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Purpose: To investigate the anti-depressant activity of kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol-3-O-β-Dglucose and quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucose isolated from Apocynum venetum Linn. (Apocynaceae) leaf and their mechanisms of action.Methods: The four flavonoids were isolated from Apocynum venetum leaf by chromatography. Mice were divided into vehicle, fluoxetine, kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucose and quercetin- 3-O-β-D-glucose groups (n = 10). Forced swimming (FST), tail suspension (TST) and locomotor activity (LAT) tests were used to evaluate the effects of the four flavonoids (0.35 mM/kg) on immobility time, monoamine neurotransmitters, viz, norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5- HT), as well as on the metabolite (5-HIAA) in mice brain and central nervous system (CNS) with the aid of video camera, HPLC-ECD and activity-monitoring system.Results: The four flavonoids significantly (p < 0.05) reduced mice immobility time (72.58 - 90.24; 52.58 - 70.24 s), 5-HIAA levels (940.8 - 1244.7; 880.8 - 1164.1 ng/g) and 5-HIAA/5-HT ratio (1.77 - 4.76; 1.83 - 4.16), but increased NE, DA and 5-HT levels (238.7 - 405.7, 308.4 - 528.1, 261.4 - 531.9; 243.9 - 423.6, 296.7 - 534.9, 279.8 - 481.4 ng/g) in FST and TST, compared with control group (146.18, 126.18 s; 1363.4, 1240.9 ng/g; 7.43, 6.16; 138.4, 235.4, 183.4 and 143.7, 218.6, 201.4 ng/g). The effects of the four flavonoids on the above indices were significant (p < 0.05) and positively related to their polarity. They had no CNS-stimulating effects in LAT.Conclusion: The anti-depressant activities of the four flavonoids are positively related to their polarity, and the mechanisms may be due to increased NE, DA and 5-HT and reduced 5-HT metabolism.Keywords: Kaempferol, Quercetin, Forced swimming test, Tail suspension test, Locomotor activity test, Neurotransmitters

The objectives of this study are to explore whether separate sources of trans fatty acids (TFA) have different effects on ECV304 cell line and to further elucidate the oxidation mechanism induced by TFA. ECV304 cells are used in the study because they display many endothelial features. Cell apoptosis rates increased in a dose-dependent manner following 24-h treatment with TFA from separate sources. Additionally, TFA stimulated human alpha-defensin 1 (HNP-1) expression and resulted in a significant increase in both malondialdehyde (MDA) and ROS levels. MDA levels reach their peak at 18 h. HNP-1 expression levels increase at 2 h and then reach their peak at 10 h. At the same time, the protein carbonyl (PCO) value declines slightly. After 10 h of TFA co-culture, the cells were washed and fresh low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was added. MDA generation significantly increased after 6 h and it could be inhibited by 4-aminobenzoic acid hydrazide (ABAH) or sodium ferulate. However, after the TFA co-culture for 2 h, adding LDL for 6 h just caused slight MDA generation change and the MDA generation could be inhibited by verapamil or sodium ferulate. TFA from different sources did not have different effects on ECV304. HNP-1 mediates the oxidation induced by TFA by activating ROS. Furthermore, TFA can stimulate the oxidation of LDL in ECV304 cells through both passive and active pathway. In the oxidation induced by linoelaidic acid, ABAH can decrease the MDA generation in active oxidation pathway and verapamil can decrease the MDA generation in passive oxidation pathway.

Plasma polymerized fluorocarbon (FC) films have been deposited on silicon substrates from dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma of C4F8 at room temperature under a pressure of 25~125 Pa. The effects of the discharge pressure and frequency of power supply on the films have been systematically investigated. FC films with a less cross linked structure may be formed at a relatively high pressure. Increase in the frequency of power supply leads to a significant increase in the deposition rate. Static contact angle measurements show that deposited FC films have a stable, hydrophobic surface property. All deposited films show smooth surfaces with an atomic surface roughness. The relationship between plasma parameters and the properties of the deposited FC films are discussed.

Here we presented a simple approach to fabricate the microstructures of InP by electrochemical etching. Microrods were formed while InP etched in 7 M HCl solutions for 30 s, and microtips were obtained while InP etched for 120 s. In addition, with increasing applied potential the surface of the microrods became smoother. The formation mechanism was also discussed in this article.

Vortex patterns of dust particles have been observed in a magnetized dusty plasma system. The formation mechanism of two-dimensional (2D) vortex patterns has been investigated by analysing the forces acting on dust particles and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in a 2D confined magnetized dusty plasma. It has been found that with a weak confining electric field and a strong magnetic field, the particles' trajectories will form a vortex shape. The simulation results agree with our experimental observations. In our experiments, vortex patterns can be induced via circular rotation of particles by changing the rf (radio-frequency) power in a magnetized dusty plasma.

Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by extensive vascular remodelling, leading to increased pulmonary vascular resistance and eventual death due to right heart failure. The pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension involves vascular endothelial dysfunction and disordered vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration, but the exact processes remain unknown. Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lysophospholipid involved in a wide spectrum of biological processes. S1P has been shown to regulate VSMC proliferation and migration and vascular tension via a family of five S1P G-protein-coupled receptors (S1P1-SIP5). S1P has been shown to have both a vasoconstrictive and vasodilating effect. The S1P receptors S1P1 and S1P3 promote, while S1P2 inhibits VSMC proliferation and migration in vitro in response to S1P. Moreover, it has been reported recently that sphingosine kinase 1 and S1P2 inhibitors might be useful therapeutic agents in the treatment of empirical pulmonary hypertension. The sphingosine kinase 1/S1P signalling pathways may play a role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. Modulation of this pathway may offer novel therapeutic strategies.

Technology aided instruction and intervention (TAII) is an evidence based practice intervention method for autistic individuals. With three dimensional display and body awareness, somatic games are video games operated through body movements. It achie ves human computer interaction in an effective way, and has great potential to support autistic individuals to obtain target skills. This study reviews research literature on the studies of intervention in autistic children by using somatic games, sums up the strength and problems of the study, and then gives enlightenment on related research and practice in future.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behavior. Wi th increasing number of school age children with autism in China, regular schools refuse to accept them due to the lack of professional services and resources. This caused some children with autism drop out of school, some even commit suicide. As a result, where to place them and how to provide appropriate education becomes one of the focus points of special education academe in China. Chinese government has put forward Special Education Promotion Plan (2014 2016) in 2014, which clearly encourages to establ ish specific special schools (departments) for children and adolescents with autism. This paper reviews the development of educational placement for children with autism internationally, then draws a conclusion that developed countries are trying to provid e diverse educational placement options (including special schools, regular schools, special classrooms in regular schools, as well as providing home services) to meet the complex educational needs of children with autism. This paper also discusses the fea sibility to establish special schools for children with autism and explicitly point out that as one of the diverse educational placement, the purpose of special schools of children with autism is to satisfy the diverse educational needs of severe and moder ate children with autism with low functioning. In the end, this study provides suggestions in improving diverse educational placement for children with autism in China.

In this paper, the structural and single-particle motive properties of a two-dimensional dusty plasmas are investigated numerically by molecular dynamics simulation within the framework of a dissipative Yukawa model. The pair correlation function, the mean square displacement, the static structure factor, and the bond angle correlation function characterizing the structural properties, and the velocity autocorrelation function with Fourier spectrum function characterizing the single-particle motion have been calculated for different values of coupling constant Gamma and viscous damping constant v(f). The results show that the system will coagulate quickly with increasing viscous damping constant and coupling constant, and the critical value of friction parameter decreases with increasing the coupling constant in the system.

Atomic force microscopy is used to estimate and compare the surface morphology of hydrogenated and hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. The films were prepared by using DC magnetron sputtering of a graphite target, pulsed cathodic carbon arcs, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), plasma source ion implantation and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The difference in the surface structure is presented for each method of deposition. The influences of various discharge parameters on the film surface properties are discussed based upon the experimental results. The coalescence process via the diffusion of adsorbed carbon species is responsible for the formation of hydrogen-free DLC films with rough surfaces. The films with surface roughness at an atomic level can be deposited by energetic ion impacts in a highly ionized carbon plasma. The dangling bonds created by atomic hydrogen lead to the uniform growth of hydrocarbon species at the a-C:H film surfaces of the ECR or DBD plasmas.

The behaviour of defect particles in a two-dimensional (2D) confined dusty plasma system is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The mean square displacement (MSD) and the pair correlation function g(r) are used to characterize the structural and dynamical properties of the system. The influences of the number and the charge (mass) of the defect particles on the system configurations are simulated. All the defect particles with charges (masses) larger than the normal particles have the trend to move towards the system centre. The moving speed of the defect particles towards the centre increases with the increasing number and charge (mass) of defect particles and with the system temperature.

Multi-species charged-particles interacting with each other by a competing short-range attraction and long-range repulsion potential confined in a quadratic trap are studied with molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that particles with similar mass-to-charge ratio tend to populate a common shell, whose location depends on the particle mass-to-charge ratio, and that the greater the latter is, the closer the particles to the centre of the trap are. This rule for the ground-state configuration is independent of the total particle and species numbers in the system.

In this paper we elected to nitrate p-xylene because this compound has only one mononitro- and trinitro- isomer. Trinitro-p-xylene was used as a starting material for the synthesis of other compounds in subsequent work. The mononitration of p-xylene can be easily carried out at 30°C. Nitro-p-xylene is easily nitrated to dinitro-p-xylene at a temperature of 80°C. The trinitro-p-xylene can be obtained at 120°C. Single crystals of 2,3-dinitro-p-xylene and 2,3,5-trinitro-p-xylene were grown using the slow cooling method and we report the X-ray structure of the former. The thermal decomposition of the compounds was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry-derivative thermogravimetry (TG-DTG) techniques and FT-IR. The target compounds were also characterized by 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR and MS. Keywords : p -Xylene, Nitration, Thermal Analysis Introduction The nitration of p -xylene to give the corresponding mononitro- p -xylene, dinitro- p -xylene (DPX) and trinitro