Search

Objective: Osteosarcoma is one of the most common malignancies in children and adolescents. Studies have shown that miR-34c-5p is involved in the progression of various cancers. To explore the effects of miR-34c-5p on the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and its potential mechanism. Methods: qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-34c-5p and FLOT2 mRNA in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. Western Blot was used to detect protein expression. MTT assay used to detect cell viability. Transwell was used to detect cell migration and invasion in each group. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to detect luciferase activity. Results: The expression of miR-34c-5pwas significantly decreased in osteosarcoma tissues and cells and the expression level of FLOT2 mRNA was significantly increased. Overexpression of miR-34c-5p and inhibition of FLOT2 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and inhibited the expression of Cyclin D1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins and promoted the expression of p21 protein. miR-34c-5p targeted to regulate the expression of FLOT2. Overexpression of FLOT2 reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-34c-5p overexpression on proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cell lines. Conclusion: miR-34c-5p can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. The mechanism may be related to targeting FLOT2, which will provide a new target for the prevention and treatment of osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: To strengthen the understanding, increase the early diagnostic rate, and improve the outcome of unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy through the analysis of the 121 patients suffering from this disease in our hospital. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on the 121 patients with unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy diagnosed at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from October 2014 to October 2015. The clinical data, such as gender, age, aetiology, clinical features, laboratory tests, and six months follow up reports were analyzed. Results: The main causes identified in the 121 patients with unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy were intracranial aneurysm (29.8%), diabetic peripheral neuropathy (26.5%), painful ophthalmoplegia (9.9%), and other causes (33.9%). The results from the six month follow up showed that in all the patients, 53.7% were fully recovered, 38.0% improved, and 8.3% had no significant change in symptoms. The results also indicated that the patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy had the best outcome with 71.9% full recovery rate, which was significantly higher than that in the patients with intracranial aneurysm (36.1%, p <.05), and idiopathic causes (44.5%, p <.05). Conclusions: Our data indicates that intracranial aneurysm is the leading cause of unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy, and that diabetic peripheral neuropathy has better outcome. Understanding the common causes and clinical features of unilateral oculomotor nerve paralysis is helpful for its early diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus doped ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized by simple thermal decomposition. By adjusting the concentration of reaction sources, different doping concentrations nanoparticals were obtained and kept wurtzite structure. The EDX and XPS results confirmed P incorporated in ZnO lattice and formed PZn-2VZn complex acceptor. In low temperature PL spectra and temperature dependent PL spectra, the emission peak located at 3.350 eV, 3.310 eV and 3.241 eV could be observed which were attributed to A0X, FA and DAP. Then, the increasing of P-doping concentrations would cause the energy of acceptor bound exciton became lower, and enhance the intensity of FA emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BiOCl is considered as a candidate to effectively separate photogenerated carriers due to its strong internal electronic field, thus being regarded as a new type of photocatalyst. We interpret BiOCl from the crystal structure, photocatalytic mechanism, synthetic method and influence factors of photocatalytic performance. In view of the shortages of inherent wide band-gap and high recombination probability photo-generated carrier for BiOCl, researches on how to improve the photocatalytic ability were summarized by the modification methods such as ion doping, noble metal deposition, heterojunction construction, morphology control and oxygen vacancy engineering during synthesis. Finally, the future development trend of BiOCl was prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BiOCl is considered as a candidate to effectively separate photogenerated carriers due to its strong internal electronic field, thus being regarded as a new type of photocatalyst. We interpret BiOCl from the crystal structure, photocatalytic mechanism, synthetic method and influence factors of photocatalytic performance. In view of the shortages of inherent wide band-gap and high recombination probability photo-generated carrier for BiOCl, researches on how to improve the photocatalytic ability were summarized by the modification methods such as ion doping, noble metal deposition, heterojunction construction, morphology control and oxygen vacancy engineering during synthesis. Finally, the future development trend of BiOCl was prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effect of individualised nutritional intervention on the postpartum nutritional status of patients with the growth and development of their offspring. This study included pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) at Hangzhou Women's Hospital in 2019. At 42 days after childbirth, the HbA1c (95% CI: 0.44-0.56%, p < 0.001), the FPG (95% CI: 0.01–0.26 mmol/L, p < 0.05), 2HPG (95% CI: −0.01–0.73 mmol/L, p < 0.05) and TCH (95% CI: −0.34–0.00 mmol/L, p < 0.05) level of the control group were 0.14, 0.36, and 0.17 mmol/L higher than in the intervention group. There were no differences in TG and HGB between the two groups (all p > 0.05). There were significant differences in the number of macrosomia and neonatal weight between the two groups (both p < 0.05). Differences in WHZ after childbirth were not statistically significant between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Individualised nutritional intervention could improve blood glucose levels 42 days after childbirth and reduce macrosomia incidence in pregnant women with GDM. What is already known on this subject? Individualised nutrition intervention can improve blood glucose status and complications during pregnancy, thus improving pregnancy outcomes. What the results of this study add? Individual nutrition intervention improved the blood glucose and nutritional status of patients at 42 days postpartum, but there was no difference in the growth and development indicators of their offspring at 0–24 months. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Improve nutritional intervention programs for gestational diabetes, improve blood glucose during pregnancy and postpartum, to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases; Extend the monitoring range of the growth and development of the offspring of gestational diabetes, find the problems and timely carry out the nutritional intervention, to improve the development of the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant proportion of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) suffer from physical and mental disorders which lead to the decline of sleep profile. Sleep disorders are highly prevalent in these patients. But the effect of sleep on the outcomes of post-PCI patients remains unclear. We aim to examine the individual and joint effects of sleep quality and sleep duration on the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in post-PCI patients. We included 314 participants who were diagnosed with a first CAD and underwent PCI with drug-eluting stents and followed up for a mean duration of 341 days to assess major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). Sleep quality, based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, was categorized as good (a score of ≤7) or poor (>7). Sleep duration was categorized into three classes: ≤ 5, 6–8 (reference group) and ≥ 9 hours per day. The log-rank test and the Cox regression model were used for data analysis. MACEs occurred in 26 (8.3%) patients. Subjects whose sleep duration was ≤ 5 hours per day had a shorter time to MACEs than those whose sleep duration was 6–8 hours (p = 0.036). A significantly increased risk for MACEs was observed for participants with a ≤ 5 hours sleep duration (HR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.02–4.64) after adjustment for demographic and clinical confounders. Associations between long sleep duration (≥ 9 hours), sleep quality, or their joint effect and MACEs were not found. This suggests the importance of considering sleep loss when developing strategies to improve health outcomes of PCI patients. And further researches are needed to examine the effects of different aspects of sleep quality on the prognosis of PCI patients and explore the reasons that lead to the decline of sleep profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the effect of individualised nutritional intervention on the postpartum nutritional status of patients with the growth and development of their offspring. This study included pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) at Hangzhou Women's Hospital in 2019. At 42 days after childbirth, the HbA1c (95% CI: 0.44-0.56%, p < 0.001), the FPG (95% CI: 0.01–0.26 mmol/L, p < 0.05), 2HPG (95% CI: −0.01–0.73 mmol/L, p < 0.05) and TCH (95% CI: −0.34–0.00 mmol/L, p < 0.05) level of the control group were 0.14, 0.36, and 0.17 mmol/L higher than in the intervention group. There were no differences in TG and HGB between the two groups (all p > 0.05). There were significant differences in the number of macrosomia and neonatal weight between the two groups (both p < 0.05). Differences in WHZ after childbirth were not statistically significant between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Individualised nutritional intervention could improve blood glucose levels 42 days after childbirth and reduce macrosomia incidence in pregnant women with GDM. What is already known on this subject? Individualised nutrition intervention can improve blood glucose status and complications during pregnancy, thus improving pregnancy outcomes. What the results of this study add? Individual nutrition intervention improved the blood glucose and nutritional status of patients at 42 days postpartum, but there was no difference in the growth and development indicators of their offspring at 0–24 months. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Improve nutritional intervention programs for gestational diabetes, improve blood glucose during pregnancy and postpartum, to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases; Extend the monitoring range of the growth and development of the offspring of gestational diabetes, find the problems and timely carry out the nutritional intervention, to improve the development of the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:Actin-binding protein capping protein gelsolin-like (CapG) was preferentially expressed in human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) under hypoxia, and reduced CapG expression was accompanied by impaired migration ability in vitro. We intended to investigate the effects of CapG on rat PASMCs and hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH) rat model.Materials and Methods:We investigated the effect of RNA interference-medicated down-regulation of CapG expression in rat PASMCs as well as in HPH rat model. The proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of PASMCs were evaluated. The HPH rat model was established by intratracheal instillation of lentiviral vector and subsequent hypoxia exposure for four weeks. Right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy and the percentage of medial wall thickness were measured to evaluate the development of HPH.Results:Knock-down CapG in PASMCs resulted in decreased proliferation, increased apoptosis and induced cell cycle inhibition. Down-regulation of CapG expression locally could attenuate pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy in HPH rat model.Conclusions:Our study indicated that CapG participated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular remodeling in HPH rats, which was probably mediated by promoting the proliferation and inhibiting the apoptosis of PASMCs. We proposed CapG modulating protective effects of pulmonary hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor sleep quality might be a potentially modifiable predictor of prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Anxiety and depression symptoms are highly prevalent in these patients. Whether anxiety and depression symptoms are risk factors for poor sleep quality in Chinese patients with CHD is unclear. This study is intended to examine the prevalence of poor sleep quality in Chinese patients with CHD and its associations with anxiety and depression symptoms, and to explore whether sex, obesity and CHD type modify these associations. Three hundred and forty-eight participants were included. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, >7 was defined as poor sleep quality) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to assess sleep quality and psychological symptoms. 47.1% of the participants had poor sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis showed that poor sleep quality was independently associated with anxiety and depression symptoms adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. However, adjusted for anxiety symptoms, poor sleep quality was no longer associated with depression symptoms. Subgroup and interaction analysis showed that poor sleep quality was associated with markedly higher HADS anxiety and depression scores among patients with stable angina than those with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). These findings suggest that poor sleep quality was associated with both anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese patients with CHD. However, in the case of concurrent anxiety and depression, anxiety was the main related factor of a high prevalence of poor sleep quality. The association between poor sleep quality and psychological symptoms was influenced by CHD type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression and anxiety often co-occur in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was conducted to examine the predictive value of depression, anxiety, and their combination on the prognosis of Chinese PCI patients. A multicenter prospective study was undertaken with a sample of 309 primary PCI patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was completed at baseline to assess anxiety and depression symptoms. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were recorded for 12 months after PCI. Days from baseline to the first MACE was the outcome variable. MACEs occurred in 26 (8.4%) patients. After adjustments for socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, a Cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that depression (HR = 2.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22–5.95; p =.014) and anxiety (HR = 2.56, 95% CI 1.18–5.54; p =.017) symptoms were independent predictors of MACEs. A subanalysis showed that the cumulative event-free survival curves did not differ among depressed and anxious patients and depressed but non-anxious patients (Log Rank p =.52). In conclusion, depression is associated with an increased risk for MACEs post-PCI, independent of anxiety. Although anxiety is associated with MACEs, it has no additional predictive value when co-occurring with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the suitability of aluminum nitride (AlN) for surface passivation and protection of gallium arsenide (GaAs), using a low-temperature passivation method. By varying the plasma power (100, 200 W) during etching, we found that 200 W produced better passivation. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we quantitatively demonstrate that etching the GaAs at 200 W almost removed the GaAs oxide layer. To further study the surface passivation of GaAs, we deposited an AlN film by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using trimethylaluminum and ammonia precursors at 250 °C. AlN passivation did not effectively smooth the GaAs surface, but did increase its photoluminescence intensity. This study shows that AlN coating by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition is a promising low-temperature method for GaAs surface passivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we perform a sulfur chemical passivation on GaAs substrate, which leads to a change in the photoluminescence (PL) owing to a reduction of surface states. By varying the reaction time of passivation, we can modify the chemical bonds of the GaAs surface and reduce the surface depletion region thickness, which strongly affects the emission efficiency of the GaAs band edge. Based on systematic PL measurements and energy band model with surface states, the sulfur passivation also enhances the number of free and bound excitons. Therefore, sulfur passivation is important to improve the performance of GaAs-based optoelectronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the suitability of aluminum nitride (AlN) for surface passivation and protection of gallium arsenide (GaAs), using a low-temperature passivation method. By varying the plasma power (100, 200 W) during etching, we found that 200 W produced better passivation. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we quantitatively demonstrate that etching the GaAs at 200 W almost removed the GaAs oxide layer. To further study the surface passivation of GaAs, we deposited an AlN film by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using trimethylaluminum and ammonia precursors at 250 °C. AlN passivation did not effectively smooth the GaAs surface, but did increase its photoluminescence intensity. This study shows that AlN coating by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition is a promising low-temperature method for GaAs surface passivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we perform a sulfur chemical passivation on GaAs substrate, which leads to a change in the photoluminescence (PL) owing to a reduction of surface states. By varying the reaction time of passivation, we can modify the chemical bonds of the GaAs surface and reduce the surface depletion region thickness, which strongly affects the emission efficiency of the GaAs band edge. Based on systematic PL measurements and energy band model with surface states, the sulfur passivation also enhances the number of free and bound excitons. Therefore, sulfur passivation is important to improve the performance of GaAs-based optoelectronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People lived through different types of stresses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and stresses from different sources are believed to associate differently with mental health. The current study aims to examine the relationship between types of stresses and mental health among the general Chinese adult population, and further explore the moderating role of social support in these relationships. This study was conducted from 1 to 10 February 2020, and 2441 participants were recruited through an online cross-sectional survey from 31 provinces in China. We used multiple linear regression analyses to examine the associations among stresses' types, social support, and mental health. The study revealed that all types of stresses were associated with more mental health symptoms. Stresses from lockdown policy presented stronger associations with mental health symptoms (Beta = 0.387 for depressive symptoms and Beta = 0.385 for post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)) than stresses from pandemic fear (Beta = 0.195 for depressive symptoms and Beta = 0.221 for PTSS). Moreover, greater social support enhanced the positive associations between stresses and mental health symptoms. Stresses from lockdown policies during the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic are worthy of more attention. We urge more interventions are required to reduce the side-effect of lockdown policies, and also discuss implications for mental health promotion. Compared to virus-related stress, lockdown-related stress is more strongly related to adverse mental health. In addition, social support moderated the association between stress and mental health symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane-bound transcription factors (MTFs) differ from cytosolic transcription factors (TFs) and they innately bind to membranes. Under external stimuli, MTFs are released from various membranes, convert into the active form, and are transported into the nucleus for transcriptional regulation. Therefore, unlike most TFs, MTFs go through the unique process of transitioning from the membrane to intracellular regions. There are two typical mechanisms during this period: proteolytic processing and alternative splicing. However, other activation schemes have also recently emerged. To further understand these mechanisms, it is essential to study how MTFs transport within the cell and into the nucleus. Imaging techniques with high spatiotemporal resolution can partially resolve this process but new methods are required for future studies. In this review, we give an overview of the current knowledge of plant MTFs, including their identification, specific localization, and the difficulties in studying their cellular dynamics. We also discuss molecular mechanisms of MTF release and advanced methods, such as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, single-particle tracking, and photoactivated localization microscopy, to further reveal their intracellular movement in living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) was used to grow GaSb thin films on GaSb substrates. We have obtained the optimized growth condition to improve films quality and the surface morphology of GaSb epilayer during growth. Two group samples were tested to study the influence of the growth rate and the V/III flux ratios on the crystal quality. It caused fewer defects when the growth rate of approximately was fixed 0.6 ML/s. And the surface morphology and performance was best for GaSb epilayer when the beam ratio was 5. The thin films were characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and high-resolution X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The root means square roughness of the superlattice surface was only 0.335 nm. The full width at half maximum of the rocking curve was 39.6 arcsec and the emission wavelength of photoluminescence was 1.99 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Asthma is a chronic airway immunoinflammatory disorder characterized by airway remodeling. Phyllanthus amarus has been reported to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Aim: To evaluate the possible mechanism of action of isolated phytoconstituents from P. amarus (PA) against ovalbumin (OVA)-induced experimental airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Material and method: Phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin were isolated and characterized (HPLC) from the methanolic extract of PA. AHR was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by OVA-challenged, and animals were treated with PA (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) for 28 days. Results: The HPLC analysis showed the presence of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin in methanolic extract of PA at RT of 25.243 and 26.832 min, respectively. OVA-induced alterations in hemodynamic parameters, lung functions test, peripheral blood oxygen level, total, and differential cell count in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid was significantly attenuated (p <.05) by PA (100 and 200 mg/kg). It also significantly decreased (p <.05) the levels of total protein and albumin in serum, BALF, and lungs. OVA-induced increase in IgE (total and OVA-specific), and oxido-nitrosative stress (SOD, GSH, MDA, and NO) levels were significantly (p <.05) decreased by PA. RT-PCR analysis revealed that elevated oxido-nitrosative stress (Nrf2 and iNOs), immune-inflammatory makers (HO-1, TNF-α, IL-1β, and TGF-β1), Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-6) levels were significantly attenuated (p <.05) by PA. PA also attenuated histological and ultrastructural aberrations induced by OVA. Conclusion: Results of the present investigation demonstrated that the presence of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin in P. amarus alleviated Th2 response in OVA-induced AHR via modulation of endogenous markers in a murine model of asthma. Thus, phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin may be a new therapeutic approach for the management of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) generated by cold atmospheric-pressure plasma could damage genomic DNA, although the precise types of these DNA damage induced by plasma are poorly characterized. Understanding plasma-induced DNA damage will help to elucidate the biological effect of plasma and guide the application of plasma in ROS-based therapy. In this study, it was shown that ROS and RNS generated by physical plasma could efficiently induce DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) in bacteria, yeast, and human cells. An in vitro assay showed that plasma treatment resulted in the formation of covalent DPCs by activating proteins to crosslink with DNA. Mass spectrometry and hydroperoxide analysis detected oxidation products induced by plasma. DPC formation were alleviated by singlet oxygen scavenger, demonstrating the importance of singlet oxygen in this process. These results suggested the roles of DPC formation in DNA damage induced by plasma, which could improve the understanding of the biological effect of plasma and help to develop a new strategy in plasma-based therapy including infection and cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface passivation is an effective way to eliminate the surface states and to improve the optical properties of GaAs. Moreover, carriers restriction of wide bandgap materials also is a path to enhance photoluminescence. In this paper, Be-doped GaAs epilayer was growth on GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The MgO films were deposited by atom layer deposition. It was used as not only passivation layer to eliminate surface states, but also barrier layer to restrict carriers. The carriers restriction was confirmed by photoluminescence and current-voltage characteristics of metal-insulator-semiconductor structure. As the result, the photoluminescence intensity of Be-doped GaAs with 5 nm MgO was 2.5 times higher than the bare Be-doped GaAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effectiveness of adoptive transfer of KIR ligand-mismatched highly activated nature killer (HANK) cells in patients with hepatic carcinoma. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained and cultured in vitro to induce expansion and activation of HANK cells. After 12 d of culture, the cells were divided into 3 parts and infused intravenously on days 13 to 15. The patients (n = 16) were given one to 6 courses of immunotherapy. No side effects were observed. The lymphocyte subsets and cytokine, thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) and circulating tumor cell (CTC) levels were measured 1 day before treatment and 1 month after the final infusion: the absolute number of total T cells and NK cells and the IL-2 and TNF-β levels were significantly higher, and the TK1 and CTC levels were significantly lower at 1 month after treatment. The percentage of patients who experienced partial response, disease stabilization, and disease progression at 3 months after treatment was 18.8%, 50.0% and 31.2%, respectively. The total follow-up period was 2–12 months. The median progression-free survival from treatment was 7.5 months. This is the first study on the benefits of HANK cell immunotherapy for hepatic carcinoma These encouraging preliminary observations imply that HANK cell immunotherapy is safe, can improve the immune function of patients with liver cancer, and may even reduce the rate of tumor metastasis and recurrence. However, further studies on larger samples of patients with a longer follow-up period are required to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies have demonstrated that the Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) could retrieve sea surface currents accurately in low-moderate turbid coastal waters, based on maximum crosscorrelation (MCC) technique. However, its performance in highly turbid waters remains unclear. In this study, the MCC method is used to derive hourly sea surface currents in Hangzhou Bay (HZB) with highly turbid waters from the GOCI data, and its performance is examined by in situ measurements and model simulations. The results show that the GOCI-derived sea surface currents can catch tidal phase variations well, yet the performance of the derived velocity is not as good as the previous studies in low-moderate turbid waters. The reason may be due to the rapid deposition and resuspension processes of suspended particulate matter in high turbidity waters, which contaminate the MCC pattern tracking. The GOCI-derived deposition and resuspension rates can reach up to about 190 and 270 mg l-1 h-1 in HZB, respectively, which demonstrates that the potential of geostationary ocean colour imagery in deriving the suspended particle deposition and resuspension rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bronchitis (IB) are important diseases, which cause respiratory diseases in chickens, resulting in severely economic losses in the poultry industry. In this study,N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (N-2-HACC) andN,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) were synthesized as adjuvant and delivery carrier for vaccine antigens. N-2-HACC-CMC/NDV/IBV nanoparticles (NPs) (NDV/La Sota and IBV/H120 encapsulated in N-2-HACC-CMC NPs) and N-2-HACC-CMC/NDV-IBV NPs (the mixing of N-2-HACC-CMC/NDV NPs and N-2-HACC-CMC/IBV NPs in a ratio of 1:1) were prepared by the polyelectrolyte composite method, respectively. Both nanoparticles exhibited lower cytotoxicity and higher stability. Their bioactivities were maintained when they were stored at 37 °C for three weeks. Release assayin vitroshowed that both NDV and IBV could be sustainably released from the nanoparticles after an initial burst release.In vivoimmunization of chickens showed that N-2-HACC-CMC/NDV/IBV NPs or N-2-HACC-CMC/NDV-IBV NPs intranasally induced higher titers of IgG and IgA antibodies, significantly promoted proliferation of lymphocytes and induced higher levels of interleukine-2 (IL-2), IL-4 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) than the commercially combined attenuated live vaccine did. This is the first study in the field of animal vaccines demonstrating that intranasal administration of chickens with antigens (NDV and IBV) encapsulated with chitosan derivative could induce humoral, cellular, and mucosal immune responses, which protected chickens from the infection of highly virulent NDV and IBV. This study indicated that N-2-HACC-CMC could be used as an efficient adjuvant and delivery carrier for further development of mucosal vaccines and drugs and could have an immense application potential in medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without any catalysts-assisted, homobranched ZnO nano/microstructure had been synthesized via a simple low temperature water bath method. Such nano/microstructure which consists of shuttle-like nano/microrod backbone was surrounded by six radial oriented branches. The length of the shuttle-like ZnO nano/microrods is about 5–10 μm. The diameter of the single shuttle-like nano/microrods is 1–2.5 μm at the stem and 10–50 nm at the tip while the branches size from top to bottom is 10–50 nm to 0.5–1 μm. A strong ultraviolet emission and weak deep level emission reflect the high optical quality. In addition, a detailed discussion regarding the probable growth mechanism is presented in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aiming to modification the surface optical properties, CdS/ZnO composites were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The ZnO/CdS heterostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), photoluminescence (PL) measurements at room temperature and the temperature-dependent photoluminescence treatment. In the room temperature PL spectra, the defect-related deep level emission can effectively suppress under optimal CdS deposition condition. With the increasing of CdS deposition time to 150 min, the donor bound exciton (D0X) peak showed a significantly red shift at low temperature (77K) PL spectrum. Through analysis the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra, we find that it was caused by acceptor bound exciton (A0X). Meanwhile, there appeared a donor-acceptor pair related emission at lower-energy side of the spectrum. The experiment demonstrated that the surface donor defects can effectively suppresse after CdS nanoparticles deposition on ZnO nanorods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As a kind of semiconductor material, the morphology of zinc oxide directly affects its physical properties. By adjusting the ratio of the reaction source and the rate of the incoming gas flow, we obtained one-dimensional nanowire and two-dimensional nanoflag-like functional gradient material (FGM) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Compared with the one-dimensional nanowires, the growth of the two-dimensional ZnO FGM not only c-oriented, but other directions are also appeared. Photoluminescence results show that the FGM has a higher visible/UV emission intensity ratio than the nanowires for several orders of magnitudes. Meanwhile, the growth mechanism of these nanostructures were discussed in details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence measurement provides a nondestructivein situanalysis of elements. We present a high-resolution minor element dataset covering the past 1300 years from the varved sediments in Lake Xiaolongwan. The variations of lithogenic elements (Rb, Sr, Ti, Zn, As and Fe) in the lake sediment show distinct decadal to centennial features during the past 1300 years. The Medieval Warm Period has a low value of lithogenic elements. In contrast, the Little Ice Age may be a period with stronger physical weathering and a higher value of lithogenic elements. Principal components analysis of our geochemical dataset suggests a link between high Rb/Sr ratio and Zr abundance in the sediment that could be related with both chemical weathering process and dust input. The variations of biogenic bromine (factor-3) show a pattern similar to the decadal drought index in Korea. Wet conditions favor bromine accumulation in lake sediment because high precipitation may transport more bromine from forest soil and increase plankton production in the lake. Spectral analysis of factor-3 yields notable periodicities of 2.6, 3.5, 53–55, 87–89 and 105–110 years, implying that precipitation variability for the past 1400 years could be associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation and solar activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared by electrochemical deposition method in aqueous solution. To test the sample, the results show that the sample presents a rod-like shape with hexagonal cross sections and typical morphology of wurtzite ZnO, and (002) diffraction peak of Mg-doped ZnO nanorods move to large-angle direction in XRD. The peak of Mg element has appeared in EDS. XPS shows that there is Mg-O binding in the sample. PL spectrums of the samples are observed at room temperature, the UV emission of Mg-doped ZnO presents blue shift compared with undoped ZnO, absorption spectrum shows that band gap of Mg-doped ZnO is larger. We can reach the conclusion that the Zn2+ions are successfully substituted by Mg2+ions in the ZnO lattice. In addition, photocatalysis property of Mg-doped ZnO nanorods is investigated. It is found that the degradation efficiency of methyl orange raise twice by Mg-doped ZnO nanorods in comparison to undoped ZnO nanorods. The result indicates that the photocatalysis activity of ZnO nanorods can enhance after Mg2+ions are doped into ZnO lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Etching and sulfuring are equally important process during the surface sulfur passivation of gallium antimopnide (GaSb) In this work, we described the effects of etching by certain proportion of bromine methanol solution instead of hydrochloric acid solution (acidification), which could lead to a improvement of surface passivation homogeneity of GaSb. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra and the atomic force microscope (AFM) morphology on GaSb are also indicated a good surface morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-power test pattern generation, named the low switching activity test pattern generation (LSA-TPG), is proposed to reduce the power dissipation of built-in self-test (BIST)-based circuits during test. A single input changing (SIC) test pattern is generated by a counter and a Gray encoder which is called the SICG (single input changing generator). The built-in test vectors are generated by the SIC patterns which are exclusive-ORed with seeds generated by the modified linear feedback shift register (LFSR). All the test vectors are SIC patterns during the 2m test clock period; thus the switching activities of the test vectors are greatly reduced in test mode without compromising fault coverage. The proposed structure has the advantages of low test power and low hardware overhead. LSA-TPG is independent of circuit under test (CUT) and flexible enough to be used in both BIST and scan-based BIST architectures. The proposed architecture increases the correlation among the test patterns with negligible impact on test length. Experiments conducted on ISCAS'89 benchmark circuits demonstrate that the proposed scheme gives better fault coverage with a large reduction in test power dissipation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]