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Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC) transplantation is thought to be a promising strategy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the low survival rate of transplanted hUC-MSCs limits their clinical application in cell replacement therapy. Curcumin can suppress inflammation after SCI; however, it remains unknown whether curcumin can modulate the survival of transplanted hUC-MSCs. In this study, to investigate whether curcumin could strengthen the therapeutic effects of hUC-MSC transplantation on SCI, we induced hUC-MSC apoptosis with TNF-α, transplanted hUC-MSC into SCI rats, and assessed the antiapoptotic effect and mechanism of curcumin. LDH release analysis and flow cytometry demonstrated that TNF-α led to hUC-MSC apoptosis and that curcumin increased the hUC-MSC survival rate in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we showed that the phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2, JNK, and P38 were upregulated in apoptotic hUC-MSCs, while curcumin increased the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 but did not activate JNK or P38, and these effects were reversed by the p42/44 antagonist U0126. Furthermore, we found that the motor function scores and number of surviving HNA-positive cells were significantly increased after curcumin and hUC-MSC transplantation therapy 8 weeks post-SCI, while U0126 markedly attenuated these effects. These data confirmed that curcumin suppressed hUC-MSC apoptosis through the ERK1/2 signaling pathway and that combined curcumin and hUC-MSC treatment improved motor function in rats after SCI. The current research provides a strong basis for hUC-MSC replacement therapy in conjunction with curcumin in the treatment and management of SCI in humans.

Purpose : To study the effects of a combination of Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula and valsartan on metabolic syndrome (MetS) complicated with microalbuminuria. Methods : Patients with MetS (100), recruited from Department of the Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital; Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University; and Department of Endocrinology, Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Yueyang, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, were randomly divided into two sets: control group (n = 50) given valsartan treatment, and Chinese herbal medicine (CHF) group (n = 50) given Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula in addition to valsartan. Both therapeutic regimens were given once a day for 12 weeks. The parameters measured were conversion rate of microalbuminuria (MA), ratio of urinary albumin to creatinine (UACR), 24- h total volume of urinary protein (24hTP), urinary transferrin, urinary β2 microglobulin, constitutional index (CI), and waist-hip ratio (WHR). Other indices assessed were peak systolic and diastolic pressure (SBP and DBP), mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial 2 h blood glucose (2hPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (GH), steadystate model for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol (TC), glycerin trilaurate (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Results : All 100 subjects completed the clinical study. The outcome revealed that compared with 10.00 % in controls, the negative conversion of MA reached 28.00 % in the CHF group (p < 0.050). CHF produced reductions in MA, UACR, BMI, 24hTP and urinary β2 microglobulin (p < 0.05). It also led to marked increases in BMI, WHR, SBP, MAP, FPG, 2hPPG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR, and significant decreases in TG (p < 0.05). Conclusion : These results suggest that CHF treatment results in alleviation of microalbuminuria and multiple cardiovascular risk factors in metabolic syndrome complicated with microalbuminuria. These effects correlate with improvements in insulin sensitivity and rectification of abnormal fat distribution. Keywords : Metabolic syndrome, Microalbuminuria, Yiqi Huazhuo Gushen formula, Insulin resistance, Central obesity

Objective To explore the characteristics of blood glucose excursions of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with three different Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndromes. Methods One hundred and nine patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited from the Department of Endocrinology and the Department of TCM of the Sixth People's Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Subjects were divided into three groups according to TCM syndrome: intrinsic Damp ( n = 42), Yin deficiency and internal Heat ( n = 25), and Qi and Yin deficiency ( n = 42). Subcutaneous interstitial glucose was monitored with a continuous glucose monitoring system for 3 consecutive days to investigate the glycemic profile in each group. Plasma C-peptide levels were measured, and an arginine test was taken in 10 patients randomly selected from each group. Glucose data and glycemic variability were analyzed to investigate the differences among the groups. The change in C-peptide levels and the results from arginine trial were used to evaluate β cell function. Results Indicators reflecting blood glucose level were the highest in subjects with Yin deficiency and internal Heat syndrome, and parameters reflecting glycemic variability were the lowest in those with Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome. The change in C-peptide levels showed that subjects with Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome had the best β cell function among the three groups; this was confirmed by the arginine trial. Conclusion Patients with Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome had a more stable blood glucose profile, as glycemic variability was higher in those with intrinsic Damp syndrome and those with Yin deficiency and internal Heat syndrome.

In the present work, the nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 powder are successfully prepared by evaporative condensation method. The phase composition, grain morphology, microstructure and optical absorption properties for each of the prepared powders are studied systematically. The results show that the main phase of nanocrystalline CeB6 powder and SmB6 powder are both composed of CaB6-type cubic structure with space group of Pm-3m. The scanning electron microscope results show that the synthesized CeB6 and SmB6 nanoparticles display an spherical morphology with an average grain size of 50 nm. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy observation results show that there exist many intrinsic crystal defects in nanocrystalline SmB6, such as lattice distortions or edge dislocations, due to the high volatility characteristic of Sm atom in the condensation (crystallization) process. The optical absorption results show that the absorption valley of nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 are respectively located at 599 nm and 632 nm, indicating the high transparency characteristic of visible light. To further qualitatively explain the difference in optical absorption mechanism between CeB6 and SmB6, the first principle calculations are employed to calculate their band structures, densities of states, optical absorption energy, and plasma resonance frequency energy. The calculation results show that there is an electron band crossing the Fermi energy for both CeB6 and SmB6, indicating their typical conductor behaviors. The upmost valence band of CeB6 and SmB6 are composed of B-2p and B-2s states, and their bottommost conduction bands are mainly composed of Ce-4f, Ce-5d, Sm-4f, Sm-5d, B-2p and B-2s states. In addition, the volume plasma of carrier electrons can be described in the electron energy-loss function. The peak position in the low energy region of the loss function corresponds to the relevant plasma frequency. As a result, the calculated low energy loss function of CeB6 and SmB6 are 1.96 eV and 1.5 eV, respectively. Moreover, the calculated absorption valley of CeB6 and SmB6 respectively appear at 639 nm and 800 nm, which are in good accordance with the experimental results. Therefore, as an efficient optical absorption materials, the nanocrystalline CeB6 and SmB6 should open the way to extending the optical applications of rare-earth hexaborides.

This study aimed to the clarify the diagnostic efficacy of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in Kazakh patients with esophageal cancer (EC). FISH was compared with the pathological examination of biopsy specimens with DNA probes. We enrolled 20 patients, of which 15 were males and 5 females, with an average age of 58.3 years, who had abnormal esophaguses on barium radiological digital imaging. Touch preparations were performed on biopsy specimens from all of the patients and were examined using FISH for chromosomal abnormalities. We compared the FISH results with the pathology slides stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Classification, according to pathology, identified 2 cases of class II, 3 cases of IIIa, 1 case of IIIb, 2 cases of IV, 12 cases of class V and no cases of class I. The cases classified as class IIIb or higher were considered to be positive for cancer. Using histopathology, 10 cases were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and 5 were diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, with one case being false-negative. Thus, the sensitivity of the pathological examination was 93% and the specificity was 100%. Using FISH, 16 cases showed aberrant copy numbers in either chromosome 3 or 17. By comparison, pathology did not reveal any false-positive or false-negative cases with a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. The centromeres of chromosome 3 copy numbers was significantly higher (p=0.035) than the centromeres of chromosome 17. Our study compared FISH to diagnose aneusomic esophageal cancer cells with the pathology of biopsied tissue. Our findings suggest that FISH is a useful and objective assay for the detection of malignant cells of esophageal cancer. In our study, the centromeres of chromosome 3 was the more sensitive probe for the diagnosis of esophageal cancer in Kazakh patients.

This paper, by using support vector machine (SVM) identification of power quality disturbance signals are classified. In order to obtain better classification results, we need to make a pretreatment for power quality disturbance data. Because wavelet transform has good local characteristics of the processing ability, so the disturbance signal uses wavelet transform to extract the scale of the energy difference as a feature vector At the same time the Lib — SVM is used to solve the problem of multi class SVM classification, besides, we put forward two steps grid method for SVM parameters optimization. We use MATLAB software to produce disturbance signal data samples and add SNR = 25 db gaussian white noise. Simulation result shows that the proposed classification method of the correct recognition rate is higher, so the correctness and effectiveness of the presented approach are correct and effective.

According to European option pricing models such as the Black-Scholes model, option price is determined by five factors which are underlying asset price, striking price, interest rate, maturity, and volatility. Gross open interest reflects the activity of the transaction traded by the buyers and sellers in option markets. Several different kinds of gross open interest are used as the input variables of the neural networks in this work. The experimental results show that the hybrid neural network model using a kind of average gross open interest as the input variable performs better than the other models put forward in this article. It may hints that the activity of an option market could be one of the factors influencing European option price.

The paper describes a dynamic calibration method of high-pressure sensor which is widely used in industrial and military field. The dynamic calibration system was built on a high-pressure hydraulic calibrator with 800MPa range. When calibrating, fitting a high static pressure (such as 400MPa) in the oil cavity first, and then the air gun shoot the bullet and struck Hopkinson bar. The stress wave generated a quasi-δ function signal in the oil cavity, which excited the sensor being calibrated, measured the pulse width of stress wave with strain gauge on the Hopkinson bar, and record the response signal of the sensor. Finally, calculate the frequency response of the sensor. The relation between transient signal width and calibration frequency range was analyzed. This dynamic calibration method is an ideal method for high pressure sensor; it can realize the low limit frequency of the calibrated frequency range strictly reaches to zero frequency.

Research findings into recent changes in the natural environment and land use/cover change in many parts of Africa have been well documented. This research had the aim of investigating such changes in a less studied part of Africa, a small section of western coastal Guinea. Topographic map and ETM+ image processing, interpretation and GIS overlay method were used to make comparisons over time. Quantifiable and significant changes in the nature of and the extent of the land use/cover were found to have occurred. The results of this research also showed a steep growth in the cities and urban areas of this region. Similar research of other parts of Guinea may yield comparable findings. In such a case this may well encourage the Guinea government in cooperation with both the scientific community and local communities to set up urgent and practical policies for the management of land use/cover in this region.

Based on comparative study, the paper mainly concentrates on the learning performance between Web-based distance education and classroom education. A experimental school in Xinjiang has been selected as research object in this study. To be specific, researches from 3 point of view have been designed to analyze the influence of learning style on learning performance in Xinjiang. Generally the purpose of this study is to find the approach to enhance learning performance of distance education learner and to promote distance education cause in remote and undeveloped areas.

Based on the data of the scale of education in Xinjiang, this paper uses grey system theory to establish GM (1, 1).Result of prediction indicates that the trend of the scale of education remains relatively stable, but also shows a decreasing tendency.

We have studied the effect of population inversion associated with the electron and hole injection in graphene layer n-i-p structures with split gates at room temperature. Considering the transverse electric field screening of the n-section, we calculated the dependence of the electron-hole effective temperature and optical phonon effective temperature on the gate-voltage. It is shown that the injection can lead to cooling of the electron-hole plasma in n-section to the temperatures lower than the lattice temperature. The current-voltage characteristics, and the frequency-dependent dynamic conductivity are calculated, the frequency-dependent dynamic conductivity can be negative in the terahertz frequency range at a certain applied voltage. The study demonstrates that electron-hole plasma cooling can enhance the negative dynamic conductivity effect and improve the feasibility of terahertz lasing.

The negative dynamic conductivity of graphene in THz range makes it to be a promise medium in THz radiation and amplification. This paper proposes electrically pumped multiple graphene layer structures with split gates, sets up the theory model of electrically induced n-i-p junction, calculates the ac conductivity associated with the interband and intraband transitions under the conditions of population inversion, discusses the bias voltage, gate voltage, number of graphene layers and the momentum relaxation time dependences of ac conductivity. It is shown that the real part of dynamic conductivity within terahertz range can be negative in certain conditions, namely, interband radiation is greater than the intraband absorption, which demonstrates the feasibility of taking electrically pumped multiple graphene layer structures with split gates as an active medium in radiating terahertz coherent source.