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In a worldwide network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distribution centres and retailers, the supply chain plays a very important role in the acquisition, transformation, and delivery of raw materials and products. One of the most important characteristics of agile supply chain is the ability to reconfigure dynamically and quickly according to demand changes in the market. In this paper, concepts and characteristics of an agile supply chain are discussed and the agile supply chain is regarded as one of the pivotal technologies of agile manufacture based on dynamic alliance. Also, the importance of coordination in supply chain is emphasised and a general architecture of agile supply chain management is presented based on a multi-agent theory, in which the supply chain is managed by a set of intelligent agents for one or more activities. The supply chain management system functions are to coordinate its agents. Agent functionalities and responsibilities are defined respectively, and a contract net protocol joint with case-based reasoning for coordination and an algorithm for task allocation is presented.

Summary In this paper, the fundamental problems in the calculation of transverse vibration of train-bridge and train-track time-varying system (hereinafter referred to as the system) are expounded. That is, (1) Proper solution to transverse vibration of the system cannot be obtained by establishing separate transverse vibration equation groups for the car and the bridge (or track); (2) The exciting source of transverse vibration of the system has not been made definite; (3) It is difficult to carry out the random analysis of vibration of the time varying system as the theory of the random vibration analysis for the time varying system has not been established. Our thinking and methods to solve these problems are introduced. On the above-mentioned basis, the theory of random energy analysis for train derailment is presented. The main contents of this theory are as follows: method of random energy analysis of transverse vibration of the system; geometric criterion of derailment; mechanism of derailment caus...

The normal-state transport properties of Sr2RuO4 are investigated for both in and out of RuO2 plane. It is shown that a quantitatively consistent explanation of ρab and ρc can be obtained by assuming that, in addition to normal scattering of the electrons by impurities and the electron–electron scattering, there is a strong coupling between the carriers of γ band and the incommensurate spin fluctuations peaked at Qi = (±0.6, ±0.6) π/a. In order to test this model, we suggest a pressure experiment to be performed. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Three fundamental problems in the calculation of train derailment abroad and at home were pointed out and the solutions to these problems were presented. The theory of random energy analysis for train derailment was suggested. The main contents of this theory are as follows: geometric criterion of derailment; method of random energy analysis of transverse vibration of train track system; mechanism of derailment and energy increment criterion for derailment evaluation; calculation of the entire derailment course of train. This theory is used to calculate a case of freight train derailment, which corresponds to an actually occurring accident. Another derailment test, in which the train is judged not to be derailed, is calculated and the maximum vibration response is well correspond to the test results. And the effectiveness and practicability of the theory are proved by the two calculated cases.

A high temperature tensile test has been performed at 450 °C with various strain rates and grain sizes for an Al–4Mg–0.4Sc alloy. The experimental results show that the total elongation is strongly sensitive to the grain size and is approximately a linear function of an inverse average grain size. The Portevin–Lechatellier (P-L) effect with significant serrations on the stress–strain curves during tensile deformation at high temperature has been shown to be usual for the Al–4Mg–0.4Sc alloy. The average amplitude of the stress oscillation decreases with increasing strain rate at high temperature.

A systematic structure-activity relationship investigation of the lead compound 1 resulted the identification of several N-[(substituted alkyl)cycloalkanoyl]-4-[((2,6-dichlorophenyl)carbonyl)amino]-L-phenylalanine derivatives as potent VCAM/VLA-4 antagonists. The data are consistent with a model of these compounds in which these alkanoylphenylalanines reside in a compact gauche (-) bioactive conformation.

Tensile test at room temperature has been performed on the Al–4Mg–0.4Sc–1.5Mm (Misch metal) alloy sheet with different reduction rate at crosshead speed of 0.036 mm min−1. The experimental results show that the fracture strain is strongly sensitive to cold rolling reduction rate, and the fracture strain increases with an increase of cold rolling reduction. The Portevin–LeChatellier (P–L) effect with a significantly serrate oscillation of stress–strain curves has been shown to be very regular for Al–4Mg–0.4Sc–1.5Mm alloy during tensile deformation. The onset strain decreases with an increase of cold rolling reduction rate. The average interval and the amplitude of stress–strain oscillation can be described by an exponential function with the strain.

A series of N-benzoyl-4-[(2,6-dichlorobenzoyl)amino]-L-phenylalanine derivatives was prepared in order to optimize the substitution on the N-benzoyl moiety for VCAM/VLA-4 antagonist activity. Disubstitution in the 2- and 6-positions is favored and a range of small alkyl and halogen are tolerated. A model of the bioactive conformation of these compounds is proposed.

The cavity growth process during superplastic deformation has been studied. A model for this process is proposed based on the theory of grain-boundary-sliding (GBS) and the theory of cavity growth. According to the deduced equation, the relationship between fracture strain and grain size at a specific temperature and strain rate is analyzed and discussed. It shows that the total elongation is an approximated to linear function of the inverse grain size for the superplastic materials.

Statistically, up to 40% of machining errors are given with thermal errors and the proportion is as high as 70% in precision and ultra-precision machine tools. A compensation technique with creating a compensation model of the thermal error based on the relationship between temperature fields and thermal errors of machine tools is one of the most effective methods to enhance accuracy of machine tools. The key temperature measuring points have to be selected before building the thermal error compensation model because they has a great influence on the accuracy and robustness of error compensation model. In this paper, a new method to select the key temperature measuring points is presented. This method involves two phases: firstly using stability analysis of thermal error sensitivity to select the measuring points with strong correlation to thermal error; and then employing fuzzy cluster analysis to further reduce the number of the key temperature measuring points. To evaluate the performance of this method, a thermal error compensation model is built based on BP neural network to validate the selected temperature measuring points on the milling machining centre CR5116. [Received 30 April 2016; Accepted 16 November 2016]

Thermal deformation of the machine tool structure is one of critical factors affecting the machining accuracy level. These thermally-induced errors can account for as much as 70% of the dimensional errors on a machined work piece. Although thermally-induced errors can be reduced by applying the new materials with low-expansion coefficient to machine tools, designing the well symmetrical structure of machine tools, as well as controlling the temperature of the machining process, the costs will rise greatly. Furthermore, thermally-induced errors cannot be eliminated completely at the design stage. Hence if thermally-induced errors can be predicted, the use of indirect compensation systems will emerge as the most economical and inevitable course of action. In this paper, a real-time compensation controller of thermally-induced errors for CNC machine tools is designed and developed with the embedded technology. Test results demonstrate this compensation controller predict and compensate thermally-induced errors of CNC machine tools very well.

To investigate the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing thrombolytic therapy.The clinical data of 330 patients with acute ischemic stroke who received intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) therapy in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine between June 2009 and August 2013 were reviewed. Clinical outcomes in AF and non-AF groups were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Favorable outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 0-2 on day 90. Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) was classified as hemorrhagic infarction (HI) and parenchymal hematoma (PH) within the first 24h according to ECASS II criteria. Hypoperfusion and severe hypoperfusion were defined as Tmax6 s and8 s, respectively. The rate of reperfusion was compared between AF and non-AF groups.Among 330 patients, 137(41.5%) had AF. Compared with non-AF patients, patients with AF were older [(71.7±11.5)y vs (63.4±13.2)y, P0.001], had higher baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [IQR, 13(8-16) vs 9(5-15), P0.001], higher rate of HT(HI: 28.5% vs 17.1%, P=0.015; PH: 13.9% vs 4.1%, P=0.002), and lower rate of favorable outcome (41.5% vs 58.0%, P=0.005) at d 90. After adjustment, AF was not a risk factor for favorable outcome (OR=0.920, 95%CI:0.533-1.586; P=0.763) and mortality (OR=1.381, 95%CI:1.096-1.242; P=0.466) on day 90. AF was also not associated with HI (OR=1.676, 95%CI: 0.972-3.031; P=0.088), but it increased the rate of PH (OR=3.621, 95%CI: 1.403-9.344; P=0.008). Among 94 patients with pre- and post-thrombolytic perfusion-weighted image, AF was not associated with increased rate of reperfusion for hypoperfusion (Tmax6 s, OR=1.12, 95%CI: 0.35-3.63, P=0.849), but was correlated with increased rate of reperfusion for severe hypoperfusion (Tmax8 s, OR=10.57, 95%CI:1.16-96.50, P=0.037).The presence of AF has no independent impact on neurological outcome in thrombolytic patients with acute ischemic stroke. It is associated with increased reperfusion rate of more severe hypoperfusion area and higher frequency of PH.

To investigate the risk factors of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in different cerebral regions and to explore its relation to clinical outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke after intravenous thrombolysis therapy.The clinical, laboratory, and radiological data of 292 consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis therapy in Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from June 2009 to May 2013 was retrospectively analyzed. Deep HT was defined as HT located in basal ganglia, internal capsule, external capsule and thalamus, otherwise the lesion was defined as non-deep HT. Patients were divided into 3 groups [Deep HT(n=47), non-deep HT(n=82), non HT(n=8)] and the differences in clinical and demographic characteristics were compared by using one-way analysis of variance and Ξ2-test. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the independent risk factors of HT in different cerebral regions and clinical outcomes.Age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, baseline systolic blood pressure and the frequency of atrial fibrillation were different among three groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed that baseline NIHSS score (OR=1.126, 95%CI:1.063-1.193, P0.001) and baseline systolic blood pressure (OR=0.982, 95%CI:0.967-0.998, P=0.020) were independent risk factors of deep HT. Multivariate analysis also found that deep HT was an independent predictor of functional outcome after thrombolysis (OR=0.291, 95%CI:0.133-0.640, P=0.002).Baseline NIHSS score and systolic blood pressure are predictors for deep hemorrhagic transformation, which indicates the poor functional outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke following thrombolytic therapy.

A theory of optical conductivity due to the competition between interlayer direct hopping and hopping assisted by spin fluctuations has been developed. The prediction of our theory captures the main feature of the experiment. Thus, we argue that the anomalous behavior of the c-axis optical conductivity in the underdoped cuprates may be properly understood within the theory.

Wind velocity data from seven high-altitude long-duration balloon flights are compared with stratospheric analyses and forecasts produced by the U.K. Meteorological Office (UKMO) and the Data Assimilation Office (DAO). The results suggest that biases in both the UKMO and DAO analyses arise from the displacement of the polar night jet to higher latitudes in the winter and from a cold bias in the stratosphere in the summer. At high latitudes the DAO analysis performs better than the UKMO analyses, with the use of a rotated pole in the DAO system the most likely cause of the improvement. The trajectories for each flight were simulated using UKMO and DAO 5-day forecasts and by using simple persistence techniques. It is shown that UKMO and DAO forecasts based on better initial analyses produced trajectories that were more accurate. On the 1-day forecast timescale there is little difference between the techniques, but on the 2- to 5-day range the trajectories based on forecasts generally performed significantly better than persistence. The results demonstrate the usefulness of stratospheric balloon data for validating both analyses and forecasts.

Recent reports indicate the presence of two carbon monoxide (CO)-inducing enzymes, heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and -2 in airway smooth muscle. Generally HO-2 is considered to be a constitutive enzyme associated with various neuronal structures, whereas HO-1 can be induced by several factors, including hypoxia. Recent functional data indicate that exogenous CO can induce bronchodilation via a NO-independent, cyclic GMP-related mechanism. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential role of CO as an endogenously produced airway messenger using an in vivo model of airway hypoxia. HO-1 and HO-2-like immunoreactivities were seen in airway smooth muscle along the bronchus and in the respiratory epithelium. The staining for HO-1 was relatively weak but consistent in all animals investigated. In contrast, the HO-2 staining was intense at all locations. After hypoxic stimulation, the staining for HO-1 and HO-2 was equally intense, indicating an up-regulation of the HO-1 expression. In another set up, anaesthetized, ventilated guinea-pigs were given a continuous infusion of histamine to increase total pulmonary resistance (R1). Hypoxic stimulation, induced by inhalation of 180 breaths of pure nitrogen (N2), resulted in a subsequent reduction in R1. Pretreatment with Rp-8Br-cGMPs, a cyclic GMP antagonist abolished more than 75% of this reduction, whereas L-NAME, an antagonist of NO synthesis, was without effect. Zinc protoporphyrin-IX (ZnPP), an inhibitor of HO, mimicked the effects of Rp-8Br-cGMPS. In conclusion, the present findings suggest a possible role for CO in the hypoxic regulation of airway tone.

In patients dying from asthma, extensive mucous plugging occurs in the airways, associated with goblet cell hyperplasia. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that platelet-activating factor (PAF) induces goblet cell hyperplasia and mucin gene expression. After instilling PAF into the airways of guinea pigs and rats, we stained airway goblet cells with Alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff and determined the number of goblet cells and percentage of stained area within the epithelium. In guinea pigs, one instillation of PAF (10(-)5 M, 100 microl) increased the goblet cell-stained area time-dependently, beginning at 24 h, maximum at 72 h. PAF also caused tracheal recruitment of eosinophils by 24 h, maximum at 48 h. In rats, which have few goblet cells in airways, PAF (3 instillations, 10(-)5 M, 200 microl) caused striking goblet cell hyperplasia, greatest in peripheral airways. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) alone had no significant effect on goblet cells, but together with PAF, it caused exaggerated goblet cell hyperplasia. In rat tracheas studied by in situ hybridization, PAF induced mucin MUC5 gene expression in epithelial cells that stained for mucosubstances. In summary, PAF induces goblet cell hyperplasia and TNFalpha potentiates this effect.

We have used two different sets of assimilated input wind fields (United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO), NASA) to drive the transport in a three-dimensional global chemical transport model. In a first experiment the distribution of carbon 14 after nuclear bomb testing in the early 1960s was simulated. The second, more comprehensive experiment consists of a comparison of simulated nitrous oxide (N 2 O) distributions for both input wind fields against CLAES satellite measurements. Both experiments show that the NASA winds are producing too much upward transport in the equatorial area. By analyzing the Eulerian-mean conservation equation for zonal mean mixing ratios, we were able to show that these model differences are initially caused by differences in the mean residual circulations in the two different wind field sets but that because the latitudinal gradients remain steeper in the NASA results, differences in isentropic mixing rates are also evident. The NASA residual mean circulation in the equatorial lower stratosphere in the model is higher than the UKMO residual mean circulation by about a factor of 2. However, there is also evidence that isentropic mixing rates are too large in the subtropics in both models, and there is evidence from the N 2 O comparisons of overly large amplitudes of wavenumbers 4 to 7 in the tropics and subtropics in the models. Filtering the incoming wind fields to eliminate wavenumbers larger than 10 resulted in only minor improvements in the model comparisons against CLAES observations. Because of the significant discrepancies between the model simulations, using either one of the wind field sets, and the observations, we recommend care in using these assimilated winds for long-term model studies in general. Both wind field sets, however, produced good simulations of strong intrusions of tropical air into midlatitudes of the upper stratosphere in September 1992.

A three-dimensional spectral chemical transport model truncated at T21 is employed to simulate N 2 O transport. The wind and vertical motion fields are taken from the U.K. Meteorological Office four-dimensional assimilation data set. UARS cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES) N 2 O measurements are used to initialize the model in late August 1992. Model results are shown to simulate the CLAES measurements quite well over the first few months: N 2 O variability is similar at extratropical latitudes in the southern hemisphere over the period September 2-17, 1992, at 4.6 and 10 mbar, and there is good agreement in the synoptic maps of minor warmings during this period. Prior to a large warming event on September 30, minor stratospheric warmings are shown to produce negligible changes in the vortex below 4.6 mbar, but considerable mixing of air from the vortex edge and subtropical air is indicated. This results in a steepening of the N 2 O gradient at the vortex edge. During a warming event when the vortex center moves away from the pole, downward transport by the residual circulation can be large. This is offset by eddy transport effects, but these terms reverse during the recovery from the warming. From September 2 to 17, there is evidence of continuous mixing at midlatitudes at 4.6 mbar in contrast to more discontinuous, warming-associated mixing at 10 mbar. The breakup of the vortex is initiated by the September 30 warming, and a warming on October 13 has a strong influence on the breakup. The breakup propagates downward. The climatological distribution of N 2 O in the tropics follows the seasonal variation of the solar radiation with a maximum, which is determined by the strength of the upward residual motion, shifting towards the summer hemisphere by 10°-15° latitude. The surf zone in both the model and the observations at the middle latitudes is well defined, but the gradients of N 2 O at the edge of the tropics and at the edge of the vortex are smaller in the model than in the observations. This is probably being caused by excessive mixing in the model.

In this comment, the discusser makes some remarks on the paper “Vibration suppression for high-speed railway bridges using tuned mass dampers” by Wang, J.F., Lin, C.C., Chen, B.L., published in the International Journal of Solids and Structures, 2003, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 465–491. First, the formulation of H(t,tk) on p. 470 is questionable. Second, for a moving suspension mass model, the interaction force between moving mass and bridge is incorrectly given. Third, for a moving mass model for the train and without the installation of PTMD (passive tuned mass damper), the equation of motion of the bridge is incorrect. Lastly, for the train load model, which consists of one-half of a train car, one bogie, two wheel sets, spring and dashpot between bogie and half of a train car, and spring and dashpot between bogie and each wheel set, the authors did not put forward the formulation of interaction force between wheel set and bridge, but the discusser does.

Objective To compare the short-term efficacy and safety profile of the S-1 + irinotecan + oxaliplatin (TIROX) and docetaxel + cisplatin + flurouracil (DCF) anticancer regimens in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods Patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer diagnosed by pathology were randomly divided into two groups to receive six cycles of either the TIROX regimen (21-day cycle) or the DCF regimen (21-day cycle). After six chemotherapy cycles, the short-term efficacy was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors guidelines and adverse reactions were recorded according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria 2.0 standards. Results A total of 60 patients were enrolled in the study. The response rate (complete response + partial response) was significantly higher in the TIROX group (18/30 patients; 60.0%) compared with the DCF group (10/30 patients; 33.3%). The rates of grade III–IV leucopenia and neurotoxicity were significantly higher in the TIROX group than the DCF group. Conclusion The TIROX regimen was effective for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, but it was associated with leucopenia and neurotoxicity.

Many efforts in studying network structure and dynamics have been engaged, among which the research on the node search or navigation is one of the most important branches. With a brief analysis of the existing search strategies, the MDS (maximum degree strategy) is found not applicable to large-scale with even degree distribution networks. By importing the minimum cluster coefficient as one parameter for the node search, the MCMDS ( M inimum C luster C oefficient and M aximum D egree S trategy) is presented in order to better its search performance for networks of high power-law exponents. Specific implementation steps for the MCMDS are provided. T he strategy is simulated and the results are analyzed. In the end a test to verify the efficiency of the MCMDS on the networks with real data is employed. Simulation results show that the MCMDS presented in the paper can improve the performance in both search steps and search time for its even degree distribution.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important process in the marine nitrogen cycle. However, little is known about the distribution, diversity and abundance of anammox bacteria in inland river ecosystems. Here, we found the presence of diverse anammox bacteria in a freshwater river - the Qiantang River, Zhejiang Province (China). The phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that Brocadia genus, Kuenenia genus, Scalindua genus and three new anammox bacterial clusters could be detected together in Qiantang River sediments, suggesting a higher anammox bacterial diversity in the Qiantang River ecosystem than in open ocean environments where only Scalindua genus was detected. Brocadia and Kuenenia appeared to be the most common anammox bacterial genera in the Qiantang River. Redundancy analysis showed that the sediment organic carbon (OrgC) content had significant influence on the distribution of anammox bacteria in Qiantang River sediments. Pearson correlation analyses showed that OrgC content significantly influenced the anammox bacterial diversity. The results of real-time quantitative PCR showed spatial variations of anammox bacterial abundances which were highly correlated with the sediment total inorganic nitrogen content. These results demonstrated the distribution of diverse anammox bacteria and the influences of environmental factors on anammox bacterial communities in Qiantang River sediments.

As a new manufacturing paradigm, cloud manufacturing transforms the traditional manufacturing business model, in which distributed resources belonged to different enterprises are encapsulated into cloud services. Clients can use cloud services according to their requirements, viz., clients can build up their own on-demand production service networks. However, it is quite difficult for clients to select reliable and high-quality service nodes to organize the production service network because of the existence of malicious, fake, untrue, and dynamic service nodes in the cloud manufacturing environment. The trustworthy cloud manufacturing environment is a prerequisite to implementation of cloud manufacturing. The reliable evaluation for trust works as a compass for building the trustworthy cloud manufacturing environment. In this paper, the trust measurement is discussed in cloud manufacturing environment and the trustworthy environment will be built up with this evaluation mechanism.

Purification of nucleic acids from a low quantity of bacterial cells in minute volume is important in many clinical and biological applications. We developed a novel microfluidic liquid phase nucleic acid purification chip to selectively isolate DNA or RNA from bacterial cells in the range of 5000 down to a single cell in the sample volume of 1 μl or 125 nl, which can be directly put through on-chip quantitative PCR assay. The aqueous phase bacterial lysate was isolated in an array of microwells, after which an immiscible organic (phenol-chloroform) phase was introduced in a headspace channel connecting the microwell array. Continuous flow of the organic phase increases the interfacial contact with the aqueous phase to achieve purification of target nucleic acid through phase partitioning. Significantly enhanced nucleic acid recovery yield, up to 10 fold higher, was achieved using the chip-based liquid phase nucleic acid purification technique compared to that obtained by the conventional column-based solid phase nucleic acid extraction method. One step vacuum-driven microfluidics allowed an on-chip quantitative PCR assay to be carried out in the same microwells within which bacterial nucleic acids were isolated, avoiding sample loss during liquid transfer. Using this nucleic acid purification device set in a two-dimensional (2D) array format of 900 microwells, it was demonstrated for the first time that high-throughput extraction of RNA couple with direct on-chip PCR analysis from single bacterial cells could be achieved. Our microfluidic platform offered a simple and effective solution for nucleic acid preparation, which can be integrated for automated bacterial pathogen detection and high throughput transcriptional profiling.

By using annual agricultural non-point source model (AnnAGNPS), this study simulated the export loading of nitrogen and phosphorus in Siling Reservoir watershed in Tiaoxi Basin, and integrated with the simulation results, the spatial distribution characteristics of non-point source pollution in the watershed was analyzed. The result showed that the export loading of nitrogen and phosphorus had similar characteristics: in the study area, the export loading of nutrients were higher in southern and western regions and lower in northern and eastern regions. Forest land mainly made up of bamboo was the main export source of nitrogen and phosphorus loading with the contribution above 90% of nutrient load of whole watershed. Three fertilization practices such as no fertilizer (CK), site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and farmers' fertilizaction practice (FFP) were used in the scenario analysis. The scenario analysis showed that to a certain degree, SSNM could reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus loss. Comparing with FFP, the reduction of SSNM in dissolved nitrogen (DN), particle nitrogen (PN), dissolved phosphorus (DP) and particle phosphorus (PP) was 8.17%, 4.33%, 9.08% and 1.02%, respectively.

Much has been learned about the architecture and function of the circadian clock of Arabidopsis thaliana, a model for plant circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms contribute to evolutionary fitness, suggesting that circadian rhythmicity may also contribute to agricultural productivity. Therefore, we extend our study of the plant circadian clock to Brassica rapa, an agricultural crop. Since its separation from Arabidopsis, B. rapa has undergone whole genome triplication and subsequent diploidization that has involved considerable gene loss. We find that circadian clock genes are preferentially retained relative to comparison groups of their neighboring genes, a set of randomly chosen genes, and a set of housekeeping genes broadly conserved in eukaryotes. The preferential retention of clock genes is consistent with the gene dosage hypothesis, which predicts preferential retention of highly networked or dose-sensitive genes. Two gene families encoding transcription factors that play important roles in the plant core oscillator--the PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORS, including TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION1, and the REVEILLE family, including CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL--exhibit preferential retention consistent with the gene dosage hypothesis, but a third gene family, including ZEITLUPE, that encodes F-Box proteins that regulate posttranslational protein stability offers an exception.

A high-flux metallic micro/nano-filtration membrane has been fabricated and validated for isolation of waterborne pathogens from drinking water. Obtained membrane with smooth surface and perfectly ordered pores was achieved by a high yield and cost effective multilevel lithography and electroplating technique. The micro-fabricated membrane was also strengthened with an integrated back-support, which can withstand a high pressure during filtration. The results of microfiltration tests with model particles revealed the superior performance of the micro-fabricated filter than current commercial filters in sample throughput, recovery ratio, and reusability. This study highlighted the potential application of micro-fabricated filer in rapid filtration and recovery of C. parvum oocysts for downstream analysis.

This study describes the enrichment of anammox bacteria in a column simulating oxygen limited flooded paddy soils, which are important man-made ecosystems that receive substantial amounts of fixed nitrogen. The upper 50 cm of the paddy soil, containing a high amount of ammonium [1.6-10.4 mmol N kg (dry weight)(-1)], was selected as the inoculum for anammox enrichment. After 18 months of incubation with freshwater from the paddy soil ecosystem, the enrichment culture consumed approximately 4 mmol ammonium l(-1) day(-1) and 5 mmol nitrite l(-1) day(-1). The maximum specific anammox activity of the culture was 35.7 μmol N g (dry weight)(-1) h(-1). Fluorescence in situ hybridization indicated that anammox cells constituted 50% ± 10% of the enrichment culture. The phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and the diagnostic hydrazine synthase (hzsA) genes showed that two dominant anammox species were enriched from paddy soil. The enriched Candidatus Anammoxoglobus-like organisms showed a 16S rRNA gene similarity of 97.5-99.2% to Candidatus Anammoxoglobus propionicus and the Candidatus Jettenia-like organisms showed 92.1-93.1% 16S rRNA gene identity to Candidatus Jettenia asiatica. Real-time quantitative PCR of hzsA gene suggested that up to 10(10) copies g (dry weight)(-1) of soil anammox bacteria were present in the enrichment culture.

To evaluate the correlation between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction and compare their risk factors in an urban population of Beijing.The non-diabetic adults40 years old undergoing annual physical examinations during June 2010 and February 2011 at one medical center were evaluated. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction. The analyses of multivariate Logistic regression were performed to compare the risk factors of these two diseases.Among 10 191 subjects included, retinal artery atherosclerosis was diagnosed in 1287 (12.6%) and renal dysfunction in 434 (4.3%). And 1.0% of subjects had both two diseases versus 12.2% with retinal artery atherosclerosis alone and 3.3% with renal dysfunction alone. Correlation coefficient was low between two diseases (r = 0.21; P0.01). According to the analyses of multivariate Logistic regression, the strongest predictors of retinal artery atherosclerosis were obesity (OR = 2.5, 95%CI 2.0 - 3.2) and hypertension (OR = 2.2, 95%CI 2.0 - 2.6) while advanced age (OR = 3.1, 95%CI 2.8 - 3.5 per 10 year increment) was the strongest factor for renal dysfunction.The low-level correlation and different risk factor profiles between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction indicate different pathogenic mechanisms of two diseases and suggest different preventive strategies.

To determine the prevalence and risk factors of atherosclerotic lesions in retinal arteries of an urban population undergoing routine physical examinations.Demographic and clinical information of subjects participating in annual routine physical examinations at Peking Union Medical Center from January to October of 2010 were collected and summarized. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the demographic and clinical factors associated with retinal arterial atherosclerosis.Among a total of 17 886 non-diabetic adults evaluated during the study period, retinal arterial atherosclerosis was diagnosed in 1721 (9.6%). There were predominantly grade 1 (88%) and grade 2 (11%) lesions. Prevalence of retinal arterial atherosclerosis increased with age. And traditional risk factors for cardiovascular diseases included overweight or obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and elevated fasting serum glucose. In a multivariate Logistic regression model, advanced age, male gender, obesity or overweight, hypertension and dyslipidemia were independently associated with a higher risk of retinal arterial atherosclerosis. Hypertension was prevalent in subjects above 40 years old while overweight or obesity had a high prevalence in all age groups.Retinal arterial atherosclerosis is common in this urban population. And aging, overweight/obesity and hypertension are the dominant risk factors. Routine physical examination is valuable for both the prevention and an early diagnosis of this disease.

The edge reconstruction effect of the zigzag silicon carbide nanoribbons (zz SiC NRs) to a stable line of alternatively fused seven and five membered rings without and with H passivation have been studied using first principles density functional theory (DFT). The both side's edges of the pristine SiC are respectively terminated by Si and C atoms and are called the Si-edge and the C-edge, respectively. In the un-passivated systems, the C-edge reconstructed (Crc) could effectively lower the edge energy of the system, while the Si-edge reconstructed (Sirc) could raise the edge energy of the system. Thus, the Crc edge is the best edge for the edge reconstruction of the system, while the both edge reconstructed (brc) system is the metastability. Moreover, the brc system has a nonmagnetic metallic state, whereas the Crc system, as well as Sirc system, has a ferromagnetic metallic state. The edge reconstructed destroys the magnetic moment of the corresponding edge atoms. The magnetic moment arises from the unreconstructed zigzag edges. The pristine zz edge system has a ferrimagnetic metallic state. However, in the H-passivated systems, the unreconstructed zigzag edge (zz-H) is the best edge. The Crc-H system is the metastability. The Sirc-H system has only slightly higher energy than the Crc-H system, whereas the brc-H system of the pristine SiC NR has the highest edge energy. Thus, the H passivation would prevent the occurrence of edge reconstruction. Moreover, H passivation induces a metal–semiconductor transition in the zz and brc SiC NRs. Additionally, except for brc-H system which has non-magnetic semiconducting state, the zz-H, Crc-H, and Sirc-H systems have the magnetic state.

Cloud Computing and Internet of Things are the buzzwords after Web 2.0. Cloud Computing, as a large-scale distributed computing paradigm, is a recent trend in IT that delivers applications as services over the Internet. The Internet of Things (IoT), as the future network of Internet, refers to a dynamic global network infrastructure in which physical and virtual “things” are seamlessly integrated into the information network. As is well-known, the development and advancement of IT surely brings the immense changes for manufacturing industry and lays the solid foundation for the development and advancement of manufacturing industry. An innovative manufacturing paradigm named as Cloud Manufacturing is incubated under the support of Cloud Computing and IoT. This paper discusses the concept and manufacturing cloud deployment models. Lastly, the management mechanism based on the multi-agent technology of distributed manufacturing resources is explored.

With the further development of market economy, the transformation and upgrading of private economy is imperative, It sets a higher demand to private enterprise's independent innovation ability. Independent innovation can improve the core competitiveness of private enterprises, but there are still concepts, foundation and environment barriers in the independent innovation process of private enterprise. It needs through innovative concepts to enhance private enterprise independent innovation initiative, so does building financing, talented person, information platform to ram private enterprise independent innovative foundation, government's policy support, the fair market environment, the improvement of social service system to optimize the innovation environment and enhance the private enterprise independent innovation ability.

A supply chain (SC) is a network of supplier, factories, warehouse, distribution centers, retailers, and customers, through which raw materials are acquired, transformed, produced, and delivered to the customers. As a complex network of suppliers, factories, warehouses, distributors, and retailers, the highly effective and efficient operations of a SC depend on the speedily moving of information flows and material flows. The rapid advances in information technology (IT) have always resulted in innovation, such as the Internet, that is terms of its potential as a channel for collecting, transmitting and storing information. As is well-known, the emergence of Internet has made a significant impact on the rapid growth of Internet-based information transfer between companies, their suppliers, and their customers. The Internet has emerged as an effective means of driving information integration and sharing for a supply chain, as well as has supported various coordination mechanisms across a supply chain. To make decisions promptly and to accelerate material flows via the integration and sharing of information flows improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a supply chain execution. However there exists a gap between the material flows and the information flows in a supply chain because of the information flows always can not reflect the wave of material flows real-timely, as well as it is impossible to understand the process of a supply chain execution real-timely. Being the next generation network of the Internet, the Internet of Things (IoT), which is a comprehensive extension of the Internet and also can achieve the pervasive connections between objects (things) and objects (things), information automotive collecting and real-time processing, as well as ubiquitous computing, close the gap between objects in the material world and their representation in information systems. It is able to real-timely monitor the process of a supply chain execution and also to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain over the IoT. In this paper, the authors mainly discuss the characteristics of the IoT and enabling technologies, and explore the distributed architecture of SCM over the IoT.

Thermoacoustic oscillation at cryogenic temperatures, such as Taconis oscillation, has been typically suppressed in the former studies, and few efforts have been made to enhance it. We proposed a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine (TE) driven by liquid cryogens instead of the conventional heat to enhance the thermoacoustic effects and utilize the cold energy. Experimental and theoretical work has been performed on a self-made standingwave TE to demonstrate the feasibility and the operating characteristics of the engine driven by the liquid nitrogen. Experiments show that with nitrogen at 0.5 MPa as a working gas, a pressure ratio of 1.21 is obtained on the TE driven by liquid nitrogen with a much lower temperature difference along the stack compared to that of the conventional TE. The onset temperature difference decreases by 28.9% with helium at 0.63 MPa as a working gas, compared to that of the conventional TE. This study verifies the feasibility of enhancing the thermoacoustic oscillation at cryogenic temperatures. The TEs driven by liquid cryogens such as liquid nitrogen and liquefied nature gas (LNG), may be an alternative for recovering the cold energy.

The successful deployment of many different observing systems during the summer Monsoon Experiment of 1979 provides a unique opportunity to perform extensive observing system experiments. These numerical studies, accomplished here with a ten-level, limited-area primitive equation model, allow the assessment of the value of individual or combined observing systems to the model's four-dimensional data assimilation system as well as to its subsequent forecasts. The specific objectives of this work include the investigation of (i) the relative merit of ten different data platforms, (ii) the relative role of wind and mass field data, (iii) the effect of different vertical distributions of single-level wind data, and (iv) the dynamical response of the model to different modes of data insertion. Eight experiments are summarized, all of which involved a 12-h data assimilation period based on the Newtonian relaxation procedure followed by a 36-h forecast. Predictions using all of the data produced very go...

Phosphorus (P) release from sediments is one of the most important causes of lake eutrophication, while the activity of P is determined by P chemical form. Due to its advantages in improving our knowledge about the P fractions in environmental samples, the 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR) technology has received extensive attention. This paper summarized the current studies on the characterization, translocation, and transformation of P fractions in sediments by using this technology, and described the technical principles, classification, analytical procedures, and specific application fields of this technology. At present, the researches of sediment P by using 31P NMR technology were focused on the characterization of different P forms, the effects of microbes on the P translocation and transformation, and the quantitative analysis of different P fractions. The studies on the P-extracting agents and extraction methods were the hot topics as well. The potential issues and research trends about the application of 31P NMR technology in environmental samples were also discussed.

To evaluate the capability of C(N) and determinism% (DET%) together with the linear indices, we detected the surface electromyography (sEMG) signal changes during ramp contractions of biceps brachii.5 seconds sEMG signals of 11 male volunteers were recorded to analyze its changes of the linear indices AEMG, mean power frequency(MPF), MF and the non-linear indices C (N), DET%.Average electromyography (AEMG) inclined linearly from 112.14 microV to 1277.18 microV while DET% displayed an decrease from 74.95 to 46.7 during the 5 voluntary contractions. The spectrum parameters MPF/MF and C(N) leveled off with the increasing of the force.The linear index AEMG inclined linearly while MPF and MF leveled off with the increasing of the force. The non-linear index DET% declined while C(N) leveled off during the 5 seconds ramp contractions.

Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) are characterized by neutrophilic inflammation and elevated levels of leukotriene B4 (LTB4). However, the exact role of LTB4 pathways in mediating pulmonary neutrophilia and the potential therapeutic application of LTB4 receptor antagonists in these diseases remains controversial. Here we show that a novel dual BLT1 and BLT2 receptor antagonist, RO5101576, potently inhibited LTB4-evoked calcium mobilization in HL-60 cells and chemotaxis of human neutrophils. RO5101576 significantly attenuated LTB4-evoked pulmonary eosinophilia in guinea pigs. In non-human primates, RO5101576 inhibited allergen and ozone-evoked pulmonary neutrophilia, with comparable efficacy to budesonide (allergic responses). RO5101576 had no effects on LPS-evoked neutrophilia in guinea pigs and cigarette smoke-evoked neutrophilia in mice and rats. In toxicology studies RO5101576 was well-tolerated. Theses studies show differential effects of LTB4 receptor antagonism on neutrophil responses in vivo and suggest RO5101576 may represent a potential new treatment for pulmonary neutrophilia in asthma.

In Chapters 2 and 3, the knowledge-based system and Multi-Agent system were illustrated. These are significant methods and theories of Manufacturing Intelligence (MI). Data Mining (DM) and Knowledge Discovery (KD) are at the foundation of MI. Humans are immersed in data, but are thirsty for knowledge. With the wider application of database technology, a dilemma has arisen whereby people are ‘rich in data, poor in knowledge’. The explosion of knowledge and information has brought great benefit to mankind, but has also carried with it certain drawbacks, since it has resulted in knowledge and information ‘pollution. Facing a vast but polluted ocean of data, a technical means to discard the bad and retain the good was sought. Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (DMKD) was therefore proposed against the background of rapidly expanding data and databases. It is also the result of the development and fusion of database technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), statistical techniques and visualization technology (Fayyad U., 1998). DMKD has become a research focus and cutting-edge technology in the field of computer information processing (Jef Woksem, 2001). The development background, conception, working process, classification and general application of DM and KD are firstly introduced in this chapter. Secondly, basic functions and assignment such as prediction, description, data clustering, data classification, conception description and visualization processing are discussed. Then the methods and tools for DM are presented, such as the association rule, decision tree, genetic algorithm, rough set and support vector machine. Finally, the application of DMKD in intelligent manufacturing is summarized.