccinated 3 times with BCG on d 0, 7, and 14 and subsequently sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. Eosinophil infiltration was investigated. The frequencies of spleen CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and the expression of specific transcriptional factor Foxp3 were assayed. The cytotoxic lymphocyte associated antigen (CTLA)-4 expression and cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) levels were measured.Results:We showed that treatment of mice with BCG inhibited de novo allergic inflammatory response in a mouse model of asthma. BCG treatments are associated with the increase of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and Foxp3 expression, accompanied by an increased CTLA-4 expression and cytokine IL-10 and TGF-β levels (P<0.05).Conclusion:Neonatal BCG vaccinations ameliorate de novo local eosinophilic inflammation induced by allergen and increase the numbers of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and Foxp3 expression. The cell–cell contact inhibition and regulatory cytokine production may be involved in the regulatory mechanism.Acta Pharmacologica Sinica (2009) 30: 125–133; doi: 10.1038/aps.2008.3; published online 8th December 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Asthma is characterized as a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. Phosphodiesterases (PDE), which hydrolyze cAMP, are considered to play important roles in asthma. We previously reported that acetamide-45 could inhibit cAMP-PDE activity, and histamine- and methacholine-induced contractions of isolated guinea pig trachea. The purpose of this study is to determine whether this agent could suppress allergic-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation in allergic mice. Methods: A mouse model for asthma was used to investigate acetamide-45 on the airway lesions compared with glucocorticoids. The study was conducted on mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin and the whole body plethsmography was carried out to assess AHR. The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) histopathology was examined. Results: We found that acetamide-45 significantly inhibited the enhanced hyperresponsiveness and eosinophil recruitment in airways with elimination of cAMP-PDE activity in lung tissue. Elevated IL-4 and IL-5 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in asthmatic mice were markedly decreased. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the agent has a potential role in inflammatory disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  To investigate the influence of surface trapping and dark states on CdSe and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), we studied the absorption, fluorescence intensity and lifetime by using one-and two-photon excitation, respectively. Experimental results show that both one- and two-photon fluorescence emission efficiencies of the QDs enhance greatly and the lifetime increase after capping CdSe with ZnS due to the effective surface passivation. The lifetime of one-photon fluorescence of CdSe and CdSe/ZnS QDs increase with increasing emission wavelength in a supralinear way, which is attributed to the energy transfer of dark excitons. On the contrary, the lifetime of two-photon fluorescence of bare and core-shell QDs decrease with increasing emission wavelength, and this indicates that the surface trapping is the dominant decay mechanism in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the effect of C-C chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) blockade on pulmonary inflammation and mucus production in allergic mice. Methods: We used the synthetic peptide of the CCR3 NH2-terminal as the immunizing antigen and generated murine monoclonal antibody against the human CCR3. In addition, the generated antibody was administered to mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. The inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage, cytokine levels, pulmonary histopathology, and mucus secretion were examined. Results: The Western blotting analysis indicated that the generated antibody bound to CCR3 specifically. The allergic mice treated with the antihuman CCR3 antibody exhibited a significant reduction of pulmonary inflammation accompanied with the alteration of cytokine. Conclusion: The antibody we generated was specific to CCR3. The inhibition of airway inflammation and mucus overproduction by the antibody suggested that the blockade of CCR3 is an appealing therapeutical target for asthma. The present research may provide an experimental basis for the further study of this agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Figure 2 contains errors. The corrected version is given below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the effect of a rat anti-mouse CC-chemokine receptor-3 (CCR3) monoclonal antibody (CCR3 mAb) on airway eosinophilia and mucus overproduction in asthmatic mice. Methods: An asthma model was sensitized and challenged by ovalbumin (OVA) in male C57BL/6 mice. Asthmatic mice were given dual administration (intraperitoneal injection and aerosol inhalation) of CCR3 mAb or nonspecific rat IgG (ns-IgG). The number of total and differential inflammatory cells in the bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was counted. Eosinophils number, the goblet cell percentage (GCP) and airway mucus index (AMI) were measured in the lung tissues. Interleukin (IL)-5 levels in the BALF were examined. The expression of MUC5AC and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mRNA in the lung tissues was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The results were compared among the groups. Results: CCR3 mAb significantly suppressed the increased eosinophils in the BALF and lung tissues in OVA-challenged mice compared with ns-IgG-treated mice. IL-5 levels in the BALF in CCR3 mAb and ns-IgG administration mice exhibited no obvious changes relative to OVA-challenged asthmatic mice. CCR3 mAb reduced the increased GCP and AMI after OVA challenge and decreased the enhanced expression of MUC5AC and EGFR mRNA in lung tissues in asthmatic animals. Conclusion: CCR3 mAb can significantly inhibit airway eosinophilia and mucus overproduction in asthmatic mice. Blockage of CCR3 may represent a new strategy to asthma therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate whether IL-12p40 plays a crucial role in regulating islet allograft rejection in a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mouse model. Methods: C57BL/6 and IL-12p40 gene knockout mice were selected as recipient mice, to which the diabetes was induced with a treatment of STZ (150–200 mg/kg) by a single ip injection. BALB/c mice were selected as donor mice and islet cells were isolated from the mice. The 500 islets were transplanted into recipient mice beneath the capsule of the left kidney. Following the islet transplantation the glucose from the mice sera was monitored and the rejection rate of islets was analyzed. Results: STZ could induce diabetes in the recipient mice within 1 week. After transplantation of allograft islets, the increased glucose in wild-type (WT) mice returned to normal level and was maintained for 10 d. Unexpectedly, the rejection rate of islet allograft between IL-12p40-deficient mice and WT mice was similar. Conclusion: The results suggested that, although islet allograft rejection is believed to be Th1-cell predominant, the Th1 response inducer, IL-12 and IL-23 are not essential to induce islet allograft rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the effects of acetamide-45 on respiratory function, airway inflammation, and the activity of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) in allergic rats. Methods: Rats were sensitized by a single intramuscular injection with ovalbumin (OVA) and were challenged with ovalbumin applied by using an aerosol repeatedly for 7 d after 2 weeks. Acetamide-45 at concentrations of 5, 10, or 30 mg/kg was then administered by intraperitoneal injection. Changes in dynamic lung compliance and lung resistance, the accumulation of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage, PDE4 activity, and the concentration of interleukin-4 in rat lung tissue were determined. Results: Seven days of treatment with acetamide-45 prevented eosinophil accumulation in allergic rats. At doses of 5, 10, and 30 mg/kg, acetamide-45 decreased lung resistance to 0.20±0.04, 0.25±0.07, and 0.22±0.05 cmH2O·s−1·mL−1, respectively ( P<0.05 vs OVA), and it also increased dynamic lung compliance to 0.41±0.07, 0.39±0.06, and 0.42±0.09 mL/cmH2O ( P<0.05 vs OVA). After being treated with different doses of acetamide-45, the PDE4 activities in lung tissue were 281±55, 273±57, and 238±36 nmol·g−1·min−1 ( P<0.05 vs OVA), and the concentrations of interleukin-4 in lung tissue were 6.22±1.13, 5.95±1.20, and 5.68±2.20 μg/g protein ( P<0.05 vs OVA). Conclusions: Acetamide-45 was found to improve respiratory function and inhibit airway inflammation in this animal model, and the PDE4 activity of lung tissue was obviously inhibited. Acetamide-45 was an effective anti-inflammatory agent in respiratory inflammation, and the mechanism of its action might depend on inhibition of PDE4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate effects of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG ODN) on the mRNA expression of transcription factors GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) and T-box expressed in T cells (T-bet) in asthmatic mice. An asthmatic mouse model was established and treated with CpG ODN. Total inflammatory cells and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted and inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissue was evaluated. Interferon-γ and interleukin-4 concentrations in BALF and splenocyte culture supernatants were detected using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Transcription factor GATA-3 and T-bet mRNA expression in splenocytes and lung tissue were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Total inflammatory cells and eosinophils in BALF were reduced in the CpG ODN-treated group compared with the asthma group, and inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissue was also significantly alleviated. CpG ODN treatment increased the interferon-γ concentration but decreased the interleukin-4 concentration in both BALF and splenocyte culture supernatants. GATA-3 mRNA expression was reduced in both lung tissue and splenocytes in the CpG ODN-treated group, while the mRNA ratio of T-bet to GATA-3 in splenocytes was increased. CpG ODN treatment inhibits airway inflammatory cell infiltration and regulates interferon-γ/interleukin-4 synthesis in asthmatic mice, possibly through a mechanism of downregulation of GATA-3 mRNA expression in both lung tissue and splenocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic significance of detecting cytokeratin 19 (CK19) mRNA by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in benign and malignant pleural effusions. Methods: CK19 mRNA was examined by quantitative RT-PCR and CK19 was detected by Enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) in 32 patients with malignant pleural effusions and 35 patients with benign pleural effusion. Results: On the threshold of 200 copies/μl, the positive rate of CK19 mRNA in patients with malignant pleural effusions was 62.5%. The positive rates of CK19 mRNA and CK19 in the malignant pleural effusions were significantly higher than those in the benign group ( P<0.01). Furthermore, the positive rate of CK19 mRNA was higher than that of CK19 in the malignant group ( P<0.05). Conclusion: Detection of CK19 mRNA can be a promising diagnostic marker in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pleural effusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on small-deflection buckling equation, a weighted solution for critical load is presented. Usually, it is very difficult to solve the equation for general problems, especially those with complicated boundary conditions. Axisymmetric problem was studied as an example. Influencing factors were found from the equation and averaged as the buckling load by introducing weights. To determine those weights, some special known results were applied. This method solves general complicated problems by using the solutions of special simple problems, simplifies the solving procedure and expands the scope of solvable problem. Compared with numerical solution, it also has fine precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chylothorax is an uncommon disease where fatty fluid accumulates within the chest cavity. Conservative management, including repeated thoracentesis or pleurodesis, seems to be suitable to most cases. Herein, we present a case of efficacious pleurodesis by intrapleural injection of Sapylin, a streptococcus preparation, for the treatment of chylothorax. A 52-year-old non-smoking female farmer was diagnosed as idiopathic chylothorax after we ruled out possible causes including chest trauma, lymphoma, lung cancer, filariasis, tuberculosis, and etc. Two-time intra-thoracic injection of 3 Klinische Einheit (KE) Sapylin achieved rapid and effective control of chylothorax with no severe side effects. Sapylin may facilitate pleurodesis by producing a strong inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SrBi4Ti4O15 powder was synthesized by conventional solid state synthesis (CS) and molten salt synthesis (MSS). MSS method can synthesize plate-like SrBi4Ti4O15 at lower temperature (900°C) than CS method. Plate-like form becomes more distinct when the synthesis temperature increases. This would help cause the grain orientation of the ceramics after sintering. The sintered samples of MSS had grain orientation at (0,0,10) plane. The degree of (0,0,10) grain orientation F was 62.1%. Hot pressing made (0,0,10) grain orientation more distinct (F=85.7%). The microstructures of the sintered samples were detected by SEM. Due to the grain orientation, the density of samples fabricated by MSS was lower than that of prepared by CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiMn2O4 was synthesized rapidly by microwave heating. The product phases of the microwave synthesis and conventional solid-state synthesis were comparatively invesitigated. The capacity of microwave synthesis product decreases relatively slow. The lithium ion can be inserted into and extracted from the spinel framework structure fluently after cycling. But the capacity of the conventional solid-state synthesis product is more remarkably lowered. The spinel framework structure was destroyed which hindered the lithium ion from inserting and extracting. The influential factors of the process parameters are discussed such as heat preservation time, pre-heating at 400°C for 24h and coupled agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]