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The critical behavior of square-well dimer fluid has been investigated using grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations combined with a histogram reweighting technique, hyper-parallel tempering and finite-size scaling. The critical temperature and density obtained are Tc*=1.5495±0.0009 and ρc*=0.1473±0.0007, which are 2.5% lower and 5.2% higher than previous results. Coexistence curves both near to and far from the critical point were obtained. The vapor-liquid equilibrium data far from the critical point are consistent with previous results. Simulation results show that the contribution of |t|1-α to the coexistence diameter of square-well dimer fluid dominates the critical behavior and the contribution of |t|2β is larger than for a hard-core square-well fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To observe the clinical effect of Baduanjin exercise on the risk of fall in elderly psychiatric inpatients. Methods: Totally 88 elderly psychiatric inpatients were randomly divided into study group(n=44)and control group(n=44). The control group received 12 weeks of walking exercise, and the experimental group received 12 weeks of Baduanjin exercise. The Berg Balance Scale( BBS), Holden Functional Ambulation Classification(Holden FAC),Stand on One Foot with Eyes Test, and Modified Falls Efficacy scale(MFES)were used before and after the intervention. Results: There were four patients lost to follow-up during the rehabilitation treatment. After the intervention, patients in the study group achieved higher score for BBS, longer duration in Stand on One Foot with Eyes Test and higher score for Holden FAC compared with those in the control group(P<0.01). After the intervention, The total score and factor scores for indoor and outdoor activities were higher in the observation group than those in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion The Baduanjin exercise is potentially effective to reduce the risk of fall in elderly psychiatric: inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired clonal proliferative disease of hematopoietic stem cells. Various gene mutations, including the phosphatidylinositol glycan anchor biosynthesis class A (PIG-A) gene, may contribute to the proliferation of PNH clones. In order to explore the mechanism of PNH clone proliferation, a study was performed on 13 patients with PNH who underwent whole exome sequencing. The frequency of mutations in these patients was explored, and an additional 30 patients with PNH were selected for analysis of cluster of differentiation 59-negative (CD59−) cells. The mRNA expression of 13 genes, which were selected based on their high frequency in patients with PNH and the fact that they met four screening conditions, was determined in these CD59− cells. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle were evaluated upon knocking down the recombinant signal binding protein of immunoglobulin κJ region (RBPJ) gene in 5 patients in vitro. The detection rate of PIG-A gene mutation was 61.54% (8/13), and additional mutations in somatic genes were detected, including RBPJ, zinc finger protein 717, polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit and tet methylcytosine dioxygenase. Upon screening according to the mutation frequency and expression level, the present study focused on the RBPJ gene. The expression level of RBPJ in CD59− cells was apparently higher than that in CD59+ cells and normal controls which was significantly correlated with clinical data. Furthermore, the expression of RBPJ in PNH primary cells could be effectively inhibited by small interfering RNA-RBPJ. Once the expression of RBPJ decreased remarkably, the apoptotic rate increased gradually, while cell proliferation activity decreased with transfection time and cells were blocked in G0/G1 phase. In conclusion, mutations and abnormal expression of the RBPJ gene may participate in the abnormal proliferation of PNH clones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the fuzzy cluster analysis and the temperature-salinity (T-S) similarity number analysis of cruise conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data in the upper layer (0–300 m) of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), we classify the upper layer water of the NSCS into six water masses: diluted water (D), surface water (SS), the SCS subsurface water mass (US), the Pacific Ocean subsurface water mass (UP), surface-subsurface mixed water (SU) and subsurface-intermediate mixed water (UI). A new stacked stereogram is used to illustrate the water mass distribution, and to examine the source and the distribution of UP, combining with the sea surface height data and geostrophic current field. The results show that water mass UP exists in all four seasons with the maximum range in spring and the minimum range in summer. In spring and winter, the UP intrudes into the Luzon Strait and the southwest of Taiwan Island via the northern Luzon Strait in the form of nonlinear Rossby eddies, and forms a high temperature and high salinity zone east of the Dongsha Islands. In summer, the UP is sporadically distributed in the study area. In autumn, the UP is located in the upper 200 m layer east of Hainan Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Different nucleation types of water drops were summarized, calculated and analyzed on the basis of classical nucleation theory, and experiments on horizontal cold surfaces were carried out under natural convection to examine the influences of hydrophobic surfaces on frost formation. Illustration of coefficient functions of energy barriers of different nucleation types indicates that the energy barrier to nucleation on a convex surface is relatively larger than that on a concave surface. If significant influences on water drop nucleation are expected of foreign surfaces, the ratio of the size of the foreign nucleus to the size of the critical nucleus of the new phase should vary within the range 0–1. If this ratio is larger than 10, there is no distinction for different heterogeneous nucleation types of water drops. The experiment results show that when there are no observable water drops develop at the early stage of frost formation, the frost crystals on the hydrophobic surface are even denser. If deposition of ice particles is dominant after frost formation starting, the frost growth on the hydrophobic surface and untreated surface is in the same pattern. Highlights • Hydrophobic surfaces have no anti-frosting performance without the appearance of water drops at the early stage. • Surface characteristics have no influences on frost formation if deposition of ice particles is dominant at the beginning. • When the ratio of the size of the foreign nucleus to the size of the critical nucleus of the water drop ranges from 0 to 1, foreign surfaces have significant influences on water drop nucleation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Natured botanical extract has attracted considerable attention recently in the field of skin anti-ultraviolet (UV) radiation. As a medicinal herb, Sophora japonica flower buds contained several components such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, triterpenes, alkaloids and polysaccharides, which have multiple pharmacological properties except hemostatic agents which have been used in China and Korea for centuries. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether polysaccharide extracted from Sophora japonica L. flower buds (PS) was able to attenuate UVB-induced damage using a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT cells). HaCaT cells were pretreated with PS in a serum-free medium for 2 h and then irradiated with different doses of UVB rays. The results showed that the PS attenuated UVB-induced cytotoxicity which was verified by MTT method and morphology feature assay. UVB exposure (30–120 mJ/cm2) reduced HaCaT cells viability significantly following with the increased irradiation dose 24 h later, while pretreatment with PS (0.25–2.0 mg/mL) attenuated UVB-induced cytotoxicity significantly and increased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner except 30 mJ/cm2 group. The PS reduced the ROS generation, down-regulated the expression of phosphor-JNK and phosphor-p38 MAPK proteins significantly through MAPK pathway in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells. It also decreased the apoptosis rate at low dose of UVB ray and protected the cells from apoptosis which had been identified by the down-regulated level of active-caspase3 in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells. In conclusion, PS pretreatment protected HaCaT keratinocytes from UVB irradiation-induced skin injuries effectively, and the underlying mechanism may involve MAPK signaling pathway which contribute to apoptotic cell death. However, further studies especially whose using human systems are needed to determine efficacy of PS in vivo. Graphical Abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Polysaccharide from Sophora japonica flower buds decreases UVB-induced cytotoxicity. • The polysaccharide significantly reduces UVB-induced ROS generation. • The Polysaccharide decreases UVB-induced apoptosis rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the most potent therapeutic strategy for global cerebral ischemia (GCI), usually induced by cardiac arrest. TH has been shown both to suppress the delayed neuronal cell death in the vulnerable hippocampal CA1 subregion and to improve neurological outcomes in experimental animals after GCI. However, given the multiple adverse effects resulting from TH, application of such a therapy is typically limited. In recent years, methylene blue (MB) has emerged as a potential therapeutic drug for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we investigated the beneficial effects of mild TH combined with MB treatment after GCI. We report that both the neuronal survival in the hippocampal CA1 region and the hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory in the combined treatment animals were enhanced compared to those in the single treatment animals. Mechanistic studies revealed that combined TH and MB treatment significantly attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction induced by GCI in the hippocampus CA1 region. The combined treatment also markedly suppressed GCI-induced reactive gliosis and inflammation and reduced oxidative stress while enhancing the antioxidant capacity of hippocampal CA1 neurons. Finally, combining TH and MB synergistically attenuated the intrinsic cytochrome c/caspase-3 apoptotic pathway induced by GCI. Our results suggest that TH and MB act synergistically to protect the ischemic brain and suppress cognitive impairment caused by GCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteinase 3 (PR3) is released from neutrophils and regulates platelet activity, which is associated with cluster of differentiation (CD)177 antigen (NB1), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol‑linked protein. In the present study, the effect of PR3 on thrombosis in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and PNH‑aplastic anemia (AA) syndrome was explored. The expression of PR3 and NB1 on CD59‑ neutrophils was detected by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence (IF), reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and western blotting. Serum levels of PR3, proteinase‑activated receptor 1 (PAR1) and D‑Dimer were measured using ELISAs. The expression of PR3 and NB1 on the plasma membrane of CD59‑ neutrophils in patients with PNH/PNH‑AA was significantly lower compared with their expression on CD59+ neutrophils in patients and controls (P=0.001). However, no correlation between PR3 and NB1 expression was identified. IF staining further demonstrated partially positive PR3 expression on CD59‑ neutrophils. The serum level of PR3 in patients was identified to be significantly decreased compared with healthy controls (P<0.0001), and significantly negatively correlated with PAR1 (r=‑0.456; P=0.043) and D‑Dimer (r=‑0.503; P=0.028) levels. The mRNA and protein levels of PR3 on PNH clones did not change significantly compared with the control group. In conclusion, PR3 expression on the plasma membrane of neutrophils and in the serum of patients with PNH/PNH‑AA decreased, which may result in increased PAR1 expression and increased clotting. The present study provides the basis for further study on platelets in PNH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of experiments were carried out to investigate the influences of cold surface temperature, air relative humidity and air temperature on frost deposition on a horizontal flat copper plate in free convection. The plate was cooled by liquid nitrogen. The results show that the cold surface temperature has an essential influence on frost deposition mechanism. The frost deposition mechanism is different for different cold surface temperature levels. For ultra-low cold surface temperatures, the frost layer growth is outer boundary layer mechanism controlled. Under this mechanism, the frost layer is formed mainly by heavy phase drift that is formed in the vicinity of the cold surface and the frost layer growth rate is significantly smaller than that under ordinary-low temperature conditions. What is more important is that there is a tendency that the frost layer thickness decreases as the cold surface temperature decreases, which is totally different to the frost growth on the cold surfaces of ordinary-low temperature. The results also show that there is a transition temperature. For a cold surface whose temperature is lower than this transition temperature, the frost formation is outer boundary layer mechanism controlled. And this transition temperature is affected by air relative humidity and air temperature. Increasing air relative humidity for a given air temperature or air temperature for a given air relative humidity will accelerate the frost formation mechanism transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by controlling the calcination temperature, ordered mesoporous Al 2 O 3 with controllable pore diameters were rationally designed and synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The CuMn-Al 2 O 3 catalysts with different pores were synthesized by a co-impregnation method with ordered mesoporous Al 2 O 3 as template. These catalysts expressed ordered mesoporous structure, possessed higher specific surface area and large pore volume, and owned more surface active sites, which were helpful for CO oxidation. When the calcination temperature of Al 2 O 3 was 400 °C, this catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity. The reason was due to its relatively stronger redox ability and surface activity species. More Cu + and chemisorbed oxygen concentration was very useful in achieving the highest catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]