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Radar stealth was a remarkable technical feature of the fourth-generation fighter aircraft, the damage of the stealth coating would seriously affect the stealth performance of the aircraft. This paper focuses on the membrane treatment of coating in the process of stealth coating damage repair, the effect of laser cleaning process on the cleaning effect of stealth coating on the surface of aircraft metal construction was studied. The results show that laser pulse width has the greatest influence on the laser cleaning of stealth coating, so pulse width should be prioritized when selecting the process parameters. And during the process experiment, the relationship between the effect of laser cleaning and process parameters were respectively negative correlation with scanning speed, positive correlated first and then weakly correlation with laser power, weakly correlated first and then positive correlation with pulse width, positive correlation with scan number. Finally, the optimal laser cleaning process parameters for the stealth coating of 500 μm on the surface of the metal structures were obtained by comparing the experiments between the preferred and the solution groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation of the properties of HgCdTe films grown by MBE and devices made from such films are reported. Through the precise control of growth conditions and the screening of the Zn component of CZT(211)B substrates, high-quality HgCdTe films were successfully deposited onto the CZT(211)B substrates and characterized by x-ray diffraction rocking curve analysis and etch pit density analysis. X-ray rocking curve (422) reflection full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of less than 15 arcsec was obtained for Hg0.7Cd0.3Te epitaxial films, and etch pit density (EPD) of about 2 × 104 cm−2 was observed. At the same time, the relationship between the FWHM of the x-ray double-crystal rocking curve and EPD was confirmed. By optimizing the pretreatment process of the CZT(211)B substrate, a further significant reduction in HgCdTe macrodefect densities to 54 cm−2 to 1000 cm−2 was observed on CdZnTe, including occasional occurrences of very few or no large "void clusters" that are often observed. Planar p-on-n HgCdTe mid-wave infrared (MWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) were fabricated based on MBE in situ indium doping and arsenic ion implantation technology. The temperature-dependent performance of planar p-on-n MWIR FPAs shows that the device has the ability to operate at high temperature of about 140 K with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis is a complex multifactorial disease that can lead to an increased risk of fracture. However, selective and effective osteoporosis drugs are still lacking. We showed that Asperosaponin VI (AVI) has the implications to be further developed as an alternative supplement for the prevention and treatment of bone loss. AVI has been found to have beneficial effects on metabolic diseases such as bone loss, obesity, and atherosclerosis. Our study was designed to determine the effect and mechanism of action of AVI against bone loss through regulating microbial dysbiosis. A hindlimb unloading mouse model was established to determine the effect of AVI on bone microarchitecture, gut microbiota, and serum metabolites. Eighteen female C57BL/6 J mice were divided into three groups: control, hindlimb unloading with vehicle (HLU), and hindlimb unloading treated with AVI (HLU-AVI, 200 mg/kg/day). AVI was administrated orally for 4 weeks. The results demonstrated that AVI improved the bone microstructure by reversing the decrease in bone volume fraction and trabecular number, and the increase in trabecular separation and structure model index of cancellous bone in hindlimb suspension mice. The results of 16sRNA gene sequencing suggested that the therapeutic effect of AVI on bone loss may be achieved through it regulating the gut microbiota, especially certain specific microorganisms. Combined with the analysis of ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and serum metabolome results, it could be speculated that AVI played an important role in adjusting the balance of bone metabolism by influencing specific flora such as Clostridium and its metabolites to regulate the 5-hydroxytryptophan pathway. The study explored the novel mechanism of AVI against osteoporosis, and has implications for the further development of AVI as an alternative supplement for the prevention and treatment of bone loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize low-cost, fast, and accurate fracture identification in lining quality inspection and underground engineering stability evaluation, we propose an intelligent fracture identification method, which can achieve depth extraction of fracture information from rock images. Firstly, the fracture identification model combined with the residual network was constructed to obtain more fracture features. Secondly, dilated convolution layers were added to improve the resolution of the fracture feature points. Meanwhile, the perceptual field is expanded to achieve the effective capture of characteristics of tiny fractures. Lastly, the Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) function is introduced to realize the nonlinear transformation of the model. And the predicted results are optimized by Dice loss function to accelerate the convergence of the model. The model is applied to identify concrete fractures and rock fractures. We also conduct reliability assessment and then compare the performance of our identification model to LinkNet, U-net, CNN + ASPP models. The maximum accuracy (98.93%), recall (83.78%) values of the method far exceed that CNN + ASPP model using the same dataset. High image similarity and smaller fracture features degrade the performance of the image identification method, while the method can significantly overcome these challenges and thus greatly improve the accuracy of fracture identification. And the identification method is more accurate and robust than the comprised method. Besides the proposed method with good generalization and can be used for the rapid identification of rock mass fractures in highways, constructions, slopes, water conservancies and other projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged drought can negatively impact a variety of plant physiological processes. We conducted a drought experiment on one-year-old plants of Glycyrrhiza uralensis to characterize how gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and growth responded to droughts of varying magnitudes. Plants grown under control (no drought stress) and three droughted conditions, differing in their duration (7, 14 and 21 days). Net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (gs) were significantly lower with increasing water stress. The moderate (14 days) and severe (21 days) water stress treatments resulted in lower Pn, as well as stomatal limitation of photosynthesis during the morning but nonstomatal limitation during the afternoon. Meanwhile, the increase in F0 and decrease in Fm, ΦPSII, and Fv/Fm further suggested that photosynthetic capacity of G. uralensis leaves was reduced and PSII partially inactivated during the day under drought. These patterns indicated that drought damaged PSII of G. uralensis leaves. However, part of the damage to PSII might be alleviated under mild or moderate drought, but it was not reparable under severe drought. Water stress decreased the Pn-PAR curves of G. uralensis and led to higher LCP and RD and lower Pmax and LSP. Together, these results suggest that drought stress weakened the light adaptability of leaves and reduced the efficiency of light transformation. In addition, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT)) were elevated in G. uralensis under moderate (14 days) and severe (21 days) water stress during first 14 days but were significantly reduced after that time. These results suggest that protective enzymes were activated early to resist the damage caused by drought stress but that prolonged stress caused accumulation of reactive oxygen species that exceeded the capacity of the antioxidant system, resulting in cellular damage. Water stress also reduced plant growth (lower plant height, basal diameter and crown area) and yield (smaller roots, stems, leaves, and total biomass). Moreover, water stress led to yellowing, wilting, and senescence of leaves and suppressed growth of main roots. We found that the drought treatment lasting 21 days is the moisture threshold of G. uralensis, and that longer droughts in the Hexi Corridor can cause G. uralensis to wither and die. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sucrose transporters (SUTs) belong to the MFS family, the largest known transporter family. In this study, we cloned cDNA encoding the sucrose transporter 2 (PsSUT2) from Paeonia suffruticosa, and found that the PsSUT2 sequence was conserved during the evolution process through basic bioinformatics analysis. Through yeast transformation and subcellular localization experiment, it is shown that PsSUT2 protein had sucrose transport activity and was located in the plasma membrane. Overexpression vector of PsSUT2 was transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana and Petunia hybrida heterologously, and the results showed that PsSUT2 could promote their vegetative growth and accelerated the accumulation of sucrose in Arabidopsis sink organs. At the same time, transgenic Arabidopsis could effectively utilize exogenous high-concentration sucrose. Overexpression of the PsSUT2 gene had all promoted early flowering of Arabidopsis and petunia, indicating that the PsSUT2 gene might be involved in the signal transduction process during the flowering process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proline is a multifunctional amino acid in plant cells known to be involved in growth and development, particularly under various environmental abuses. In this study, the contribution of the glutamate and ornithine pathway on proline accumulation in rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L. cv. XZX 45) under different nitrogenous nutrition was investigated. The main findings include the following: (1) the dynamic changes of free proline pool in studied seedlings parts were highly linked to the nitrogenous species during 48-h exposure, whereas ammonium treatments caused more proline accumulation than nitrate treatments, and the change in free proline in rice seedlings without nitrogen supply was identical to nitrate fertilization; (2) application of external arginine and glutamate caused over accretion of free proline in rice seedlings, amidst them arginine was more efficient than glutamate related to proline synthesis; (3) proline content in both rice tissues is linearly increased with external ammonium applied, while employment of nitrate did not change proline content. The maximum nitrogen fertilization of nitrate and ammonium caused significant decrease of proline in rice tissues when arginine and glutamate were used, and other doses of nitrogen fertilization did not change proline content significantly. Results presented here indicated that the ornithine pathway played notable role in the proline accumulation in rice seedlings than the glutamate pathway under different nitrogenous nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free vibration of a deploying laminated beam with spinning motion in hygrothermal environment is studied. The model of this system is given within the framework of the Rayleigh beam theory and the von Karman nonlinear strain theory. The nonlinear dynamic equilibrium equation of the cantilever boundary condition is established based on Hamilton's principle with considering the combined effects of the axial motion, transverse vibration, spinning motion, and hygrothermal environment. The frequencies of the system are numerically determined by using the Newmark method. The detailed parameter analyses are provided to investigate the effects of the deploying speed, the spinning speed, the temperature variation, the moisture concentration, and the fiber direction angle on frequency and the corresponding sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant earthquakes clustered within a particular zone often reflect an active geological feature, such as clustering seismicity along a fault zone and a huge number of volcanic-earthquakes around the erupting conduit. Herein we perform a double-difference tomographic inversion and relocate the seismicity at the long-resting Tatun volcano group (TVG) in northern Taiwan. A dramatic improvement of the earthquake location model surprisingly show that, from 2014 to 2017, two clustered seismic zones are identified in the TVG. One major group of events (>1000) persistently clustered within a ~500 m diameter vertical conduit with a ~2 km height. The clustering seismicity conduit is just located nearby Dayoukeng, one of the strongest fumaroles in the TVG, and is connected to a fracture zone characterized by low Vp/Vs in the shallow crust. The other group of events is clustered within a sphere-like zone beneath Mt. Chihsin around the depths between 0.5 km and 2 km. Both seismic zones are probably triggered by the significantly volcanic gases and fluids ascending from the deep magma reservoir. Combined with a variety of results from literature, the seismicity conduit near the strong fumarole is the evidence for an active volcano and also identifies a likely pathway for ascending magma if the TVG erupts again in the future. But possibility of developing different magma pathways at other clustered seismic zones such as beneath Mt. Chihsin may not be totally excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sichuan sika deer and livestock are sympatric species, the uncontrolled number of livestock increases the life pressure of Sichuan sika deer. This work investigated microhabitat characteristics at 173 sites from May to September 2011 to improve the understanding of microhabitat utilize relationship between the two species at the Tiebu Nature Reserve. The current study indicated that Sichuan sika deer preferred to hide in the forest habitat and forage in pasture and shrub patch, while livestock use pasture more frequently. Compared to Sichuan sika deer, the pasture faraway from forest edge being used more frequently by livestock. However. The overlap of forage habitats is still evident, especially in pastures that close to the forests. Based on these findings, the current investigation provided a method to manage livestock, which could relieve competition and could protect Sichuan sika deer efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low temperature (LT) is an important elicitor that triggers anthocyanin biosynthesis. To investigate whether the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced via RBOH are involved in this process, we analysed the function and mechanism of ROS produced via RBOH during LT-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis in Begonia semperflorens Link & Otto. The results showed that BsRBOHD transcription was upregulated in LT-grown seedlings at the 3rd hour, which was followed by the upregulation of anthocyanin-biosynthesis genes at the 5–9th hour, leading to anthocyanin accumulation on the 2nd day. The LT-induced increases in ROS production, BsRBOHD and anthocyanin-biosynthesis gene transcription, and anthocyanin content were abolished by the pre-treatment of seedlings with DPI [an inhibitor of nicotinamide adenine nucleoside phosphorylase (NADPH) oxidase or DMTU (a H2O2 scavenger)], but were promoted by pre-treatment with NADPH (a substrate of NADPH oxidase). Changes in the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters showed that pre-treatment of DPI or DMTU alleviated the LT-induced decrease in the seedling chlorophyll content and a/b ratio, which subsequently alleviated the LT-induced decreases in the ABS/CSm, TRo/CSm, RC/CSm, ETo/CSm and REo/CSm values. In contrast, NAPDH pre-treatment intensified these changes. Therefore, we suggest that ROS produced via BsRBOHD may be involved in the LT-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis by strengthening the overaccumulation of ROS produced by the overexcitation of PSII reaction centres and overflux from to NADP+ in B. semperflorens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1134/S002247662403020X [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two similar substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ligands with different coordination groups are facilely synthesized and further used for constructing two novel Cu(II)-based coordination complexes [CuCl2(L1)2] (1, L1 = 3-(imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-1-(pyridin-3-yl)propan-1-one) and [Cu(L2)2]n (2, L2 = 4-(imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl)-2-oxobutanoic acid) via a one-pot solvothermal reaction. Then the activity of the synthesized complexes is assessed against HeLa cervical cancer cells with the CCK-8 method. The results indicate that complex 1 has an excellent inhibitory effect on cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion capability. Moreover, a further study is performed and it reveals the mechanism of complex 1, which exerts the anti-cancer ability via inducing the HeLa apoptotic cell death. Above all, synthesized complex 1 has an outstanding in vitro antitumor activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline Ba2−xSrxCo2Fe12O22 (0 ≤ x≤0.5) ceramics have been synthesized by the conventional solid-state-reaction method. From the analysis of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, it can be obtained that the lattice parameters decrease monotonically with the increase in Sr doping content, while the average grain size presents a complicated trend. The dielectric measurements show that dielectric constants of all samples are larger than 103 over a wide range of temperature and frequency (300–650 K and 1 kHz–1 MHz), which is identified as colossal dielectric constant. However, with the rise in Sr doping content, disparate evolutions of dielectric constant are found at 300 K and 600 K. A detailed study of dielectric response, impedance spectra and conductivity analysis suggest that the variation of dielectric constant at 300 K is dominated by the activation energy of relaxation, while that at 600 K is mainly in connection with the average grain size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water stress is the major environmental stress that affect agricultural production worldwide, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This research investigated the effect of water stress on common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.) grown in the West Lake Wetland of Zhangye City, China. We designed with four water treatments (100, 95, 85 and 75% of water field capacity, i.e. CK (100%), mild (95%), moderate (85%) and severe (75%) water deficit regimes). The effect of water stress on photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters was investigated. There was a midday depression in net photosynthetic rate (Pn) for CK, mild and moderate drought, but not for severe drought. Stomatal limitation was dominant for mild treatment. But under severe drought stomatal limitation to photosynthesis was dominating in the morning and nonstomatal limitation was dominating in the afternoon. Compared with CK treatment, Pn, stomatal conductance (gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (E) and water use efficiency (WUE) were always lower at drought stress. This result suggests that water stress caused the photosynthesis of common reed to be completely blocked and the common reed was a drought-sensitive plant. We found 75% is the moisture threshold for common reed. The decrease in Fm, Fv, Fv/Fm and increase F0 suggested that Rubisco activity reduced and PSII partially inactivated during the day under drought. However, part of this inactivation of PSII might be alleviated under mild or moderate drought, but severe drought cannot. Drought stress also affected the photosynthesis Pn-PAR response curve. Drought stress increased LCP, RD and decreased LSP, Pmax and AQY. This indicates that when common reed suffers from drought, the utilization range of light intensity become narrowed and photosynthetic ability or adaptability to light reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giardia duodenalis is an important zoonotic intestinal protozoan of animals and humans. We collected 450 faecal specimens from four age groups (pre-weaned piglets, weaned piglets, juveniles, adults) of Zangxiang pigs from Shaanxi and Qinghai provinces, to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of G. duodenalis at the β-giardin (bg), triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) and glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) loci using nested PCRs in the present study. A total of 28 faecal samples were positive for presence of G. duodenalis, with an overall prevalence of 6.2%. Giardia duodenalis was detected in pigs from all age groups and in both investigated provinces. Significant differences (P < 0.0001) in prevalence were observed among the four age groups with prevalence decreasing with age. Sequence analysis indicated existence of genetic diversity of G. duodenalis isolates from Zangxiang pigs, with 4, 2 and 4 haplotypes at the bg, tpi and gdh loci, respectively. Two assemblages were identified, including the zoonotic assemblage B and assemblage E, with the latter as the predominant assemblage found in both locations and all age groups except adults. The present study expanded the host range of G. duodenalis and provided fundamental data for controlling G. duodenalis infection in Zangxiang pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is one of the principle enzymes involved in cell apoptosis in plants, due to oxidative stresses and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this study, hydroponic experiment was conduced to investigate transcriptional changes of six selected COX genes in rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L. cv. XZX 45) exposed to potassium chromate Cr(VI) or chromium nitrate Cr(III) using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Uptake and accumulation of both Cr species by rice seedlings and their effect on COX activity were also determined. Results indicated that accumulation of Cr in rice tissues was evident, in which much more Cr was detected in roots rather than shoots from both Cr treatments. Significant increase in COX activity was only observed in shoots at the highest Cr treatment concentration from both Cr variants, whereas changes of COX activity in roots responded biphasically. Six selected target genes of COX1, COX2, COX5B, COX6A, COX6B, and COX7A from the rice COX gene family were expressed differentially in response to both Cr variants. Expression pattern of these selected COX genes was also variable in rice tissues. Information collected here suggests that selected COX genes from the rice COX gene family may play different roles during detoxification of Cr stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is a common benign vascular proliferation which often occurs on the head, neck, hands, and feet. Among the various treatment options for PG, surgical excision is the most effective treatment which offers the lowest overall recurrence rates and also provides the exact diagnosis. However, it could have difficulties to do the surgery when lesions are located on the fingers and toes, especially very near to the nails, so laser may be a very good alternative choice. In this article, we evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of neodymium-yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser for treatment of PG located on the fingers and toes. Twenty-one patients with 21 PGs located on the fingers and toes were treated by multispot Nd-YAG laser. We chose monopulse (pulse width 10.5-13.5 ms; energy 100-125 J/cm2); treatment interval was 3-4 weeks. All lesions disappeared after one or two treatments. There was no apparent scar formation, no impact on the function of the fingers and toes, no damage to nail growth, and no recurrence in more than 12-month follow-up. Nd-YAG is an effective and safety treatment option for treatment of PG located on the fingers and toes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructures need to be machined on macro freeform surface by the macro and micro tools in different conditions, respectively, thus leading to inefficiency and high cost. The micron-scale cutting-edges ground on rotary macro ball-end cutter is proposed to be replicated on the workpiece freeform surface through 5-axis milling, but it has not been clear about the geometrical relationship between the ground micro-cutting-edges and the milled freeform microstructures due to the overcut in linear and rotational linkages. Hence, the geometric model of milled freeform microarray is proposed by the geometric parameters of cutter micro-cutting-edges. The objective is to understand how the milled freeform microarray is formed in connection with the spatial overcut between cutter and workpiece in 5-axis movement. First, the diamond wheel micro-tip was employed to grind the integrated and smooth micro-cutting-edges on cutter surface; then the cutter was used to perform the 5-axis milling; finally, the milled freeform microarray with the height in 97 μm and the angle in 80.5° was evaluated. It is shown that the cutter micro-cutting-edge angle is equal to the wheel micro-tip angle in micro-grinding without any overcut, or it is dominated by wheel radius, wheel micro-tip angle, cutter radius, and cutting-edge position angle. In 5-axis milling, the freeform microarray angle is equal to the wheel micro-tip angle when the cutting-edge position angle is larger than a critical value, or it increases with decreasing the cutting-edge position angle due to the milling overcut. Moreover, the actual microarray height is smaller than the theoretical value due to the overcut of tool axis changing. The milling errors of freeform microarray height and angle averagely reached 5.2 μm and 2.2°, respectively. As a result, the freeform microarray may be designed by wheel micro-tip angle, micro-grinding variables, and milling variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline Ba1.5Sr1.5Co2Fe24O41 ceramics were prepared by the sol-gel method with clear grains and grain boundaries having been identified by the scanning electron microscopy. High-temperature colossal dielectric response has been observed and studied through a series of dielectric and impedance measurements. The electrode effect was also studied and the measurement findings reveal that the colossal dielectric permittivity at low frequency is ascribed to the extrinsic effect of Maxwell Wagner polarization. Dielectric relaxation was identified and investigated by the impedance spectra, which is attributed to the thermally activated model. The complex impedance data is simulated with an equivalent electric circuit and the result suggests that the electric response originates from both the grains and grain boundaries. The activation energies of the grains and grain boundaries are calculated which are 0.62 and 0.67 eV, respectively. The comparable activation energies obtained from the complex impedance spectra and DC conductivity indicates that the relaxation may result from the conduction process. Besides, scaling behaviors are observed below 550 K suggesting that the relaxation time is temperature independent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique indirect steam gasification system for biomass has been developed and tested. The unit features a bubbling bed gasifier equipped with a “sore thumb” and central standpipe, which circulate a mixture of bed material and char through a U-bend to a riser in which char combustion occurs. Re-circulated silica sand from the riser is returned to the bubbling bed through a trickle valve at sufficiently high temperatures to drive biomass gasification. Factors which govern re-circulation of solids are explored and pressure profiles demonstrated. Gasification tests using wood pellets fed at 10-15 kg/h showed that syngas with heating value of about 12 MJ/m3 and nitrogen contents < 5% can be produced. Trends of gas composition versus bed temperature are established. The char combustor required a continuous flow of auxiliary fuel (natural gas) to compensate for high heat losses in the system. Circulation rates were such that riser top temperatures roughly 100 °C above those of the bubbling bed were adequate to provide the gasification heat, without auxiliary fuel to the gasification stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sclerotinia stem rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a devastating disease in Brassica spp. Here we proposed a method to indicate the susceptibility of Brassica spp. or Brassica genus against S. sclerotiorum by detecting expression of a gene from host with qRT-PCR technique. After filtering a set of transcriptome data from B. oleracea leaf infected by S. sclerotiorum, twelve genes that exhibited successive increase or decrease expression after inoculation were chosen to screen the dynamic expression changes in S. sclerotiorum-inoculated B. napus leaf. Among the genes tested, Bol024541 showed a continuous increase from the outer region to the inoculation site from 12 to 36 hours after infection (hai). No significant difference was found in qRT-PCR for the expression of Bol024541 in the samples added with various amount of cDNA of S. sclerotiorum, and significant linear correlation (r = 0.921, P < 0.01) was detected for the expression of Bol024541 at 12 hai with the lesion size at 72 hai among six Brassica accessions. Our data suggest that Bol024541 may be considered as an indicator to predict susceptibility to S. sclerotiorum in Brassica spp. via qRT-PCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is one of the most widely used plasticizers. Due to its anthropogenic inputs, DMP has become a serious contaminant in soils and water. Hydroponic experiments were conducted focusing on phytotoxic responses of rice seedlings ( Oryza sativa L. cv. XZX 45) to 1,2-dimethyl phthalate. Relative growth rate (RGR) and water use efficiency (WUE) were measured as response endpoints to quantify the effective concentrations (ECs) of DMP to rice seedlings. As a comparison, acute phytotoxicity of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) used as solvent media was also determined. Results showed that acute toxicity of DMP to rice seedlings was evident, but selected endpoints had different responses to DMP exposure. RGR of rice seedlings was more sensitive to change of DMP than WUE. EC-48 h values for 10, 20 and 50 % inhibition of the RGR were estimated to be 6.18, 38.41 and 329.41 μΜ for rice seedlings exposed to DMP, respectively, while smaller ECs were obtained for 96 h exposure. Results from phytotoxicity of DMSO demonstrated that the doses of DMSO used for dissolving DMP had a negligible effect on rice seedlings. In conclusion, DMP is problematic at relatively low concentrations for rice seedlings, and inhibitory effects are highly dependent on response endpoints and the duration of exposure period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms by which AML1/ETO (A/E) fusion protein induces leukemogenesis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) without mutagenic events remain elusive. Here we show that interactions between A/E and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) are sufficient to prime leukemia cells for subsequent aggressive growth. In agreement with this, HIF1α is highly expressed in A/E-positive AML patients and strongly predicts inferior outcomes, regardless of gene mutations. Co-expression of A/E and HIF1α in leukemia cells causes a higher cell proliferation rate in vitro and more serious leukemic status in mice. Mechanistically, A/E and HIF1α form a positive regulatory circuit and cooperate to transactivate DNMT3a gene leading to DNA hypermethylation. Pharmacological or genetic interventions in the A/E-HIF1α loop results in DNA hypomethylation, a re-expression of hypermethylated tumor-suppressor p15INK4b and the blockage of leukemia growth. Thus high HIF1α expression serves as a reliable marker, which identifies patients with a poor prognosis in an otherwise prognostically favorable AML group and represents an innovative therapeutic target in high-risk A/E-driven leukemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) classification is the most widely used tool for penile cancer. However, the current system is based on few studies and has been unchanged since 2009. We determined whether a modified pathological N staging system that incorporates the laterality and number of lymph node metastases (LNMs) increases the accuracy of the results in predicting survival compared with the 7th edition of the pathological N staging system of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) for penile cancer.Methods:The clinical and histopathologic data from 111 patients with penile cancer with LNMs were analysed. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to determine the impact of the clinical and pathological factors on disease-specific survival of these patients. The predictive accuracy was further assessed using the concordance index.Results:According to the 7th edition of the pathological N classification, the 3-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates for patients with pN1, pN2, and pN3 disease are 89.6%, 65.9%, and 33.6%, respectively (PN1-N2=0.030, PN2-N3<0.001, P<0.001). Under the modified pathological N category criteria, the 3-year DSS rates for pN1, pN2, and pN3 patients were 90.7%, 60.5%, and 31.4%, respectively (PN1-N2=0.005, PN2-N3=0.004, P<0.001). In separate multivariate Cox regression models, only modified N stages (hazard ratio: 4.877, 10.895; P=0.018, P<0.001) exhibited independent effects on the outcome. The accuracy of the modified pathological N category was significantly increased.Conclusions:The modified pathological N staging system is a better reflection of the prognosis of patients with penile cancer. Our study should contribute to the improvement of prognostic stratification and systemic treatment to avoid overtreatment of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inappropriate c-MET signaling in cancer can enhance tumor cell proliferation, survival, motility, and invasion. Inhibition of c-MET signaling induces apoptosis in a variety of cancers. It has also been recognized as a novel anticancer therapy approach. Furthermore, reports have also indicated that constitutive expression of P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) is involved in the HGF/c-MET-related pathway of multidrug resistance ABCB1-positive human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. We previously reported that elevated expression levels of PKCδ and AP-1 downstream genes, and HGF receptor (c-MET) and ABCB1, in the drug-resistant MES-SA/Dx5 cells. Moreover, leukemia cell lines overexpressing ABCB1 have also been shown to be more resistant to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate. These findings suggest that chemoresistant cancer cells may also develop a similar mechanism against chemotherapy agents. To circumvent clinical complications arising from drug resistance during cancer therapy, the present study was designed to investigate apoptosis induction in ABCB1-overexpressed cancer cells using c-MET-targeted RNA interference technology in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that cell viability decreased and apoptosis rate increased in c-MET shRNA-transfected HGF/c-MET pathway-positive MES-SA/Dx5 and MCF-7/ADR2 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo reduction of tumor volume in mice harboring c-MET shRNA-knockdown MES-SA/Dx5 cells was clearly demonstrated. Our study demonstrated that downregulation of c-MET by shRNA-induced apoptosis in a multidrug resistance cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was demonstrated to be a risk factor of several cancers of the digestive system. In addition, liver cirrhosis, which could possibly result from chronic HBV infection, was associated with a higher risk of gastric cancer. However, the association of HBV infection and gastric cancer has not been investigated.Methods:A retrospective case-control study with 580 cases and 580 controls matched for age, sex and year of diagnosis was conducted. The associations between gastric cancer and HBV infection were explored with univariate and multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis.Results:Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was positively associated with gastric cancer (AOR (95% CI): 1.49 (1.06-2.10)). This association remained significant in patients without family history of gastric cancer (AOR (95% CI): (1.06-2.11)). For HBsAg-negative population, being anti-HBc positive/anti-HBs negative, which possibly indicated occult HBV infection, was also found to have some associations with gastric cancer. In addition, some synergistic effects between HBV infection and blood type A in gastric cancer were identified.Conclusions:The HBV infection was positively related with gastric cancer, especially for patients without family history of gastric cancer. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The study was to investigate the outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with hip fractures with a large-scale, population-based, nationwide, case-cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance database. The group has hip fractures at a younger age, higher complication, and mortality rate, which indicate that early intervention is necessary. Introduction: This study seeks to evaluate the incidence, mortality, and complication rates in RA patients with hip fractures, using a nationwide database. Methods: Data were collected from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The study group included 117,129 patients with hip fractures diagnosed from January 2004 to December 2010. Matching based on the propensity of RA patients was used. In total, 1,088 hip fractures were reported among patients with RA. Patients with hip fractures were divided into two groups: those without RA (controls) and those with RA (RA group). The incidence of hip fracture and mortality and complication rates after the hip fracture were then compared between the two groups. Results: RA patients had a significantly higher incidence of hip fracture (3,260/100,000 person-years) compared with the general population (72/100,000 person-years). Hip fractures occurred significantly earlier among RA patients (70.6 ± 5.3 years) compared with the control group (76.1 ± 6.2 years). Cumulative mortality rates at 6-month and 1-year follow-up were significantly higher among patients in the RA group (9.47 and 18.47 %) compared to the controls (8.47 and 13.62 %) and among RA patients without hip fractures (3.24 and 6.16 %). There was a significantly higher incidence of osteomyelitis after hip fracture among the RA group than among the body mass index-, comorbidity-, age-, and sex-matched patients in the control group. Conclusions: Compared to patients without RA, those with RA have a higher incidence of hip fractures at a relatively younger age and with higher complication and mortality rates. Steroid and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, the most common medicine in Taiwanese RA patients, might contribute to the high incidence of fracture and post-op infection. Appropriate early intervention to prevent hip fractures in RA patients is a critical issue in rheumatology care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A growing elderly population is expected worldwide, and the burden of hip fractures on health care system will continue to increase. By 2035, there will be a 2.7-fold increase in the number of hip fractures in Taiwan. The study provides quantitative basis for the future distribution of medical resources. Introduction: Hip fractures have long been recognized as a major public health concern. The study aimed to determine time trends in the incidence of hip fractures and to forecast the number of hip fractures expected in Taiwan up to 2035. Methods: A nationwide survey was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2004 to 2011. A total of 141,397 hip fractures were identified, with a mean of 17,675 fractures/year. Annual incidences of hip fractures were calculated and tested for trends. Projections of the incidence rates of hip fractures and bed days associated with hip fractures were calculated using Poisson regression on the historical incidence rates in combination with population projections from 2012 to 2035. Results: The incidence rates of hip fracture during 2004-2011 were 317 and 211 per 100,000 person-years among women and men, respectively. Over this 8-year period, the age-standardized incidence of hip fracture decreased by 13.4 % among women and 12.2 % among men. Despite the decline in the age-standardized incidence, the absolute number of hip fractures increased owing to the aging population. The number of hip fractures is expected to increase from 18,338 in 2010 to 50,421 in 2035-a 2.7-fold increase. The number of bed days for 2010 and 2035 was estimated at 161,248 and 501,995, respectively, representing a 3.1-fold increase. Conclusions: The socioeconomic impact of hip fractures will be high in the near future. This study provides a quantitative basis for future policy decisions to serve this need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. There were debates on the value of the second-line and beyond chemotherapy by the time we designed this trial. So we designed this phase II trial to assess the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed in patients with pretreated metastatic gastric cancer.Methods:Thirty-four patients with pretreated metastatic gastric cancer were enroled in the study. Patients received pemetrexed 500 mg m−2 every 21 days until the presence of progressive disease (PD) or unacceptable toxicity.Results:A total of 34 patients were enroled in the study; 34 were eligible for toxicity and 30 for response. The response rate was 13.3%, 13.3% patients achieved a partial response, 50.0% achieved stable disease and 36.7% had a PD as the best response. The median overall survival time and median progression-free survival time was 6.4 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.8-9.5 months) and 2.2 months (95% CI 2.0-5.5 months), respectively. Most haematologic and non-haematologic toxicity were grade 1/2. Grade 3/4 toxicity included fatigue, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, weight loss, anorexia and transaminase elevation.Conclusions:The monochemotherapy of pemetrexed is active and well tolerated when used in previously treated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gires-Tournois interferometer (GTI) with large dispersion compensation was designed and fabricated according to the requirement of the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system. The designed GTI can provide an average group delay dispersion (GDD) of −1500 fs and a high reflectance (>99.7%) from 1030 to 1050 nm. The Ion-assisted Deposition (IAD) technique was utilized to manufacture the mirror. Good agreement between the measured and designed results both for reflectance and GDD was achieved. The reflectance during 1030-1050 nm was above 99.5% and the GDD ripple was less than ±300 fs. The GTI was used both in the intracavity dispersion compensation and extracavity pulse compression for the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system. A mode-locked soliton pulse with a 506-fs duration was recorded. An extracavity pulse compression test showed that the GTI had identical pulse compression capability as the conventional grating pairs while the energy loss was obviously reduced. Our results demonstrated that the HDM, which was able to provide quite a large amount of negative dispersion (∼−8×10 fs), could be an ideal alternative to replace the dispersive compensating grating pairs for the dispersion compensation of the Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber laser system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant activation of c-kit proto-oncogene contributes to abnormal cell proliferation by altering the tyrosine kinase signaling and constitutes a crucial impetus for leukemogenesis. Epigenetic silencing of tumor-suppressive microRNAs (miRNAs) is a key oncogenic mechanism for the activation of oncogenes in tumors. In this study, several miRNAs potentially binding to the 3′-untranslated region of human c-kit mRNA were screened by luciferase reporter assays. Among these miRNAs, miR-193a was embedded in a CpG island and epigenetically repressed by promoter hypermethylation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines and primary AML blasts, but not in normal bone marrow cells. Importantly, miR-193a levels were inversely correlated with c-kit levels measured in 9 leukemia cell lines and 27 primary AML samples. Restoring miR-193a expression in AML cells harboring c-kit mutation and/or overexpression, either by synthetic miR-193a transfection or by DNA hypomethylating agent 5-azacytidine (5-aza) treatment, resulted in a significant reduction in c-kit expression at both RNA and protein levels and inhibition of cell growth. The growth-inhibitory activity of miR-193a was associated with apoptosis and granulocytic differentiation. Moreover, 5-aza-induced c-kit reduction could be partially blocked by miR-193a inhibitor, leading to a reversal of antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of 5-aza. These data reveal a critical role for methylation-repressed miR-193a in myeloid leukemogenesis and the therapeutic promise of upregulating miR-193a expression for c-kit-positive AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin-polarized density functional theory has been used to study the effects of vacancy defects on the magnetic properties of graphene. Structural optimization shows that introducing a carbon vacancy cluster into a graphene sheet changes the spatial distribution of the neighbor atoms, particularly those located around the vacancy. From spin-polarized DOS and LPDOS calculations, we find that only vacancies containing unpaired electrons show magnetism. These results lead us to formulate a relation between the vacancy-induced magnetic moment and the size and shape of the vacancy clusters in graphene sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal stability, glass-forming ability (GFA), mechanical properties and Poisson's ratio of a Zr-based Zr75-xNi25Alx (x = 0 to 24) glassy alloy series have been investigated systematically. The large supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) of over 80 K and critical sample diameter (dc) for glass formation above 10 mm were obtained in a composition range of x 5 11 to 21. The maximum dc of 15 mm was formed for an off-eutectic Zr60Ni25Al15 alloy, which had the largest ΔTx and γ value, along with the lowest density change upon crystallization. The bulk glassy alloys exhibited high compressive yield strength (σc,y) of 1662 to 2060 MPa and distinct plastic strain (εc,p) of 1.2 to 4.7%. With increasing Al content, the σc,y and Young's modulus linearly increased, while the εc,p gradually decreased. The εc,p was found to have a good correlation with the Poisson's ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human lung adenocarcinoma, the most prevalent form of lung cancer, is characterized by many molecular abnormalities. K-ras mutations are associated with the initiation of lung adenocarcinomas, but K-ras-independent mechanisms may also initiate lung tumors. Here, we find that the runt-related transcription factor Runx3 is essential for normal murine lung development and is a tumor suppressor that prevents lung adenocarcinoma. Runx3−/− mice, which die soon after birth, exhibit alveolar hyperplasia. Importantly, Runx3−/− bronchioli exhibit impaired differentiation, as evidenced by the accumulation of epithelial cells containing specific markers for both alveolar (that is SP-B) and bronchiolar (that is CC10) lineages. Runx3−/− epithelial cells also express Bmi1, which supports self-renewal of stem cells. Lung adenomas spontaneously develop in aging Runx3+/− mice (∼18 months after birth) and invariably exhibit reduced levels of Runx3. As K-ras mutations are very rare in these adenomas, Runx3+/− mice provide an animal model for lung tumorigenesis that recapitulates the preneoplastic stage of human lung adenocarcinoma development, which is independent of K-Ras mutation. We conclude that Runx3 is essential for lung epithelial cell differentiation, and that downregulation of Runx3 is causally linked to the preneoplastic stage of lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZrMCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves were synthesized by using the zirconium sulfate as zirconium source and using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as a template under microwave irradiation condition. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductive coupled plasma (ICP) technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and N physical adsorption, respectively. The effect of the different initial ZrO: SiO molar ratio, the different thermal treatment temperature and hydrothermal treatment time on textural property was investigated. The results show that the obtained products possess a typical mesoporous structure of MCM-41 and have specific surface areas in the range of 598·1∼971·4 m/g and average pore sizes in the range of ca. 2·46∼3·43 nm. On the other hand, the BET specific surface area and pore volume of the synthesized ZrMCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve decrease with the increased amount of zirconium incorporated in the starting material, the rise of thermal treatment temperature and the prolonging of hydrothermal treatment time, the mesoporous ordering deteriorates. The mesoporous structure of the ZrMCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve still retains after calcination at 750°C for 3 h or hydrothermal treatment at 100°C for 6 days, however, the mesoporous ordering is poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the tunneling phenomenon occurring in the photonic heterostructure consisting of single-negative (SNG) metamaterials is experimentally studied. First, the SNG metamaterials are fabricated using coplanar waveguide with lumped-element series capacitors and shunt inductors loading. Then, the tunneling phenomenon occurring in the photonic heterostructure containing SNG media is experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, the insensitivity of the tunneling frequency to the breakdown of periodicity of phonotic crystals was also illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanatos-associated proteins (THAPs) are zinc-dependent, sequence-specific DNA-binding factors involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, chromatin modification and transcriptional regulation. THAP11 is the most recently described member of this human protein family. In this study, we show that THAP11 is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissues and frequently downregulated in several human tumor tissues. Overexpression of THAP11 markedly inhibits growth of a number of different cells, including cancer cells and non-transformed cells. Silencing of THAP11 by RNA interference in HepG2 cells results in loss of cell growth repression. These results suggest that human THAP11 may be an endogenous physiologic regulator of cell proliferation. We also provide evidence that the function of THAP11 is mediated by its ability to repress transcription of c-Myc. Promoter reporter assays indicate a DNA binding-dependent c-Myc transcriptional repression. Chromatin immunoprecipitations and EMSA assay suggest that THAP11 directly binds to the c-Myc promoter. The findings that expression of c-Myc rescues significantly cells from THAP11-mediated cell growth suppression and that THAP11 expression only slightly inhibits c-Myc null fibroblasts cells growth reveal that THAP11 inhibits cell growth through downregulation of c-Myc expression. Taken together, these suggest that THAP11 functions as a cell growth suppressor by negatively regulating the expression of c-Myc.Cell Death and Differentiation (2009) 16, 395–405; doi:10.1038/cdd.2008.160; published online 14 November 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erythroid differentiation-associated gene (EDAG) is a hematopoietic tissue-specific gene that is highly expressed in the earliest CD34+ lin− bone marrow (BM) cells and involved in the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. To investigate the role of EDAG in hematopoiesis, we established an EDAG transgenic mouse model driven by human CD11a promoter. The transgenic mice showed increased mortality with severe organ infiltration by neutrophils, and the homeostasis of hematopoiesis was broken. The myelopoiesis was enhanced with expansion of myeloid cells in BM, increased peripheral granulocytes and extramedullary myelopoiesis in spleen. In contrast to myeloid cells, the lymphoid commitment was severely impaired with the B lymphopoiesis blocked at the transition from pro/pre-B I to pre-B II stage in BM and T thymocytes development blocked at the most immature stage (DN I). Moreover, we showed that EDAG was a transcriptional regulator which had transactivation activity and regulated the expression of several key transcription factors such as PU.1 and Pax5 in transgenic hematopoietic stem cells. These data suggested that EDAG was a key transcriptional regulator in maintaining the homeostasis of hematopoietic lineage commitment.Leukemia (2007) 21, 2277–2286; doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2404901; published online 9 August 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External-beam PIXE was used for the non-destructive analysis of early glasses unearthed from the tombs of Warring States (475-221BC) and Han Dynasty (BC206-AD220) in south China. It was found that these glasses were basically attributed to PbO-BaO-SiO2 system and K2O-SiO2 system. The results from the cluster analysis showed that some glasses had exactly the same recipe. The source of the K2O flux and the correlation between PbO and BaO are discussed. Some archeological information is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taiwan is endemic for viral hepatitis infections. A field survey was performed in the isolated aborigines in Hualien, eastern Taiwan, to investigate the geographic and ethnic variations in hepatitis epidemiology. Materials and Methods: From 1996 to 1998, blood was drawn from 1,748 subjects from two southern Ami and two northern Atayal villages for serum markers of hepatitis A, B and C. Results: Hepatitis A infection approached 100% in all groups. Hepatitis B infection and carrier rates were higher in the Atayal than in the Ami (92.3% vs 49.1% and 20.8% vs 5.3%; p < 0.01). Hepatitis C infection rates were higher in three villages (27.5%, 20.1% and 25.4% vs 3.6%; p < 0.01). Hepatitis C infection in creased with age (p < 0.01) while hepatitis B infection did not. Conclusion: Hepatitis A infected most aborigines before the age of 15 years. Hepatitis B seldom infected people after the age of 15 years, while hepatitis C continued to infect people who were older. Geographic factors are important for hepatitis C infection, whereas for hepatitis B infection, in addition ethnicity is also important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone Marrow Transplantation (2002) 30, 475–477. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1703669 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]