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The three-bucket jacket foundation is a new type of foundation for offshore wind turbine that has the advantages of fast construction speed and suitability for deep water. The study of the hoisting and launching process is of great significance to ensure construction safety in actual projects. In this paper, a new launching technology is proposed that is based on the foundation of the three-bucket jacket for offshore wind turbine. A complete time domain simulation of the launching process of three-bucket jacket foundation is carried out by a theoretical analysis combined with hydrodynamic software Moses. At the same time, the effects of different initial air storage and sea conditions on the motion response of the structure and the hoisting cable tension are studied. The results show that the motion response of the structure is the highest when it is lowered to 1.5 times the bucket height. The natural period of each degree of freedom of the structure increases with the increase of the lowering depth. The structural motion response and the hoisting cable tension vary greatly in the early phases of Stages I and III, smaller in Stage II, and gradually stabilize in the middle and late phases of Stage III.

Rivaroxaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, is widely used for stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The aim of this study was to conduct a population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) analysis of rivaroxaban in Chinese patients with NVAF to assess ethnic differences and provide model-based precision dosing. A total of 256 rivaroxaban plasma concentrations and 244 prothrombin time (PT) measurements were obtained from 195 Chinese NVAF patients from a prospective clinical trial. The population PK-PD model was developed using nonlinear mixed effects modeling (NONMEM) software. The PK of rivaroxaban was adequately described using a one-compartment model with first-order adsorption and elimination. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was identified as a major covariate for apparent clearance. No single nucleotide polymorphism was identified as a significant covariate. PT exhibited a linear relationship with rivaroxaban concentration. Total bilirubin (TBIL) and eGFR were identified as significant covariates for baseline PT. According to the Monte Carlo simulation, 15 mg for Chinese patients with eGFR ≥50 mL/min and normal liver function yielded an exposure comparable to 20 mg for Caucasian patients. Patients with moderately impaired renal function may require a lower dose of rivaroxaban to avoid overexposure. Moreover, there was an approximate 26% increase in PT levels in patients with TBIL of 34 μmol/L and eGFR of 30 mL/min, which could increase the risk of major bleeding. The established population PK-PD model could inform individualized dosing for Chinese NVAF patients who are administered rivaroxaban.

Background: Monitoring the level of anticoagulation by rivaroxaban in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is valuable in clinical practice. Our study aimed to measure the plasma levels of rivaroxaban both by chromogenic anti-Xa assays and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) in Chinese patients with NVAF, and compare with the expected drug levels. Materials and methods: A prospective clinical study was conducted to include NVAF patients taking rivaroxaban. Rivaroxaban levels were determined using UHPLC-MS/MS and chromogenic anti-Xa assays (Biophen DiXal and Zhenyuan anti-Xa). The correlation and agreement among measurements by different assays were evaluated. The rivaroxaban levels in Chinese patients were also compared with the expected drug levels, which were estimated from previous clinical trials and widely accepted. Results: A total of 243 plasma samples were collected from 182 patients. Results measured using the two chromogenic anti-Xa assays were both linearly correlated with those measured using UHPLC-MS/MS, especially in the range of 50–200 ng/mL, but the concentrations determined using anti-Xa assays were systematically underestimated. Rivaroxaban levels measured by either UHPLC-MS/MS or chromogenic anti-Xa assays were both larger than the expected ranges. There was no difference in the distribution of concentration whether the patients took an appropriate dose or not. However, for Chinese patients with an inappropriate lower dose, trough concentrations were less likely to exceed the expected concentration ranges.Conclusion: Rivaroxaban concentration in patients with NVAF were highly variable compared to the expected ranges estimated from clinical trials, whether measured by UHPLC-MS/MS or chromogenic anti-Xa assays. Chinese patients taking an appropriate rivaroxaban dose are more likely to obtain a rivaroxaban concentration level higher than expected, independent on the assay used.

The color-tunable SrWO4:0.20Eu3+, Sm3+ phosphors are successfully prepared by co-precipitation method at a low temperature (800 °C). These phosphors can be efficiently excited by near-ultraviolet and blue light. The phase formation, luminescence properties, energy transfer between Eu3+ and Sm3+, and the critical distance were studied. The Sm3+ ions as the sensitizer could extend the excitation spectrum and enhance emission. The CIE chromaticity coordinate was also presented. The emission hues covered the regions from pink, orange, to reddish-orange, and eventually to red, which can be controlled by adjusting excitation energy, calcination temperature, and doping rare earth ions ratio via the energy transfer. The high efficiency and high color purity red emitting SrWO4:0.20Eu3+, xSm3+ (x = 0.005 ¸ 0.01) phosphors have higher color saturation than the commercially available Y2O2S:Eu3+ red phosphor, which is in coincidence with the National Television Standard Committee system standard for red chromaticity (0.67, 0.33). The obtained phosphors exhibit an excellent light emitting efficiency, color-purity and lower correlated color temperature of the comfortable warm white LEDs.

In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and heparin were sequentially immobilized on a titanium surface by the carbodiimide covalent coupling method with the aim to improve the blood compatibility of titanium and enhance endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation. The results of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed that PEG and heparin were successfully immobilized on the titanium surface. Compared to the pristine titanium, a highly hydrophilic layer was achieved after the immobilization, and the resulting heparin–PEG layer can significantly prevent human plasma fibrinogen adsorption. Analysis of platelet attachment to the modified surfaces, via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), showed strikingly fewer platelets attached to the PEG and heparin modified surfaces, compared to the control. The immobilized PEG and heparin effectively prolonged the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and inhibit platelet activation significantly. Furthermore, the modified samples showed good cytocompatibility. Endothelial cells exhibited improved proliferative profiles in terms of a CCK-8 assay, as compared to those on the pristine titanium. The modified samples showed a better endothelial cell adhesion and spreading, than the pristine titanium. Therefore, the blood compatibility and cytocompatibility of the titanium surface can be enhanced by PEG immobilization and further, by subsequent heparin grafting. It could be concluded that the negatively charged heparin–PEG layer with excellent hydrophilicity could obviously improve the blood compatibility and enhance the endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation, and the approach of the present study is considered as an effective method to improve the hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of biomaterials.

Objective: To investigate the effect of hormone replacement therapy on sex hormones and tumor markers in cervical squamous cell carcinoma postoperative patients. Methods: A total of 100 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma from January 2012 to December 2014 in our hospital were selected as research objects, and the observation group (58 cases) were willing to receive hormone replacement therapy, while the control group (42 cases) were not willing to receive hormone replacement therapy, with routine treatment. Before and after treatment, the serum levels of neutral hormone and tumor markers were detected in two groups of patients. Results: Before treatment, there were no significant differences in serum E2, FSH and LH levels between the two groups (all P>0.05); after treatment, in the observation group compared with before treatment, the level of serum E2 increased significantly (P0.05). Before and after treatment, the levels of serum SCC-Ag, VEGF-C, M MP-2 and MMP-9 showed no significant differences between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The use of hormone replacement therapy in cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients can significantly improve the adverse symptoms caused by low estrogen, improve the quality of life of patients, and not affect the prognosis of patients in the short term.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soybean antigen proteins on serum cytokine levels and claudin-1 distribution in the intestine of weaned piglets. Seventy piglets (24 d of age) were randomly divided into seven groups. Piglets in group A were fed a basal diet, in groups B, C and D were fed the basal diet supplemented with β-conglycinin; and in groups E, F, G were fed the basal diet supplemented with glycinin. Blood samples were collected and analysed for IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6 levels on day 24, 26, 28 and 30. At the end of the trial, five piglets per group were sacrificed and the small intestine was collected to evaluate intestinal claudin-1 distribution and OD of the relative staining positivity. β-Conglycinin and glycinin decreased the growth performance in piglets by decreasing ADFI, ADG and increasing F/G. Serum levels of IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6 in β-conglycinin and glycinin groups ranged from 126.067 to 144.067 ng • L−1, 31.798 to 44.360 ng • L−1 and 36.360 to 40.482 ng • L−1 on day 24, 26 and 30. However, serum IFN-γ levels were negatively correlated with soybean antigen proteins supplementation levels ranged from 6.956 to 15.361 ng • L−1. The treatment groups had lower OD values of claudin-1 than those of the control group. The β-conglycinin groups had lower distribution and OD values than the glycinin groups at similar antigen protein supplementation levels. These results suggest that β-conglycinin and glycinin damage the intestinal mucosal immune barrier in weaned piglets.

In our previous study, a copper–titanium (Cu/Ti) coating was developed to enhance the blood compatibility and anti-endothelialization of NiTi vena cava filter. In the present study, the phase transformation and mechanical behaviors of the Cu/Ti-coated NiTi vena cava filters were further investigated. The filters were shaped to final dimensions by a three-step shape-setting process using different dimension moulds for each step. After each step of shape-setting process, the phase transformation and mechanical properties were examined by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method and tensile experiment, respectively. It was found that the austenite transformation finish temperature ( A f ) of Cu/Ti-coated filter increased first and then slightly decreased with the increase of aging time. The A f value of Cu/Ti-coated filter was higher than that of the pristine filter when the same shape-setting process was applied. Two phase transformation peaks could be observed on the heating curves of Cu/Ti coated samples when the aging time increased. Although on the stress–strain cycle curves there were no obvious differences between Cu/Ti-coated and the pristine filters when the same shape-setting process was applied, the values of upper yield plateau and lower yield plateau of both of the filters tended to decrease gradually with the increase of aging time. The results of the present study indicated that the fabrication of Cu/Ti coating on NiTi vena cava filter can improve the A f value and did not change its super-elasticity. It may be helpful for the development of novel biomedical devices, such as vena cava filter and vascular stent, where control of self-expansion and shape memory of implants would be preferable.

In the present study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and collagen I were sequentially immobilized on the titanium surface to simultaneously improve the anticoagulation and endothelial cell proliferation. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that PEG and collagen I were successfully immobilized on the titanium surface. Water contact angle results suggested the excellent hydrophilic surface after the immobilization. The anticoagulation experiments demonstrated that the immobilized PEG and collagen I on the titanium surface could not only obviously prevent platelet adhesion and aggregation but also prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), leading to the improved blood compatibility. Furthermore, immobilization of collagen to the end of PEG chain did not abate the anticoagulation. As compared to those on the pristine and PEG-modified titanium surfaces, endothelial cells exhibited improved proliferative profiles on the surface modified by the sequential immobilization of PEG and collagen in terms of CCK-8 assay, implying that the modified titanium may promote endothelialization without abating the blood compatibility. Our method may be used to modify the surface of blood-contacting biomaterials such as titanium to promote endothelialization and improve the anticoagulation, it may be helpful for development of the biomedical devices such as coronary stents, where endothelializaton and excellent anticoagulation are required.

Since the generation of prestressed concrete, the causes for losses of prestress have been always analyzed and studied and many achievements are made. However, as the losses of prestress result from many factors, it is very complicated to calculate various losses of prestress accurately. The formulas and methods used in the concrete codes of various countries for calculation of prestress losses vary according to their different purposes. This paper focuses on US code ACI 318-05, Eurocode EN 1992-1-1 and Chinese code GB 50010-2010 (the code for design of concrete structures), and carries out a comparative analysis in terms of losses of prestress for the three codes above.

There are some key points such as important load during design Bare Concrete Formwork, method about achieveing standard on Bare Concrete use Stride Shearing Force and Deflection Boundary theory.

A new type of composite structure, precast concrete tube column is proposed, and its axial compression performance and the seismic performance of beam-column joint are studied. Nine groups of precast concrete tube column models and three groups of common solid column contrast models with the same outer diameters (600,800,1000mm) were established by software ABAQUS, and a beam-column joint model for horizontal low cyclic loading was established combining with practical project. The results show that the ultimate bearing capacity of precast concrete tube column is higher than that of the common solid column with the same outer diameter by 5% to 20%, and it increases slightly as the thickness of tube increases. Displacement - load hysteresis curve of the beam-column joint is relatively full under cyclic load, and the slope of skeleton curve decreases slowly, which provides an important basis for engineering applications.

A new type of reinforced concrete (RC) structure termed concrete filled fabricated concrete tubular (CFFCT) was economically evaluated. Construction schedule time and construction cost of CFFCT and RC columns were analyzed both in case studies of building structure and bridge structure. A comparative analysis was done on two types of columns by studying on single column and present value of total construction cost. The results show that use of CFFCT shortens the construction schedule time and lowers the total construction cost. The investigation of the multistory building shows that using CFFCT results in an average of 2.31% savings on total project cost, an average of 28.67% savings on total column costs, 25.12% savings on total project time period, and 45.22% savings on columns construction time period. And the investigation of the bridge shows that using CFFCT results in an average of 3.27% savings on total project cost, an average of 46.87% savings on total column costs, 15.68% savings on total project time period, and 29.90% savings on columns construction time period.

The TiB2films were prepared on AISI 316L substrate by magnetron sputtering with various powers to investigate the influence of sputtering power on the microstructure and hardness of films. The crystalline structures and cross-sectional morphology of TiB2films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), respectively. The hardness was measured by nano-indentation. XRD patterns showed that the preferred orientation of TiB2films transferred from (100) to (001) with the increase of power. It can be observed that each film processed homogeneous by the cross-sectional images. The hardness of films varied from 21 to 32 GPa depending on the value of power. The enhancement of hardness may be attributed to the effect of the residual stress state and the microstructure of films. Furthermore, the effects of power on hardness of TiB2films were discussed in details.

In the present study, we apply microcontact printing (μCP) to create extracellular matrix (ECM) stripe patterns on polystyrene (PS) surfaces and then the effects of these patterns on osteoblast cell behaviors are investigated. The results demonstrate that osteoblast cells preferentially adhere and grow on the protein areas, leading to the deformed cell morphologies. Compared to the adherent cell on isotropic ECM coating, the deformed cells express more type I collagen and osteocalcin, indicating that the patterns can enhance protein expression of osteoblast cell by changing the cell morphologies. Therefore, it is possible to improve cell functions by carefully designing pattern shapes and sizes. We believe that the present results can contribute to development of the novel biomaterials and engineered tissues for bone repair, where the enhanced protein expression is needed.

The early-age concrete properties are the basis for structure nonlinear analyzed under construction structure period. But at present the study on early-age concrete is lagging behind which there is not suitabel theory. This paper takes early-age C20 concrete as an example to analysis the early-age concrete properties. According to the distribution characteristics of early-age C20 concrete experiment data in the octahedral stress space, using section function expression form, by the method of mathematical derivation and linear fitting, the failure criterion and the elastic yield criterion of early-age C20 concrete materials in the octahedral stress space are established. By comparison between failure criterion and elastic yield criterion of C20 concrete, the subsequent yield criterion could be derived based on the non-uniform isotropic strengthening criterion.

The fender forces in the rigid and flexible berthing systems, the displacement of berthing platform were determined in the ship berthing with different berthing speeds, as 10,000 tons oil storage tanker vessel for example. The comparison on test data were carried out for the differential analysis on the fender forces between the rigid and flexible berthing in still water. In contrast to the rigid berthing system, if the berthing speed of the ship is limited to 1 knot, the fender force can be decreased by 50% around in flexible berthing which absorbs energy through the displacement of the berthing platform and the power-absorbing effect was improved with the increase of the ship berthing speed; while the fender force were diminished dramatically, the displacement of berthing platform can satisfy the requirement of the engineering.

Combined SHS with casting, in-situ Al2O3particle-reinforced copper matrix composite was fabricated. The effects of the load and Al2O3particle on the friction coefficient and wear volume were investigated. And the wear resistance of composite was compared with that of pure copper. The results show that with the increase of load, the coefficient of the copper increases, while it decreases slightly as to composite. The wear volume of the composite is always lower than that of copper. The highest relative wear ability is 4.5, which indicates a better wear resistance..

Conducting attapulgite/titania/polyaniline/ (ATP/TiO2/PANI) core-shell nanocomposites (CSNs) were synthesized via oxidative polymerization of aniline after the surface modification of the ATP carried with TiO2nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the ATP/TiO2/PANI CSNs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and fourier transform infrared. The thermal stability of the ATP/TiO2/PANI CSNs was also investigated by thermal analyzer. The results show that the ATP/TiO2/PANI CSNs display “capsule like” core-shell structure, of which ranging in diameter of about 80 nm and length of about 250 nm. In addition, the ATP/TiO2/PANI CSNs present a higher degree of crystallization and better thermal stability. We believe that the excellent core-shell structure and better thermal stability should be prone to improve their other properties and enlarge their application.

It was hard to predict crack and wrinkle which are the main failure modes when drawing for the shallow tapered parts. In this paper crack and wrinkle can be avoided effectively by using the software DYNAFORM in combination with orthogonal design of experiment method. The influence of normal anisotropy coefficient, friction coefficient, drawbead resistance and blank holding force on deep drawing shallow tapered surface was analyzed by numerical simulation. The results show that the minimum-wall-thickness was the main criterion for the drawing process but not the only criterion. Crack and wrinkle can be moderately eliminated finally after optimization of the parameters and following trim process in the drawing for shallow tapered surface.

The γ-Fe2O3/Al2O3core-shell nanocomposites (MCSs) were successfully synthesized by using heterogeneous nucleation method. The results show that a core-shell structures exit in γ-Fe2O3/Al2O3MCSs and that the size of γ-Fe2O3/Al2O3MCSs is in nanoscale. The saturated magnetization and coercivity of γ-Fe2O3/Al2O3MCSs decrease compared with that of γ-Fe2O3nanoparticles. However, the infrared absorbing ability of γ-Fe2O3/Al2O3MCSs is obvious enhanced and it is expected to become a new series of absorbing materials applied in military field.

The wettability between pure liquid titanium and calcia-stabilized zirconia was studied in argon atmosphere. The micrographic observations made on cross section perpendicular to the interface using SEM showed that interfacial reaction occurred. However, the contact angles were larger than 90°within experimental duration.

Internal air pressure and water pressure of the buckets foundation, acceleration and dragging force of the 4-bucket foundation platform were determined to analyze the influences of wave height on towing when 4-Bucket foundation platform is towing in conditions of a certain towing velocity, mooring point position and draught in different regular waves based on the model test. Comparing platform towing in following and head waves, the heave motion of the latter is more strenuous than that of the former; the stability and seakeeping of the former is better than those of the latter. Roll motion, pitch motion and heave motion appear aggravate phenomenon with the increase of wave height.

In this paper, the internal air pressure and bottom water pressure of the buckets, the acceleration of swaying, surging and heaving of platform were determined by the sensors fixed on the platform, as a naval bucket foundation platform for example. The motion rules of heave and sway of bucket foundations are studied with different drafts. The results of this test showed that the added mass coefficient of heave, roll and pitch are declined with the increase of the draft; the natural frequency of heave is constant with different drafts but the roll frequency and pitch frequency are consistent with the changes of the draft; the frequency of heave is larger than that of roll and pitch but the added mass coefficient of heave is lesser than that of roll and pitch.

The reciprocating corrosion wear behavior of a nickel-free austenitic stainless steel 13Cr24Mn0.44N flat against a Si3N4 ceramic counter ball was investigated in two kinds of aqueous such as artificial body solution and distilled water by using the ball-on-flat configuration with 300 μm amplitude at various normal loads. The worn surfaces of the new stainless steel were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Elements valence in wear scars were also detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The influences of the load and aqueous media on the friction coefficient and wear resistance of the new stainless steel were analyzed. It is clear that the friction coefficient decreased in both aqueous with the load increasing. The lubricative surface film formed on the wear scars in the artificial body solution could reduce the friction coefficient, and result in a lower wear loss in the artificial body solution than that in the distilled water, which demonstrates a negative interactive effect between wear and corrosion.

The nano-Al2O3 reinforced copper matrix composite was prepared by powder metallurgy technique and the fretting test against 440C stainless steel was performed at room temperature by using the ball-on–flat configuration with 300μm amplitude at various normal loads in the range of 0.1N to 1N. The influences of load and proportion of Al2O3 on the friction coefficient and volume wear -loss were investigated. Results showed that the volume wear-loss decreased firstly and then increased as the proportion of Al2O3 increased from 0.5% to 4%, and the minimum proportion was about 2%, in which the electrical conductivity can reach up to 81% according to International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). The friction coefficient of the copper will slightly increases as the load increased. However, in the case of composites, it increased firstly then decreased. The volume wear-loss of the composite is always lower than that of copper, giving the highest relative wear-ability of 1.55, which indicated a higher wear resistance. The wear mechanism of copper is adhesive wear, whereas it becomes oxidation wear in composites.

Studies have shown that the expression profile of Wnt signaling pathway is very important in lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) and some lncRNAs can regulate the expression of key molecules of Wnt pathway. However, Wnt pathway related lncRNAs are not systematically analyzed and detected in lung adenocarcinoma. We used a high-throughput microarray to compare the lncRNA expression profiles in LAD and corresponding normal tissue (NT) samples. Several candidate Wnt pathway related lncRNAs were verified by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. We found that 232 Wnt pathway related lncRNAs were obviously expressed (≥2-fold change) in lung adenocarcinoma samples and 13 Wnt pathway related lncRNAs were aberrantly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma compared with matched histologically normal lung tissues by qPCR. Among these, RP11-181G12.2 and RP11-89 K21.1 were the most aberrantly expressed lncRNAs. Our study ascertained the expression of Wnt pathway related lncRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma. The results revealed that many Wnt pathway related lncRNAs were differentially expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, suggesting that they may play a key role in tumor development.

Background The statistical methods to analyze and predict the related dangerous factors of deep fungal infection in lung cancer patients were several, such as logic regression analysis, meta-analysis, multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis, retrospective analysis, and so on, but the results are inconsistent. Materials and methods A total of 696 patients with lung cancer were enrolled. The factors were compared employing Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney test or the Chi-square test and variables that were significantly related to the presence of deep fungal infection selected as candidates for input into the final artificial neural network analysis (ANN) model. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) model and logistic regression (LR) model. Results The prevalence of deep fungal infection from lung cancer in this entire study population was 32.04%(223/696), deep fungal infections occur in sputum specimens 44.05% (200/454). The ratio of candida albicans was 86.99% (194/223) in the total fungi. It was demonstrated that older (≥65 years), use of antibiotics, low serum albumin concentrations (≤37.18 g /L), radiotherapy, surgery, low hemoglobin hyperlipidemia (≤93.67 g /L), long time of hospitalization (≥14 days) were apt to deep fungal infection and the ANN model consisted of the seven factors. The AUC of ANN model (0.829±0.019) was higher than that of LR model (0.756±0.021). Conclusions The artificial neural network model with variables consisting of age, use of antibiotics, serum albumin concentrations, received radiotherapy, received surgery, hemoglobin, time of hospitalization should be useful for predicting the deep fungal infection in lung cancer.

Titanium and its alloys have been widely used for blood-contacting biomedical devices; however, their blood compatibility needs to be improved. In this study, titanium surface was modified by sequential immobilization of oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) to improve its anticoagulation. Water contact angle results showed an excellent hydrophilic surface after the immobilization. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) confirmed that OEG and MPC were successfully immobilized on titanium surface. Static platelet adhesion and APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) experiments suggested that the anticoagulation of titanium was significantly enhanced by the immobilization of OEG and further by subsequent MPC grafting. The approach in the present study opens up a window of promising an effective and efficient method to improve the anticoagulation of blood-contact biomedical devices such as coronary stents.

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the influences of collagen VI (col-VI) patterns on human chondrocytes behaviors. To this end, col-VI stripes with varying width and interstripe spacing are created on polystyrene (PS) surfaces by microcontact printing (μCP). Human chondrocytes are then seeded on these protein patterns and the cell adhesion and alignment are investigated by staining the vimentin and matrilin-3 secreted by seeded chondrocytes. The results indicate that the cells preferentially attach onto the protein areas, rendering cell patterns and the elongated cell shapes. The pattern dimensions can significantly influence cell adhesion, spreading and orientation. The stripe protein patterns can guide cell adhesion and alignment. The cell morphologies can be controlled by carefully designing the pattern shapes and sizes. Our results suggest that the protein patterns can be used to modify biomaterials' surfaces for selective cell-binding and cell alignment. It could provide some cues for the development of novel implantable biomaterials, such as tissue-engineered scaffolds for cartilage replacement, where specific cell alignment is needed.

To study the change of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) around hematoma in acute intracerebral hemorrhage.Xenon-CT was performed on 5 patients of basal ganglia hemorrhage with the hematoma volume less than 30 ml, 3 males and 2 females, aged 56.8 +/- 5.6. within 36 hours of the onset and 13 days after to measure the rCBF was measured by 27 pixel rings respectively in the core of hematoma, edema region around the hematoma and compared with rCBF in the uninvolved hemisphere.(1) all the 5 patients had a history of hypertension, the mean intracerebral hemorrhage volume was 13 ml +/- 7 ml (6.4 approximately 23.7 ml). The first examination was conducted 23 h +/- 6 h (19 approximately 34 h) after the onset and the second examination was conducted 13.0 d +/- 0.7 d (12 approximately 14 d) after the onset. (2) Within 36 hours of the onset, the mean rCBF in the core of hematoma was 15 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1) +/- 8 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1), and the mean rCBF in edema region around the hematoma was 30 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1) +/- 8 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1). Thirteen days after the onset the mean rCBF in the core of hematoma was 9 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1) +/- 4 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1), significantly reduced in comparison with that measured in the first examination (P = 0.014), and the mean rCBF in the edema region around the hematoma was 23 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1) +/- 13 ml.100 g(-1).min(-1), reduced in comparison with those measured in the first examination too, however, not significantly (P = 0.055). The rCBF reduction was more significant in the edema region adjacent to the hematoma (P = 0.004), but not in the distant edema region. During the first examination the rCBF in the edema region around the hematoma was lower than the enantiomorph rCBF by 20.9%. Thirteen days after, the rCBF in the edema region around the hematoma was lower than the enantiomorph rCBF by 46.3%, significantly greater than the reduction during the first examination (P = 0.324). There was no difference between the values of enantiomorph rCBF during the first and second examinations (P = 0.038).There exists reduced perihematoma rCBF after intracerebral hemorrhage by xenon-CT examination, this phenomenon lasts 14 days and have the tendency of further reduced.