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Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Taiwan. Despite the use of steroids and/or calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) in renal transplantation (RTx), additional challenges occur when a patient displays persisting metabolic disease, carries on an unhealthy lifestyle, or experiences genetic effects. Although RTx recipients could get better glycemic control by oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) or several insulin agents, they still need more than two kinds of medication. Liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, stimulates insulin secretion and inhibits glucagon secretion and hepatic glucose production in a glucose-dependent manner. In addition, it delays gastric emptying and suppresses appetite through the central pathways. Herein we report on the long-term benefits of liraglutide in the management of DM in RTx recipients. Methods We retrospectively retrieved 7 RTx patients in August 2015, who had been prescribed liraglutide due to their poor glycemic control; however, 2 of them discontinued their scheduled doses within 1 month. The mean follow-up period was 19.4 ± 7.6 (range 10.5–27.6) months. Results Glycemic control improved fasting blood sugar (FBS) from an initial 228.6 ± 39.1 mg/dL to a final FBS of 166.0 ± 26.6 mg/dL (P = .103), with a significant improvement in nadir glucose control (136.4 ± 5.8 mg/dL, P = .017) and with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from an initial 10.0 ± 1.6% to a final 8.1 ± 0.8% (P = .043). The average body weight was from an initial of 78.0 ± 7.8 kg to a nadir of 75.1 ± 9.1 kg (P = .032). Graft renal function of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) significantly improved from an initial 67.7 ± 18.7 to a nadir of eGFR 76.5 ± 18.7 mg/dL (P = .024). There was no significant change in urinary protein:creatinine ratio. Conclusion Liraglutide may be safe and effective for RTx recipients with poor diabetic glycemic control, although there have been incidences of intolerance in some patients, and potential concern regarding absorption of oral medications due to a delay of gastric emptying. Evidence of liraglutide in diabetic RTx recipients is limited, so additional prospective clinical studies should be undertaken in the future.

The electronic structures and optical properties of tin dioxide (SnO2) with different Al-doping concentrations (x = 0, 0·0185 and 0·0417) are investigated using the first-principles calculation of plane wave ultra-soft pseudo-potential technology based on the density functional theory under the local-density approximation. The results show that the Fermi level of Al-doped SnO2 goes into the valence band, indicating that Al-doped SnO2 is a typical p-type semiconductor. Moreover, with the increase in Al-doping concentrations, the band gap of SnO2 is broadened and the blueshift of the absorption spectrum becomes significant, which are in good agreement with the experiment results. In addition, the low reflectivity (

Background and Aims Esophageal squamous cell neoplasia (ESCN) has a significant risk for progression to cancer. Current treatment options, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or submucosal dissection (ESD), have their limitations. The cryoballoon focal ablation system (CbFAS) is a novel endoscopic ablation therapy device. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of CbFAS for eradication of ESCN. Methods In this single-center prospective trial in China, patients with 1 flat unstained lesion (USL) on Lugol chromoendoscopy that contained moderate- or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (MGIN or HGIN, respectively) were enrolled. CbFAS was performed using side-by-side applications of 10 seconds, treatment was repeated at 3-month intervals until a complete response (CR) was established. The response at 12 months was the primary trial endpoint. Safety phone calls were performed at 2, 7, and 30 days after the initial CbFAS. Results We enrolled 80 patients (59 MGIN, 21 HGIN) with a median USL length of 3 cm (interquartile range [IQR], 3-4). Seventy-nine received treatment, with a median of 5 side-by-side applications (IQR, 4-7) per patient over a median of 8 minutes (IQR, 5-10). After a single treatment, 70 of 78 patients (90%) exhibited CR, and 1 was lost to follow-up. The other 8 with persisting USLs were retreated, and all achieved CR after this second treatment. At 12 months after the initial CbFAS, 76 of 78 patients (97%) exhibited CR and 2 (3%) had recurrent MGIN. No strictures or serious adverse events occurred. Four patients developed self-limiting mucosal lacerations on balloon inflation. The postprocedure median pain score was 1 of 10 (IQR, 0-2) at day 2 and 0 (0-0) at days 7 and 30. Conclusions The results suggest that the CbFAS is safe, well tolerated, and effective in inducing endoscopic and histologic remission in patients with ESCN of limited size. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT02605759.)

As a representative boundary, interphase-interface may affect the strength or ductility of multilayered composites dramatically. However, the effect of the interface with mismatch dislocations on the mechanical behavior of multilayered composites is still not clear. In the present work, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of interface structures and layer spacing on the mechanical properties of the Ti/Al nanolaminate. The results indicate that there are two transitions of the plastic deformation mechanism in the Ti layer with the increase of layer spacing in the sample with a coherent interface. The plastic deformation mechanism evolves from one that is dominated by dislocation to the phase transformation from the hcp-Ti to the fcc-Ti mode, which transfers to the dislocation slip deformation again. For the samples with an incoherent interface, the plastic deformation is dominated by the transformation from hcp-Ti to fcc-Ti, regardless of the variation of layer spacing, while the plastic deformations in the Al layers are mainly dislocations confined in the layer slip in the samples with both coherent and incoherent interfaces. When the layer spacing is larger than 6.6 nm, an obvious second hardening is observed due to the superior dislocation storage ability of the Ti/Al laminate with the incoherent interface. Meanwhile, extraordinary ductility is obtained when optimal layer spacing is employed in the Ti/Al laminate. Moreover, the phase transformation mechanism of hcp-Ti to bcc-Ti has also been explicated in the present work. The general conclusions derived from this work may provide a guideline for the design of high-performance Ti/Al multilayer and alloy devices.As a representative boundary, interphase-interface may affect the strength or ductility of multilayered composites dramatically. However, the effect of the interface with mismatch dislocations on the mechanical behavior of multilayered composites is still not clear. In the present work, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of interface structures and layer spacing on the mechanical properties of the Ti/Al nanolaminate. The results indicate that there are two transitions of the plastic deformation mechanism in the Ti layer with the increase of layer spacing in the sample with a coherent interface. The plastic deformation mechanism evolves from one that is dominated by dislocation to the phase transformation from the hcp-Ti to the fcc-Ti mode, which transfers to the dislocation slip deformation again. For the samples with an incoherent interface, the plastic deformation is dominated by the transformation from hcp-Ti to fcc-Ti, regardless of the variation of layer spacing, wh...

Chinese herbal medicine Jinlianqingre Effervescent Tablets (JET) are the recommended control measure for uncomplicated hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) by the Ministry of Health of China. However, high-quality evidence to support this recommendation is limited. A total of 288 patients ranging in age from 1 to 13 years were randomly assigned to JET in combination with conventional therapy (mainly including the reduction of temperature by applying physical cooling paste or warm bathing), or conventional therapy with placebo group for 7 days. The objective was to test the hypothesis that JET combination therapy is more effective than conventional therapy for uncomplicated HFMD. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed. Our study showed that, compared with conventional therapy, the median time to fever resolution was significantly shorter in the JET combination therapy (8 vs. 80 h; p < 0.0001); the risk of fever resolution increased in the JET combination therapy [hazard ratio, 19.8; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 12.8 to 30.7]; the median healing time of rash or oral ulcer was significantly shorter in the JET combination therapy (14 vs. 74 h; p < 0.0001); and the median symptom score for skin or oral mucosa lesions improved more rapidly in the JET combination therapy during the follow-up period. The median duration of hospital stay was 6 days in the JET combination therapy and 7 days in the conventional therapy (p < 0.0001). No significant adverse events and complications were found in both groups. The addition of JET to conventional therapy reduced fever clearance time, healing time of skin or oral mucosa lesions, and duration of hospital stay in children with uncomplicated HFMD.

Background Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common form of cystic kidney disease. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is associated with progressive kidney enlargement. The drug sirolimus suppresses mTOR signaling but plays an uncertain role in the treatment of ADPKD. The objective of our study was to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to present an objective appraisal of the efficacy and safety of sirolimus therapy in patients with ADPKD. Methods We conducted a meta-analysis of RCTs performed in adults with ADPKD, and compared the effect of sirolimus on total kidney volume (TKV), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), cyst volume, and daily urinary protein excretion. Safety was evaluated based on analysis of blood pressure, lipid profile, complete blood count, infection, and other reported adverse events. Results Four RCTs were included. The sirolimus therapy group had smaller TKV than the control group. The mean difference (MD) of TKV post-treatment compared with the control group was −234.74 ( P = .01). However, GFR did not reach a statistically significant difference between groups. Standard mean difference (SMD) of GFR after therapy was 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.05–0.52; P = .11), but sirolimus seemed to increase urine protein excretion ( P = .002). There was no statically significant difference in leukocytes, hemoglobin, platelets, and blood pressure between groups. Aphthous stomatits and pharyngitis are reported more commonly in the sirolimus therapy group compared with the control group ( P Conclusions In ADPKD patients, treatment with sirolimus is safe and can effectively slow kidney growth, but it seems not to slow down the decrease of GFR.

A self-adaptive edge matching method based on mean shift adjustment is proposed in this paper. Such method uses the local mode seeking character of mean shift to adjust the edge information of each model to a stable state before matching, which can effectively avoid the deviation problem of traditional method and raise the successful matching rate. Furthermore, the interfering vector with a self-adaptive coefficient is proposed to optimise the matching performance in complex background. Compared with a pre-set constant coefficient, the self-adapted coefficient has a better perception of background edge complexity so as to control the initial adjusting position more rationally, and thus increases the robustness and accuracy of matching. This matching method is applied in an improved particle filtering tracking framework, and experimental results prove the validity and rationality of the theoretical analysis, and show that the proposed matching method performs a robust and efficient tracking.

An approach is proposed to solve the coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations (CGP) of the 3-species BEC in an analytical way under the Thomas-Fermi approximation (TFA). It was found that, when the strength of a kind of interaction increases and crosses over a critical value, a specific type of state-transition will occur and will cause a jump in the total energy. Due to the jump, the energy of the lowest symmetric state becomes considerably higher. This leaves a particular opportunity for the lowest asymmetric state to replace the symmetric states as the ground state. It was further found that the critical values are related to the singularity of either the matrix or a sub-matrix of the CGP. These critical values are not arising from the TFA but inherent in the CGP, and they can be analytically expressed. Furthermore, a model (in which two kinds of atoms separated from each other asymmetrically) has been proposed for the evaluation of the energy of the lowest asymmetric state. With this model the emergence of the asymmetric ground state is numerically confirmed under the TFA. The theoretical formalism of this paper is quite general and can be generalized for BEC with more than three species., Comment: 11 pages, 3figures

It has been well established that ERK1/2 signaling, often subdivided into nine types of pathways, can regulate the hepatocyte proliferative response during liver regeneration. However, the effect of ERK1/2 signaling on the proliferation of other hepatic cell types remains unclear. We isolated and purified 8 liver cell types at 10 time points after 2/3 hepatectomy in adult rats. For each cell type, mRNA expression changes for ERK1/2 signaling-involved genes were monitored up to 168 h, using microarrays. Real-time PCR assays were performed for array data verification. The expression levels of these genes varied considerably between different cell types. Integrating microarray results with gene synergical analysis, at the priming phase, activation of integrin/Grb2/Ras pathway in hepatocytes apparently contributed to G0/G1 transition. Two other pathways, G-protein/EPAC/Rap1 and G-protein/PKA/Rap1, were stimulated in hepatic stellate cells, while RTK/PKC/Ras and RTK/Grb2/Ras were stimulated in Kupffer cells. At the progressive phase, the ERK1/2 pathway is involved in hepatocyte replication; three pathways, namely Ca(2+)/PKC/Ras, RTK/Grb2/Ras and G-protein/EPAC/Rap1, were found to play roles in biliary epithelial cell proliferation, while RTK/PKC/Ras and RTK/Grb2/Ras were involved in Kupffer cell proliferation, and G-protein/PKC/Ras in pit cell proliferation. At the terminal phase, the promotive effect of the ERK1/2 pathway on replication of hepatocytes, biliary epithelial cells, oval cells, hepatic stellate cells, Kupffer cells, and dendritic cells was considerably reduced, possibly due to their differentiation at the end of regeneration. G-protein/PKC/Ras, integrin/Grb2/Ras and G-protein/ PKA/Rap1 pathways were active in sinusoidal endothelial cells, perhaps to aid in their proliferation. We conclude that ERK1/2 has a signaling role in the regulation of proliferation of 8 cell types during liver regeneration process.

Recent evidence has shown that the microRNA polymorphism may play an important role in the susceptibility to congenital heart disease (CHD). A potentially functional SNP rs4938723 (T>C) in the promoter region of pri-miR-34b/c might affect transcription factor GATA binding and therefore pri-miR-34b/c expression. We genotyped the pri-miR-34b/c polymorphism in a case-control study of 590 patients and 672 controls in a Han Chinese population and assessed the effects of the pri-miR-34b/c polymorphism on CHD susceptibility by TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. There was no association between the pri-miR-34b/c polymorphism and the risk of CHD in both genotype and allelic frequency. In a subsequent analysis of the association between this polymorphism and CHD classification, there was still no significant difference in both genotype and allelic frequency. Our results suggest that the pri-miR-34b/c polymorphism rs4938723 is not associated with susceptibility to sporadic CHD in the Han Chinese population.

Pediatric upper gastrointestinal bleeding, a commonly seen pediatric emergency, needs timely symptomatic treatment to avoid a worse outcome. To discuss the clinical effect of thrombin treatment in combination with intensive nursing on pediatric upper gastrointestinal bleeding, this study analyzed 128 children who were treated in the second ward of the Children’s Internal Medical Department in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between February 2012 and December 2014. The patients were divided into two groups, an experimental group and a control group. Besides thrombin, the experimental group was given intensive nursing, consisting of regular nursing and targeted nursing, while the control group was given regular nursing only. Clinical indexes of the two groups, such as effective rate, nursing satisfaction and side effect rate, were compared. Relevant clinical indexes such as duration of hospital stay, time to stopping of bleeding and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score, as well as overall satisfaction level of the observation group were all better than those of the control group and differences between the two groups had statistical significance (P less than 0.05). Furthermore, difference of overall effective rate between the experimental group (90.63%) and the control group (68.75%) was significant. Difference of incidence of side effects between the two groups was statistically significant. Thus thrombin treatment in combination with intensive nursing proved to have a remarkable clinical effect and high safety level in treating pediatric upper gastrointestinal bleeding and, moreover, it shortens treatment time and enhances the patients’ quality of life.

To evaluate the application value of evoked potentials (EP) monitoring in patients undergoing aorta-iliac bypass for total thoracoabdominal aorta aneurysm repair (tTAAAR).A prospective study, with a total of 31 patients undergoing tTAAAR and intraoperative EP monitoring from June 2014 to April 2015 was carried out. The results of intraoperative evoked potentials, clinical outcomes and follow-up data of patients were collected for further evaluation.The EP wave disappeared [motor evoked potentials for (55.6±18.1) min, somatosensory evoked potentials for (50.3±18.7) min] after proximal descending aorta being clamped, and gradually recovered after the segment arteries of spine cord were reconstructed. The EP wave was restored to normal level at the end of operation in all the cases. The somatosensory evoked potentials remained unchanged in 2 cases (false negative). One case died after operation. No spinal cord injury occurred. The median follow-up after operation was 10 months (5-14 months). There was no delayed neurological deficit.EP provided an on-line monitoring of the condition of spinal cord function, which become an intraoperative protocol to avoid the irreversible injury of spinal cord.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a racemic 4-aminoquinoline derivative that was first introduced as an antimalarial, and subsequently applied to the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Information on the pharmacokinetics of HCQ in healthy volunteers, especially in a Chinese population is limited, and this study was conducted to provide support for a generic product to obtain marketing authorization in China. The aim of the present study was to compare the pharmacokinetics and assess bioequivalence of a new generic test and the branded reference hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets in healthy volunteers. This was a parallel, open-label, randomized, single-dose, 1-period fasting study. 54 healthy subjects were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive 200 mg hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets of the test or the reference formulation. 15 blood samples were collected and whole blood concentrations of HCQ were determined by a validated liquid chromatography-isotopic dilution mass spectrometry method. Log-transformed Cmax and AUC0–24 values were used to test for bioequivalence. The 2 formulations were considered bioequivalent if 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for the log-transformed ratios of Cmax and AUC0–24 were within the predetermined bioequivalence range of 80–125%. Tolerability was evaluated throughout the study by vital signs, physical examinations, clinical laboratory tests, 12-lead electrocardiograms, and interviews with the subjects about adverse events. 54 healthy subjects were enrolled and completed the study (mean [SD] age, height, body weight, and BMI were 23.9 [2.4] years, 168.9 [5.0] cm, 61.3 [5.4] kg, and 21.5 [1.7] kg/m2), 27 subjects per group. No formulation or sequence effects were observed. The mean values of Cmax and AUC0–24 for the test and reference formulations of HCQ (197.6 and 199.0 ng/mL, 2460.1 and 2468.3 ng/mL/h) were not significantly different. The 90% CIs of the ratios of Cmax and AUC0–24 were 99.3% (98.1–102.1%), 99.7% (98.9–101.4%), respectively. 4 subjects (7.41%) experienced a total of 4 mild AEs (headache and microscopic hematuria, 1 each; and increase in plasma triglycerides, 2). The results of this study suggest that the test and reference hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets are bioequivalent. Both formulations were generally well tolerated.

The non-destructive inspection method of scale on the inner wall of the ferritic steel and austenitic steel of high temperature boiler tube and the application effect were introduced in our work. The risk of scale exfoliation on the inner wall was also assessed. The risk of tube burst caused by scale exfoliation and accumulation, was reduced greatly, or even avoided by means of the change or treatment of high-risk tube confirmed by non-destructive inspection method.

An electrically small loop antenna with complete planar configuration is proposed. The radiator is directly connected with a 50-Ohm coaxial line when it is coupled-fed by a tiny feeding loop. The interdigital capacitor loaded loop has a size of only 0.116λ 0, where λ 0 is its operating wavelength, and the measured results show that it can have good radiation efficiency and gain. As the loop is placed coplanar with the ground plane, it has higher radiation efficiency and the impedance bandwidth is nearly doubled compared to its vertical counterpart. Other characteristics of such an electrically small loop like the reduced current on the ground plane, the tunable operating frequency, and potential pattern diversity for MIMO applications implies its promising use in mobile terminal applications. The working mechanism of the antenna is illustrated, with the help of an equivalent circuit and some key parameter study is also given.

Based on the effective-mass approximation, the acceptor binding energy in a cylindrical zinc-blende (ZB) InGaN / GaN single quantum dot (QD) is investigated variationally in the presence of the applied electric field. Numerical results show that the acceptor binding energy is highly dependent on the applied electric field, impurity positions and QD size. The applied electric field also induces an asymmetric distribution of the acceptor binding energy with respect to the center of the QD. Moreover, in the presence of the applied electric field, the acceptor binding energy is insensitive to dot height when the impurity is located at the left boundary of the ZB In 0.1 Ga 0.9 N / GaN QD with large dot height (H≥6 nm). In particular, the acceptor binding energy of the impurity located at the left boundary of the ZB In 0.1 Ga 0.9 N / GaN QD is identical for different dot height when the applied electric field F≥350 KV/cm. This result can be of interest for the technological purpose, as it could involve a source of control some impurity-related properties in these systems under the applied electric field.

High temperature interfacial evolution by reaction between liquid Al and solid Ti3Al has been studied by observation of reaction couples isothermally reacted at 700, 800 and 900°C for different time intervals between 1 and 60 min respectively. Only TiAl3 phase was detected in Al/Ti3Al reaction couples up to 900°C. The reaction zone consisted of aluminide particles dispersed in an Al rich matrix. However, microstructures in the inner, central and marginal regions of reaction zone were different and were continuously changing across the width of reaction zone. A model corresponding to evolution progress was drawn schematically. A water quenched experiment confirmed the restriction effect of dispersed TiAl3 particles to Al matrix and suggested that TiAl3p/Al composite could be fabricated by this in situ reaction method.

We present multiple-beam splitting to free space from a V groove in a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) with a few additional dielectric rods at the exit of the PCW. Numerical study shows that ‘one-beam-in to two-beams-out’ (one-to-two, also denoted as Y-shaped), one-to-three, and one-to-five beam splittings can be easily realized over a wide bandwidth, and the split beams have remarkable properties such as symmetric energy distributions and high directional transmissions. Off-axis directional emission can also be achieved by simple displacements of the additional rods at the exit of the PCW.

BACKGROUND: Aim of the study was to assess the influence of anticoagulation on the false lumen after a stented elephant trunk procedure with mechanical valve replacement for aortic dissection patients. METHODS: Between 2003 and 2008, 181 out of 232 aortic dissection patients undergoing stented elephant trunk procedure concomitant with arch and/or proximal surgery were enrolled in this study. Fifty-five patients received an aortic valve replacement (AVR) with mechanical prosthesis. Patients were divided into two groups: with and without AVR. The aorta was evaluated by CT, and the diameter ratios between the true lumen and the aorta were calculated and the extent of thrombosis of the false lumen was quantified. RESULTS: Follow-up CT study at one year showed a significant difference between groups, mainly in the diameter ratios of the stent and aorta at the same level ( P = 0.003, at the stent end). Accordingly, CT data after hospital discharge differed significantly with regard to the extent of false lumen thrombosis at the carina level ( P = 0.020, at one year). Over one year after surgery, the residual false lumen around the stent-graft achieved complete thrombosis obliteration in 87.3 % of patients with AVR and in 98.4 % without AVR ( P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Valve-related anticoagulation is associated with delay in false lumen thrombosis around the stent-graft.

Owing to the rapid development in computer and network technologies, the volumes of modern image repositories have been overwhelming. In this context, traditional image retrieval based on textual indexing is laborious, thus inviting the implementation of content-based image retrieval (CBIR). Relevance feedback (RF) is an iterative procedure which refines the content-based retrievals utilizing the user's RF marked on retrieved results. Recent research has focused on RF model space optimisation. In this paper, we propose an adaptive RF model selection framework which automatically chooses the best RF model with proper parameter values for the given query. The proposed method combines the visual space and model space approaches in order to simultaneously perform two learning tasks, namely, the query optimisation and model optimisation. The particle swarm optimisation (PSO) paradigm is applied to assist the learning tasks. Experimental results tested on a real-world image database reveal that the prop...

The energy spectra of H(2)(+)-like impurities confined in finite spherical quantum dots have been calculated as a function of the distance between nuclear with different sizes on the basis of effective-mass approximation by linear variational method. B-splines have been used as basis functions, which can easily construct the trial wavefunctions with appropriate boundary and cusp conditions. The quantitative analyses of the partial wave weights for ground state and some low lying states have been done.

To investigate the current status of occupational health and related countermeasures in Guangzhou, China.Related data were collected from occupational poisoning accident investigation, diagnosis and identification of occupational diseases, and the occupational disease hazard reporting system, and the statistical data of occupational health in Guangzhou were analyzed retrospectively.The number of enterprises reporting for occupational disease hazards in Guangzhou was 20 890, and the total number of workers was 1 457 583. The number of workers exposed to occupational hazards was 284 233, and the cumulative number of workers with occupational diseases was 1 502. There were many risk factors for occupational diseases in enterprises, and there were a large number of workers with occupational diseases, as well as newly diagnosed cases. From 2001 to 2014, the total number of cases of occupational diseases was 958.The situation for the prevention and control of occupational diseases is grim in Guangzhou. Occupational health supervision and law enforcement should be enhanced, the three-level supervision system should be established and perfected, and the occupational health supervision system with a combination of "prevention, treatment, and protection" should be established and promoted, so as to gradually establish a technical service support system for occupational health.

To explore the diagnostic values of ratios of early diastolic peak transmitral velocity(E) to late velocity(A) (E/A) and E to early diastolic peak mitral annulus velocity (E/E') for heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HF-PEF).Two hundred and sixteen healthy people were divided into50 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, and ≥70 years groups to clarify the impact of aging on E/A and E/E'. Two hundred and two newly diagnosed consecutive in-patients with HF-PEF and 221 age- and sex-matched non-heart-failure subjects with risk factors of HF-PEF (negative controls) were enrolled.The diagnostic values and cutoff points of E/A and E/E' for HF-PEF were derived from receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis.E/A and E/E' were significantly different among age groups in healthy controls (all P0.01). Compared with50 years group, average E/A was lower and average E/E' was higher in ≥70 years group(both P0.01). E/A ratio was less than 1 in 68%(71/105), E/E' was8 cm/s in 48% (50/105)healthy people with age≥60 years. Neither E/A nor E/E' of HF-PEF patients was statistically different regarding to NYHA classification (grade Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ), but NT-proBNP value increased in proportion to higher NYHA classification(P0.01). The area of E/E' under ROC for diagnosing HF-PEF was 0.839(P0.01), and the corresponding cutoff point was 9.5 with a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 69%. The areas of E/A (larger value or smaller value indicating positive) under ROC for diagnosing HF-PEF were 0.469 and 0.531, respectively(all P0.05).Aging exerts significant impacts on both E/A and E/E'. E/E' has moderate diagnostic accuracy while E/A is of limited value for diagnosing HF-PEF.

Magnesium and its alloys are susceptible to corrosion, which has limited their use in automotive and aerospace industries. In the present study, ZM2 electrode was coated on ZM2 magnesium alloy using high energy microarc alloying (HEMAA) technique, and the influence of the coatings on the corrosion behaviour of the ZM2 alloy was examined. A potentiostat for electrochemical corrosion tests, X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for phase analysis, energy dispersive analysis (EDX) for compositional analysis of coating, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for cross-section and a microhardness tester for microhardness were used. It was found that the material transfer depended on the voltage and the effective output power. It was determined that ZM2 HEMAA coatings on ZM2 magnesium alloy increased the corrosion resistance of the alloy. However, it was observed that, in the coating layers, small structural defects, e.g. pores, pinholes and cracks that could arise from the coating process or substrate and get the ability of protection from corrosion worsened were present. Microhardness of the alloyed layer was improved to 130 HV as compared with 100 HV of the as received ZM2. The phases in the coating layers were the same as those in the ZM2 alloy.

Laser surface engineering can be used to alter the surface of alloys and produce a fine microstructure, usually improving the corrosion resistance and wear resistance. In the present paper, a CO2 laser was used to melt preplaced Mg20Al80 powder with the objective of improving the corrosion resistance of ZM5 magnesium alloy in sea water solution. The corrosion behaviour of the ZM5 substrate and the laser cladding Mg20Al80 sample was studied with relating to their microstructures. Corrosion was studied in a 3·5 wt-%NaCl solution at pH 7 by observing the corrosion morphology. The results showed that the Mg17Al12 acted as galvanic cathode in both the ZM5 substrate and the cladding layer. The enhanced corrosion resistance was attributed to the fine dispersion of intermetallic phases and extended Al solid solutions by laser rapid solidification.

Embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) introduces additional thermal processes to a logic process flow and the impact from this extra thermal budget becomes more considerable with continued device scaling. This paper investigates the mechanism of SRAM V MIN degradation in a 40nm embedded NVM process and provides a solution to address the degradation caused. Failure analysis shows enlarged poly grain size for SRAM PMOS due to the NVM thermal processes, resulting in a large shift in threshold voltage. The results show that introduction of a p-poly boron pre-dope greatly helps to recover the SRAM V MIN . The mechanism for the V MIN recovery is also explained, with further high-temperature SRAM V MIN studies showing the effectiveness of p-poly pre-dope even at elevated temperatures.

The anomalous response of an elastic–plastic beam may occur in a narrow region of loading parameters (Symonds, Yu. ASME J Appl Mech 1985;52:517–22). The existence and the width of the anomalous region of loading parameter depend on system parameters. When the width of the anomalous region is less than the design or experimental tolerance, experimental results are uncertain (Li, Liu. Int J Impact Engng 2003;28(6):643–51). In the present paper, an elastic, linear plastic-strain-hardening Shanley model is used to understand the dependence of anomalous region on system parameters. Results show that there exist two anomalous regions when the strain-hardening parameter R varies between 0 and 0.18. The very closeness of ϕ 0 c and ϕ 0 b indicates that the beam response is extremely sensitive to the load parameter for the specifically selected system parameters.

Based on symmetry constraint that leads to the appearance of nodes in the wave functions of 3-electron systems at regular triangle configurations, it was found that, if the parameters of confinement are skillfully chosen and if a magnetic field is tuned around the first critical point of the single–triplet transition, a 2-electron quantum dot can be used as a switch for single-electron transport free from cotunneling.

Method of parameter sensitivity is applied to study the counter-intuitive phenomenon observed in numerical, analytical and experimental studies on the dynamic response of elastic-plastic beams. Direct differentiation approach and central difference approach are used in parameter sensitivity analysis. It is shown that the direct differentiation approach is more suitable for extremely parameter-sensitive problems. A correlation between the parameter sensitivity analysis and the occurrence of the counter-intuitive phenomenon of beam dynamics is established, which is then used to identify the range of the loading parameters for the occurrence of the counter-intuitive phenomenon.

A three-electron quantum dot under an external magnetic field was studied. A number of phase diagrams have been obtained to demonstrate how the variation of the magnetic field and/or the parameters of confinement would lead to the occurrence of doublet–quadruplet transitions. Both the confinement with parabolic potential and the square well potential have been considered. We show that the parameters of confinement alter the ground state of the quantum dot from a spin doublet to a spin quadruplet. This result indicates that the quantum dot can be used as a good candidate for qubit of a quantum computer.

The electronic structures of low-lying excited states of a polarized quantum dot with 6 electrons has been studied. The Hamiltonian has been diagonalized to obtain the eigenstates. All results are extracted from a detailed analysis of wave functions. Six modes were found that lead to distinct excited core-ring structures. As a result, the core or the ring, or both may be excited, different core-ring structures may coexist. Both crystal-like and liquid-like pictures were found. The role of symmetry constraint was found to be important, the angular momenta of the core and the ring are adjusted to meet the requirement of symmetry constraint.

Asymmetrical instability of a 3-DoF Shanley-type beam model subjected to impulsive transverse load is investigated. The effects of viscous damping on the asymmetrical response of the model are discussed. A new energy analysis approach is proposed for identification of the response category when the beam model is subjected to different impulsive loads. Through the energy analysis, three-dimensional Poincare maps in terms of the displacement variables and the modal participation factors are plotted. Parametric studies for identifying the critical load above which asymmetrical instability occurs are carried out. Influences of the load duration, the material and geometrical parameters on the asymmetrical instability are demonstrated. The characteristic diagrams show clearly when the asymmetrical instability of the model occurs. The curves are also capable of predicting the final response mode if an external impulsive load is given to the beam model.