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The maximum number of plateletpheresis donation was permitted up to 24 times every year for each donor in China. This study was investigated the effect of donation frequency on coagulation function of the plateletpheresis donors. A total of 96 plateletpheresis regular donors (splitted into A, B, C groups with 32 donors each group. A was 6–11 times donations, B with 12–17 times and C with 18–24 times) and 32 first time plateletpheresis donors (D group) were analyzed. The coagulation reaction time (R), blood clot formation time (K), α-Angle, normal maximum amplitude (MA) were tested using thromboelastography instrument. Platelet (PLT) count was measured using a hematology analyzer. The ratio of the male to female were 23:9, 24:8, 27:5 and 24:8, the mean age were 40.7 ± 7.6, 39.8 ± 8.3, 40.2 ± 7.9 and 37.0 ± 9.3, and the platelet collection amount were 1.55 ± 0.37 U, 1.58 ± 0.38 U, 1.61 ± 0.33 U and 1.46 ± 0.31 U in the A, B, C, D groups respectively. There were significant difference in the values of the R, K, α-Angle, MA and PLT count between before and after plateletpheresis donation in each group (p 0.05). Similar results were found in the after plateletpheresis donation. The number of the PLT was significantly correlated with the values of the R, K, α-Angle and MA (p 0.05) using Spearman correlation analysis. The regular donation of apheresis platelets and the frequency of annual blood donation had no adverse effect upon coagulation function of the donors in China.

When gas insulated metal enclosed switchgear and controlgear (GIS) has internal discharge, some faults are difficult to find during inspections due to the enclosed metal casing. This paper introduces the event of the floating potential discharge inside the GIS equipment of a 500kV substation found by GIS on-line monitoring system. Through on-site ultra-high frequency detection and precise positioning of the oscilloscope to determine the position of the discharge source at a certain switch, combined with the disassembly of the equipment, it is determined that the equipment defect is the discharge of the floating electrode of the switch fork.The results show that the on-line monitoring of GIS partial discharge has an important reference role in discovering the internal discharge of equipment during the test interval, and the monitoring and maintenance of GIS partial discharge on-line monitoring system should be strengthened in daily work.

Animal circadian clocks consist of central and peripheral pacemakers, which are coordinated to produce daily rhythms in physiology and behaviour. Despite its importance for optimal performance and health, the mechanism of clock coordination is poorly understood. Here we dissect the pathway through which the circadian clock of Drosophila imposes daily rhythmicity to the pattern of adult emergence. Rhythmicity depends on the coupling between the brain clock and a peripheral clock in the prothoracic gland (PG), which produces the steroid hormone, ecdysone. Time information from the central clock is transmitted via the neuropeptide, sNPF, to non-clock neurons that produce the neuropeptide, PTTH. These secretory neurons then forward time information to the PG clock. We also show that the central clock exerts a dominant role on the peripheral clock. This use of two coupled clocks could serve as a paradigm to understand how daily steroid hormone rhythms are generated in animals., The emergence of the adult fruit flies from the pupae is jointly regulated by the central and peripheral clocks. Selcho et al. show that synchronization of the two clocks is mediated by the master clock brain neurons producing sNPF, and non-clock PTTH neurons that regulate the peripheral clock producing the steroid moulting hormone, ecdysone.

Three new HLA class I alleles were described in the Chinese population. HLA-B*46:68,-B*46:71,-B*46:72 alleles differ from HLA-B*46:01:01 by a single nucleotide substitution at position 485C>T, 484A>G, 299T>A respectively.

Neuropeptides and peptide hormones are involved in the regulation of most if not all body functions, ranging from physiology to neuronal processing and the control of behavior. To assess their functions, it is often vital to determine when and in which quantities they are produced, stored, and released. The latter is especially difficult to assess in small insects, such as the genetically amenable fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and cannot be achieved merely by quantifying mRNA transcripts. We have adapted and optimized methods to quantify neuropeptides and peptide hormones by metabolic labeling followed by LC-MS. In this chapter, we describe the labeling protocols used in our laboratory and discuss problems and pitfalls that we encountered.

Neuropeptides and peptide hormones are involved in the regulation of most if not all body functions, ranging from physiology to neuronal processing and the control of behavior. To assess their functions, it is often vital to determine when and in which quantities they are produced, stored, and released. The latter is especially difficult to assess in small insects, such as the genetically amenable fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and cannot be achieved merely by quantifying mRNA transcripts. We have adapted and optimized methods to quantify neuropeptides and peptide hormones by metabolic labeling followed by LC-MS. In this chapter, we describe the labeling protocols used in our laboratory and discuss problems and pitfalls that we encountered.

More than a decade has passed since the release of the Drosophila melanogaster genome and the first predictions of fruit fly regulatory peptides (neuropeptides and peptide hormones). Since then, mass spectrometry-based methods have fuelled the chemical characterisation of regulatory peptides, from 7 Drosophila peptides in the pre-genomic area to more than 60 today. We review the development of fruit fly peptidomics, and present a comprehensive list of the regulatory peptides that have been chemically characterised until today. We also summarise the knowledge on peptide processing in Drosophila , which has strongly profited from a combination of MS-based techniques and the genetic tools available for the fruit fly. This combination has a very high potential to study the functional biology of peptide signalling on all levels, especially with the ongoing developments in quantitative MS in Drosophila .

Feeding and sleep are fundamental behaviours with significant interconnections and cross-modulations. The circadian system and peptidergic signals are important components of this modulation, but still little is known about the mechanisms and networks by which they interact to regulate feeding and sleep. We show that specific thermogenetic activation of peptidergic Allatostatin A (AstA)-expressing PLP neurons and enteroendocrine cells reduces feeding and promotes sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila. The effects of AstA cell activation are mediated by AstA peptides with receptors homolog to galanin receptors subserving similar and apparently conserved functions in vertebrates. We further identify the PLP neurons as a downstream target of the neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF), an output factor of the circadian clock. PLP neurons are contacted by PDF-expressing clock neurons, and express a functional PDF receptor demonstrated by cAMP imaging. Silencing of AstA signalling and continuous input to AstA cells by tethered PDF changes the sleep/activity ratio in opposite directions but does not affect rhythmicity. Taken together, our results suggest that pleiotropic AstA signalling by a distinct neuronal and enteroendocrine AstA cell subset adapts the fly to a digestive energy-saving state which can be modulated by PDF.

In this study we relate language differences on a global scale with genetic distances for the same populations. The analysis is carried out on more populations (130) but fewer genetic systems (11) than earlier studies. We constructed an overall genetic distance matrix that allowed for missing values. A separate genetic distance matrix was also computed for each genetic system, and matching matrices of linguistic and geographic distances were associated with each genetic distance matrix, because the number of populations used differed among the genetic systems studied. Significant matrix correlations between language and genetics were found for both overall genetic distances and a substantial number of genetic systems, even when the effects of geographic distances were held constant. This demonstrates a significant correspondence between genetics and language on a global scale. Genetic matrices were correlated with two different linguistic distance matrices: one with higher (supraphyletic) taxonomic structure, in which among other features sub-Saharan Africans separate from non-Africans in the basal split and the Eurasiatic superphylum is postulated; and one without such structure. The correlations yield no genetic evidence to support the proposed higher linguistic structure. UPGMA and neighbor-joining trees were constructed for linguistic and genetic data. The proposed African split pattern is not supported by these data. Both types of trees indicate a pattern of grouping of east Asians, Arctic populations, and Australian natives separating from Caucasoid and African populations.

Partial Discharge (PD) detection aiming at finding the insulation defects make great effort for ensuring the reliability of the electrical equipment. Thus the performances, such as sensitivity and classification and recognition of PD pattern of PD detector need verified. This paper offers an effective tool to evaluate these performances of PD detectors. Design of the system consists of three modules, including PD pattern simulation module, PD pulse sequence generating module, and high voltage simulation module. Example of realization is also given in detail, which takes advantage of Tesla coil structure to generate programmable pulse sequence under the control of embedded system according to PD pattern. After that, the performance analysis of this proposed evaluation system is discussed, the performance evaluation system can simulate PD pulse sequence with controllability of pulse position distribution and randomness of amplitude in a range referring to PRPD pattern from database.

Feeding and sleep are fundamental behaviours with significant interconnections and cross-modulations. The circadian system and peptidergic signals are important components of this modulation, but still little is known about the mechanisms and networks by which they interact to regulate feeding and sleep. We show that specific thermogenetic activation of peptidergic Allatostatin A (AstA)-expressing PLP neurons and enteroendocrine cells reduces feeding and promotes sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila. The effects of AstA cell activation are mediated by AstA peptides with receptors homolog to galanin receptors subserving similar and apparently conserved functions in vertebrates. We further identify the PLP neurons as a downstream target of the neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF), an output factor of the circadian clock. PLP neurons are contacted by PDF-expressing clock neurons, and express a functional PDF receptor demonstrated by cAMP imaging. Silencing of AstA signalling and continuous input to AstA cells by tethered PDF changes the sleep/activity ratio in opposite directions but does not affect rhythmicity. Taken together, our results suggest that pleiotropic AstA signalling by a distinct neuronal and enteroendocrine AstA cell subset adapts the fly to a digestive energy-saving state which can be modulated by PDF., Author Summary Feeding and sleep are fundamental behaviours that are controlled by diverse neuropeptides. While feeding is associated with wake periods, sleep prevents feeding. Both feeding and sleep are timed to specific parts of the day by internal clocks, presumably to optimise behaviour and metabolic processes. We investigated the functions of Allatostatin A (AstA) peptides in the fruit fly. AstA is produced by neurons as well as by endocrine cells in the midgut epithelium. Thermogenetic activation of subsets of AstA-producing cells in the brain and midgut revealed that AstA affects both feeding and sleep in opposite directions: feeding is reduced by AstA signalling, while sleep is promoted. Others could previously show that insect AstA also inhibits gut motility and release of digestive enzymes from the gut. An attractive conclusion is that AstA signalling helps to put flies in a digestive energy-saving state. Interestingly, a set of six AstA-expressing PLP neurons are in close contact to neurons central to the circadian clock network, and express functional receptors for the clock output signal PDF. This opens the possibility that PLP neurons are at the interface between clock, feeding and sleep—a hypothesis that needs to be tested in the future.