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To improve the flame retardancy of phenolic foam from the perspective of sustainable development, it is a feasible way to add bio-based flame retardants into phenolic foam. Lignin has a similar structure to phenol, which provides a possibility to replace part of phenol. In this paper, we prepared a kind of reactive bio-based flame retardant based on enzymatic hydrolyzed lignin, in which side chain was chemically grafted with phosphorus and nitrogen and benzene ring would participate in the phenolic condensation reaction. According to elemental analysis and ICP-OES data, the content of nitrogen and phosphorus in modified lignin (NP-L) increased to 2.95% and 3.55% respectively. Compared with original lignin, the carbon residue rate of NP-L increased from 3.25% to 12.13% because of the presence of flame retardant elements N and P. Then lignin-based flame retardant was used to replace phenol for modifying phenolic foams (NPLPFX). The limited oxygen index (LOI) and compressive strength of phenolic foam were improved effectively by adding modified lignin when the substitution rate was less than 25%. The LOI and compressive strength of the modified phenolic foam with 5% replacement amount (NPLPF5) are 55.6% and 0.24 MPa, which increased by 88% and 60% compared with pure phenolic foam. The cone calorimetric data also showed that NPLPF5 had good flame retardancy, and the peak heat release rate and total heat release were significantly lower than PF. This work suggests a novel green strategy for improving the flame retardancy performance of phenolic foam and promoting the utilization of lignin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online classes became the only option for many students. The main challenge for these classes was conducting risky and complex chemical or biological experiments in a domestic environment. To address this challenge, a smart experiment system called MRLab was developed. MRLab used wearables such as a smart glove and head-mounted device to record sensory data and a multimodal hybrid fusion model GVVS to interpret the user's experimental intent, which essentially transforms the user's abstract behavioral actions into a probabilistic set of experimental intent that can be computed. Different experiments in MRLab used different libraries of experimental intents. The SrNet model in GVVS was used to estimate the probability of the user's gesture behavior generated from the smart glove, while the SIPA algorithm compared speech information entered during the experiment with the experimental intent library to estimate the probability of the user's intent. At the same time, the scene visual channel monitored the information about the object the user intended to operate, with the SVF algorithm computing the probability of the intended object in real-time. The results from ANOVA and post-hoc comparative testing conducted on 21 volunteers revealed that MRLab outperformed other experiment modes, including WEB, AR, and VR, with a higher intention understanding rate, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Therefore, MRLab proved to be a useful alternative to traditional physics laboratory experiments during the pandemic, along with being an additional teaching tool for remote learning purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a composite excitation method is used to optimize the design of an existing cantilevered cylindrical ultrasonic motor to avoid vibration interference. Modal and transient simulation analysis of the stator structure was carried out by the finite element method. Optimized stator structure is simpler than the original motor. Simulation analysis results show that the circumferential amplitude is increased by more than 35% with 55.7% reduction in ceramic usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro specific IgE (sIgE) testing has become an important tool for the diagnosis of IgE-mediated allergic diseases. Current methods used to detect allergen sIgE are time consuming and/or expensive. Therefore, a new method was developed for rapid quantitative detection of cat dander-sIgE antibody based on homogeneous chemiluminescence immunoassay. Selection of chemibeads with different chemical groups, and the best Light-initiated chemiluminescence assay (LiCA) analytical mode for cat dander-sIgE detection. To validate and eliminate the interference of IgE on the detection of cat dander-sIgE, concentration of biotinylated anti-human IgE antibody was optimized. For quantification of cat dander-sIgE, a calibration curve was established, and the performance of the assay was evaluated according to clinical guidelines. Indirect LiCA is the best mode of analysis and biotinylated anti-human IgE antibody at a dilution ratio of 1:250 minimizes IgE interference. The coefficient of variation of the developed LiCA was 1.49% to 4.66%, with an intermediate precision of 6.90% to 8.21%. The LoB, LoD, and LoQ of the assay were 0.023 kUA/L, 0.056 kUA/L and 0.185 kUA/L. The coefficient of correlation (r) between LiCA and ImmounoCAP was 0.9478. A cat dander-sIgE quantitation assay based on homogeneous chemiluminescence immunoassay was established, which could be a new reliable analytical tool for the determination of cat dander-sIgE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to investigate the efficacy and clinical significance of the Zuogui pill (ZGP) on premature ovarian failure (POF) via the GDF-9/Smad2 pathway. Changes in clinical symptoms in the control group (treated with Femoston alone) and the treatment group (treated with ZGP combined with Femoston) were assessed before and after treatment. Sex hormone levels, serum inflammatory cytokine levels, and ultrasound parameters were measured before and after treatment. POF rat models were established using cyclophosphamide and the POF rats were treated with Femoston, or ZGP combined with Femoston. GDF-9 and Smad2 expression levels were determined by RT-qPCR. The follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-21 levels, and the pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) values were decreased, while the estradiol (E2) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels, antral follicle count (AFC), ovarian volume (OV), mean ovarian diameter (MOD), and peak systolic velocity (PSV) values were increased in the treatment group compared to the control group. After treatment with ZGP combined with Femoston, GDF-9 and Smad2 expression in the ovarian tissues of POF rats increased. ZGP has a therapeutic effect on POF via modulation of the GDF-9/Smad2 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Leafy spurge is a perennial, noxious, and invasive weed. It has been a major threat to the prairie ecosystems in North America due to encroachment and has caused significant biological and economic impacts. Advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and UAV-based sensors facilitate non-destructive, low cost, flexible and near-real-time vegetation monitoring and provide a promising alternative to field surveys for mapping invasive species. This study investigated the utility of UAV technology for mapping and monitoring flowering leafy spurge in a heterogeneous landscape. The study was conducted in a complex landscape of grasses, shrubs, and trees, near Last Mountain Lake in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images were acquired in 28 June 2015 and 5 July 2017 with partial overlap of geographical coverage during peak leafy spurge flowering period using a fixed-wing UAVs equipped with consumer-grade cameras. The images were classified using a hybrid classification schema, combination of Hue-Intensity-Saturation (HIS) thresholding and object-based post-processing methods. This method had some limitations in separating flowering leafy spurge from the surrounding vegetation however, flowering leafy spurge were effectively detected with an overall accuracy of 78% using 2015 image and 75% using 2017 image. The change in flowering leafy spurge distribution for a common area of coverage overlap was quantified based on maps generated for the two years. Leafy spurge coverage declined 0.2%, approximately 0.27 ha, in 2017. The results revealed that UAV RGB images can be routinely used for operational programmes to monitor leafy spurge in complex landscapes and aid in the management activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a direction adaptive energy harvester to scavenge multiple wind directions. A pair of rotatable hinges were fixed on a rotation axis to realize the orientation adaptive. The transverse bending vibration of piezoelectric beam induced by vortex shedding was converted into electricity while the change of relative position between magnets and coils output electricity too. The prototype of the energy harvester was fabricated and experiments were carried out. The harvester exhibited that the optimal power of piezoelectric and electromagnetic generation are, respectively, 5.19 mW and 0.32 mW in the wind speed range of 3.8 m/s to 6.4 m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a percussive piezoelectric energy harvester (PPEH) is proposed for scavenging on wind galloping oscillation. Due to galloping effect of the square oscillator, the impact beams could transfer wind galloping oscillation to the piezoelectric beams percussively, and then convert the vibration energy into electricity. The vibration response and energy harvesting performance of the PPEH are experimentally investigated with variable parameters. And the results show that there is an optimal critical wind speed to maximize the output power of the PPEH. The electrical performance of the PPEH can be improved by adding tip mass and changing the percussive position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an electromagnet power energy harvester is proposed and experimented that using galloping force to achieve wind energy converting into usable electricity. When the device is subjected to a relative low wind speed excited, due to the galloping force, the square prism vibrates at a certain angle in the direction perpendicular to the wind excitation. To achieve multiple directions wind energy scavenging purpose, a 3 × 3 magnets array is determined to obtain the maximum flux changing rate at multiple directions of wind. It is indicated that the proposed energy harvester exists a maximum power 0.124 mW at 2.0 m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly sensitive, simple and rapid method was developed for the determination of ultra-trace cobalt by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The combination of DLLME and GFAAS methods is favourable for GFAAS is a well-established technique with excellent sensitivity, and is suitable for low volume of sample of the remained phase obtained after DLLME. For DLLME, a newly synthesised reagent 5-(5-Cyano-2-pyridylazo)-2,4-diaminotoluene (5-CN-PADAT) was used as a chelating agent, 1,2-dichloroethane (CH2ClCH2Cl) and acetonitrile (CH3CN) as extraction and dispersive solvent. Several variables potentially affecting the extraction efficiency and its subsequent determination, such as type and volume of extraction and disperser solvents, pH of test solution, extraction time, volume and concentration of the chelating agent and salt effect, were investigated and optimised. After phase separation, 10 µL of the sedimented phase containing enriched analytes was injected into GFAAS for the determination of cobalt. Under the optimised conditions, the analytical graph was linear in the range of 0.04 ~ 1.0 ng mL−1, and the limit of detection was 0.01 ng L−1 for cobalt. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 10 replicate measurements of 0.2 ng L−1 of cobalt was 3.6%. Enrichment factor (EF) calculated as the ratio of the slopes of the calibration graphs obtained with and without DLLME was 96 for 5.0 mL sample solution. The method was successfully applied to the determination of trace cobalt in water samples with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many research studies reveal that both attentional bias and impaired cognitive control significantly influence heroin addiction. However, limited research has been conducted into how the interplay between attentional bias and cognitive control modulates heroin-seeking behavior. Objectives: A modified version of the flanker task was used to investigate whether attentional bias to drug-related stimuli is modulated by cognitive control mechanisms among heroin users. Methods: Sixty participants (30 male heroin users during their abstinence period and 30 normal controls) responded to the direction of the middle arrow, while ignoring the adjacent arrow and the pictures (drug-related cues and neutral cues) presented as part of the task. Results: The abstinent heroin users had a significantly larger flanker effect under drug-related cues compared to neutral cues, whereas the control group showed no such trend. This effect was primarily influenced by increased reaction times in the presence of drug-related cues relative to neutral cues in the incongruent condition among abstinent heroin users, but not in the control group. Conclusions/Importance: Among abstinent heroin users, attentional bias to drug-related cues was moderated by attentional control. Further, high cognitive control demand was found to reduce heroin users' ability to resist attentional capture from salient, but irrelevant, drug-related information, which may contribute to compulsive drug-seeking behavior and relapse in heroin users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that affective empathy, rather than cognitive empathy, significantly predicts people's altruistic sharing behavior in economic games. However, most of these studies were conducted in Western populations. There might be cultural differences in the relations between empathy and altruism due to different levels of empathy between Western and Asian individuals. In this study, we measured different aspects of empathy in Chinese adults as well as their allocation offers in the dictator and ultimatum games. We found that cognitive empathy, but not affective empathy, was a significant predictor of adults' altruistic sharing behavior in the two economic games. Subjective family income was also revealed to be a significant predictor of individuals' altruism in the ultimatum game, such that people with lower subjective family income tended to be more generous. Potential implications of our findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two side-by-side piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) in water flow are proposed. Vibration response and energy harvesting performance are investigated by numerical and experimental method. The results show that the vibration response and output power of the two PEHs are same to each other and maximum value of output power can be obtained with vortex-induced resonance. Energy harvesting performance can be enhanced because of the coupling effect at small spacing distance. Hence, on the premise of collision avoidance, more PEHs can be arranged in a certain space, which can improve the overall performance of energy harvesting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(−)-Guaiol, a sesquiterpene alcohol with the guaiane skeleton, has been found in many Chinese medicinal plants and been reported to comprise various guaiane natural products that are well known for their antibacterial activities. Previously, we have shown its antitumor activity by inducing autophagy in NSCLC cells. However, its potential mechanism in inducing autophagy is still under our investigation. Here, data from our western blotting assays showed that, in NSCLC cells, (−)-Guaiol significantly blocked the mTORC2-AKT signaling by suppressing mTOR phosphorylation at serine 2481 (S2481) to induce autophagy, illustrated by the increasing ratio of LC3II/I. Besides, it impaired the mTORC1 signaling by inhibiting the activity of its downstream factors, such as 4E-BP1 and p70 S6K, all of which could obviously rescued by the mTOR activator MHY1485. Afterwards, results from biofunctional assays, including cell survival analysis, colony formation assays and flow cytometry assays, suggested that (−)-Guaiol triggered autophagic cell death by targeting both mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling pathways. In summary, our studies showed that (−)-Guaiol inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells by specifically targeting mTOR signaling pathways, including both mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling, providing a better therapeutic option for substituting rapamycin in treating NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the robust estimation and empirical likelihood for the regression parameter in generalized linear models with right censored data. A robust estimating equation is proposed to estimate the regression parameter, and the resulting estimator has consistent and asymptotic normality. A bias-corrected empirical log-likelihood ratio statistic of the regression parameter is constructed, and it is shown that the statistic converges weakly to a standard χ 2 distribution. The result can be directly used to construct the confidence region of regression parameter. We use the bias correction method to directly calibrate the empirical log-likelihood ratio, which does not need to be multiplied by an adjustment factor. We also propose a method for selecting the tuning parameters in the loss function. Simulation studies show that the estimator of the regression parameter is robust and the bias-corrected empirical likelihood is better than the normal approximation method. An example of a real dataset from Alzheimer's disease studies shows that the proposed method can be applied in practical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) signaling pathway is frequently deregulated in many malignancies. Therefore, targeting the EGFR pathway is regarded as a promising strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Herein, we identified a 2-amino-nicotinonitrile compound (w09) as a novel autophagy enhancer, which potently induced macroautophagy/autophagy and consequent apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that EGFR-mediated activation of the RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway played a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Inhibition of the MAPK1/3 pathway with U0126 or blockade of autophagy by specific chemical inhibitors markedly attenuated the effect of w09-mediated growth inhibition and caspase-dependent apoptosis. Furthermore, these conclusions were supported by knockdown ofATG5or knockout ofATG5and/orATG7. Notably, w09 increased the expression of SQSTM1 by transcription, and knockout ofSQSTM1or deleting the LC3-interaction region domain of SQSTM1, significantly inhibited w09-induced PARP1 cleavage, suggesting the central role played by SQSTM1 in w09-induced apoptosis. In addition, in vivo administration of w09 effectively inhibited tumor growth of SGC-7901 xenografts. Hence, our findings not only suggested that activation of the EGFR-RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway may play a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis, but also imply that induction of autophagic cancer cell death through activation of the EGFR pathway may be a potential therapeutic strategy for EGFR-disregulated gastric tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TiO2nanotubes were prepared by anodic oxidation method using HF electrolyte solution and NH4F electrolyte solution on the titanium foil substrate. The morphology and crystal structures of the nanotube arrays were characterized. The structures of TiO2nanotube arrays prepared by HF acid aqueous solution are not clear and regular. However, TiO2nanotube arrays prepared by NH4F / organic ethylene glycol electrolyte are more orderly and clear. By controlling the composition of the electrolyte, anodic oxidation voltage and anodization time parameters, TiO2nanotube arrays with a highly ordered and controllable process were obtained on the Ti foil substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Grassland Vegetation Inventory (GVI), which represents a comprehensive biophysical, anthropogenic, and land-use inventory of grasslands in Alberta, is widely used as a baseline for grassland conditions. An up-to-date GVI is essential for understanding grassland changes and for planning management or conservation actions on grasslands. In this study, a hybrid change detection method is proposed that incorporates change vector analysis and a set of vegetation indices (VIs) measuring different vegetation attributes for mapping the conversion of native grassland to cultivated agriculture, and ultimately to update the GVI based on multiseasonal and multiyear Landsat images. Vegetation indices that contribute significantly to differentiation between existing native grassland and land recently converted from native grassland to cultivated cropland were identified by using stepwise regression analyses and were used as inputs for mapping the conversion between 2006 and 2011 or 2015. The results showed that land conversion can be detected using a single image acquired during the growing season, but that the accuracy of identification is affected by the date of image collection and the nature of the VIs used. The greatest accuracy in detecting land conversion between 2006 and 2011 was achieved using the difference in VI between years (dVI) for the Shortwave Infrared Reflectance 3/2 Ratio (SWIR32) and the Enhanced Vegetation Difference Index (EVI) derived from July imagery (accuracy = 95.2 %; Kappa = 0.86). The same combination of SWIR32 and EVI was also effective, although with lower accuracy (accuracy = 86.0 %; Kappa = 0.64) when tested on a larger geographical area and for detecting land use change between 2006 and 2015. The method proposed here could be applied to detect the land cover conversion in other grassland regions, although the optimal VIs and image acquisition date may need to be modified depending on the type of land use activities implemented in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniaturized T-shaped linear piezoelectric actuator is designed. Modal analysis is developed to tune the resonance frequencies of the two vibration modes to be close; and the vibration trajectories of particles on the driving surface are investigated by transient analysis. The no-load speed of the prototype is 1127 mm/s, the maximum output thrust force is 41 N, and the maximum output power is 9.1 W. The power density of the prototype is 28.09 W/kg, which is nearly six times that of the previous design. This work provides new ideas for the optimal design of piezoelectric actuator using longitudinal vibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method is reported for the determination of cobalt using thermal lens spectrometry with cloud point extraction using 2-(3,5-dichloro-2-pyridylazo)-5-dimethylaminoaniline as the chelating agent and octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (Triton X-114) as the extractant. Optimized conditions for cloud point extraction included a pH of 5.0 in acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer, 4.0 × 10−6molar of the chelating agent, 0.08 percent Triton X-114 (w/v), and equilibration for twenty minutes at 60 degrees Celsius. After separation, the surfactant-rich phase was dissolved in 0.45 milliliter of 2 molar HCl-ethanol for determination. A single mode helium:neon laser at 632.8 nanometers was used for excitation and as the probe. Using the optimized conditions, a linear calibration curve was obtained from 0.2 to 4 nanograms per milliliter cobalt and the limit of detection was 0.02 nanogram per milliliter. The sensitivity was enhanced by approximately 500-fold compared to conventional spectrophotometry. The method was used for the determination of cobalt in water. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes the development of a portable microfluidic chip based on a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensor for crystal violet analysis. A Y-shape microfluidic chip with a staggered herringbone structure was designed to efficiently mix the analyte and SERS active silver colloid. The subsequent detection of the analyte was performed on the microfluidic chip by a portable Raman system. Compared with other methods, this sensor is easy to operate and is expected to have applications for rapid and sensitive on-site analysis. A good linear correlation over the concentration range of 10 to 750 nM of crystal violet with a correlation coefficient of 0.992 was obtained. The recovery was between 98.6% and 102.9% for crystal violet in river water with relative standard deviations between 2.43% and 4.26%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bonded-type linear piezoelectric motor with four feet is proposed, designed, fabricated and tested. The proposed motor consists of one rectangle-type metal frame and eight pieces of PZT ceramics. The proposed motor works under two vibration modes, in which the vertical and horizontal displacements of the driving feet are generated respectively. Elliptical movements, which can push the runner into linear motion, are produced on the driving feet. The structure and operating principle of the proposed motor are introduced. Typical output of the prototype motor is no-load speed of 613 mm/s and maximum thrust force of 4.6 N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nylon membrane as the supporting material, a simple, high sensitivity solid-phase surface fluorescence system has been assembled. Compared with other supporting materials, the nylon membrane is easily available and inexpensive. According to SEM images and the characteristics of other membranes to enrich the analyte, it can be concluded that the nylon membrane concentrates the analyte. Several parameters such as the photomultiplier tube voltage, slit widths, incident angle, pore size of the membrane, and analysis conditions (pH, filtration volume, flow rate) of this system were optimized. The 2-naphthalene sulfonic acid was chosen to be the analyte. Satisfactory analytical figures were obtained under the optimized experimental conditions which included a linear calibration range from 1.0 × 10−3to 0.16 µg/mL; a relative standard deviation of 5.67% (n = 7) at a concentration of 0.02 µg/mL; and a limit of detection equal to 8.55 × 10−4 µg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the concept of forming elliptical movements on the two leading ends of a beam by the superimposing of two orthogonal first-order bending modes, a high power linear ultrasonic motor using a bending bolt-clamped transducer is proposed in this study. Two groups of bending PZT located at the wave loop of the bending vibration are excited by alternating voltages with the transducer's bending resonance frequency to accomplish the generations of the two orthogonal bending vibrations. The symmetrical setting of the PZT elements makes the two driving feet have the same elliptical movement trajectory. Elastic supporting is accomplished by thin beams machined on the two sides of each horn. The electromechanical coupling factors of the motor are calculated; the movement trajectories of the diving feet are simulated. After the fabrication of a prototype, its vibration characteristics and mechanical ability are tested. The proposed motor achieves a maximum speed of 1309 mm/s and a maximum thrust force of 45 N. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Understanding the influences of grazing intensity on grassland production is essential for grassland conservation and management improvement. Grazing at light to moderate intensity theoretically enhances grassland production, thus benefiting grassland ecosystems. However, inconsistent results of the beneficial effects of light to moderate grazing on grassland production were reported due to the lack of accurate and repeatable techniques for discriminating grazing effects from other abiotic factors. Advanced remote-sensing techniques provide a promising tool for filling this gap in grazing effects research due to their high spatial and temporal resolution. In this article, the influences of light to moderate grazing on grassland production in mixed grasslands were investigated for the period 1986–2005, using spectral data derived from satellite images. The effects of precipitation on the detection of grazing-induced production change were also analysed. The results revealed that the normalized canopy index (NCI) showed superior performance in quantifying grassland production in mixed grasslands. Significant differences in grassland production between grazed and ungrazed treatments occurred in the three years with above-average and average growing-season precipitations (April–August), but not in the dry years. Most of the variation in production (75%) was explained by growing-season precipitation for both grazed and ungrazed sites. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using remote-sensing data to monitor long-term light to moderate grazing effects and the important role of precipitation, especially growing-season precipitation, in modulating production in mixed-grassland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive colloidal gold immunochromatography assay using a specific monoclonal antibody was developed for the rapid detection of enrofloxacin (ENR) residues in chicken muscles. Anti‐ENR antibodies with high sensitivity and specificity are generated by immunising BALB/c mice with well‐characterised ENR‐bovine serum albumin conjugate. An orthogonal L9(3)3 test was designed, and various parameters that influenced the assay performance were investigated and optimised. Under the optimised conditions, the cut‐off limits of semi‐quantitative test strips for ENR were found to be 3 ng/mL in phosphate‐buffered saline and 8 µg/kg in chicken muscle. The ENR test strips showed a 6% cross‐reactivity with ciprofloxacin, 3% with norfloxacin, less than 1% with ofloxacin and sarafloxacin and 0.1% with the other eight fluoroquinolones including enoxacin, difloxacin, danofloxacin, pefloxacin, lomefloxacin, sparfloxacin, oxolinic acid and flumequine. Consistent results are produced from the parallel analysis of ENR‐contaminated chicken muscle extracts using test strips and ELISA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several 1,2,3-triazole-linked glycoconjugates were efficiently synthesized via a Cu(I)-mediated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with high regiospecificity and yield (≥ 85%), providing a simple and efficient route to synthesize protected and unprotected neoglycoconjugates. Introduction of a spacer between glycosyl moieties and other compounds reduces steric hindrance, promotes yield, and expands the varieties of glycoconjugates to satisfy various needs of biological events. The structures of all the synthesized glycoconjugates were clearly confirmed by infrared(IR), 1H NMR, 13C NMR, elemental analysis (EA), or MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To explore the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Chinese women aged 40-65 years living in Guangdong province in southern China, and to investigate their care-seeking behavior. Design A cross-sectional population-based study performed in Guangdong province, PR China. Methods A total of 9939 women were selected by multistage cluster sampling. From November 2003 to July 2004, women were interviewed in person with a prepared questionnaire about symptoms experienced in the 2 months preceding the survey. The main outcome measurements were self-reported menopausal symptoms and related factors. Results The mean age of natural menopause was 48.9 years. The prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms were low. The three most prevalent symptoms were insomnia, joint and muscle pain, and dizziness (in 37.2%, 35.7%, and 31.5% of the sample, respectively). Hot flushes were experienced by 17.5% of women. The factors associated with the frequency of menopausal symptoms included profession, education, type of menopause and the presence of physical or emotional problems. Ever and current hormone replacement therapy usage was reported in 0.8% and 1.3% of women, respectively. Of the total study population, 28.9% had sought health care because of menopausal symptoms. Conclusions The prevalence of menopausal symptoms in southern Chinese women is low, and this is accompanied by low usage of hormone replacement therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many papers have been published regarding age-related eye diseases in Mainland China in the past two decades, the variable quality of those reports limit the conclusions that can be drawn. Many of these studies assessed blindness and low vision rates, and these estimates are likely accurate. However, due to lack of standardization of techniques for assessing cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy, estimates of the burden of these diseases on the population are less reliable. Owing to the rapid economic development of China in the last decade, resources to address eyecare problems are more likely to be available. Therefore, an accurate assessment of the burden of various eye diseases is needed in order to improve blindness prevention planning and program development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel approach is to apply polyaspartic acid (PASP) as an eco-friendly regulator for the flotation of coking coal, which is different from the conventional use of oil collectors only. Flotation trails showed that adding PASP contributes to a two-way improvement in the yield and ash content of clean coal. SEM-EDS observations directly revealed that adding PASP significantly reduces the coating of high-ash fine slimes on the surface of low-ash coal particles. Contact angle detections and zeta potential analysis presented that the preferential adsorption of PASP hardly affects the adsorption of sodium oleate (NaOL) on the surface of low-ash coal particles but significantly weakens the adsorption of NaOL on the surface of high-ash fine slimes, leading to a remarkably hydrophobic difference. Particle interaction energy calculations verified that adding PASP enlarges the energy barrier between low-ash coal particle and high-ash fine slime. Hence, it can be arrived that the preferential adsorption of PASP affects the adsorption of NaOL on the surface of high-ash fine slime, widens the hydrophobic difference, enlarges the energy barrier between low-ash coal particle and high-ash fine slime, reduces the high-ash fine slime coating, therefore leading to a better flotation performance of lean coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]