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Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most diagnosed cancers in men worldwide. Several studies have identified that circular RNAs (circRNAs) have a crucial impact on the biological processes in PCa. Therefore, it is necessary to study the molecular mechanism of circRNAs in tumor progression and metastasis. RNA interference was used to decrease circHIPK3 and MTDH expression. Overexpression vector was used to increase circHIPK3 and MTDH expression. Luciferase reporter assay were used to detect the relationship between circHIPK3 and miR-448 or between miR-448 and MTDH. MTT assay, colony formation assay and transwell assay were used to measure proliferation and migration of PCa cells. Circular RNA circHIPK3 was significantly increased in PCa tissues and cell lines. And overexpression of circHIPK3 promoted the migration, proliferation, and invasion of PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells, while knockdown of circHIPK3 markedly repressed the above-mentioned series of biological processes. Furthermore, circHIPK3 promoted metadherin (MTDH) expression by sponging miR‐448. In vivo experiments, it was also found that overexpression of circHIPK3 significantly promoted tumor growth. Our research shows that circHIPK3 plays a carcinogenic effect in PCa by regulating the miR-448/MTDH axis, indicating that circHIPK3 may be a potential therapeutic target for PCa.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most diagnosed cancers in men worldwide. Several studies have identified that circular RNAs (circRNAs) have a crucial impact on the biological processes in PCa. Therefore, it is necessary to study the molecular mechanism of circRNAs in tumor progression and metastasis.RNA interference was used to decrease circHIPK3 and MTDH expression. Overexpression vector was used to increase circHIPK3 and MTDH expression. Luciferase reporter assay were used to detect the relationship between circHIPK3 and miR-448 or between miR-448 and MTDH. MTT assay, colony formation assay and transwell assay were used to measure proliferation and migration of PCa cells.Circular RNA circHIPK3 was significantly increased in PCa tissues and cell lines. And overexpression of circHIPK3 promoted the migration, proliferation, and invasion of PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells, while knockdown of circHIPK3 markedly repressed the above-mentioned series of biological processes. Furthermore, circHIPK3 promoted metadherin (MTDH) expression by sponging miR-448. In vivo experiments, it was also found that overexpression of circHIPK3 significantly promoted tumor growth.Our research shows that circHIPK3 plays a carcinogenic effect in PCa by regulating the miR-448/MTDH axis, indicating that circHIPK3 may be a potential therapeutic target for PCa.

CircRNAs have been proven to be vital during the process of malignant tumors. Their functions in bladder cancer (BCa) process remain largely unclear. This study aims to elucidate the role of circ0041103 in affecting the malignant phenotypes of BCa, and the possible molecular mechanism.Circ0041103 expression levels in BCa tissues and cell lines were detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The clinical significance of circ0041103 in influencing tumor size, tumor staging and lymphatic metastasis of BCa was analyzed. Regulatory effects of circ0041103 on proliferative and metastatic capacities of T24 and UM-UC-3 cells were examined through functional experiments. The binding target of circ0041103 and its downstream protein were predicted by online bioinformatic tools, which were further confirmed by Dual-Luciferase reporter assay and Pearson correlation test. The role of circ0041103/miR-107/ FOXK1 axis in regulating BCa process was explored by rescue experiments.Circ0041103 was abnormally upregulated in BCa tissues and cell lines. Its level was higher in BCa tissues with a larger tumor size, or worse tumor staging, or BCa cases with lymphatic metastasis. Knockdown of circ0041103 inhibited proliferative and metastatic capacities of T24 and UM-UC-3 cells. MiR-107 was the binding target of circ0041103, and FOXK1 was the downstream gene of miR-107. Overexpression of circ0041103 could reverse the inhibited proliferative and metastatic capacities of T24 and UM-UC-3 cells overexpressing miR-107.Circ0041103 is upregulated in BCa and predicts a poor prognosis in BCa. It stimulates BCa cells to proliferate and migrate via the miR-107/FOXK1 axis.

Twenty-nine apricot accessions from North China were analyzed with 55 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from a T×E map. All the SSR markers were analyzed throughout the genome and compared among eight linkage groups. Linkage group 4 performed well in number of alleles per locus (Na) and effective number of alleles (Ne), in which marker BPPCT040 was prominent, with an Ne of 8.46 and Na of 10. For assessment of genetic diversity, the observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity were measured, resulting in average values of 0.419 and 0.644, respectively. Furthermore, the highest values occurred in linkage group 4 compared with all chromosomes. The mean values of Shannon's information index ranged from 0.9859 in linkage group 2 to 1.4773 in linkage group 8, with an average of 1.2025. All the apricot accessions were calculated under K=4 and grouped into four clusters according to the Q value inferred by STRUCTURE software, using a model-based method. More than 85% of apricot accessions had a maximum Q, which was more than 0.80 for the four inferred Q values. Four subgroups of 29 apricot accessions were irregular in their geographical origins, based on the results from STRUCTURE. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) indicated that the three inferred subgroup gene pools were closely related. The north Chinese apricot gene flow in the Yellow River Basin area is very complex and frequent. The reason is likely the introduction of cultivation and selection by humans of North China during their long history, and the complexity between the various eco-geographical groups for germplasm penetration.

To conserve moisture, increase temperature, enhance crop yield and prevent soil infections, plastic mulching films (PMFs) are widely used in agriculture in China. Currently, most of these films are fabricated from petroleum-based raw materials and hardly biodegradable, causing serious soil pollution. To overcome this drawback of PMF, a novel biodegradable mulching film (BMF) was made from citric acid fermentation wastes (CAFW) by acid-oxidation method. Its multi-functional characteristics were extensively investigated. The results showed that the BMF provided the soil with a good water-holding capacity, i.e., the soil moisture content using BMF remained at 16.8% after 84 h covering, which was 1.7 times higher than that without BMF covering. Moreover, BMF is biodegradable and some elements in the film such as N, P and K were gradually released, which in turn facilitated the growth of crops. In order to compare agricultural applications of BMF and the traditional PMF, the growth characteristics of pak-choi were investigated; including plant height, stem diameter, number of leafs, root length and plant number. The application of BMF was favorable to the pak-choi growth, thus demonstrated to have a promising potential in the agricultural field. This technology also provides a feasible way for the utilization of citric acid fermentation residue.

LncRNAs participate in the proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion of colorectal cancer. We aimed at investigating the uncovered effect of lncRNALUADT1 on colorectal cancer.The relative expression level of lncRNALUADT1 in tumor specimen was tested by Real-time quantitative PCR. The association of lncRNALUADT1 with clinical pathological data was analyzed by univariate, multivariate Cox and Kaplan-Meier curve.LncRNALUADT1 expression was up-regulated in colorectal cancer, and correlated with tumor size, metastasis, and TNM staging. Both univariate analysis and multivariate test indicated that lncRNALUADT1 high expression, TNM staging, and lymph node metastasis were closely related. Moreover, high expression of lncRNALUADT1 suggested the poor overall survival of patients.LncRNA LUADT1 might contribute to the development of colorectal cancer.

We investigated the feasibility of utilizing the normalized characteristic frequencies for diagnosing the defective roller bearings in case of fluctuant rotating speeds. The time-frequency distributions of the envelope signals of the vibration data were constructed through the Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) as well as the instantaneous frequency calculation. The bearing defect-related frequencies were then normalized with respect to the instantaneous rotation frequency of the shaft so that the factor of the rotating speed fluctuation was removed; thus the characteristic frequencies of bearing malfunctions could be observed in terms of constant values. The magnitude distributions of the marginal envelope spectra at the corresponding normalized bearing defect-related frequencies were extracted as the feature vectors. The Support vector machine (SVM) was used to classify the extracted feature vectors of different bearing fault classes. A test rig of roller bearing system was performed to illustrate the different bearing faults, including different levels of inner race defect, outer race defect and roller defect. The analysis results demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the proposed approach for accurately identifying the bearing defects in case of fluctuant rotating speed.

Increasing the duration of leaf photosynthesis during grain filling using slow‐senescing functional stay‐green phenotypes is a possible route for increasing grain yields in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, delayed senescence may negatively affect nutrient remobilisation and hence reduce grain protein concentrations and grain quality. A novel NAC1‐type transcription factor (hereafter TaNAC‐S) was identified in wheat, with gene expression located primarily in leaf/sheath tissues, which decreased during post‐anthesis leaf senescence. Expression of TaNAC‐S in the second leaf correlated with delayed senescence in two doubled‐haploid lines of an Avalon × Cadenza population (lines 112 and 181), which were distinct for leaf senescence. Transgenic wheat plants overexpressing TaNAC‐S resulted in delayed leaf senescence (stay‐green phenotype). Grain yield, aboveground biomass, harvest index and total grain N content were unaffected, but NAC over‐expressing lines had higher grain N concentrations at similar grain yields compared to non‐transgenic controls. These results indicate that TaNAC‐S is a negative regulator of leaf senescence, and that delayed leaf senescence may lead not only to increased grain yields but also to increased grain protein concentrations.

Highlight Long-term, S2 recurrent selection for seedling leaf width has produced vigorous wheat germplasm with potential for genetic improvement of water-use efficiency, weed competitiveness, and nutrient-use efficiency., The breeding of wheat with greater early vigour has potential to increase water- and nutrient-use efficiency, as well as to improve weed competitiveness to raise crop yields profitably. Given that wheat is inherently conservative in its early growth, a sustained breeding effort was initiated to increase genetically seedling leaf area in developing novel high vigour germplasm. A recurrent selection programme was initiated by intercrossing a genetically diverse set of 28 vigorous wheat lines identified globally. These were intercrossed at random and S1:2 progeny with the largest leaf 1 and 2 widths were intermated to develop new populations for assessment of early growth. This procedure was repeated for up to 60 segregating families per cycle across six cycles over 15 years. Thirty random S1:2 progeny were retained from each cycle and seed-increased together to produce seed for early vigour assessment in multiple sowings. The most vigorous wheat seedlings were identified in later cycles, with some lines producing more than double the leaf area and biomass of elite commercial wheat varieties. Phenotypic selection for greater leaf width was associated with a realized significant (P

To improve the axial resolution of ultrasonic elastography, by taking the advantage of code excitation and frequency compounding, multi-frequency with coded excitation for elastography (FCCE) was proposed. FCCE adopts the Chirp signal excitation scheme and strikes a balance in the selection of sub-signal bandwidth, the bandwidth overlap and the number of sub-strain image based on theoretical derivation, so as to further improve the axial resolution of elastic image. On MATLAB, multi- frequency with coded excitation for elastography was implemented and compared with short pulse. Experiments have proved that, compared with the short pulse, the elastographic signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNRe) were improved significantly. Moreover, probing depth, axial resolution and target detection were improved too. Therefore, the FCCE technology can effectively improve the elastography quality and can be applied to ultrasonic clinical trials.

Dapsone is used in the treatment of infections and inflammatory diseases. The dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, which is associated with a reported mortality of 9.9%, develops in about 0.5 to 3.6% of persons treated with the drug. Currently, no tests are available to predict the risk of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome.We performed a genomewide association study involving 872 participants who had received dapsone as part of multidrug therapy for leprosy (39 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 833 controls), using log-additive tests of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed HLA molecules. For a replication analysis, we genotyped 24 SNPs in an additional 31 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 1089 controls and performed next-generation sequencing for HLA-B and HLA-C typing at four-digit resolution in an independent series of 37 participants with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome and 201 controls.Genomewide association analysis showed that SNP rs2844573, located between the HLA-B and MICA loci, was significantly associated with the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome among patients with leprosy (odds ratio, 6.18; P=3.84×10(-13)). HLA-B*13:01 was confirmed to be a risk factor for the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome (odds ratio, 20.53; P=6.84×10(-25)). The presence of HLA-B*13:01 had a sensitivity of 85.5% and a specificity of 85.7% as a predictor of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, and its absence was associated with a reduction in risk by a factor of 7 (from 1.4% to 0.2%). HLA-B*13:01 is present in about 2 to 20% of Chinese persons, 1.5% of Japanese persons, 1 to 12% of Indians, and 2 to 4% of Southeast Asians but is largely absent in Europeans and Africans.HLA-B*13:01 was associated with the development of the dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome among patients with leprosy. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.).

The aim of the present study was to identify the clinical significance of BPTF expression in the development and progression of NSCLC.The expression of BPTF in 189 pairs of NSCLC and adjacent normal lung tissues were detected by Real-time PCR. The expression of BPTF was investigated in NSCLC and normal control tissues by immunohistochemical staining and immunofluorescence staining. Then, we analyzed the potential relationship between BPTF levels in tumor tissues and existing clinicopathological features of NSCLC, and clinical outcome.It was found that BPTF mRNA was significantly overexpressed in NSCLC tissues in comparison with paired normal control tissues (p0.01). Consistent with BPTF mRNA expression, up-expression of BPTF protein was also found in NSCLC tissues. Furthermore, BPTF expression was positively correlated with advanced lymph node metastasis (p = 0.002), clinical stage (p = 0.004), and differentiation (p = 0.014). Moreover, patients with high BPTF expression had significantly poorer survival by Kaplan-Meier method (p0.001). Finally, Cox regression analyses showed that high BPTF expression might be an independent prognostic parameter to predict poor prognosis (p0.05).BPTF is important in predicting patient outcomes and is a potential target for the development of therapeutic approaches to NSCLC.

To observe whether adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCS), co-cultured with osteoblasts, can differentiate into osteoblasts and, if so, to study the best-induced conditions, with an ultimate goal of repairing bone defects.Adipose-derived stem cells and osteoblasts were isolated from New Zealand white rabbits, and co-cultured in media with either 5% or 10% fetal bovine serum, for up to 4 weeks. The morphology of collected cells was examined under a microscope, and histological staining with alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red was carried out after induction for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. Osteogenesis identification, including mRNA expression of type I collagen and osteocalcin, and alkaline phosphatase, was also performed using RT-PCR.After 7 days of co-culture, some adipose-derived stem cells became round in both groups. After 14 days of co-culture, adipose-derived stem cells were found highly-differentiated, and stained positively with alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red, similar to mature osteoblasts. The mRNA expression of type I collagen and osteocalcin increased in both groups, especially in the 10% fetal bovine serum group.Our findings indicate that adipose-derived stem cells co-cultured with osteoblasts can differentiate into osteoblasts when induced by a high concentration of serum culture.

The transcription factors CBF/DREB play an important role during low temperature, drought and high-salt stress in higher plants. A new CBF (CRT/DRE binding factor) gene was cloned from trifoliate orange [Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.] by RT-PCR with degenerate primers and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) techniques. The full-length cDNA of CBF gene from trifoliate orange (designated as Ptcbfb) was 847 bp containing a 732 bp open reading frame (ORF), encoding a 243 amino acid protein. The predicted protein (designated as PtCBFb) had over 60 % identity to CBFs from some other plant species. Bioinformatical analysis showed that PtCBFb contained N-terminal bipartite nuclear targeting sequence, potential C-terminal acid domain and high conserved AP2 domain. Some other loci such as phosphorylation sites of several protein kinases, N-myristoylation site, tyrosine sulfation site and amidation site were also conserved in PtCBFb. Predicted three-dimentional structure of PtCBFb was similar to CBF from Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression pattern analysis revealed Ptcbfb expression in every tested organ, and Ptcbfb was cold induced.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a mitotic inhibitor widely used in chemotherapy for many types of cancers, including solid tumors and hematological malignancies. However, the molecular basis of the anti-proliferation activity of PTX is not fully understood. In this paper, we focused on the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways in PTX-induced apoptosis and proliferation inhibition. The effects of PTX were examined in human leukemia cell lines and patients' chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells in relation to mitochondrial events, apoptosis, and perturbation of JNK activation using flow cytometry, siRNA, mitochondrial membrane potential determination, and western blotting. Exposure of cells to PTX at concentrations ≥ 10 nM for 18 or 24 h resulted in a significant release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to the cytosol, cleavages of procaspase 3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and JNK activation, leading to apoptosis. The pan-caspase inhibitor BOC-D-FMK blocked the PTX-induced apoptosis but had no effect on cytochrome c release, suggesting that cytochrome c had been released before caspase activation. Moreover, both pharmacological JNK inhibitors SP600125 and JNK siRNA dramatically blocked PTX-induced apoptosis, cytochrome c release, caspase 3, and PARP cleavage. These findings demonstrate that JNK activation plays a critical role in the induction of apoptosis mediated by PTX in human leukemia cell lines and CLL patient-derived primary cancer cells, and this event is upstream of cytochrome c release, caspase 3, and PARP cleavage.

An increasing number of people die from breast cancer every year. Consequently, more research has been concentrated on the study of this type of tumour, and miR-373 resulted as an important gene for treating breast cancer. To explore the influence of miR-373 on the invasion and migration of breast cancer and the expression level of target gene TXNIP, a set of therapeutic methods were designed based on miR-373. The transfection was performed using miR-373 inhibitor; the concentration of miR-373 was controlled by inhibitor, and it was transfected into MCF-7 cell by lipofectin. Fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression level of miR-373 in cells after transfection as well as that of Caspase-3 and Caspase-8. MTT assay was used to detect the influence of miR-373 inhibitor on MCF-7 cells. The expression quantity of miR-373 in cell and tissue of breast cancer with high-low invasion and migration ability was detected by qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction), thus the influence of the expression quantity of miR-373 on the invasion and migration of cell was determined. The expression of miR-373, EMT and TXNIP was determined by Western blot. Through the identification of proteomics and bioinformatics, it was finally found that TXNIP was regulated by miR-373. The protein expression level of TXNIP was negatively correlated with the level of miR-373. Thus it was concluded that miR-373 could promote the invasion and migration of breast cancer. In addition, in the tissue and cell of breast cancer with different invasion and migration abilities, the expression level of TXNIP was negatively correlated with the level of miR-373.

The gasification reactivity of fly ash from a fluidized-bed water-gas gasifier has been studied using a thermal-balance analyzer with CO2 as the reactant gas diluted with nitrogen. The reaction temperature was between 1123 and 1323 K and the CO2 partial pressure was from 0·02 to 0·1 MPa. The gasification reaction rate decreased with an increase of the carbon conversion. The higher the gasification temperature, the higher the extent of carbon conversion and detailed measurements were made of the rate of reaction at 1173 and 1273 K. At the same gasification temperature, the gasification reaction rate is higher with a higher CO2 partial pressure.

The traditional current integral method for the state-of-charge (SOC) estimation has an unusable estimation accuracy because of the current measuring error. This paper proposed a closed-loop temperature compensation method to improve the SOC estimation accuracy of current integral method by eliminating temperature drift. Through circuit simulation result in Multisim, the stability of current measuring accuracy is improved by more than 10 times. In a designed 70 charge-discharge experimental circle, the SOC estimation error with temperature compensation had 30 times less than error in normal situation without compensation.

The study aims to reveal the effect of estrogen deficiency on Treg cells population in bone marrow in the development of osteoclastogenis with comparing the differences about Treg cells phenotypes and cytokines related with the homeostasis and functions maintenance of Treg cells in bone marrow in OVX mice and health control group. Widemdash;type C57BL/6 mice were operated OVX to mimic estrogen deficiency in PMO women. Treg cells population and their surface markers expressions were detected by flow cytometry. Cytokines profiles in bone marrow with examined by realmdash;time PCR and ELISA analysis. Signal pathways and key modulators responsible to inflammatory cytokines expressions in bone marrow stromal cells were also detected with using western blotting. Estrogen deficiency in OVX mice decreased Treg cells and their functions, and cytokines profile in bone marrow were found shifted in bone marrow when compared with control group. Consistent to these observations, signal pathways in bone marrow stromal cells were reported altered by estrogen deficiency in our model. Estrogen deficiency effects Treg cells population and their functions in OVX mice with altering cytokines profile in bone marrow stromal cells.

By applying the reacted pressure on the “deformed” surface, we have calculated theoretically the time-averaged lift forces exerted on a vibrating body in the fluid medium with the non-viscosity and small disturbance assumptions. The lift turns out to be proportional to the product of the amplitudes of translating and deforming vibrations. We could thus deduce the scaling law applicable for the forces generated by the vibrational motions in the fluid medium.

A normal mode expansion method for the vibrational responses of non-homogeneous linear piezoelectric materials without damping is presented. It can be applied directly to arbitrary piezoelectric composites, which are widely used in vibrational and acoustic sensor/actuator/transmitter applications. In the present article it is shown that if the normal modes are given, the displacement field can be expanded as the linear superposition of normal modes, while the modal coefficients can be represented in terms of surface and volume integrals directly over the six types of distributed excitations without solving the quasi-static solution explicitly. The present treatment is a modification of an earlier work by Liu [11] using a different definition of the so-called quasi-static solution, and the damping effect has been neglected for simplicity. A simple example is given to exemplify the application of the present formulation.

We studied the thermal reaction of Pd/In0.52Al0.48As contacts using capacitance–voltage (C–V), current–voltage, Auger electron spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction analyses and compared the results to those for Pd/Al0.25Ga0.75As and Pd/In0.53Ga0.47As contacts. The thickness of InAlAs consumed by the reaction during annealing was calculated directly from the measured C–V profiles. Pd starts to react with InAlAs at a temperature of 100 °C, lower than it does with AlGaAs. For thermally annealed Pd/InAlAs and Pd/AlGaAs, both compositional and structural changes were found at the Pd/semiconductor interface. However, in heat-treated Pd/InGaAs samples, compositional changes but no structural changes were observed.

Capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) measurements were used to study the thermal reaction of Pd/GaAs contacts and Ni/GaAs contacts. The thickness of GaAs consumed by the metal/GaAs reaction during annealing was calculated from C-V analyses and I-V analyses. For annealing temperatures below 350°C, the Schottky characteristics of the diodes were good but the electrical junction moves into the GaAs after annealing. The amount of junction movement was calculated directly from our measurements. The diffusion coefficients of Pd and Ni in GaAs at 300°C were estimated both to be around 1.2 × 1014 cm2/s.

The effect of indium doping in the graded‐index regions of the InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs graded‐index separated confinement heterostructure quantum well laser has been studied. It was found that the threshold current density can be greatly reduced by a proper amount of In doping in the graded AlGaAs region. This result is attributed to an improvement in material quality due to a reduction in group III vacancies. The effect of thermal treatment on laser performance has also been studied. Although high temperature annealing can significantly improve non‐In‐doped lasers, it has little effect on In‐doped lasers.

In recent years, circulating fluidized beds (CFBs) have been extensively employed in a variety of industrial applications related to coal combustion and gasification, solid waste incineration, catalytic cracking of oil, and so on. To accomplish successful and reliable operation of CFBs, a number of investigations pertaining to different hydrodynamic aspects have been undertaken. Many of these are referenced in the monograph of Basu and Fraser (1991), review of Horio (1991), and the article of Mahalingam and Kolar (1991). The gross hydrodynamic features of CFBs are generally understood, but the detailed structure is established only to a limited extent. Some advancements in this direction have been made in recent years by Yang et al. (1991), Horio et al. (1988), and others. Detailed researches in this direction have been made in recent years by Yang et al. (1991), Horio et al. (1988), and others. Detailed researches in this direction will considerably help in the optimum and economic designs of CFB boilers. To aid in this direction, the authors have measured the three-dimensional particle velocities in a square-section CFB cold model under certain operating conditions at ambient temperature and pressure. Particle turbulent intensities and bed cross-sectional averaged voidage along its height are alsomore » measured. A majority of the investigations have been conducted in circular cross-section CFBs, but industrial preference is for a square cross-section CFBs, but industrial preference is for a square cross-section boiler, and hence they have adopted this configuration in their present work. Their measurements, while confirming the core-annulus flow structure for CFBs, also provide a more comprehensive microscopic detail of particle velocities in the two regions, in addition to providing a basis for particle aggregation.« less

The influences of cladding layer thicknesses on the performance of strained‐layer InGaAs/GaAs graded‐index separated confinement heterostructure quantum well lasers have been studied. The waveguiding property of the laser structure was analyzed using the transfer matrix method. In this work, experimental results and the calculated results showed that threshold current densities and external quantum efficiencies both were crucially dependent on the thicknesses of cladding layer for both single and multiple quantum well lasers. The minimum cladding layer thicknesses needed to maintain low threshold current densities and low internal total loss for both single and multiple quantum well devices were determined experimentally and theoretically.

Multiple quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWlPs) with two-dimensional bi-periodic grating couplers have been demonstrated. The two-dimensional grating has two different grating periods in the transverse and the longitudinal directions. For one-color QWIPs, the response linewidths of such QWIPs are found to be much wider than those of conventional grating coupled QWIPs. The bi periodic gratings have also been applied to two-color QWIPs to separately optimize the absorption at two wavelength bands. The Large difference in responsivities at the two wavelength bands for devices with single period gratings can be greatly reduced with the use of bi-periodic gratings.

Asymmetric dark current versus voltage characteristics in quantum well infrared photodetectors have been studied. A model based on asymmetrical potential barriers was proposed. The asymmetrical potential barriers, which are most likely due to the accumulation of oxygen impurities at one of the interfaces, cause the asymmetrical I‐V characteristics. The height of the potential spike is found to increase with the Al content in the AlGaAs barriers. Calculations based on our model agree well with experimental results.

We report a superlattice (SL) with multiple stacks of multiquantum barriers (MQB), which can reflect electrons more effectively than with a single stack of MQB. The reflectivities are calculated and compared with one another for a variety of potential barrier structures. The multistack SL has a wider energy spectrum within which electrons are reflected. Four types of n‐GaAs/i‐barrier/n‐GaAs diodes were fabricated to confirm the calculated results. The current‐voltage characteristics measured at 77 K for these diodes show that the turn‐on voltage increases with the number of stacks of MQBs in the SL. This is in agreement with our calculated results.

Orchidectomy of cats resulted in a decrease of metallothionein (MT) in the dorsolateral and ventral lobes of the prostate and in the urethral gland to 21.2% (P0.01), 88.4% (P0.05) and 18.5% (P0.01) of those of intact domestic cats respectively. MT content in the dorsolateral lobe and urethral gland was not restored in orchidectomized cats injected with sesame oil. After injection of a single subcutaneous dose of 10 microg/kg bw of testosterone (T) for 3 d in succession, the MT contents in the two glands were restored respectively to 69.3% and 59.4% of the intact cats. With an increase of T dose to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 microg/kg bw, plasma T and MT contents in the dorsolateral lobe of prostate and urethral gland increased accordingly. Plasma T concentrations were positively correlated with MT contents in the dorsolateral lobe of prostate and urethral glands (P0.01). Thus biosynthesis of MT in the dorsolateral lobe of prostate or in urethral gland could be induced by a stimulatory dose of T of 20 microg/kg bw.

Perfluorocarbon liquids have been used in liquid ventilation studies and considered an effective technique of gas exchange with less barotrauma when compared with gas ventilation. We compared the effects of partial liquid ventilation (PLV) using 3 kinds of perfluorocarbon liquids (Fluorinert FC 43, FC 77 and FC 84) available in Taiwan in normal rabbits. We were able to achieve adequate oxygenation and ventilation during a 2-hour-duration of PLV using FC 43, FC 77 or FC 84. There was no significant difference in hemodynamic status or laboratory findings between control group and PLV groups. There were also no significant differences before LV and after 2 hours of PLV among PLV groups. Histological study of lung tissue revealed intact and well expanded alveoli, and no significant pathological change after 2 hours of PLV. These results show that PLV using FC 43, FC 77 or FC 84 is an effective technique for maintaining adequate pulmonary gas exchange in normal rabbits.

Minimally invasive surgery has recently gained acceptance as the surgical approach of choice for a variety of surgical disorders in children. Although traditional open surgery is still regarded as the standard approach for a splenectomy in children when necessary for hematologic disorders a few cases of successful laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) have been reported. We present our initial 11 cases of LS in children assessing surgical outcome. Eleven patients ages 2 through 15 years underwent LS between June of 1996 and July of 1999 at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans. Indications for surgery included idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, congenital spherocytosis, and hemolytic anemia. In all patients the diameter of the spleen was less than 15 cm. Surgical outcome was assessed according to the following parameters: operative time, postoperative length of stay, postoperative morbidity, and cosmetic results. Data were accumulated on the basis of retrospective chart review. LS was completed in all 11 patients. Postoperative morbidity was minimal and the median postoperative stay was 2.4 days (range 1-5). Mean operative time was 3 hours and 10 minutes (range 1.5-7 hours) with the last six procedures completed in an average of just over 2 hours. Intravenous analgesia was discontinued in48 hours in all patients. Cosmetic results were judged excellent in all cases. We conclude that LS was safe in children with certain hematologic disorders. Adequate selection of patients, appropriate preoperative preparation of patients, meticulous surgical technique, and careful postoperative care were key factors in obtaining the same long-term results as with open surgery.

Multiple pterygium syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disease which is characterized by multiple pterygium across the major joint and other associated anomalies. In this article, we report a male premature infant who was born with bizarre appearance: mask face with low set ear and micrognathia; pterygium of neck, antecubital, popliteal and intercrural area with four extremities flexion contracture. He was thought to be the first case report in Taiwan. Besides, we review medical literature about this disease.

Children with stage II empyema often fail traditional medical management, frequently succumbing to the effective albeit morbid clutches of thoracotomy. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been recently introduced as a viable and potentially less morbid alternative to open thoracotomy. We review our VATS experience in children with empyema, assessing surgical outcome. Between August 1996 and March 1999, 13 patients at our institution with stage II empyema that did not respond to conventional medical management underwent a modified VATS with decortication. Data from retrospective chart review reflects intraoperative findings and postoperative course, including average time to defervescence, removal of thoracostomy tube, and hospital discharge. VATS was completed in all 13 patients. All intraoperative cultures of pleural fluid and fibrinopurulent debris obtained at VATS showed no growth. The average time to defervescence was 2.2 days (range, 0-4 days) and to removal of thoracostomy tube 3.6 days (range, 2-5 days). Average total chest tube days in patients with pre-VATS thoracostomy (n = 6) was 14.5 days (range, 8-37 days) versus 3.1 days (range, 2-5 days) in patients (n = 7) who underwent primary VATS (t test, p0.05). The average time to surgical discharge after VATS was 5.8 days (range, 3 to 19 days). All patients were well on follow-up clinic visits without delayed complications. VATS can be performed safely and effectively in children with stage II empyema, thus avoiding the morbidity of open thoracotomy and decortication. Importantly, early application of VATS significantly relieves patients of unnecessary days of thoracostomy drainage.