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Spaceflight is rigorous and dangerous environment which can negatively affect astronauts’ health and the entire mission. Recently studies showed that the human gut microbiota were enormously affected by spaceflight. The 60 days of 6 degrees head down bed rest(HDBR) experiment provided us with an opportunity to trace the change of gut microbiota under simulated microgravity. The gut microbiota of volunteers was analyzed and characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. Our results showed that the composition and function of the volunteers’ gut microbiota were markedly affected by 60 days of 6 degrees HDBR. We further confirmed the species and diversity fluctuations. Resistance and virulence genes in the gut microbiota were also affected by 60 days of 6 degrees HDBR, but the species attributions remained stable. The human gut microbiota affected by 60 days of 6 degrees HDBR which was partially consistent with the effect of spaceflight, implying that HDBR can be used as the spaceflight simulation model in terms of gut microbiota.

Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and safety of leflunomide (LEF) and glucocorticoids (GCs) combination therapy compared with GCs monotherapy in preventing relapse of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Methods A 12-month, randomized, open-label, controlled trial was conducted at a large academic medical center (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02703194). Enrolled patients with active IgG4-RD were randomly allocated to the GCs + LEF (20 mg/day) combination therapy or GCs monotherapy group. All patients received GCs with a predefined taper regimen starting from a dosage of 0.5–0.8 mg/kg/d. The primary outcome was the time to relapse. The secondary outcomes included complete response, remission, GCs dosage, and serum IgG4 level. Results Sixty-six patients with active IgG4-RD were enrolled (33 patients in each group). The demographic and disease characteristics showed no statistically significant differences between groups. Additionally, the initial GCs dosages were similar (50.00 vs. 50.00 mg/day, P = 0.295). Disease relapses occurred in 6 (18.2%) and 14 (42.4%) patients in the combination therapy group and GCs monotherapy group, respectively (P = 0.032). The combination therapy was significantly superior to GCs monotherapy regarding the primary outcome, the time to relapse (HR, 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.13–0.90; P = 0.023), as well as the secondary outcome, the time to complete response (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.01–3.02; P = 0.034). A longer duration of remission was observed in the combination therapy group (7.00 vs. 3.00 months, P = 0.002) and less cumulative dosage of GCs was used (5103.13 vs. 5637.50 mg, P = 0.031). Additionally, a higher proportion of patients in the combination therapy group (54.5%) were able to reach a daily GCs dose of ≤5 mg/day compared with the GCs monotherapy group (18.2%) (P = 0.006). The incidences of adverse events were similar in the 2 groups (P = 0.325). Conclusion LEF in combination with GCs therapy is well-tolerated and significantly superior to GCs monotherapy in preventing the relapse of IgG4-RD. LEF can be used as a steroid-sparing agent in the management of IgG4-RD.

To explore the value of plasmablasts in predicting disease relapse in IgG4-related diseases (IgG4-RD).Treatment-naïve IgG4-RD patients treated with glucocorticoid (GC) monotherapy or leflunomide (LEF) and GC combination therapy diagnosed at the Chinese PLA General Hospital during February 2017 and January 2018 were included in this study. The absolute plasmablast count was measured by using the absolute count tubes with flow cytometry. Patients were categorized into high and low plasmablast level groups by defining the median number of plasmablasts as the cut-off value. The characteristics of the clinical manifestations between the two groups were compared. In addition, the correlation of plasmablast count with other indicators and its clinical value in predicting disease relapse were evaluated.Data of 37 treatment-naïve IgG4-RD patients were analyzed. The median (IQR) absolute count of plasmablasts was 4.0 (2.8-7.5)/μL, which was correlated with the lymphocyte percentage, serum IgG, IgG4, and IgG4/IgG. The baseline absolute count of plasmablasts was an independent risk factor for disease relapse in IgG4-RD patients (HR, 1.199; 95% CI, 1.030-1.396, P = 0.019), and the application of LEF was an independent protective factor (HR, 0.283; 95% CI, 0.106-0.759, p = 0.012).The present study preliminarily indicated that baseline absolute plasmablast count may independently predict disease relapse in patients with IgG4-RD treated with GC monotherapy or LEF and GC combination therapy. More efforts are still needed to be performed in the future. Key Points • The absolute count of plasmablasts is correlated with the lymphocyte percentage, serum IgG, IgG4 and IgG4/IgG. • The baseline absolute plasmablast count may predict disease relapse in patients with IgG4-RD treated with GC monotherapy or LEF and GC combination therapy. • The application of LEF is an independent protective factor for disease relapse in IgG4-RD.

Purpose In order to clarify which variants of the MMR gene could provide current "healthy" members in affected families a more accurate risk assessment or predictive testing. Patients and methods One family, which meets the criteria according to both Amsterdam I/II and Bethesda guidelines, is reported in this study. The proband and some relatives of the patient have been investigated for whole genome sequencing, microsatellite instability, immunohistochemical MMR protein staining and verified by Sanger sequencing. Results A heterozygous insertion of uncertain significance (c.420dup, p.Met141Tyrfs) in MSH2 gene was found in proband (III-16) and part of His relatives. The variant was associated with a lack of expression of MSH2 protein (MMR deficient) and high microsatellite instability analysis (MSI) status in tumor tissues of LS patients. In addition, we found that the variant could affect the expression of MSH2 and the response to chemotherapy drugs in vitro. Conclusion We identified an insertion mutation (rs1114167810, c.420dup, p.Met141Tyrfs) in MSH2 in LS using whole genome-wide sequencing (WGS). We further confirmed that this mutation plays an important role in LS patients of this pedigree based on in vivo and vitro study.

Objective Bone loss is common in AS, and miR-214 plays an important role in regulating bone formation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of miR-214, the production of which is stimulated by IL-17A, on bone loss in AS. Methods Peripheral blood was obtained from 32 patients with AS and 24 healthy controls. Levels of IL-17A, soluble RANK ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin in serum were evaluated by ELISA, and the relative level of miR-214 in serum was detected by real-time quantitative PCR. In addition, we assessed the relationship between levels of miR-214, IL-17A and bone loss in primary murine osteoblasts and mouse bone marrow cells. Results The expression of RANKL and miR-214 in osteoblasts was increased following stimulation by IL-17A, and osteoblasts stimulated by IL-17A promoted the expression of miR-214 in osteoclasts and the activity of osteoclasts. We showed that osteoblast-derived miR-214 could be transferred to osteoclasts and could then regulate their activity. The levels of IL-17A and miR-214 were much higher in the serum of patients with AS than in that of healthy controls, and the relative level of miR-214 was positively correlated with the level of IL-17A in the serum and synovial fluid of the patients with AS, not healthy controls. The level of miR-214 in the serum of AS patients has potential diagnostic value. Conclusion The production of miR-214 in osteoblasts is stimulated by IL-17A. It is an important inhibitor of bone formation in AS, and the serum level of miR-214 might be of potential diagnostic value for AS.

The combination of dye or quantum dots sensitized solar cell and electrochromic device has led to the realization of the photoelectrochromic device (PECD). In this study, a PECD consisted of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) sensitized photoanode, poly(3,4-(2,2-dimethylpropylenedioxy)thiophene) (PProDOT-Me2) electrochromic film, Br-/Br3- with Li+ as electrolyte was fabricated, and it shows advantages of highly transparency for bleached state when compared with conventional photoelectrochromic device. As a PECD, it exhibits a reversible optical modulation under constant illumination (100 mW cm−2) by simply altering its circuit states between on and off. A high optical window of 54.6% with coloration time of 4.9 s, and bleaching time of 5.2 s was achieved at 580 nm. Additionally, stable switching for transmittance modulation after 400 cycles demonstrates its good cycle durability, exhibiting great potential in developing energy-saving applications.

The traditional limit equilibrium method (LEM) is often used to search for the failure surface with a minimum safety factor of slope. In this method, the failure surface is considered as a shear surface, irrespective of its form. However, tensile cracks are frequently found at the outcrops of landslides. In this study, three sets of tests on small-scale landslides with different inclination angles were conducted. The test results demonstrated that tensile cracks could arise in the slope sliding process and the failure surface is composed of both a shear and a tensile fracture surface. Based on the test results, we used the improved LEM, and replaced the traditional shear failure surface by a tensile-shear coupling one, thus new tensile failure modes for slope stability analysis can be established. The safety factors of slope in different failure modes were compared, which show that when considering soil tensile failure and tensile strength less than a certain value (e.g. 15 kPa, 44 kPa and 55 kPa for linear, circular and logarithmic spiral failure surfaces, respectively), the safety factors of slope with three different failure surfaces are less than the one that did not consider the tensile failure. The most critical failure surfaces of the slope may be composed of shear and tensile damages because the tensile strength of the soil cannot be generally greater than its cohesion. Keywords: Tensile cracks, Landslide, Stability analysis, Tensile-shear coupling failure surface, Limit equilibrium method (LEM)

Segmental zoster paresis(SZP)is a rare complication in herpes zoster infection,with its symptoms often neglected due to the co-existence of pain.Here we reported a case of SZP.Also,we analyzed 42 Chinese SZP cases in literature,which revealed that the male to female ratio of SZP patients was 13∶8,and the median age of disease onset was 65 years.The most commonly affected region is upper limb.The diagnosis depends mainly on typical medical history and clinical symptoms.Although there is no definite therapy for SZP,the antiviral therapy is the most commonly used treatment,which achieved complete recovery in 78.6% of the patients and partial recovery in 14.3% of the patients.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) is a rare connective tissue disease characterized by increased peripheral blood eosinophils and diffuse fasciitis, generalized morphea (GM) is a subtype of localized scleroderma, and IgA nephropathy is a chronic glomerulonephritis caused by abnormal deposition of IgA in the mesangial area of the glomeruli. We describe a 49-year-old male patient with hard skin, cutaneous hyperpigmentation, and proteinuria. The patient had suffered from a long disease course of hard skin, while urine protein was newly detected. Finally, the clinical presentation and physical examination, limb MRI, skin biopsy, and renal biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of eosinophilic fasciitis associated with generalized morphea and IgA nephropathy. This case is the first report of EF associated with GM and IgA nephropathy.

A palladium-catalyzed synthesis of 2,3-diaryl- N-methylindoles from o-alkynylanilines and aryl pinacol boronic esters was developed. The system possesses high functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope with a variety of aryl pinacol boronic esters to provide valuable 2,3-diaryl- N-methylindoles in moderate to good yields. Remarkably, the sequential reaction controlled by iridium-catalyzed C-H borylation or palladium-catalyzed alkynylation followed by the present palladium-catalyzed C3 arylation reaction provided functionalized 2,3-diaryl- N-methylindoles in good yields.

The present paper aims to introduce a novel and environment-friendly sludge dewatering method based on the osmotic technique, and to examine the efficiency of this method from macro- and micro-points of view. Intact sample, taken from the primary settler of a local wastewater treatment plant in Guangzhou (China), was firstly dewatered by mechanical methods (i.e. vacuum filtration and centrifugation), then by the osmotic technique. Macroscopic experimental results show that: the vacuum filtration and centrifugation can only dewater the sludge from 94.5 to 78.3% and to 78.8%, respectively, whereas, using the osmotic technique, water content of the sludge can be decreased to 44.2% in 12 h and to 35.9% in about two days. The micro-structure, obtained by scanning electron microscope (SEM), shows that: the sludge samples after vacuum filtration and centrifugation have a porous structure and water can be drained either through the cracks that have been developed under the vacuum pressure or by the micro-...

Eu ions doped WO3 (Eu-WO3) film is demonstrated to possess electrochromic switching and tunable red emission. The effect of pH on structure, morphology, electrochromic and photoluminescent performances of Eu-WO3 film, prepared by hydrothermal method, has been systematically investigated for the first time in this work. We found that as pH increases, a new phase of monoclinic W17O47 crystal and an open porous morphology appear. Electrochromic and photoluminescent properties of Eu-WO3 film could be modulated by tuning pH. On one hand, Eu-WO3 film achieves the maximum transmission modulation of 70.1% and high coloration efficiency of about 55.95 cm2 C−1 (680 nm) at pH 2.2. On the other hand, red emission of Eu-WO3 film is tunable as a response to external potential and its intensity is proved to be enhanced by increasing pH.

A novel composite CdSe quantum dots (QDs)-polymer film achieving tri-function of electrochromic, electrofluorescent and light-induced coloration effects was deposited. Combining the advantages of both CdSe QDs and conjugated electrochromic polymers, the composite film presents excellent electrochromic properties with low redox potential, high optical contrast and fast response time. In addition, it achieves enhanced performance that the composite film could switch between non-fluorescent and fluorescent state, in which the photoluminescence (PL) intensity is more than twice that of pristine polymer film. Furthermore, the material can gradually become self-colored from bleached state under the irradiation of sunlight. Therefore, the trifunctional composite film may pave a new way for designing energy-saving electrochromic and electrofluorescent device in the future.

Objective To discuss the utility of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) in the diagnosis of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (iRPF). Methods IRPF patients diagnosed between September 2011 and June 2016 were included. Retroperitoneal malignancy patients were included as control. The morphological features and FDG uptake of retroperitoneal lesions were measured along with lymph node (LN) mapping. Results Seventy-one iRPF patients were included. Fifteen lymphoma patients and 6 retroperitoneal metastatic malignancy patients were included as control. Significant differences in morphological features were observed between iRPF and lymphoma but not retroperitoneal metastatic carcinoma. Compared with malignancy, iRPF displayed a lower frequency of high-FDG-uptake retroperitoneal lesions ( P = 0.017) and a lower mean maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) ( P max was 0.893 with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 80.3%, when the cut-off value of the SUV max was 6.23. The AUC for the logistic regression model combining the lesions above renal arteries, the SUV max and the number of specific LNs was 0.987 with a sensitivity of 90.5% and a specificity of 98.6%. The risk stratification model analysis indicated that most of the retroperitoneal malignancy patients were at moderate or high level, while most of the iRPF patients were at low risk. Conclusions Retroperitoneal malignancy can mimic iRPF morphologically. 18 F-FDG PET/CT can help to distinguish iRPF from retroperitoneal lymphoma and metastatic malignancy.

Background Although glucocorticoids are effective in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), patients may relapse during or after glucocorticoid tapering. Immunosuppressive agents, including leflunomide (LEF), are regarded as steroid-sparing agents in other autoimmune disorders and need to be discussed in the management of IgG4-RD. Aim To identify the efficacy and safety of combination therapy of LEF and glucocorticoids in IgG4-RD. Methods We retrospectively summarised data of patients diagnosed with IgG4-RD between November 2012 and November 2015. Only patients treated with LEF plus glucocorticoids and had been followed up for more than three visits and 6 months were analysed with clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging findings, treatment protocol, LEF-related adverse events and disease activity reflected by IgG4-RD Responder Index (IgG4-RD RI). Results A total of 18 patients, including 14 untreated patients and 4 relapsing patients, was included. The mean (SD) onset age was 54.0 (9.6) years. The mean (SD) follow-up period was 12.1 (7.4) months. All patients had active disease with mean (SD) IgG4-RD RI of 15.0 (5.6) at baseline and experienced improvements at 1 month. At the last follow up, the mean (SD) IgG4-RD Responder Index declined to 3.1 (1.7) in all patients and to 2.5 (1.2) in patients without relapse. The mean (SD) dose of GC declined to 6.9 (2.7) mg/day. A total of 12 (66.7%) and 11 (61.1%) patients were in remission at 6 months and the last follow up respectively. Three (16.7%) patients relapsed in clinical course. Two reversible adverse events were observed. Conclusion The combination therapy of LEF and glucocoticoids is effective and safe in IgG4-RD.

Interaction between humans and the gut microbiota is important for human physiology. Here, the gut microbiota was analyzed via metagenomic sequencing, and the fluctuations in the gut microbiota under the conditions of spaceflight were characterized. The composition and function of the gut microbiota were substantially affected by spaceflight; however, individual specificity was uncompromised. We further confirmed the species fluctuations and functional genes from both missions. Resistance and virulence genes in the gut microbiota were affected by spaceflight, but the species attributions remained stable. Spaceflight markedly affected the composition and function of the human gut microbiota, implying that the human gut microbiota is sensitive to spaceflight.

We first doped europium (Eu) ions into WO3 using a hydrothermal method. The effects of Eu ions on the structure, morphology, and electrochromic and photoluminescence performances of WO3 films have been systematically investigated. It is found that a WO3 film doped with Eu ions exhibits the bi-functionality of electrochromic switching and red emission. Compared with an undoped WO3 film, a WO3 film doped with 10%Eu ions shows a remarkably enhanced optical contrast of 80.7% at 680 nm, a faster coloration response of 7.2 s, and more than 3 times higher coloration efficiency of about 57.85 cm2 C−1. Moreover, a WO3 film doped with Eu ions could be excited by 260 nm ultraviolet light and exhibit a tunable red emission as a response to the applied electric field. This novel and bifunctional WO3 film shows potential in preparation of illuminable “smart windows”.

We here present a new generation of high-performance photoelectrochromic device, which contains a photoanode of CdS quantum dot sensitized TiO2, an electrochromic electrode of WO3, and aqueous electrolyte containing [Fe(CN)6]4−/3− and Li+ ions. It is found that the CdS quantum dot sensitized TiO2 photoanode exhibits a tunable optical absorption edge through modulating the deposition cycles, which results in a controllable photovoltaic conversion. A maximum transparency of 81% and light modulation of about 70% in the visible light range is readily reached under optimized conditions, which is much improved from that of the conventional dye-based photoelectrochromic device. This study demonstrates the promising potential of the photoelectrochromic device in applications for energy-saving smart windows.

The failure modes of rock and soil under compression are complex phenomena that have not been explained in a mechanical perspective. However, large amounts of studies indicate that the failure modes of rock and soil samples can be categorized into eight types. In this work, the inner tensile stress and the dissipation and conversion of energy of rock and soil under compression are analyzed, then the effective conversion coefficient of energy is deduced, thus the tensile failure criterion of rock and soil under compression is established. Combined with the shear strength criterion of Mohr–Coulomb, a tensile joint shear strength criterion for rock and soil under compression is built. Therefore, a mechanical criterion model concerning the failure modes of rock and soil under compression is established and verified by tests. This model easily explains the test results in the existing literature and many natural phenomena, such as collapse.

In this chapter, electrochromic (EC) materials including thiophene- and tetraphenylethylene-based polymer, CdSe quantum dots-polymer composites and Eu ion-doped WO3 were introduced and their electrochromic devices were fabricated. Both thiophene- and tetraphenylethylene-containing polymer and Eu ion-doped WO3 can achieve synchronous EC and photoluminescence (PL) switching. CdSe quantum dot-polymer composites simultaneously show electrochromism, electrofluorescence and light-induced coloration. These materials will be useful for unique electrochromic and electrofluorescence applications in the future.

In this work, we first studied the effects of CdS quantum dot modification on the electrochromic properties of TiO2 films in a Li ion containing organic electrolyte. Driven by an external potential, the CdS modified TiO2 (TiO2/CdS) film achieves reversible coloration and discoloration. In particular, the TiO2/CdS film exhibits multistage color switching from yellow (original state), to green (−1.5 V), to black (−2 V) in the coloration process, then to brown (−0.6 V) in the discoloration process. Besides, an improved optical contrast window of about 79.7% at 624 nm, an enhanced coloration efficiency of 70.8% and a half shortened coloration time of 12.7 s are achieved for the TiO2/CdS film, when compared with those of a pure TiO2 film. This work not only presents a novel electrochromic material with enhanced electrochromic properties, but also brings us a new insight into exploring the electrochromic functions of metal-chalcogenides.

Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is a promising electrochromic material for potential applications in architectural and automotive smart windows. Nanostructured WO3 has attracted particular attention over the past few years due to its potential advantages in electrochromic properties. Herein, Ni-doped WO3 nanostructured films were obtained by a seed-free hydrothermal method directly on transparent conducting substrates. The influences of Ni doping on the nanostructure and electrochromic properties of WO3 films were investigated. Compared to pure WO3 films, Ni doping can increase the crystal defects and induce significant changes in the nanostructure, thus affecting the electrochromic performance of WO3 films. Low concentration Ni-WO3 films exhibited a vertically aligned nanorods morphology, ultrahigh optical modulation (over 85% from 600 to 900 nm), high coloration efficiency (60.5 mc2 C−1 at 600 nm) and excellent cycling stability for about 5500 cycles. Finally, the complementary electrochromic device assembled with 1.5% Ni-WO3 and NiO-based films exhibited vivid color change from transparent to black (x = 0.326, y = 0.369, YL% = 3.29%) with maximum transmittance of about 3.5% in the dark state.

In this paper, a photoelectrochromic device (PECD) composed of a conducting polymer electrochromic electrode and a ruthenium-based dye-sensitized TiO2 nanoparticle electrode is constructed and investigated. Three cobalt complexes, which are [Co(bpy)3]n+, [Co(phen)3]n+ and [Co(NO2-phen)3]n+, are introduced into the PECD as the redox couples and a self-powered coloring/bleaching process of the cobalt electrolyte-based PECDs is achieved for the first time. The PECD using the [Co(NO2-phen)3]n+ electrolyte presents the highest transmittance modulation of 42.6% at 636 nm between the colored and bleached states. From current–voltage characteristics, it is found that the transmittance of bleached PECD is improved with a higher open-circuit voltage, resulting in an enhanced transmittance modulation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies indicate that the charge transfer resistance (Rct) at PProDOT-Me2|electrolyte interface is correlated with the response time for the bleaching process.

We propose five confidence intervals for sensitivity difference of two continuous-scale diagnostic tests at the fixed level of two specificities based on the generalized pivotal quantity method, the hybrid method and the Bootstrap resampling method.

In this work, the absorption, fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curve of Nd:Lu3Al5O12, i.e., neodymium lutetium aluminum garnet (Nd:LuAG) ceramic are investigated. A diode-end-pumped Nd:LuAG ceramic laser is demonstrated for the first time (to our knowledge). We present the experiment results of Nd:LuAG ceramic’s continuous wave (CW) and electro-optically (E-O) Q-switched performance. CW output power of 2.5 W is obtained, corresponding to optical-to-optical efficiency of 17.2% and slope efficiency of 24.3%. For the E-O Q-switched setup, the shortest pulse width and the largest pulse energy are measured to be 4.8 ns and 1.96 mJ, respectively. Its optical-to-optical efficiency and the slope efficiency are 17.3% and 28.7%, respectively.

To discuss the utility ofIRPF patients diagnosed between September 2011 and June 2016 were included. Retroperitoneal malignancy patients were included as control. The morphological features and FDG uptake of retroperitoneal lesions were measured along with lymph node (LN) mapping.Seventy-one iRPF patients were included. Fifteen lymphoma patients and 6 retroperitoneal metastatic malignancy patients were included as control. Significant differences in morphological features were observed between iRPF and lymphoma but not retroperitoneal metastatic carcinoma. Compared with malignancy, iRPF displayed a lower frequency of high-FDG-uptake retroperitoneal lesions (P = 0.017) and a lower mean maximum standardized uptake value (SUVRetroperitoneal malignancy can mimic iRPF morphologically.

Expert systems, or knowledge based systems, are programs in which the answer to a user-posed question is reached by logical or plausible inference rather than strictly by calculation, although calculation routines can form a major part of an expert system. Based on the integration of expert system technology and optimization technology, an intelligent computer aided design method for mine ventilation systems is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the structure and control algorithm of the intelligent design system are explored. Secondly, the knowledge types required for the mine ventilation expert system and the acquiring method of knowledge are discussed. Finally, the inference method of this expert system is put forward.

Firstly, the causes of mine air flow instability were analyzed in this paper, then the paper applied fuzzy mathematics method and got construction method of the membership function of airflow stability. Wind resistance of shaft and lane, natural wind pressure, operating conditions of fan and other random disturbance conditions are defined by membership function of relative stability degree of mine airflow. This paper provided a quantitative analysis method for the mine airflow stability.