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Objectives To compare the levels of serum pepsinogen (PG) in patients with gastric cancer (GC), patients with atrophic gastritis (AG), and healthy donors. Also, we explored the clinical value of PG detection for the diagnosis and treatment of GC. Methods The PG level in peripheral blood from patients and heathy donors was determined using an Abbott automatic chemiluminescence instrument. The study included 117 patients with GC confirmed by gastroscopy and histopathology, of whom 13 patients had cancer at stage I, 47 at stage II, 41 at stage III, and 16 at stage IV. The AG group included 122 patients, and the control group had 120 healthy donors. The relationship between serum PG levels and the occurrence and development of GC, as well as the evaluation of the clinical value of diagnostic tests based on serum PG detection, were investigated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Results Pepsinogen I (PGI) levels gradually decreased from the control group, the AG group, and the GC group. PGI exhibited high diagnostic value for GC (area under the curve [AUC], 0.834; cutoff, 51.2 ng/mL, sensitivity, 81.7%; specificity, 68.4%), PGII (AUC, 0.587; cutoff value, 13.05 ng/mL; sensitivity, 65.8%; specificity, 53.8%), and PGR (AUC, 0.752; cutoff, 5.65; sensitivity, 54.2%; specificity, 87.2%). The occurrence of GC was negatively correlated with serum levels of PGI (B = −0.054; OR = 0.947; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.925–0.970; P Conclusions The combined detection of PGI, PGII, and PGR has important clinical value for the screening, prevention, and diagnosis of GC and could allow for earlier detection, diagnosis, and treatment of GC.

Corresponding experiments were designed and accomplished to obtain the authentic mechanical response mechanism of pavement under different loading conditions. Replicability and reproducibility of the experiments were discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, the response mechanism for three typical pavement structures was analyzed. Results show that mechanical response test method for pavement structure has characteristics of good replicability, reproducibility, and reliability. The method can also be used as an effective way to investigate the mechanical response of pavement structures. The mechanical states of different pavement materials under the same test condition are quite different. For cement bound granular and asphalt concrete, radial strain changes as alternative compression-tension with obvious mechanical response characteristic. However, the situation is different for cement concrete. The region of pavement that is close to the surface is in compressive state. By contrast, the far region is in tensile state. Top-down cracking of pavement developed from top surface crack may appear when load is too heavy. The working state of pavement can be reflected by utilizing the mechanical response test method. The mechanical response test method is a good reference when calculating mechanical state and determining parameters of pavement material.

We conducted a cross-sectional study investigating community-dwelling older population to determine association between immunoscenescence marker, inflammatory cytokines and frailty. Frailty status was classified with 33-item modified frailty index and latent class analysis was applied to explore the latent classes (subtypes) of frailty. In multivariable analysis, higher Tfh2 cells were associated with a higher risk of frailty [1.13(1.03–1.25)] in females, but a lower risk of cognitive and functional frail [0.92(0.86–0.99)] and physiological frail [0.92(0.87–0.98)]. Additionally, a greater risk of multi-frail and physiological frail correlated with low Tfh1 [0.77(0.60–0.99); 0.87(0.79–0.96)] and Tfh17 cells [0.79(0.65–0.96); 0.86(0.78–0.94)], respectively. Higher B cells were associated with decreased frailty/pre-frailty both in females [0.89(0.81–0.98)] and males [0.82(0.71–0.96)], but did not correlate with frailty subtypes. Regarding inflammatory markers, participants in the TGF-β 2nd quartile showed a decreased risk of pre-frailty/frailty in females [0.39(0.17–0.89)] and psychological frail [0.37(0.16–0.88)], compared with those in the top tertile. Moreover, we found participants in the 2nd tertile for IL-12 levels showed a decreased risk of physiological frail [0.40 (0.17–0.97)]. Our study highlights the importance of Tfh cell subsets and inflammatory markers in frailty in a sex-specific manner, particularly in terms of frailty subtype.

In order to explore frailty subtypes and find their associated risk factors, we conducted cross-sectional surveys of 5,341 seniors aged 60 and over in China using the Frailty Index (FI) scale. We identified four frailty subtypes, namely multi-frail, cognitive and functionally frail, psychologically frail and physiologically frail. Old age and low education level were the common risk factors among the four subtypes. Being widowed, divorced or unmarried was a risk factor for multi-frail, cognitive and functionally frail and psychologically frail, and male sex was a protective factor against cognitive and functionally frail and psychologically frail subtypes. Having a harmonious relationship with family was a protective factor against multi-frail, and fewer visits to the elderly by their children was a risk factor for psychologically frail. Dissatisfaction with their housing was a risk factor for cognitive and functionally frail, psychologically frail and physiologically frail, and a pension being the main source of income was a risk factor for cognitive and functionally frail and psychologically frail. Exercising every day was a protective factor against multi-frail and cognitive and functionally frail, and a lower level of physical activity was a risk factor for all four frailty subtypes. Our findings confirm the heterogeneity of frailty and suggest that different frail elderly individuals need more targeted care interventions.

We theoretically investigate how to manipulate the wave-vector filtering effect by δ-doping for electrons in a magnetically and electrically confined semiconductor heterostructure, which can be constructed by patterning a ferromagnetic stripe and a Schottky-metal stripe in a parallel configuration on the surface of the GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs heterostructure. The δ-doping dependent transmission is calculated by exactly solving the Schrodinger equation with the help of an improved transfer matrix method. An appreciable wave-vector filtering effect is revealed. Its wave-vector filtering efficiency is found to be tunable by changing the weight or position of the δ-doping. Thus, a structurally controllable momentum filter can be obtained for nanoelectronics device applications.

With the development of minimally invasive and non-invasive diagnosis and treatment technology, magnetic-controlled capsule robot has attracted much attention and shown broad application prospects in real-time gastrointestinal tract diagnosis. In this paper, an electromagnetic-controlled capsule gastroscope robot is designed, which mainly consists of a miniature camera module, driving module, targeting medication module and anti-sticking module. The three-dimensional model of the capsule robot is established, and the detailed structure and working principle of the key parts are elaborated. Furthermore, the magnetic force distribution of the electromagnetic driving mechanism used for the camera module and targeting medication module are simulated and analyzed in detail. The proposed capsule robot with active movement function and targeting medication module shows great potential to be used in the realtime diagnosis and treatment of intestinal diseases.

Objective To evaluate the association between extra-long interpregnancy interval and adverse perinatal outcomes. Methods A retrospective cohort study on women experiencing their second delivery between 2017 and 2018 in a maternal and child health hospital was conducted to evaluate the association between the extra-long interpregnancy interval (IPI) and adverse perinatal outcomes. IPI ≥180 months was defined as extra-long IPI. Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the adverse perinatal outcomes in different IPI groups, and compared with the predicted risks at 24–59, 60–119, 120–179, and 180-month IPI, with the 12–23-month interval serving as a reference. Results After adjusting for all possible confounding factors, there was an increased risk of premature rupture of membranes (aOR 1.83, 95% CI 1.13–2.97 and aOR 3.30, 95% CI 1.40–7.74) in the IPI of 60–119 and 120–179 months among women with age-appropriate maternity. However, the effects of extra-long IPI on adverse perinatal outcomes did not significantly differ among women with advanced maternal age. Conclusions These results indicate that long IPI (60–179 month) is an independent risk factor for premature rupture of membranes. Extra-long IPI (≥180 months) was not associated with an increase in major morbidity, but extra-long IPI often coexists with advanced age, so we still need to pay attention to the maternal risk factors associated with extra-long IPI.

BackgroundNoonan syndrome (NS), a genetically heterogeneous disorder, presents with hypertelorism, ptosis, dysplastic pulmonary valve stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and small stature. Early detection and assessment of NS are crucial to formulating an individualized treatment protocol. However, the diagnostic rate of pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists is limited. To overcome this challenge, we propose an automated facial recognition model to identify NS using a novel deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) with a loss function called additive angular margin loss (ArcFace).MethodsThe proposed automated facial recognition models were trained on dataset that included 127 NS patients, 163 healthy children, and 130 children with several other dysmorphic syndromes. The photo dataset contained only one frontal face image from each participant. A novel DCNN framework with ArcFace loss function (DCNN-Arcface model) was constructed. Two traditional machine learning models and a DCNN model with cross-entropy loss function (DCNN-CE model) were also constructed. Transfer learning and data augmentation were applied in the training process. The identification performance of facial recognition models was assessed by five-fold cross-validation. Comparison of the DCNN-Arcface model to two traditional machine learning models, the DCNN-CE model, and six physicians were performed.ResultsAt distinguishing NS patients from healthy children, the DCNN-Arcface model achieved an accuracy of 0.9201 ± 0.0138 and an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9797 ± 0.0055. At distinguishing NS patients from children with several other genetic syndromes, it achieved an accuracy of 0.8171 ± 0.0074 and an AUC of 0.9274 ± 0.0062. In both cases, the DCNN-Arcface model outperformed the two traditional machine learning models, the DCNN-CE model, and six physicians.ConclusionThis study shows that the proposed DCNN-Arcface model is a promising way to screen NS patients and can improve the NS diagnosis rate.

Background: The hemoglobin glycation index (HGI) has been proposed as a marker to quantify inter-individual variation in hemoglobin glycosylation. However, whether HGI is associated with an increased risk of diabetic complications independent of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the association between HGI and the risk of all cause mortality and composite cardiovascular disease (CVD).Methods: PubMed, and EMBASE databases were searched for related studies up to March 31, 2021. Observational studies reported associations between HGI levels and composite CVD and all cause mortality were included for meta-analysis. A random effect model was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for higher HGI.Results: A total of five studies, comprising 22,035 patients with type two diabetes mellitus were included for analysis. The median follow-up duration was 5.0 years. After adjusted for multiple conventional cardiovascular risk factors, an increased level of HGI was associated with a higher risk of composite CVD (per 1 SD increment: HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.04–1.26) and all cause mortality (per 1 SD increment: HR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.05–1.32). However, when further adjusted for HbA1c, the association between HGI and risk of composite CVD (per 1 SD increment of HGI: HR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.93–1.10) and all cause mortality (per 1 SD increment of HGI: HR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.96–1.10) became insignificant.Conclusions: High HGI was associated with an increased risk of composite CVD and all cause mortality after adjustment for multiple conventional cardiovascular risk factors. However, the association was mainly mediating by the level of HbA1c.

In a recently published paper in Cardiovascular Diabetology, Sinha et al. (Association of fasting glucose with lifetime risk of incident heart failure: the Lifetime Risk Pooling Project. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2021;20(1):66) reported that prediabetes (defined as a fasting plasma glucose concentration of 100–125 mg/dL) was associated with a higher lifetime risk of heart failure in middle-aged White adults and Black women, with the association attenuating in older Black women. This study provides important evidence that the risk of heart failure is increased in people with a fasting plasma glucose concentration as low as 100 mg/dL, supporting the definition of prediabetes according to the American Diabetes Association guideline. The study also strongly supports the notion that prediabetes should be regarded not only as a high-risk state for the development of diabetes but also as a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity.

We have theoretically investigated the control of wave-vector filtering (WVF) by introducing δ-doping into a magnetically modulated nanostructure fabricated by depositing ferromagnetic stri...

Designing versatile materials for radiation protection is of great significance to the rapid development of nuclear technology. Here, BN@PbWO4 core-shell particles are successfully prepared via a facile sol-gel method. The structure and morphology of products are determined by XRD, SEM, TEM and FTIR techniques. Compared with PbWO4 and h-BN, BN@PbWO4 exhibits much more excellent photocatalytic ability to degrade the organic dye Rhodamine B (RhB). Furthermore, it also has a good ability to jointly shield neutron and gamma radiations, especially better gamma radiation shielding in comparison with PbWO4. This work provides an integrated solution with the material that could deal with organic wastes and shield complex radiations in nuclear industry.

Background An estimated 5–10 % of healthy vaccinees lack adequate antibody response following receipt of a standard three-dose hepatitis B vaccination regimen. The cellular mechanisms responsible for poor immunological responses to hepatitis B vaccine have not been fully elucidated to date. Methods There were 61 low responders and 56 hyper responders involved in our study. Peripheral blood samples were mainly collected at D7, D14 and D28 after revaccinated with a further dose of 20 µg of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine. Results We found low responders to the hepatitis B vaccine presented lower frequencies of circulating follicular helper T (cTfh) cells, plasmablasts and a profound skewing away from cTfh2 and cTfh17 cells both toward cTfh1 cells. Importantly, the skewing of Tfh cell subsets correlated with IL-21 and protective antibody titers. Based on the key role of microRNAs involved in Tfh cell differentiation, we revealed miR-19b-1 and miR-92a-1 correlated with the cTfh cell subsets distribution and antibody production. Conclusions Our findings highlighted a decrease in cTfh cells and specific subset skewing contribute to reduced antibody responses in low responders.

Around 5–10% of healthy vaccinees lack or produce an inadequate antibody response following receipt of a standard hepatitis B vaccination regimen. Studying immune response to hepatitis B vaccination could promote researches of immunological events contributing to this poor response. To address this, we investigated follicular helper T (Tfh) cells and firstly demonstrated similar kinetics between circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells and Tfh cells derived from mice spleen after hepatitis B vaccination. And cTfh cells were positively associated with anti-HBs at one week after vaccination (D7). Furthermore, we found PBMCs stimulated by HBsAg showed preferential activation of CXCR3(−) Tfh cells subsets in vitro. The expression of transcription factor BCL6 in CD4(+) T cell significantly differed between D7 and four weeks after vaccination (D28). However, dynamic curve of CD19(+) B cells tended to rise then fall but no significant trends were observed. Our findings revealed a decrease in cTfh cells and subset skewing contribute to reduced antibody responses in immune response to hepatitis B vaccination, which indicated the importance of Tfh cell in facilitating the optimization of vaccine efficacy.

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the quantity of DNA and RNA extractable from human formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues stored for different lengths of time. Methods We randomly selected 20 FFPE specimens harvested from hysteromyoma patients with uterine fibroids during 2010, 2015, and 2017 at the Department of Pathology, Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences. DNA and RNA extractions were performed using a DNA/RNA FFPE kit. DNA and RNA concentrations and their OD260/OD280 ratios were determined by a NanoDrop 2000 spectrophotometer. The human β-globin gene and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) gene were amplified from nucleic acids using a LightCycler 480 Real-Time PCR System, and PCR amplification products were electrophoresed on 1% agarose gels. Results Specimens that were stored for longer showed more degradation and a reduced concentration of DNA and RNA after nucleic acid extraction. However, there was no significant difference in DNA or RNA purity. β-globin and ALDH2 genes could be amplified from more than 99% of specimens. Conclusion We found that FFPE tissues stored for longer had a reduced quantity of extractable DNA and RNA. However, these tissues could be used for the analysis of some small target genes.

Combined sewer overflow remains a major threat to surface water quality. A stormwater detention tank is an effective facility to control combined sewer overflow. In this study, a new method for the selective collection of combined sewer sewage during wet weather based on real-time turbidity control is established to reduce the load of pollutants entering a river using a stormwater detention tank with a limited volume. There was a good correlation found between turbidity and the concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) (R2 = 0.864, p &lt, 0.05), total phosphorus (TP) (R2 = 0.661, p &lt, 0.01), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (R2 = 0.619, p &lt, 0.01). This study shows that turbidity can be used to indicate the concentration of TSS, TP, and COD in the sewage of the combined sewer systems in wet weather. Based on the adopted first flush detection approach, total nitrogen (TN) and TP showed the first flush effect, whereas the first flush effect of TSS and COD was not obvious. The results show that it is impossible to effectively control combined sewer overflow by only treating the initial rainwater.

Objectives The purpose of this paper was to synthesize 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative and to evaluate its antitumor activity. Methods 2,4,6-Tris (4-formylphenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution with reaction of p -hydroxybenzaldehyde with cyanuric chloride. Then, the intermediate was reacted with 1,2,4-triazole to form 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative by reduction and ammonification of aldehydes. The 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and elemental analyses. Finally, the anticancer effect of 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative was evaluated by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay on a lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) and a human hepatoma cell line (Bel7402). Results The product synthesized in this study was confirmed to be 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative, and it significantly suppressed the proliferation of cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions We successfully prepared 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole Schiff base derivative and verified its antitumor activity.

This paper proposed a fluidic tunable lens with polymer membrane and multi-flow structure. The designed lens mainly consists of five optical layers including one polymer membrane, two solid layers and two liquid layers. A series of slime hexagonal holes are drilled in the solid layers and the lens holders, allowing the optical liquid flowing among the different layers. The integrated structure of the fluidic lens was presented, as well as the lens composition and fabrication process. The deformation process of the fluidic lens are measured and analyzed, and the optical property are simulated using Zemax software. Images captured through a prototype lens at various rotating angles presents almost identical patterns and the same image quality, showing good stability to gravity. The lens focal length can be adjusted flexibly from 32.3 mm to 14.3 mm under a tiny injection volume of 86.4 uL. Numerical analyses show that the lens distortion is less than 3% and relative illumination is above 0.72. The fluidic tunable lens shows the potential to be used in various compact, low cost and stable optical systems.

Semiconductor-based magnetoresistance (MR) device has many advantages such as high MR ratio at low switching magnetic field, but electron spins were ignored completely in previous researches. Electron spins should impact on performance of semiconductor-based MR device, as electron spins interact with magnetic fields. By considering a semiconductor microstructure constructed on GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructure by patterning two asymmetric ferromagnetic (FM) stripes, we theoretically explore effect of electron spins on semiconductor-based MR device. An interesting spin splitting effect is found in semiconductor-based MR device. Both magnitude and sign of spin splitting effect can be modified by applying a negative voltage. These findings may be helpful for designing semiconductor-based MR devices.

Background Sepsis causes nutritional substrate malabsorption; hence, preventing gut barrier problems and improving the nutritional status in sepsis is a compelling issue. Aims We tested whether ghrelin administration affects peptide transporter 1 (PepT1) activity in the intestinal epithelium of rats with sepsis. Methods Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, sepsis, and ghrelin-treated groups. The cecum of sham-operated rats was separated after laparotomy without ligation and perforation. Sepsis group rats underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Mucosal specimens were used for immunohistochemstry, real-time PCR, and western blotting to detect PepT1 distribution, and mRNA and protein expression levels, respectively. TNF-α, IL-1β, and ghrelin levels were estimated in serum and intestinal mucosal tissue by ELISA. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to measure PepT1 uptake by the epithelial cells. Moreover, survival, body weight, and food intake of the rats were recorded during the 7-day treatment period. Results All rats in the sham-operated group survived, and 80% of rats in the sepsis group died within 7d of CLP. Treatment with ghrelin attenuated the CLP-induced body weight loss, intestine mucosa damage, and the survival rate was better. In addition, ghrelin attenuated increases in TNF-α and IL-1β production. The expressions of PepT1 mRNA and protein were higher in ghrelin-treated group rats than in sepsis rats. Moreover, the uptake function of PepT1 was better in ghrelin-treated group rats. Conclusion Ghrelin treatment can reduce the inflammatory response and greatly upregulate the physiological function of PepT1 in intestinal epithelial cells of rats with sepsis.

Background Cardiovascular complications, especially myocardial infarctions (MIs), are the leading mortality cause in diabetic patients. The transplantation of stem cells into damaged hearts has had considerable success as a treatment for MI, although whether antidiabetic drugs affect the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell transplantation is still unknown. This study aims to understand whether and how metformin, one of the first-line drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), induces mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) apoptosis and dampens their cardioprotective effect after transplantation into infarcted hearts. Methods A mouse MI model was generated via permanent ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. MSCs with or without metformin treatment were transplanted after MI in diabetic mice. Echocardiography was used to assess cardiac function and determine cardiac remodeling, and TTC staining was performed to evaluate infarction size. A mouse gavage model was performed to evaluate bone marrow MSCs for flow cytometry assay. Results Metformin dampened MSC therapeutic efficacy, which increased infarct size and restricted functional cardiac recovery. Specifically, metformin induced the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated apoptosis through the inhibition of S6K1-Bad-Bcl-xL cell survival signaling, resulting in the upregulated expression of apoptosis-associated proteins and increased MSC apoptosis. Accordingly, counteracting AMPK attenuated metformin-induced apoptosis in MSCs and partially restored their cardioprotective effects in diabetic mice with MI. Furthermore, a decrease in peripheral blood MSCs was found in patients with T2DM who had a metformin medication history. Conclusions Our results highlight an unexpected adverse effect of metformin-induced MSC apoptosis through AMPK-mediated mTOR suppression, which is attenuated by an AMPK inhibitor. Moreover, AMPK inhibition may be a novel strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of stem cell therapy after MI in diabetes. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-018-1057-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

By means of a hybrid magnetic–electric barrier (MEB) on the top of the semiconductor InAs/AlxIn1−xAs heterostructure, a spin filter can be obtained. In this work, we introduce a δ-doping into this MEB device by molecular beam epitaxy or metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition, to manipulate the spin filtering. With the help of the improved transfer-matrix method and Landauer–Bűttiker theory, transmission coefficient, conductance and spin polarization are calculated for the electrons across this device. Due to spin-field interaction between electron spins and magnetic fields, an obvious spin filtering effect remains in the device even if a δ-doping is included inside. The behavior of spin-polarized electrons is related closely to the δ-doping, due to the strong dependence of the effective potential experienced by the electrons on such a doping. Degree of spin polarization can be manipulated by properly adjusting weight or position of the δ-doping, which gives rise to a structurally controllable spin filter.

The urotensin II/urotensin receptor (UII/UT) system can mediate inflammatory liver injury in acute liver failure (ALF); however; the related mechanism is not clear. In this study, we confirmed that lipopolysaccharide/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN) induced up-regulation of liver interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) in ALF mice, whereas the UT antagonist urantide inhibited the up-regulated liver IRF3. LPS stimulation induced IRF3 transcription and nuclear translocation and promoted the secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon (IFN)-β, and IFN-γ in Kupffer cells (KCs); these effects in LPS-stimulated KCs were inhibited by urantide. Knockdown of IRF3 using an adenovirus expressing an IRF3 shRNA inhibited IFN-β transcription and secretion as well as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-1β secretion from LPS-stimulated KCs; additionally, IL-10 transcription and secretion were promoted in response to LPS. However, LPS-stimulated TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA was not affected in the KCs. The IRF3 shRNA also did not have a significant effect on the NF-κB p65 subunit and p38MAPK protein phosphorylation levels in the nuclei of LPS-stimulated KCs. Therefore, IRF3 expression and activation depended on the signal transduction of the UII/UT system, and played important roles in UII/UT-mediated immune inflammatory injury in the liver but did not affect NF-κB and p38 MAPK activity.

Wave vector filtering effect is explored for electrons in magnetically and electrically confined semiconductor heterostructure, which can be realized experimentally by depositing a ferromagnetic stripe and a Schottky metal stripe in parallel configuration on the surface of [Formula: see text] heterostructure. Adopting improved transfer matrix method to solve Schrödinger equation, electronic transmission coefficient is calculated exactly, and then wave vector filtering efficiency is obtained by differentiating transmission probability over longitudinal wave vector. An obvious wave vector filtering effect appears, due to an essentially two-dimensional process for electron transmission through a magnetic nanostructure. Besides, wave vector filtering efficiency is associated closely with width, position and externally applied voltage of Schottky metal stripe, which makes wave vector filtering effect become controllable and results in a manipulable momentum filter for nanoelectronics.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a widely prevalent gastrointestinal disorder throughout the world, whereas the efficacy of current treatment in the Western countries is limited. As the symptom is equivalent to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) term “stuffiness and fullness,” FD can be treated with Zhi-zhu Wan (ZZW) which is a kind of Chinese patent medicine. However, the “multi-component” and “multi-target” feature of Chinese patent medicine makes it challenge to elucidate the potential therapeutic mechanisms of ZZW on FD. Presently, a novel system pharmacology model including pharmacokinetic parameters, pharmacological data, and component contribution score (CS) is constructed to decipher the potential therapeutic mechanism of ZZW on FD. Finally, 61 components with favorable pharmacokinetic profiles and biological activities were obtained through ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) screening in silico. The related targets of these components are identified by component targeting process followed by GO analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. And systematic analysis found that through acting on the target related to inflammation, gastrointestinal peristalsis, and mental disorder, ZZW plays a synergistic and complementary effect on FD at the pathway level. Furthermore, the component CS showed that 29 components contributed 90.18% of the total CS values of ZZW for the FD treatment, which suggested that the effective therapeutic effects of ZZW for FD are derived from all active components, not a few components. This study proposes the system pharmacology method and discovers the potent combination therapeutic mechanisms of ZZW for FD. This strategy will provide a reference method for other TCM mechanism research.

A magnetoresistance device was proposed by patterning two asymmetric ferromagnetic stripes on top and bottom of the GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructure. To control its performance, a tunable δ-potential is introduced inside this device by wire-like doping. Adopting transfer matrix method and Landauer-Buttiker conductance theory, Schrodinger equation is solved analytically and δ-doping dependent transmission, conductance and magnetoresistance ratio are calculated. An obvious magnetoresistance effect still stays in this device, due to existence of transmission difference between parallel and antiparallel configurations independent of δ-doping. However, its magnetoresistance ratio can be tuned by changing weight or position of δ-doping. These interesting results not only propose an alternative scheme to manipulate magnetoresistance device, but also a structurally-controllable magnetoresistance device can be obtained for magnetic information storage.

Background HOXB9 is a homeobox transcription factor which plays an important role in carcinoma development. This protein has been shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation. However, the mechanisms that underpin HOXB9-mediated inhibition of cellular proliferation remain to be elucidated. Methods In this study, two gastric cancer cell lines, SGC7901 and MKN45, were transfected with plasmids pLVX-HOXB9 and shHOXB9. These transfections resulted in the over-expression of the HOXB9 gene in the SGC7901/HOXB9 cells and knockdown of the HOXB9 gene in the MKN45/shHOXB9 cells. Results Over-expression of the HOXB9 gene in the SGC7901/HOXB9 cells caused an increase in the apoptotic rate and a concomitant reduction in metastatic ability compared with the knocked-down MKN45/shHOXB9 cells. Moreover, a reduction in the expression of the phosphorylated-Akt protein was observed in the SGC7901/HOXB9 cells, while an increase in expression of the same protein was observed in the MKN45/shHOXB9 cells. We also observed that HOXB9 mediated a reduction in both NF-κB and N-cadherin and Snail protein expression. Conversely, HOXB9 caused an increase in the expression of E-cadherin. Conclusions In summary, this study reports that HOXB9 can suppress both phosphorylated-Akt expression and NF-κB activity. The latter phenomenon affects Snail protein expression and the inhibition of gastric carcinoma proliferation.

North and west China has abundant coal resources, however, such resources make these regions prone to serious mine fire disasters. Although the copious sand and fly ash resources found in these areas can be used as fire-fighting materials, conventional grouting is expensive because of water shortage and loess particles. A new compound material (i.e., a sand-suspended colloid), which comprises a mineral inorganic gel and an organic polymer, is developed in the current study to improve the quality of sand injection and reduce water wastage when grouting. The new material can steadily suspend the sand, through the addition of a small amount of colloid yielding steady sand-suspended slurry. The process of producing the slurry is convenient and quick, overcoming the shortage of sand-suspending thickeners which need heat and are difficult to produce. The space work model based on the theory of the double-electric layer is established to study the suspended mechanism of the solid particles in the sand-suspended colloid. The dispersion effect of the sand-suspended colloid is demonstrated by the incorporation of the electrostatic effect by the double-electric layer and the steric hindrance effect on the sand particles, ensuring the stability of the colloid system and the steady suspension of sand particles in the sand-suspended colloid. Mechanical analysis indicates that the sand is suspended steadily under the condition that the rock sand particles stress on the lower part of the fluid is less than the yield stress of the colloid. Finally, the fire-prevention technology of sand suspension was applied and tested in the Daliuta Coal Mine, achieving successful results. Keywords: Sand-suspended colloid, Sand-suspended slurry, Suspension mechanism, Dual-electrical layer, Space work model, Fire prevention

This study aimed to determine the clinical, psychological features, and quality of life in Chinese fibromyalgia (FM) patients who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2010 FM classification criteria at initial diagnosis. A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital. A hundred and seven Chinese FM patients (86 females, 21 males) were included. Eighty-six patients completed the questionnaires. Descriptive, differences, and correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that Chinese FM patients started their diseases at a median age of 37 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:4.1. Most patients were diagnosed about 2 years after symptoms onset. Nearly 60 % (59.81%) patients had less than college education, 58.88% did not have a full-time job, and 41.12% had low-back pain. Out of 86 patients, 58 (67.4%) had anxiety and 75 (87.2%) had depression. FM patients had poor quality of life in each aspect and deficient social support. The level of pain for the past 7 days was strongly correlated with patient global impression of severity (PGI-S; r = 0.651, p

Web application has been widely used. So it is urgent to test the security of Web application efficiently to resist various attacks. In this paper, key technologies (detecting framework with plugin, discovering unknown vulnerability and building detection tools integrated by user-defined) are absolutely researched. No matter Web application is running or not, the platform can be dramatically able to discover the vulnerability efficiently to insure their security.

Based on the establishment of the geometry and equations of non-contact vortex gripper, the numerical analysis of the internal flow field characteristics and the key parameters affecting the adsorption performance was carried out. The results showed that: for the single air-entrance gripper, the negative pressure center not coincides at the geometric center of the gripper. Besides, with the movement of swirling flow, the position of the negative pressure center transformed; When the geometric parameters and working conditions are fixed, there is the most suitable air gap making the maximum value of negative pressure and adsorption force; Compared to single air-entrance gripper, double air-entrance gripper have better adsorption stability.

A new household multi-functional shoe cabinet was designed and prototyped. This shoe cabinet not only maintained the features of multi-function and intelligent control of the traditional one, but also made an innovation in its shortages. Through geometric space analysis and computation, selected rotary shoe rack for shoe storage for its space utilization rate is 1.6 times larger than the traditional one. A fully automatic shoe-cleaning device was designed and prototyped by using profiling mechanism, electronic timers and cam mechanism. Ozone disinfection and PTC dryer were used in shoes maintenance. The results in the performance test demonstrates that this shoe cabinet can accommodated 18 pairs of shoes in common use and clean and maintain shoes of size 34 ~ 45.

In this paper, three types of urban sewage treatment cost model, Oxidation ditch, ICEAS and A2/O are established respectively. The cost model and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were applied to sewage treatment plant for process optimization. It provides guidance for urban sewage treatment process decision-making.

A finite-element mechanical model is established aiming at the features of telescopic suspension arm of dirt-removing crane in practice, such as that there exist many compound modes, the range of variation in lifting weight is big, etc. The strength, stiffness and stability of suspension arm is calculated and optimized based on ANSYS (software). The result of conventional design, which is checked and revised, tallies with the measured value relatively and may provide valuable reference for the design of suspension arm, which is to some extent significant to prolonging the fatigue life of cranes.

A kind of intelligent EOD manipulator with five DOF has been designed against the EOD sites with the complicated cases and many obstacles unstructured. In this paper a general solution for the intelligent EOD manipulator with five DOF has been summarized, and a system analysis based on the following five parts has been performed further: Design for structure of the hand, design for structure of the wrist, design for structure of the arm, design for body of the manipulator, design for the hydraulic driving system. In view of the above, utilizing software such as CATIA and AUTOCAD, etc, a relative three-dimensional solid model has been modeled in the design to improve it in efficiency and quality, accordingly, and shorting development period for the intelligent EOD manipulator with five DOF.

The construction industry is a pillar industry of Chinese national economy, but also one of the industries with high accident rates. This paper analyzed Chinese construction industry in recent years, production safety situation, which indicated that the building production safety accidents and deaths continued to decline, construction safety production and the overall situation was getting better and better. After management analysis of safety production in construction industry, strengthening the government functions, truly serving people oriented from government to business, and enhancing the safety culture were real solutions of construction management.

This paper summarized the actual situation and problems of domestic sewage treatment in small towns in Yunnan province, and recommended four suitable sewage treatment technologies combining with its domestic sewage treatment process for water treatment, project investment, land allocation and operating cost analysis.

First, this paper estimates all kinds of non-point source pollutant emissions in the source areas of Liao river, then calculates the pollutant quantity discharged into the river from rural living sources, planting pollution sources, livestock and poultry breeding pollution sources and aquaculture pollution sources in detail in the source areas. The results of the paper could provide a scientific basis for making a far-reaching significant watershed management scheme.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a global public health problem, because patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) may progress to liver cirrhosis and eventually evolve into hepatocellular carcinoma. Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is a soluble receptor of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, and has been implicated in anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory pathways. In this study, we explored the clinical value of serum DcR3 in predicting the active status of CHB in hepatitis B e antigen-negative patients (active HBeAg (-) CHB), which was determined with ELISA. The serum level of DcR3 in active HBeAg (-) CHB patients (1.92 ± 0.68 ng/ml) was higher than that in healthy controls (0.80 ± 0.25 ng/ml, p < 0.0001) and that in inactive status of HBeAg (-) CHB (inactive hepatitis B surface antigen carrier, HBsAg-IaC) patients (0.95 ± 0.26 ng/ml, p < 0.0001). DcR3 level was correlated with HBV DNA level (r = 0.819, p < 0.0001) and alanine transaminase level (ALT, r = 0.704, p < 0.0001) in active HBeAg (-) CHB patients. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics curve of DcR3 for detecting the active status of HBeAg (-) CHB patients was 0.914 (95% confidence interval, 0.851-0.977). The optimal cut-off value for DcR3 to predict active HBeAg (-) CHB was 1.22 ng/ml, which had a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 84.4%. These results suggest that serum DcR3 level may be useful for detecting HBeAg (-) CHB in the active stage, which requires medical treatment.

According to the problems in the process of high-density mesh plate that mesh holes of plate is too density and the device screw bar is not long enough for the original equipment, a set process is used to overcome the problems of lying out and fixing for punchers. A simple special tool is designed. Fixed and slide ruler mechanisms are installed in the original machine. Repeat-orientation and several division methods are used, and the stroke of the original machine is increased two times, which successfully solves the processing problems and creates good economic benefits.

Background: Osteotomy of the fibula is a common orthopedic procedure performed for various indications, including harvesting fibula for grafting purposes. The effect of fibular osteotomy and need for tibiofibular syndesmotic fixation fusion at different levels on tibiotalar joint is matter of debate. We performed a biomechanical analysis of the impact of fibular osteotomies at different levels and whether the fixation of distal tibiofibular joint mitigates instability caused by the osteotomy. Materials and Methods: Six lower limb specimens from fresh adult cadavers were used to prepare leg-foot models. The specimens were assigned to six status according to the level of osteotomy and whether fixation of distal tibiofibular joint was performed or not. Each specimen was then loaded axially to 700 N by the material testing machine, and the tibiotalar joint contact area and peak pressure were measured using an electronic pressure sensor. Results: The contact area and the pressure of tibiotalar joint showed significant changes when compared to the normal specimen . All osteotomy specimens had a decreased tibiotalar contact area and an increased peak pressure. This positively correlated with proximity of level of osteotomy to the lateral malleolus. Conclusions: Through this study, we found that fibular osteotomy had an adverse effect in terms of decreasing the contact surface of tibiotalar joint that led to increased peak pressure in the joint. However, bone fusion and screw fixation of the distal tibiofibular joint reduced these adverse effects.

Achieving the detection and tracking of moving targets has been widely applied in all fields of today's society. Because of the shortcomings of traditional video tracking system, this paper proposes a novel method for designing video processing system based on hardware design of FPGA and DSP, and moving target in video can be detected and tracked by this system. In this system, DSP as the core of the system, it mainly completes the processing algorithms of video and image data, FPGA as a coprocessor, responsible for the completion of the processing of external data and logic. The hardware structure, link configuration, program code and other aspects of system are optimized. Finally, through the experiment, the input frame rate of video is 40frames/s, and the image resolution is 512pixels × 512pixels, median 16bites quantitative image sequence, the system can complete the relevant real-time detection and tracking algorithm and extract targets position of image sequences correctly. The results show that the advantage is that this system has powerful operation speed, real time, high accuracy and stability.

For the moving small dim targets in visible image sequences with low SNR and complex background, whose contained characters are simple and poor, they are extracted difficultly. This paper proposes a new method to detect and extract positions of small dim moving targets. According to the features of moving targets, in a very short time interval, the target trajectory is considered as a straight line approximately. Firstly, it makes use of threshold segmentation methods to extract the positions of targets in each frame, then building the motion line equations after the joint of multi-frame processing results. Finally, the position of small dim targets are detected out and extracted, and false targets are eliminated accurately. Hardware system was designed and the algorithm is implemented on hardware systems successfully. The experiment results show related functions of the system and extracting algorithm is feasible, the system is stable and has a strong process ability, which can effectively detect and extract small and dim target in complex background correctly.

The behavior of a novel frequency divider circuit using negative differential resistance (NDR) circuit is studied. This NDR circuit is made of resistors (R) and bipolar-junction-transistor (BJT) devices. It can show the NDR characteristic in its combined current-voltage curve by suitably arranging the resistances. We call this NDR circuit as R-BJT-NDR circuit in this paper. A chaos circuit consisted of an R-BJT-NDR device, an inductor, and a capacitor is investigated. It demonstrates the period-adding sequences which appear in its bifurcation diagram to perform the frequency division. We investigate the effects of the input frequency and input amplitude on the operation.

At present, high speed machining (HSM) features in high efficiency, high precision, high flexibility and high quality. HSM technology involves many factors, including cutting mechanisms, machining performance, tool path and other aspects. The key techniques on HSM such as linear interpolation, circular interpolation, cubic B-spline curve interpolation, non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) curve interpolation and their respective characteristics are paid more attention and expatiated.

This paper puts forward an agent genetic algorithm based on bacteria foraging strategy (BFOA-L) as the feature selection method. The algorithm introduces the bacteria foraging (BF) behavior, and integrates the neural network and link agent structure to achieve fuzzy logic reasoning, so that the weights with no definite physical meaning in traditional neural network are endowed with the physical meaning of fuzzy logic reasoning parameters. The algorithm can maintain the diversity of the agent, so as to achieve satisfactory global optimization precision. The test result shows that this algorithm has good stability, little time complexity and high recognition accuracy.