Search

Infrared quantum cutting of rare earth ion is an international hot research field. It is significant for the enhancement of solar cell efficiency and for the reduction of solar cell price. The present paper summarizes the research significance of infrared quantum cutting of rare earth ion. Based on the summarization of general principle and loss mechanism of solar cell, the possible method to enhance the solar cell efficiency by infrared quantum cutting is analyzed. Meanwhile, the present paper summarizes the infrared quantum cutting phenomena of Er3+ ion single-doped material. There is intense 4I13/2 --4I15/2 infrared quantum cutting luminescence of Er3+ ion when the 2H11/2 energy level is excited. The intense {2H11/2 --4I9/2, 4I15/2 --4I13/2} cross energy transfer is the main reason for the result in the high quantum cutting efficiency when the 2H11/2 energy level is excited.

Concrete block is the most competitive in new wall materials. For further researching on seismic performance of masonry structures, this paper carries out test research on 6 specimens under cyclic loading, and obtains test date including hysteretic curve, skeleton curve, bearing capacity, ductility and energy dissipation etc. Major influence factors are listed as following: constructional column, block type and transverse steel bar. According to observing experimental phenomenon and analyzing test results, this article has a conclusion: Constructional column is an important structural measure in masonry structures, it can restrain concrete block bearing wall effectively. Specimens with constructional columns and transverse steel bars have good seismic behaviors and do not collapse under strong earthquakes.

Analysis on size effect of calculation theory for ultimate bearing capacity of flexural member is carried out in this paper, including basic assumptions and calculation equations. The paper collects test information of five different section size samples in the state of ultimate bearing capacity, including sectional bending moment, deflection and section strain etc. The total number of RC free beam specimens is 13. In research scale, rationalities of basic assumptions are verified, influences on size effect of concrete materials are evaluated, characteristic parameters are measured and derived with size changing, and safety of calculation theory about ultimate bearing capacity of flexural members is basically verified. It is also found that security reserve of calculation theory shows a trend of decrease with specimen size increasing. As for large-size flexural members, code value of ultimate strain under non-uniform compression is bigger than test value. Strength and deformation capacity of concrete materials under compression zone is becoming smaller with specimen size increasing.

Many researches on size effect of quasi-brittle materials have been carried out. But experiment combining with RC structures is not sufficient. At present, design values in rules and regulations are mainly based on experimental results of small size test samples, which exist different from practical engineering structures. Meeting structural normal using function is a basic principle of structural design. In the process of designing and checking to deformation, calculating short-term stiffness at using stage is the most important. This paper based on observing experimental phenomenon and analyzing test data, evaluating size effect on short-term rigidity at using stage of RC flexural members. Obtaining size modify relation to correlation calculation formula. This research provided reference for practical engineering design.

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isoform 1 (11β-HSD1) is a member of the alcohol short-chain family enzyme, and catalyzes the interconversion between active glucocorticoid cortisol (in human) and inactive cortisone. The redox ratio of NADP+/NADPH determines its direction with NADPH favoring its reductase activity and NADP+ favoring its oxidase activity. In many tissues such as the liver and lung, 11β-HSD1 behaves primarily as a reductase because of the intracellular enzyme coupling with hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which uses the NADP+ as cofactor to supply NADPH driving 11β-HSD1 to function as a reductase. 11β-HSD1 catalyzes the metabolism of 7- or 11-keto steroids as well as many toxins and drugs. Some steroids, drugs and toxins are metabolically activated. The present review discusses the steroid, drug and toxin metabolism by 11β-HSD1.

Many studies on size effect of quasi-brittle materials such as concrete and mortar have been carried out. But experimental study and theoretical analysis combining with concrete structure or component is not sufficient, and related theory is not verified fully. This paper collects test information of five different section size samples in different loading stage, including bearing capacity, deflection, section strain and so on. The total number of specimens is 13. This can help to revise related design theories. The safety of related bearing capacity formula is verified in research scale, but safety reserve of calculation theory shows a trend of decrease with specimen dimension increasing. As for large-size bending specimens, size effect of concrete material is reflected in mechanical properties of reinforced concrete structures, the code value of ultimate strain under non-uniform compression is bigger than test value. It is also found that size affect of components have more influence on beam than size affect of concrete materials.

To study the fusion of transplanted myoblast with host muscle cells and the expression of dystrophin in the muscle of mdx mice model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) after local co-transplantation of myoblasts and schwann cells.Myoblasts and schwann cells were prepared with gastrocnemius muscle taken from newborn C57BL/10 mice. Twenty four mdx mice were divided into two groups, one group received the injection of myoblasts into gastrocnemius muscle of left behind limb of mdx mice, another group received the cotransplantation of schwann cells and myoblasts in a ratio of 1:10. The cells were transplanted to host mice once a week for four times. The mdx mice were sacrificed one month later, the expression of dystrophin in gastrocnemius muscle was measured, and the pathological and immunohistochemistry exams were performed.The IOD of dystrophin of left gastrocnemius in co-transplantation group and myoblast transplantation group were 6342429.4167 +/- 925414.20068 and 5295615.7500 +/- 1243283.86373,respectively. The difference showed statistical significance, which indicated that the expression of dystrophin in co-transplantation group was higher than that of myoblast transplantation group.local co-transplantation of myoblast and schwann cell can improve the myoblast's fusion after transplantation.

The discrete $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ radiation in the interaction of 14.9-MeV neutrons and a natural silicon sample is investigated with a total $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-radiation measurement (TGRM) technique. Fifty prompt $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ lines, one delayed $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ line, and seven final nuclei are identified. Forty-one possible transitions are designated. Differential production cross sections of 40 $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ lines at ${40}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, ${55}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, ${90}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, ${125}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, and ${140}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$ are determined. Using relative differential production cross sections, accurate integral isotopic cross sections of the $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$($n$,$p$)$^{28}\mathrm{Al}$ reaction are determined, and partial integral isotopic cross sections of the $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$($n$,$n$\ensuremath{'})$^{28}\mathrm{Si}$, $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$($n$,$\ensuremath{\alpha}$)$^{25}\mathrm{Mg}$, $^{29}\mathrm{Si}$($n$,$n$\ensuremath{'})$^{29}\mathrm{Si}$, and $^{30}\mathrm{Si}$($n$,$n$\ensuremath{'})$^{30}\mathrm{Si}$ reaction channels are also estimated. The present results are in good agreement with some recent experimental and evaluated results.

Objective Rebleeding from ruptured intracranial aneurysms is a major cause of death and disability. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of rebleeding and the risk factors related to rebleeding before early aneurysm repair. Methods The incidence of rebleeding, demographic data, and clinical data from 326 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were retrospectively collected. All clinical variables were examined by univariate analysis, and a binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors related to rebleeding. Results Rebleeding occurred in 70 (21.5%) of the 326 aneurysm patients during transfer or during the in-hospital stay (within 72 hours); 24 episodes (34.3%) occurred within 3 hours, and 44 episodes (62.9%) occurred within 6 hours after the initial SAH. Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the rebleeding and nonrebleeding patients in terms of age, aneurysm size, systolic arterial blood pressure (SBP), Hunt–Hess grade and outcome at discharge. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.167), aneurysm size (OR = 1.624), SBP (OR = 3.338), and Hunt–Hess grade (OR = 2.512) were independent risk factors for aneurysmal rebleeding (for each P Conclusions The incidence of early aneurysmal rebleeding within hours after the initial SAH is high during transfer or during the in-hospital stay. Advanced age, an aneurysm size larger than 10 mm, SBP higher than 160 mmHg, and poor Hunt–Hess grade were independent risk factors for aneurysmal rebleeding. The importance of early aneurysm repair should be emphasized because aneurysmal rebleeding contributes to a poor outcome.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of genistein and equol on 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 (17beta-HSD3) in human and rat testis microsomes. These enzymes (3beta-HSD and 17beta-HSD3), along with two others (cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme and cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase/17-20 lyase), catalyze the reactions that convert the steroid cholesterol into the sex hormone testosterone. Genistein inhibited 3beta-HSD activity (0.2 micromol L(-1) pregnenolone) with half-maximal inhibition or a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 87 +/- 15 (human) and 636 +/- 155 nmol L(-1) (rat). Genistein's mode of action on 3beta-HSD activity was competitive for the substrate pregnenolonrge and noncompetitive for the cofactor NAD(+). There was no difference in genistein's potency of 3beta-HSD inhibition between intact rat Leydig cells and testis microsomes. In contrast to its potent inhibition of 3beta-HSD, genistein had lesser effects on human and rat 17beta-HSD3 (0.1 micromol L(-1) androstenedione), with an IC(50)or= 100 micromol L(-1). On the other hand, equol only inhibited human 3beta-HSD by 42%, and had no effect on 3beta-HSD and 17beta-HSD3 in rat tissues. These observations imply that the ability of soy isoflavones to regulate androgen biosynthesis in Leydig cells is due in part to action on Leydig cell 3beta-HSD activity. Given the increasing intake of soy-based food products and their potential effect on blood androgen levels, these findings are greatly relevant to public health.

We present an efficient and economic scheme for five-party quantum state sharing of an arbitrary m-qubit state with $2m$ three-particle Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states and three-particle GHZ-state measurements. It is more convenient than other schemes as it only resorts to three-particle GHZ states and three-particle joint measurement, not five-particle entanglements and five-particle joint measurements. Moreover, this symmetric scheme is in principle secure even though the number of the dishonest agents is more than one. Its total efficiency approaches the maximal value., 6 pages, 1 figure

Background: Aging process reduces kidney function, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and/or creatinine clearance rate (Ccr), and also significantly increases the risk level for cardiovascular diseases. The classical Framingham risk equation provides a method for predicting cardiovascular risk, but it does not include the kidney function indexes. In this study, we investigated the relationship between age-related kidney function and Framingham risk score (FRS) in healthy Chinese people, and validated to assess the risk factor by GFR/Ccr. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study recruited 505 healthy subjects (age from 35 to 93 yr.) with both genders is during September 2007 to June 2008 in Shenyang. Framingham risk equation was used to evaluate cardiovascular risk factors and generate FRS. GFR and Ccr were calculated with Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation (GFRCG), abbreviated Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD) equation (GFRMDRD1) and modified MDRD equation (GFRMDRD2). All data were sorted according to FRS (low, moderate and high) risk levels, and five different age groups (≤44 yr; 45-54 yr; 55-64 yr; 65-74 yr and ≥75 yr). The ANOVA, correlation, partial correlation between GFR/Ccr and FRS, as well as other risk factors were analyzed with SPSS16.0 statistical package. Results: As the FRS level increased, GFRCG, GFRMDRD1, GFRMDRD2 and Ccr decreased about 10 to 30% (low > moderate > high risk group, p < 0.01). While the subjects were getting older, GFRCG, GFRMDRD1, GFRMDRD2 and Ccr showed significant reduction (P < 0.001). Ccr decreased about 50% from the young to oldest group (p < 0.001). There was a significantly inverse correlation between FRS and GFR with Ccr having the Pearson correlation coefficient -0.586 (GFRCG, P < 0.001), - 0.449 (GFRMDRD1 and GFRMDRD2, P < 0.001), -0.459 (Ccr, P < 0.001). However, the relationship between FRS and Ccr was lost after controlling for age and other confounding variables. Conclusion: In healthy population, we found inverse correlations between Framingham risk score and GFR, Ccr and GFR were independently related to the FRS with similar correlation coefficient among three equations. With the increase of FRS, the GFR and Ccr decrease. Aging is the major factor of GFR and Ccr reduction in the healthy population. We suggest that GFR/Ccr could be used as risk indexes for cardiovascular diseases.

To evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and glomerular filtration rate in healthy population.A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Shenyang. The Framingham sex-specific risk equation was employed to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors of 501 healthy study objects, calculate Framingham risk score and estimate the risk of 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD). A total of 501 study subjects were then divided into 3 groups according to 10-year CHD risk: low risk group (10%), moderate risk group (10% -20%) and high risk group (20%). Study subjects were also divided into 5 groups according to age:or = 44 years old; 45 - 54 years old; 55 - 64 years old; 65 - 74 years old andor = 75 years old. The Cockcroft-Gault equation (GFR(CG)), abbreviated MDRD equation (GFR(MDRD1)) and modified MDRD equation (GFR(MDRD2)) were used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were compared among different risk groups and correlation coefficients between Framingham risk score and glomerular filtration rate calculated.GFR(CC), GFR(MDRD1) and GFR(MDRD2) in the low risk group was [(103 +/- 27) ml x min(-1) GFR(MDRD2) in moderate risk group all decreased [(84 +/- 24) ml x min(-1) x (1.73 m2) (-1), (101 +/- 27) ml x min(-1) x (1.73 m2) (-1), (124 +/- 33)ml x min(-1) (1.73 m2) (-1), all P0.01]. GFR(CG), GFR(MDRD1) and GFR(MR(MDRD2) in the high risk group all decreased [(71 +/- 15) ml x min(-1) (1.73 m2) (-1), (88 +/- 15) ml x min(-1) x (1.73 m2)(-1), (109 +/-18)ml x min(-1) x (1.73 m2) (-1), all P0.01]. The GFR(CG), GFR(MDRD1) and GFR(MDRD2) in the high risk group all decreased compared with the moderate risk group (P0.05). There was a significantly inverse correlation between Framingham risk score and GFR with the Pearson correlation coefficient -0.586 (GFR(CG), P0.01) and -0.449 (GFR(MDRD1) and GFR(MDRD2), P0.01).There is an inverse correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and GFR in healthy population. With the increasing of risk factors and their severity, Framingham risk score increases and GFR decreases.

Cimiside E was isolated from the Cimicifuga heracleifolia Komarov extract, which has been previously demonstrated to possess apoptotic action on gastric cancer cells. The IC(50) value of cimiside E on gastric cancer cells for 24 h was 14.58 microM. The mechanism of apoptosis was further elucidated through western blot, RT-PCR, morphology, Annexin V-FITC/PI staining and cell cycle analysis. Cell cycle arrest was induced by cimiside E in S phase at a lower concentration (30 microM) and G2/M phase at higher concentrations (60 and 90 microM). Cimiside E mediated apoptosis through the induction of the caspase cascade for both the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. These findings suggest that cimiside E may be an effective chemopreventive agent against cancer.

We propose an efficient faithful polarization-state transmission scheme by utilizing frequency degree of freedom besides polarization and an additional qubit prepared in a fixed polarization. An arbitrary single-photon polarization state is protected against the collective noise probabilistically. With the help of frequency beam splitter and frequency shifter, the success probability of our faithful qubit transmission scheme with frequency degree of freedom can be 1/2 in principle., 4 pages, 1 figure

We explore the connection between quantum brachistochrone (time-optimal) evolution of a three-qubit system and its residual entanglement called three-tangle. The result shows that the entanglement between two qubits is not required for some brachistochrone evolutions of a three-qubit system. However, the evolution between two distinct states cannot be implemented without its three-tangle, except for the trivial cases in which less than three qubits attend evolution. Although both the probability density function of the time-averaged three-tangle and that of the time-averaged squared concurrence between two subsystems become more and more uniform with the decrease in angles of separation between an initial state and a final state, the features of their most probable values exhibit a different trend., 6 pages, 3 figures

The anti-inflammatory activity of hispidol A 25-methyl ether (hispidol A 25-Me ether), a triterpenoid isolated from Ponciri Immaturus Fructus, was studied in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 murine macrophages. It was revealed that hispidol A 25-Me ether dose-dependently inhibits nitric oxide (NO) production by down-regulating inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). It also reduces prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production by inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression proven on both mRNA as well as on protein levels. In addition, hispidol A 25-Me ether inhibits mRNA expressions of major pro-inflammatory cytokines including the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Interestingly, hispidol A 25-Me ether probably exhibits a glucocorticoid-like activity, exerting functional inhibition of NF-kappaB without inhibition of DNA binging as de novo synthesis of IkappaB-alpha was induced and thereby NF-kappaB activity was reduced. Furthermore, administrations of hispidol A 25-Me ether (1 and 10mg/kg, i.p., v/w.) were tested in two animal experiments involving acute inflammation, namely, the carrageenan-induced paw edema swelling test and the acetic acid-induced vascular permeability assay, and showed concentration-related inhibitory activities. The anti-inflammatory property of hispidol A 25-Me ether seems to resemble the effects of the class of naturally occurring anti-inflammatory agents, glucocorticoids, which inhibit transcriptions of important inflammatory mediators.

Gossypol has been proven to be a very effective male contraceptive. However, clinical trials showed that the major side effect of gossypol was hypokalemia. Gossypol occurs naturally as enantiomeric mixtures of (+)-gossypol and (-)-gossypol. The (-)-gossypol is found to be the active component of antifertility. 11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (11betaHSD2) has been demonstrated to be a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) protector by inactivating active glucocorticoids including corticosterone (CORT) in rats, and therefore mutation or suppression of 11betaHSD2 causes hypokalemia and hypertension. In the present study, the potency of gossypol enantiomers was tested for the inhibition of 11betaHSD1 and 2 in rat and human. Both (+) and (-)-gossypols showed a potent inhibition of 11betaHSD2 with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 0.61 and 1.33 microM for (+) and (-)-gossypols, respectively in rats and 1.05 and 1.90 microM for (+) and (-)-gossypols, respectively in human. The potency of gossypol to inhibit 11betaHSD1 was far less; the IC(50) wasor =100 microM for racemic gossypol. The gossypol-induced hypokalemia is likely associated with its potent inhibition of kidney 11betaHSD2.

We present a way for entanglement purification based on two parametric down-conversion (PDC) sources with cross-Kerr nonlinearities. It is comprised of two processes. The first one is a primary entanglement purification protocol for PDC sources with nondestructive quantum nondemolition (QND) detectors by transferring the spatial entanglement of photon pairs to their polarization. In this time, the QND detectors act as the role of controlled-not (CNot) gates. Also they can distinguish the photon number of the spatial modes, which provides a good way for the next process to purify the entanglement of the photon pairs kept more. In the second process for entanglement purification, new QND detectors are designed to act as the role of CNot gates. This protocol has the advantage of high yield and it requires neither CNot gates based on linear optical elements nor sophisticated single-photon detectors, which makes it more convenient in practical applications., 8 pages, 7 figures

The anti-inflammatory effects of glycyrol, a benzofuran coumarin isolated from Glycyrrhizae Radix, were studied. Glycyrol of 5, 25 and 50 microM dose-dependently inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production by down-regulating inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and alleviated cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, in both the mRNA and the protein. Furthermore, glycyrol dose-dependently decreased the mRNA of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-6. LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation was prevented in RAW264.7 macrophages by inhibition of I-kappaBalpha phosphorylation. In addition, administration of glycyrol (30 and 100 mg/kg, i.p) reduced the thickness of carrageenan-induced mouse-paw edema swelling. Taken together, our results indicate that glycyrol is an important anti-inflammatory constituent of Glycyrrhizae Radix, and that its anti-inflammatory effect is attributed to the inhibition I-kappaBalpha phosphorylation.

We present an entanglement concentration protocol for electrons based on their spins and their charges. The combination of an electronic polarizing beam splitter and a charge detector functions as a parity check device for two electrons, with which the parties can reconstruct maximally entangled electron pairs from those in a less-entanglement state nonlocally. This protocol has a higher efficiency than those based on linear optics and it does not require the parties to know accurately the information about the less-entanglement state, which makes it more convenient in a practical application of solid quantum computation and communication., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

We present a nonlocal entanglement concentration scheme for reconstructing some maximally entangled multipartite states from partially entangled ones by exploiting cross-Kerr nonlinearities to distinguish the parity of two polarization photons. Compared with the entanglement concentration schemes based on two-particle collective unitary evolution, this scheme does not require the parties to know accurately information about the partially entangled states--i.e., their coefficients. Moreover, it does not require the parties to possess sophisticated single-photon detectors, which makes this protocol feasible with present techniques. By iteration of entanglement concentration processes, this scheme has a higher efficiency and yield than those with linear optical elements. All these advantages make this scheme more efficient and more convenient than others in practical applications., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Physical Review A 77, 062325 (2008)

Schisandrin is the main active ingredient isolated from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis Baill. Recent studies have demonstrated that schisandrin exhibits anti-oxidative effects in vivo. In the present study, the effect of schisandrin on plasma nitrite concentration in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice was evaluated. It also significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema and acetic acid-induced vascular permeability in mice. Furthermore, schisandrin had a protective effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis. In vitro, our results are the first that show that the anti-inflammatory properties of schisandrin result from the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) release, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression, which in turn results from the inhibition of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activities in a RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line.

The extracts or constituents from the bark of Magnolia ( M. ) obovata are known to have many pharmacological activities. 4-Methoxyhonokiol, a neolignan compound isolated from the stem bark of M. obovata, was found to exhibit a potent anti-inflammatory effect in different experimental models. Pretreatment with 4-methoxyhonokiol (i.p.) dose-dependently inhibited the dye leakage and paw swelling in an acetic-acid-induced vascular permeability assay and a carrageenan-induced paw edema assay in mice, respectively. In the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation model, 4-methoxyhonokiol significantly inhibited plasma nitric oxide (NO) release in mice. To identify the mechanisms underlying this anti-inflammatory action, we investigated the effect of 4-methoxyhonokiol on LPS-induced responses in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. The results demonstrated that 4-methoxyhonokiol significantly inhibited LPS-induced NO production as well as the protein and mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Furthermore, 4-methoxyhonokiol inhibited LPS-mediated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation via the prevention of inhibitor κB (IκB) phosphorylation and degradation. 4-Methoxyhonokiol had no effect on the LPS-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), whereas it attenuated the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK) in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together, our data suggest that 4-methoxyhonokiol is an active anti-inflammatory constituent of the bark of M. obovata , and that its anti-inflammatory property might be a function of the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 expression via down-regulation of the JNK and p38 MAP kinase signal pathways and inhibition of NF-κB activation in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Modified water models with scaled charges are used to investigate solvent polarity effects on DNA structure. Several intensive molecular dynamics simulations of the DNA EcoRI dodecamer d(CGCGAATTCGCG) in different model solvents are performed. When the polarity of the solvent molecule decreases, from overpolarized to less polarized, DNA experiences the conformational transitions of $\mathrm{\text{constrained}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}B\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{\text{form}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}(A\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}B)\mathrm{\text{mix}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}A\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{\text{form}}$. We demonstrate that one important cause of these structure changes is the competition between hydration and direct cation coupling to the free oxygen atoms in the phosphate groups on DNA backbones.

We present a faithful qubit transmission scheme with linear optics against collective noise, not resorting to ancillary qubits. Its set-up is composed of three unbalanced polarization interferometers, based on a polarizing beam splitter, a beam splitter and a half-wave plate, which makes this scheme more feasible than others with present technology. The fidelity of successful transmission is 1, independent of the parameters of the collective noise, and the success probability for obtaining an uncorrupted state can be improved to 100% with some time delayers. Moreover, this scheme has some good applications in one-way quantum communication for rejecting the errors caused by the collective noise in quantum channel., 3 pages, 1 figure

A general scheme for controlled teleportation of an arbitrary multi-qudit state with d-dimensional Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states is proposed. For an arbitrary m-qudit state, the sender Alice performs m generalized Bell-state projective measurements on her 2m qudits and the controllers need only take some single-particle measurements. The receiver Charlie can reconstruct the unknown m-qudit state by performing some single-qudit unitary operations on her particles if she cooperates with all the controllers. As the quantum channel is a sequence of maximally entangled GHZ states, the intrinsic efficiency for qudits in this scheme approaches 100% in principle., 3 pages, 1 figure

An efficient quantum cryptography network protocol is proposed with d-dimension polarized photons, without resorting to entanglement and quantum memory. A server on the network, say Alice, provides the service for preparing and measuring single photons whose initial state are |0>. The users code the information on the single photons with some unitary operations. For preventing the untrustworthy server Alice from eavesdropping the quantum lines, a nonorthogonal-coding technique (decoy-photon technique) is used in the process that the quantum signal is transmitted between the users. This protocol does not require the servers and the users to store the quantum state and almost all of the single photons can be used for carrying the information, which makes it more convenient for application than others with present technology. We also discuss the case with a faint laser pulse., 4 pages, 1 figures. It also presented a way for preparing decoy photons without a sinigle-photon source

The fruits of Poncirus trifoliata (L.) are widely used in Oriental medicine as a remedy for allergic inflammation. As a part of our program to screen medicinal plants for potential anti-inflammatory compounds, 21alpha-methylmelianodiol (21alpha-MMD) and 21beta-methylmelianodiol (21beta-MMD), which are two isomers of 21-methylmelianodiol isolated from the fruits of P. trifoliata for the first time, were found to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. 21alpha-MMD and 21beta-MMD attenuated LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 protein expressions as well as the mRNA levels of iNOS, COX-2, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). To investigate the mechanism involved, we examined the effect of 21alpha-MMD and 21beta-MMD on LPS-induced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation. Both 21alpha-MMD and 21beta-MMD significantly inhibited LPS-induced NF-kappaB transcriptional activity in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Moreover, the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of 21alpha-MMD was examined in two mouse models of acute inflammation. In the carrageenan-induced paw edema model, administration of 21alpha-MMD (20 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently reduced paw swelling. In addition, 21alpha-MMD significantly inhibited the dye leakage in an acetic acid-induced vascular permeability assay. Taken together, our data indicate that 21-methylmelianodiol is an important constituent of the fruit of P. trifoliata, and that the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 expression by 21alpha-MMD and 21beta-MMD might be one of the mechanisms responsible for their anti-inflammatory effects.

We propose a theoretical scheme for secure quantum key distribution network following the ideas in quantum dense coding. In this scheme, the server of the network provides the service for preparing and measuring the Bell states, and the users encodes the states with local unitary operations. For preventing the server from eavesdropping, we design a decoy when the particle is transmitted between the users. It has high capacity as one particle carries two bits of information and its efficiency for qubits approaches 100%. Moreover, it is not necessary for the users to store the quantum states, which makes this scheme more convenient for application than others., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. The decoy-photon technique is presented in a clear way for preventing a potentially dishonest server on a network from eavesdropping quantum communication freely. This technique may be useful in quantum secret sharing (of classical information or quantum information), controlled teleportation, and so on

We present a scheme for multiparty quantum secret sharing of a private key with pure entangled states and decoy photons. The boss, say Alice uses the decoy photons, which are randomly in one of the four nonorthogonal single-photon states, to prevent a potentially dishonest agent from eavesdropping freely. This scheme requires the parties of communication to have neither an ideal single-photon quantum source nor a maximally entangled one, which makes this scheme more convenient than others in a practical application. Moreover, it has the advantage of having high intrinsic efficiency for qubits and exchanging less classical information in principle., Comment: 5 pages, no figures

A circular quantum secret sharing protocol is proposed, which is useful and efficient when one of the parties of secret sharing is remote to the others who are in adjacent, especially the parties are more than three. We describe the process of this protocol and discuss its security when the quantum information carrying is polarized single photons running circularly. It will be shown that entanglement is not necessary for quantum secret sharing. Moreover, the theoretic efficiency is improved to approach 100% as almost all the instances can be used for generating the private key, and each photon can carry one bit of information without quantum storage. It is straightforwardly to utilize this topological structure to complete quantum secret sharing with multi-level two-particle entanglement in high capacity securely., 7 pages, 2 figures

We analyzed the security of the secure direct communication protocol based on secret transmitting order of particles recently proposed by Zhu, Xia, Fan, and Zhang [Phys. Rev. A 73, 022338 (2006)], and found that this scheme is insecure if an eavesdropper, say Eve, wants to steal the secret message with Trojan horse attack strategies. The vital loophole in this scheme is that the two authorized users check the security of their quantum channel only once. Eve can insert another spy photon, an invisible photon or a delay one in each photon which the sender Alice sends to the receiver Bob, and capture the spy photon when it returns from Bob to Alice. After the authorized users check the security, Eve can obtain the secret message according to the information about the transmitting order published by Bob. Finally, we present a possible improvement of this protocol., Comment: 4 pages, no figure

A scheme for quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) network is proposed with a sequence of polarized single photons. The single photons are prepared originally in the same state |0> by the servers on the network, which will reduce the difficulty for the legitimate users to check eavesdropping largely. The users code the information on the single photons with two unitary operations which do not change their measuring bases. Some decoy photons, which are produced by operating the sample photons with a Hadamard, are used for preventing a potentially dishonest server from eavesdropping the quantum lines freely. This scheme is an economical one as it is the easiest way for QSDC network communication securely., 6 pages, 3 figures

An efficient high-capacity quantum secret sharing scheme is proposed following some ideas in quantum dense coding with two-photon entanglement. The message sender, Alice prepares and measures the two-photon entangled states, and the two agents, Bob and Charlie code their information on their photons with four local unitary operations, which makes this scheme more convenient for the agents than others. This scheme has a high intrinsic efficiency for qubits and a high capacity., 5 pages, no figures. A inappreciable error is corrected

We present two schemes for multiparty quantum remote secret conference in which each legitimate conferee can read out securely the secret message announced by another one, but a vicious eavesdropper can get nothing about it. The first one is based on the same key shared efficiently and securely by all the parties with Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, and each conferee sends his secret message to the others with one-time pad crypto-system. The other one is based on quantum encryption with a quantum key, a sequence of GHZ states shared among all the conferees and used repeatedly after confirming their security. Both these schemes are optimal as their intrinsic efficiency for qubits approaches the maximal value., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

To observe the effects of elemene on the induction of apoptosis in rat C6 glioma cells and its influence on expression of Bcl-2 family genes.Rat C6 glioma cells were cultured. Elemene of the concentrations of 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 microg/ml were added for 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours respectively. RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of Bcl-2/Bcl-x/1 genes. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of Bcl-2/Bcl-x/1 genes. The apoptosis of the cells was examined by flow cytometry.The cell counts of the 20, 40, 60, and 80 microg/ml elemene groups were 536 +/- 9, 375 +/- 10, 246 +/- 9, and 112 +/- 10/visual field respectively, all significantly lower than that of the 0 microg/ml elemene group (all F = 1292.416, P0.05) and the apoptotic rates of the 20, 40, 60, and 80 microg/ml elemene groups were (27 +/- 2)%, (29 +/- 4)%, (32 +/- 3)%, and (35 +/- 5)% respectively with an Ap peak. The protein expression of Bcl-2/Bcl-x/l genes was decreased in the elemene groups dose and time-dependently. The expression of Bax protein was decreased in the elemene groups too, however, not dose and time-dependently.Apoptosis caused by elemene may be associated with the down-regulation of Bcl-2/Bcl-x/l genes.

A protocol for multiparty quantum secret splitting is proposed with an ordered $N$ EPR pairs and Bell state measurements. It is secure and has the high intrinsic efficiency and source capacity as almost all the instances are useful and each EPR pair carries two bits of message securely. Moreover, we modify it for multiparty quantum state sharing of an arbitrary $m$-particle entangled state based on quantum teleportation with only Bell state measurements and local unitary operations which make this protocol more convenient in a practical application than others., 7 pages, 1 figure. The revision of the manuscript appeared in PLA. Some procedures for detecting cheat have been added. Then the security loophole in the original manuscript has been eliminated

In this Letter, we present quantum secret sharing and secret splitting protocols with single photons running forth and back between the participating parties. The protocol has a high intrinsic efficiency, namely all photons except those chosen for eavesdropping check could be used for sharing secret. The participants need not to announce the measuring bases at most of the time and this reduces the classical information exchanged largely., 5 pages, no figure