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Background Most of studies relating ambient cardiovascular hospital admissions exposure to hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were conducted among urban population. Whether and to what extent these results could be generalizable to rural population remains unknown. We addressed this question using data from the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) in Fuyang, Anhui, China. Methods Daily hospital admissions for total CVDs, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, ischaemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke in rural regions of Fuyang, China were extracted from NRCMS between January 2015 and June 2017. A two-stage time-series analysis method was used to assess the associations between NO2 and CVD hospital admissions and the disease burden fractions attributable to NO2. Results In our study period, the average number (standard deviation) of hospital admissions per day were 488.2 (117.1) for total CVDs, 179.8 (45.6) for ischaemic heart disease, 7.0 (3.3) for heart rhythm disturbances, 13.2 (7.2) for heart failure, 267.9 (67.7) for ischaemic stroke, and 20.2 (6.4) for hemorrhagic stroke. The 10 µg/m3 increase of NO2 was related to an elevated risk of 1.9% (RR: 1.019, 95% CI: 1.005 to 1.032) for hospital admissions of total CVDs at lag0-2 day, 2.1% (1.021, 1.006 to 1.036) for ischaemic heart disease, and 2.1% (1.021, 1.006 to 1.035) for ischaemic stroke, respectively. While no significant association was observed between NO2 and hospital admissions for heart rhythm disturbances, heart failure, and hemorrhagic stroke. The attributable fractions of total CVDs, ischaemic heart disease, and ischaemic stroke to NO2 were 6.52% (1.87–10.94%), 7.31% (2.19–12.17%) and 7.12% (2.14–11.85%), respectively. Conclusions Our findings suggest that CVD burdens in rural population are also partly attributed to short-term exposure to NO2. More studies across rural regions are required to replicate our findings.

Adverse experiences in early life have long-lasting negative impacts on behavior and the brain in adulthood, one of which is sleep disturbance. As the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)-corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) system and nucleus accumbens (NAc) play important roles in both stress responses and sleep-wake regulation, in this study we investigated whether the NAc CRH-CRHR1 system mediates early-life stress-induced abnormalities in sleep-wake behavior in adult mice. Using the limited nesting and bedding material paradigm from postnatal days 2 to 9, we found that early-life stress disrupted sleep-wake behaviors during adulthood, including increased wakefulness and decreased non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep time during the dark period and increased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time during the light period. The stress-induced sleep disturbances were accompanied by dendritic atrophy in the NAc and both were largely reversed by daily systemic administration of the CRHR1 antagonist antalarmin during stress exposure. Importantly, Crh overexpression in the NAc reproduced the effects of early-life stress on sleep-wake behavior and NAc morphology, whereas NAc Crhr1 knockdown reversed these effects (including increased wakefulness and reduced NREM sleep in the dark period and NAc dendritic atrophy). Together, our findings demonstrate the negative influence of early-life stress on sleep architecture and the structural plasticity of the NAc, and highlight the critical role of the NAc CRH-CRHR1 system in modulating these negative outcomes evoked by early-life stress.

Purpose: To develop and validate a chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of plasma levels of rutin, avicularin and quercitrin using UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS. Methods: A sensitive, selective, and reliable UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of the three flavonoids, with puerarin as internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were first treated with methanol, and then acidified using hydrochloric acid (HCl) prior to liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The flavonoids were separated on a Syncronis C18 column (100×2.1mm, 1.7 µm) using an elution gradient of acetonitrile and 0.1 % formic acid at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Results: A linear correlation was obtained for the three flavonoids over the investigated concentration range, with correlation coefficients > 0.9954. The values of validated lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) were 0.68, 1.42 and 2.54 ng/mL for rutin, avicularin and quercitrin, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision (RSD) were < 10 %, while accuracy (RE) ranged from −3.76 to 4.04 %. Conclusion: The proposed method has been successfully validated and is suitable for studying the pharmacokinetics of the three analytes in rats treated with parasitic loranthus extract (PLE).

Chronic stress may disrupt the normal neurodevelopmental trajectory of the adolescent brain (especially the prefrontal cortex) and contribute to the pathophysiology of stress-related mental illnesses, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated how synaptic cell adhesion molecules (e.g., nectin3) are involved in the effects of adolescent chronic stress on mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Male C57BL/6N mice were subjected to chronic social instability stress from postnatal days 29 to 77. One week later, the mice exposed to chronic stress exhibited impaired social recognition and spatial working memory, simplified dendritic structure, and reduced spine density in the mPFC. Membrane localization of nectin3 was also altered, and was significantly correlated with behavioral performance. Furthermore, knocking down mPFC nectin3 expression by adeno-associated virus in adolescent mice reproduced the stress-induced changes in behavior and mPFC morphology. These results support the hypothesis that nectin3 is a potential mediator of the effects of adolescent chronic stress on prefrontal structural and functional abnormalities. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12264-020-00499-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Diabetes can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, and also increase the mortality rate of coronary heart disease in diabetic patients. Although reperfusion therapy can preserve the viable myocardium, fatal reperfusion injury can also occur. Studies have shown that diabetes can aggravate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, ERK1/2 can reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, but its mechanism in hyperglycemic myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury is unclear. This study sought to explore the mechanism of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in hyperglycemic myocardial ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury.H9C2 cardiomyocytes were treated with high-glucose (HG) medium plus I/R stimulation to establish a hyperglycemia I/R modelThe HG I/R injury intervention caused an increase in the ratio of apoptotic cardiomyocytes (P0.05), but the phosphorylation level of the ERK1/2 protein did not increase further. Administering LM22B-10 or transfecting theTargeting the activation of ERK1/2 protein phosphorylation reduced mitochondrial fission, increased membrane potential and mitochondrial function, reduced oxidative stress and myocardial cell apoptosis, and alleviated hyperglycemia myocardial I/R injury.

Chinese government has implemented a series of prevention and control strategies and measures in the face of COVID-19, the spread of the local epidemic has been basically stopped, prevention and control of the epidemic has entered a normal stage. This paper analyzes and summarizes the successful experience of Chinese government in combating the COVID-19 epidemic since January 2020, and puts forward relevant suggestions, adapt to local conditions and apply them to the current fight against the epidemic. It is hoped to provide useful reference for fighting the epidemic under the new situation and contribute wisdom to jointly winning the fight against the virus.

The early postnatal stage is a critical period of hippocampal neurodevelopment and also a period of high vulnerability to adverse life experiences. Recent evidence suggests that nectin‐3, a cell adhesion molecule, mediates memory dysfunction and dendritic alterations in the adult hippocampus induced by postnatal stress. But it is unknown whether postnatal nectin‐3 reduction alone is sufficient to alter hippocampal structure and function in adulthood. Here, we down regulated hippocampal expression of nectin‐3 and its heterophilic adhesion partner nectin‐1, respectively, from early postnatal stage by injecting adeno‐associated virus (AAV) into the cerebral lateral ventricles of neonatal mice (postnatal day 2). We found that suppression of nectin‐3, but not nectin‐1, expression from the early postnatal stage impaired hippocampus‐dependent novel object recognition and spatial object recognition in adult mice. Moreover, AAV‐mediated nectin‐3 knockdown significantly reduced dendritic complexity and spine density of pyramidal neurons throughout the hippocampus, whereas nectin‐1 knockdown only induced the loss of stubby spines in CA3. Our data provide direct evidence that nectins, especially nectin‐3, are necessary for postnatal hippocampal development of memory functions and structural integrity.

The actinomycete Streptomyces lydicus A01 promotes tomato seedling growth; however, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated whether changes in soil microbial diversity, following Streptomyces lydicus A01 treatment, were responsible for the increased tomato seedling growth. Eukaryotic 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing showed that S. lydicus A01-treated and untreated soil shared 193 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), whereas bacterial 16S rDNA sequencing identified 1,219 shared OTUs between the treated and untreated soil. Of the 42 dominant eukaryotic OTUs, eight were significantly increased and six were significantly decreased after A01 treatment. Of the 25 dominant bacterial OTUs, 12 were significantly increased and eight were significantly decreased after A01 treatment. Most of the eukaryotes and bacteria that increased in abundance exhibited growth promoting characteristics, which were mainly predicted to be associated with mineralization of nitrogen and phosphorus, phosphate solubilization, nutrient accumulation, and secretion of auxin, whereas some were related to plant protection, such as the degradation of toxic and hazardous substances. Soil composition tests showed that S. lydicus A01 treatment enhanced the utilization of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in tomato seedlings. Thus, microbial fertilizers based on S. lydicus A01 may improve plant growth, without the detriment effects of chemical fertilizers.

Peach brown rot, caused by Monilinia fructicola, is one of the most serious peach diseases. A strain belonging to the Actinomycetales, named Streptomyces blastmyceticus JZB130180, was found to have a strong inhibitory effect on M. fructicola in confrontation culture. Following the inoculation of peaches in vitro, it was revealed that the fermentation broth of S. blastmyceticus JZB130180 had a significant inhibitory effect on disease development by M. fructicola. The fermentation broth of S. blastmyceticus JZB130180 had an EC50 (concentration for 50% of maximal effect) of 38.3 µg/mL against M. fructicola, as determined in an indoor toxicity test. Analysis of the physicochemical properties of the fermentation broth revealed that it was tolerant of acid and alkaline conditions, temperature, and ultraviolet radiation. In addition, chitinase, cellulase, and protease were also found to be secreted by the strain. The results of this study suggest that S. blastmyceticus JZB130180 may be used for the biocontrol of peach brown rot.

The design and synthesis of an efficient adsorbent for antibiotics-based pollutants is challenging due to the unique physicochemical properties of antibiotics. The development of a mesoporous SiO2–ZnO composite is a novel way to achieve excellent adsorption efficiency for doxycycline hydrochloride (DOX) in aqueous solutions due to the engineered highly open mesoporous structure and the ZnO-modified framework. Unlike the traditional method of obtaining mesoporous composites by post-synthesis techniques, the novel one-step method developed in this study is both effective and environment-friendly. The adsorption mechanism based on the novel synergetic effect between SiO2 and ZnO was demonstrated through several experiments. SiO2 led to the creation of a 3D open framework structure that provides sufficient space and rapid transport channels for adsorption, ensuring rapid adsorption kinetics. A higher number of active sites and enhanced affinity of the contaminants are provided by ZnO, ensuring high adsorption capacity. The mesoporous SiO2–ZnO could be easily regenerated without a significant decrease in its adsorption efficiency. These results indicate that the developed strategy afforded a simple approach for synthesizing the novel mesoporous composites, and that mesoporous SiO2–ZnO is a possible alternative adsorbent for the removal of DOX from wastewater.

Objective: The objective was to study the effect of total flavonoids of Herba Taxilli (TFHT) on osteoporotic (OP) rats induced by retinoic acid (RA) and explore its mechanism. Methods: Three-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups, each with ten rats, i.e. normal control group, model group, and positive control group and three TFHT groups (at high-, middle-, and low-doses). Except the normal control group, rats of all the other groups were administered RA by gavage (70 mg/kg/day) every morning for 14 days to establish an OP model; at the same time, all the rats were given Corresponding therapeutic drug by gavage for 28 days: rats in the three TFHT groups were given TFHT (400, 200, and 100 mg/kg/day, respectively) and rats in the positive control group were given Long mu Zhuang gu Granule 300 mg/kg/day. Rats in the model group and normal group were given an equal volume of 1% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose sodium suspension. After the experiment, blood was taken to measure the levels of serum calcium (Ca2+), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP); the spleen, uterus, and ovary were dissected to determine the organ coefficient; the left hind limb femur was dissected to determine bone mineral density (BMD), bone dry weight (BDW), bone wet weight (BWW), bone diameter (BD), bone length (BL), bone dry weight/rat weight (BDW/W), bone wet weight/rat weight (BWW/W), bone dry weight/bone wet weight (BDW/BWW), bone dry weight/bone length (BDW/L), and bone wet weight/bone diameter (BWW/D); and the right hind limb femur was dissected to observe the bone path morphological changes. Results: Compared with the model group, the serum Ca2+ content, uterus plus ovary coefficient, BMD, BDW, BDW/W, BWW/W, BDW/BWW, BDW/L, and BWW/D in the TFHT groups increased, whereas the spleen coefficient, ALP, and TRAP decreased in the TFHT groups, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05 orP < 0.01). Conclusion: TFHT was found effective in treating OP in rats induced by RA; the main mechanisms were increasing the serum Ca2+ content and reducing the level of ALP and TRAP.

1) Background: To understand the clinical features and outcome of fecal retention in infancy(FRI), so as to guide the focus and intervention methods of such infants.2) Methods: The electronic medical record system(EMRS)was used to collect and screen out cases diagnosed as fecal retention from June 2018 to June 2019 in outpatient clinic of our hospital. The age, feeding method, frequency and traits of stool, and accompanying symptoms were recorded. The changes of clinical symptoms, medical examinations and drug treatment by the age of 1 year were investigated by means of electronic medical record review and telephone follow-up.3) Results: A total of 286 infants were enrolled, 7 were lost to follow-up, and 279 were effectively followed up. There were 157 males and 129 females, with an age of 3.6 ± 1.5 months. The average stool frequency was 5.9 ± 1.8 days. 63.3% of the infants were breast-fed, 16.8% were formula-fed, and the rest were mixed-fed,all without supplementary food. 9.1% of the infants showed corresponding gastrointestinal symptoms, such as bloating, increased crying, decreased milk intake, and laborious defecation. 87.1% of the infants received medical treatment, including glycerin enema, probiotics, and Chinese herbal preparations, with an effective treatment rate of 7.8%. 38.7% of infants have undergone medical examination, including abdominal ultrasound, X-ray film / barium enema, blood test, etc, the positive rate is 14.8%. The duration of fecal retention in 53% of infants was ≤ 2 months, 22.6% between 2–3 months, 24.4% ≥ 3 months, with an average of 2.6 ± 1.1 months. At the age of followed up to 1 year, 16.8% of infants developed functional constipation(FC). Compared with other infants with normal defecation, there was no significant difference in age, frequency of stool, the proportion of breast milk feeding and receiving treatment, and there was a significant difference in the duration of fecal retention. The duration of FC group was longer than normal defecation group by which was 3.49 ± 0.83 months.4) Conclusions: Infants with fecal retention are more likely to develop FC at age 1 than general population, and may be positively related to the duration of fecal retention.

With the decrease and depletion of shallow coal resources, the depth of mining is increasing. The mechanism of high crustal stress blasting is not clear, and the effect of crustal stress on blasting effect is obvious. The law of the differential detonation is similar without crustal stress. The crustal stress of rock masses increases linearly with the increase in excavation depth, and the influence of crustal stress on blasting effect is great. In order to study the rock-breaking process of complex differential blasting under deep high crustal stress, the instantaneous detonation of each model and the priority detonation of the central hole are numerically simulated. The evolution law of the blasting crack and the method of optimizing blasting effect by differential blasting and increasing the aperture of the priority detonation hole under high crustal stress are put forward. The authors proposed a study on the 2D optimization simulation of complex five-hole cutting blasting under different lateral pressure coefficients of 400 m and 800 m with software ANSYS/LS-DYNA and analyzed the evolution rules of blasting cracks and lateral pressure coefficients. The results show that setting delayed detonation and hole diameter and optimizing blasthole spacing can optimize the rock-breaking effect under high crustal stress and different lateral pressure coefficients.

Objective: To investigate the relationship of CD24 and CK2β molecule expression in cervical cancer tissue with cancer cell growth. Methods: A total of 118 patients with primary cervical cancer who underwent radical operation for cervical cancer in our hospital between July 2016 and October 2017 were selected, and intraoperative cervical cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were collected as cervical cancer group and adjacent tissue group respectively. The expression of CD24 and CK2β as well as proliferation genes, apoptosis genes and autophagy genes were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Pearson test was used to evaluate the relationship of CD24 and CK2β expression in cervical cancer tissue with cancer cell growth. Results: CD24 and CK2β mRNA expression in cervical cancer group were higher than those in adjacent tissue group; proliferation genes MTA1, HPV18-E7, EZH2 and Prdx4 mRNA expression were higher than those in adjacent tissue group whereas SFRP2 and FOXF2 mRNA expression were lower than those in adjacent tissue group; apoptosis genes Caspase-3, Caspase-9 and Fas mRNA expression were lower than those in adjacent tissue group whereas FasL mRNA expression was higher than that in adjacent tissue group; autophagy genes Beclin1, ARHI, PULK and PI3KC3 mRNA expression were lower than those in adjacent tissue group whereas p62 mRNA expression was higher than that in adjacent tissue group. Pearson test showed that the CD24 and CK2β gene expression in cervical cancer tissues were directly correlated with the expression of proliferation genes, apoptosis genes and autophagy genes. Conclusions: CD24 and CK2β gene are abnormally highly expressed in cervical cancer tissue and directly participate in the proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy of cancer cells.

The excessive use of antibiotics has led to various environmental problems; the control and separation of these antibiotics are important in environmental science. Herein, a novel mesoporous nanocomposite, Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2-CD, has been synthesized for the removal of antibiotic compounds from aqueous media. The well-designed nanocomposite is composed of β-cyclodextrin functionalized surfaces, ordered mesoporous silica shells with large radially oriented mesopores, and nonporous silica-coated magnetic cores (Fe3O4). The synergistic action of both the mesoporous structure and the accessible cavity of β-cyclodextrin ensures the good adsorption of doxycycline. Furthermore, the Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2-CD nanocomposite can be collected, separated and easily recycled from aqueous solution using an external magnet.

Administration of bevacizumab to patients with brain metastases (BM) is controversial due to concerns about the increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). This meta-analysis assessed whether the risk of ICH increases in BM patients receiving treatments that contain bevacizumab versus without. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and annual meeting abstracts of the American Society of Clinical Oncology up to 13 November 2016 were searched for studies that referred to ICH complications due to bevacizumab in patients with BM. Eight studies involving 8713 patients were included in this analysis. Compared with the control arm without bevacizumab, the bevacizumab treatment arm did not exhibit a significant increase in ICH [odds ratio (OR) 1.20; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.69–2.09; P = 0.53]. Subgroup analyses with retrospective studies showed a similar result, although subgroup analyses with prospective studies failed. This meta-analysis revealed that bevacizumab does not significantly increase the risk of ICH in solid tumor patients with BM.

Objective: To study the evaluation value of HMGA2, Tiam1 and Notch1 expression for cancer cell proliferation, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer tissue. Methods: Non-small cell lung cancer tissues and para-carcinoma tissues surgically removed in our hospital between May 2013 and December 2015 were collected, immunohistochemical staining method was used to determine HMGA2, Tiam1 and Notch1 protein expression, and fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to determine the mRNA expression of HMGA2, Tiam1, Notch1 as well as proliferation, invasion and epithelialmesenchymal transition molecules. Results: HMGA2, Tiam1 and Notch1 mRNA expression and positive protein expression rate in lung cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in para-carcinoma tissues (P

In this work, we report the fabrication of novel multifunctional microspheres which are composed of ordered mesoporous silica shells with accessible carboxyl functionalized surfaces and radially oriented large mesopores, and nonporous silica-coated magnetite cores (Fe3O4), aiming to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous media. The well-designed multifunctional microspheres were thoroughly characterized with transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction as well as magnetization measurements. The as-prepared microspheres possess unique properties including stably grafted and accessible carboxyl groups, highly open mesopores (11.03 nm), high magnetization (34.5 emu g−1), and large BET surface areas (165 m2 g−1), and as a result, the as-prepared microspheres exhibit an enhanced performance for the removal of Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) from wastewater, with a high adsorption capacity, a rapid adsorption rate, and an easy magnetically separable process.

ResumoJustificativaOs anestésicos locais (ALs) são geralmente considerados como seguros, mas citotoxicidade foi relatada em vários anestésicos locais usados em seres humanos, a qual não é bem investigada. No presente estudo, a citotoxicidade de lidocaína e ropivacaína e da combinação de lidocaína e ropivacaína foi avaliada em linhagens celulares de melanoma humano. Melfalano, um agente alquilante de mostarda nitrogenada, foi usado como um agente de controle para a comparação da atividade citotóxica.MétodosLinhagens celulares de melanoma, A375 e Hs294T foram expostas por uma hora a concentrações diferentes dos agentes mencionados acima. A viabilidade celular após a exposição foi determinada por citometria de fluxo.ResultadosOs ALs investigados mostraram citotoxicidade prejudicial nas linhagens celulares de melanoma estudadas dependente do tempo (p

Fe-based amorphous alloys have shown great potential in degrading azo dyes and other organic pollutants. It has been widely investigated as a kind of environmentally friendly material for wastewater remediation. In this paper, we studied the effect of Ni addition on the catalytic performance of Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1 amorphous alloy for degradation of methylene blue dyes and analyzed the reaction mechanism. (Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1)86Ni14 amorphous powder with desirable performance was produced by specific ball milling durations. Characterization of the Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1 and (Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1)86Ni14 amorphous alloys prepared by ball milling was performed by XRD and SEM. Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1 and (Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1)86Ni14 amorphous alloys were used as catalysts to catalyze the degradation of methylene blue dyes, which were detected by UV-VIS near-infrared spectrophotometer. By a series of comparative experiments, it was found that a catalyst dosage of 0.2 g and a reaction temperature of 80 &deg, C were conditions that produced the best catalytic effect. The degradation rate of (Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1)86Ni14 amorphous alloy to methylene blue dyes prepared by ball milling increased from 67.76% to 99.99% compared with the Fe87Si5B2P3Nb2Cu1 amorphous alloy under the same conditions.

Several reviews have assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes during pregnancy, but the results remain controversial. The objective of this study was to assess this correlation quantitatively and to explore sources of heterogeneity. We included all published case-control or cohort studies that evaluated the correlation between ambient air pollution and low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), and small for gestational age (SGA). Analytical methods and inclusion criteria were provided on the PROSPERO website (CRD42018085816). We evaluated pooled effects and heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses (grouped by exposure period, study settings, study design, exposure types, data source, Newcastle-Ottawa quality score (NOS), and adjustment for smoking or meteorological factors) were also conducted and publication bias was examined. The risk of bias in systematic reviews (ROBIS) tool was used to evaluate the overall risk of bias in this review. Forty studies met the inclusion criteria. We observed pooled odds ratios (ORs) of 1.03-1.21 for LBW and 0.97-1.06 for PTB when mothers were exposed to CO, NO

Fe 76 Si 9 B 10 P 5 /Zn 0.5 Ni 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 amorphous composite with micro-cellular structure and high electrical resistivity was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 487 °C. XRD and SEM results showed that the Fe 76 Si 9 B 10 P 5 alloy powders remained the amorphous state and the composite was dense. A fusion zone at interface of Fe 76 Si 9 B 10 P 5 cell body and Zn 0.5 Ni 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 cell wall was observed by TEM, which also indicates the formation of local high temperature. The interface bonding based on the formation of local high temperature in SPS process was observed. It is believed that the tip effect of Zn 0.5 Ni 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 nanoparticles promotes the local discharging and plasmas creation in the gaps, and the discharging energy forms an instantaneous local high temperature to complete the local sintering and the densification of Zn 0.5 Ni 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 particles at a low nominal sinter temperature. Simultaneously, the local high temperature stimulates the adjacent gaps discharging, thus facilitate the continuous formation of new discharging path. Finally, sintering and densification of the amorphous composite is complete.

Caustic esophageal stricture (CES) in children still occurs frequently in developing countries. We aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilatation (EBD) in treating CES in children and the influencing factors associated with outcome. We retrospectively reviewed the data of all patients who had a diagnosis of CES and underwent EBD from August 1, 2005, to December 31, 2014. The primary outcome was EBD success, which was defined as the maintenance of dysphagia-free status for at least 12 months after the last EBD. The secondary outcome was to analyze influencing factors associated with EBD success. Forty-three patients were included for analysis (29 males; mean age at first dilatation 44 months with range 121 months). 26 (60.5%) patients had long segment (>2 cm) stricture. A total of 168 EBD procedures were performed. Twenty-six (60.5%) patients were considered EBD success. Seventeen (39.5%) patients failed EBD and required stent placement and/or surgery. Patients in the EBD success group had significantly shorter stricture segments when compared to the EBD failure group (t=2.398, P=0.018, OR=3.206, 95% OR: 1.228–8.371). Seven (4.4%) esophageal perforations occurred in 6 patients after EBD. Stents were placed in 5 patients, and gastric tube esophagoplasty was performed in 14 patients. In conclusion, 26 (60.5%) of 43 children with CES had EBD success. Length of stricture was the main influencing factor associated with EBD treatment outcome.

Novel wideband balanced bandpass filter with high selectivity and common-mode (CM) suppression is constructed with slotline resonator. When the intersection points of the microstrip feedline and slotline resonator are close to the midpoint of the slotline resonator, the coupling between the fundamental mode of the slotline resonator and microstrip feedline can be maximised, whereas the second mode can be suppressed. Making use of this feature, the third-order wideband filter with low insertion loss, wide upper-stopband and flat group delay is designed by using the slotline resonator and two quarter-wavelength microstrip resonators paralleled to the slotline resonator with tapped-line coupling at their short-circuited ends. Based on the third-order single-ended filter structure, a novel balanced filter with a 1 dB fractional bandwidth up to 72% is designed with low insertion loss and enhanced CM suppression. To improve the selectivity, the fifth-order wideband balanced filter with wide upper-stopband is designed with parallel coupling structure between two slotline resonators. The corresponding CM suppression is better than 42 dB within the whole differential mode passband. The wideband balanced filter is designed and fabricated, and good agreement between measurements and simulations is obtained.

Ni/La 2 O 3 nanocatalyst with Pt and Rh content as low as 5 mol%, respectively, is successfully synthesized by a facile co-reduction method in the presence of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride aqueous solution under ambient atmosphere. Interestingly, the resulted Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst with low cost exhibits excellent catalytic activity to dehydrogenation of hydrous hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O), producing hydrogen with 100% selectivity at room temperature (298 K), which represents a promising step toward the practical application for N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O system on fuel cells.

Objective: To compare the mammogarphic appearance between breast cancer patients aged

The performance of a star tracker is closely linked to the characteristics of the guide star catalog. It is an essential part of design to estimate the number of guide stars observed by the star tracker in any given boresight direction. This paper reports on the star covering region evaluation method, which is used to find ranges of orientation where the star tracker can observe a star. With this method, a conservative number of guide stars observed by the star tracker in any given boresight direction can be quantitatively evaluated and credible ranges of orientation can be found, where the star tracker can observe enough guide stars to perform autonomous star identification; thus, verifying the design of the star tracker. The celestial sphere is divided into 131,072 approximately congruent spherical triangles, such that the star’s covering region can be approximately depicted by triangles in which the circumcenters are close enough to the star. Then, the stars observed by the tracker, in which th...