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In China, four symptoms of functional gastrointestinal disorders, postprandial fullness, early satiety, bloating, and abdominal distension are commonly and interchangeably expressed as a single chief complaint, "Zhang". In this study we aimed to explore the most efficient method of determining the characteristics of symptoms in such patients.Consecutive patients with the chief complaint of abdominal "Zhang" from December 2017 to June 2018 were included. Their symptom patterns were determined by face-to-face interviews. Patients with a single symptom (postprandial fullness, early satiety, bloating, or abdominal distension) completed the questionnaire assessing their understanding of the symptoms using three methods including concept terms, pictograms, and verbal descriptions.A total of 230 patients (121 men, 109 women; mean age 43.7 ± 12.6 y) were included. Verbal descriptions were most applicable to identify patients' symptom patterns, followed by concept terms and pictograms. Early satiety was the most difficult to identify (20.9% agreement between patient's understanding and doctor's diagnosis by using concept term), whereas fullness and bloating had apparently higher recognition (70.7% and 72.1% by concept terms). Elder patients (60 y) and those with more frequent symptom attacks (≥once daily) showed relatively poorer understanding of the symptoms.Early satiety is poorly identified by patients. Existing pictograms fail to show comprehension-improving features in a Chinese cultural setting. Verbal descriptions may be the best option for diagnosing abdominal "Zhang". More caution is required during the inquiry of medical history from elder patients with frequent symptom attacks.

Aiming at the problem that the base coordinate system of industrial robot is not unified with the center coordinate system of tool, and it is impossible to input the action position in the robot teaching device, this paper adopts ROMER HEXAGON METROLOGY 7530SE three-coordinate measuring instrument as the robot measuring equipment and proposes a multi-objective normalization algorithm. In this paper, the reliability of the multi-objective normalization algorithm is verified by the experiment, and the measurement accuracy difference of the multi-objective normalization algorithm under different reference systems is studied. The results have shown that the accuracy of the system reaches 0.8 mm and the root mean square (RMS) value is maintained at 0.3-0.7 mm when the engine is taken as the reference coordinate system within the robot’s 0-50mm motion stroke. When the body-in-white is used as the reference coordinate system, the accuracy of the system can reach 2.2 mm, the RMS value can be maintained at 1.0-1.8mm. The reasons for good accuracy and stability of the measurement system established with the engine as the reference coordinate are analyzed. The multi-objective normalization algorithm proposed in this paper has high engineering universality, and the accuracy analysis of the algorithm under different reference system has guiding significance for the selection of reference coordinate system of measurement system.

Background Salvia miltiorrhiza is a medical herb for human disorders including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the interactions between Salvia miltiorrhiza and its endophytes are largely unknown. The current study aimed at identifying its endophytic fungi and examining their inhibitory effects on anti-pathogenic fungus. Materials and methods Distinct species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza, cultured, sequenced, aiming to predict their taxonomical structures. Meanwhile, extracts from each endophytic fungus fermentations were isolated, compared and evaluated on the inhibitory efficacies on five pathological fungi, Cercospora nicotianae, Phoma arachnidicola, Staphylococcus, Phytophthora eggplant, and Rhizoctonia cerealis. Results A total of 34 strains of endophytic fungi were obtained from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Among them, SX19 and C. Gloeosporioids exhibited the most effective inhibitions on five pathogenic fungi. Conclusion The anti-fungal activities of the endophytic fungus from Salvia miltiorrhiza were confirmed for the first time, and this may benefit crop quality and production in the future.

The effects of rare earth Ce on the microstructure and mechanical properties of impure copper containing Pb were investigated using OM, SEM, EPMA, TEM and tensile testing. TEM and EDS analysis reveal that spherical CePb3 particles form after Ce addition. CePb3 particles, with average size of ~3.6 μm, homogenously distribute in the Cu matrix. Due to small lattice misfit (~4.62%) with Cu matrix, CePb3 particles can act as effective nucleation sites beneficial to the grain refinement. Pb at grain boundaries seriously deteriorates the mechanical properties of Cu. The tensile strength and the elongation of Cu−0.1Pb are decreased by 43.1% and 56.7% compared with those of pure copper, respectively. Ce can purify grain boundaries, cause the precipitation of CePb3 particles and refine grain sizes, which contribute to significant improvement of the mechanical properties of Cu. Compared with Cu−0.1Pb, the tensile strength (179 MPa) and the elongation (38.5%) of Cu−0.1Pb−0.3Ce are increased by 117.6% and 151.6%, respectively.

The texture evolution of copper tube manufactured by floating plug drawing process was investigated by Electron Backscatter Diffraction techniques and Visco-Plastic Self-consistent (VPSC) modelling method. The results obtained from experimentation indicate that the initial textures of copper tube transformed sharply after the first pass of the drawing process, and the final textures in the tube consist of Goss {110} and P {110} components. The VPSC model was established in order to study the texture transformation and the activity of slip systems of the tube during the drawing process. Two types of transformation paths were proposed to explain the mechanism of the texture evolution, which has a good agreement with the VPSC simulation results.

Biological remediation of toxic oxygen-containing anions such as nitrate that are common in the environment is of great significance. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the specific role of nitrate and nitrite reductase in the bioremediation process. Bacillus cereus LJ01, which was isolated from traditional Chinese soybean paste, effectively degraded nitrite (such as NaNO2) at 0–15 mmol L−1 in LB medium. Moreover, the nitrite-degrading active substance (ASDN) was isolated and purified from B. cereus LJ01. The nitrite-degrading activity of nitrite reductase (named LJ01-NiR) was 4004.89 U mg−1. The gene encoding the assimilation of nitrite reductase in B. cereus LJ01 was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. The purified recombinant LJ01-NiR has a wide range of activities under temperature (20–60 °C), pH (6.5–8.0) and metal ions (Fe3+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, and Al3+). Kinetic parameters of LJ01-NiR, including the values of Km and Vmax were 1.38 mM and 2.00 μmol g−1 min−1, respectively. The results showed that LJ01-NiR could degrade nitrite with or without an electron donor. In addition, sequence analysis revealed that LJ01-NiR was a ferredoxin-dependent nitrite reductase given the presence of conserved [Fe4–S4] cluster and heme-binding domain. The nitrite ion binds to the LJ01-NiR active site by forming three hydrogen bonds with the residues ASN72, ALA133 and ASN140. Due to its high nitrite-degrading activity, LJ01-NiR could potentially be used for environmental pollution treatment.

In a study of the potential anti-inflammatory constituents from Kalimeris shimadae, six new sesquiterpenes, kalshinoids A-F (1-6), together with 21 known compounds (7-27), were isolated. The structures and absolute configurations of the new compounds were discerned from extensive spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configurations of kalshinoids A, B, E, and F were established by ECD calculations. Furthermore, the identified compounds were tested for anti-inflammatory activity as assessed by inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in THP-1 cells. Three sesquiterpenes [kalshinoid F, 4(15)-eudesmen-1β,7,11-triol, and 4α,10α,11-trihydroxy-1βH,5βH-guai-7(8)-ene] reduced levels of TNF-α in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated THP-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and were more potent than dexamethasone. These natural sesquiterpenes merit further investigation as possible anti-inflammatory agents.

Swietelinins A - C (1-3) and swieteliacates F - R (4-16), sixteen new limonoids and 18 known limonoids (17-34) were isolated from Swietenia macrophylla. The absolute configurations of these compounds were defined by using a combination of electronic circular dichroism data analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Swieteliacate J (10) is the first limonoid possessing an unusual 8β, 9β-epoxy ring system. All of the compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (SMMC-7721, SW620, A549, and A375). Compounds 10, 11, and 19 exhibited selectively moderate cytotoxicity against four tumor cell lines, especially 19 exhibited significant cytotoxic effects against A375 with IC

The cortex root of Paeonia ostii, is used as a traditional Chinese medicine for treating female diseases. Phytochemical investigation of the water-soluble fraction of the plant led to the isolation of two new acetoisovanillone glycosides: acetoisovanillone-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and 2-hydroxy-acetoisovanillone-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2). Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods.

The Asian plant Kalimeris shimadai has been used as food and ethnologic medicine for over a thousand years. In this study, we isolated and identified one new lignan, kalshiolin A (1), and 12 known ...

Two new phenolic derivatives, diosbulbiol A (1), diosbulbiol B (2), and six known compounds were isolated from Dioscorea bulbifera. Their structures was determined by MS, IR, UV, 1D- and 2D-NMR. The cytotoxicity of new compounds were evaluated against four cancer cell lines.

Four new natural meroterpenoids, tricycloalternarenes (TCAs)15b‒18b (1‒4) along with four known TCAs (5‒8) have been isolated from the fermentation broth of Alternaria alternata derived from Paeonia lactiflora. The structures of compounds 1‒4 were elucidated by in-depth analyses of NMR spectra, HRESIMS and optical rotation experiments. Cytotoxic activities of 1‒4 against five selected tumor cell lines were evaluated.

Six compounds were isolated from the stems and leaves of Arachis hypogaea, including a new norsesquiterpene, arahyside A (1), and five known compounds, 4-(2-methoxyethyl)benzene-1,2-diol (2), (1(R,S),2(R,S))-1-phenylpropane-1,2-diol (3), tachioside (4), 1,3-benzenediol (5), demethylmedicarpin (6). Extensive spectroscopic methods, containing HR-EI-MS, NMR and ECD were used for structural elucidation of this new compound 1. Furthermore, its cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay.

To examine the effects of low ambient temperature and thyroid hormones on the energy metabolism of the striped hamster (Cricetulus barabensis), adult male striped hamsters were kept at 30 °C, or acclimated to 5 °C, for 4 weeks. During this time, hamsters were treated with a synthetic thyroxine, levothyroxine sodium (LTS), the antithyroid drug methimazole, or saline solution (control). Hamster's food intake, basal metabolic rate (BMR), non-shivering thermogenesis (NST), thyroid hormones, body fat content, mitochondrial state-4 respiration, cytochrome c oxidase, and uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) gene expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT), were measured. Both acclimation to 5 °C and LTS increased serum levels of triiodothyronine, which was associated with increased food and energy intake and BMR. Interestingly, although acclimation to 5 °C also increased NST and UCP1 gene expression in BAT, and decreased body fat content, these changes were not induced by LTS treatment. Finally, exposure to 5 °C reduced the effects of LTS on energy intake and expenditure in specific metabolic markers and organs. Together, these data illustrate that ambient temperature and thyroid hormones can have both independent, and interactive, effects on the metabolic changes in striped hamsters induced by cold acclimation.

Urban sustainability is the comprehensive manifestation of development structures and economic aggregates. The current sustainable evaluation of cities from a single aspect cannot comprehensively reflect urban sustainable development. Based on emergy, this study constructs an assessment method of urban sustainability from development structures and economic aggregates. Jiaxing is the case study explored as the sustainable development model of cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) of China. High sustainability of economic aggregates is found in Jiaxing, which is driven by the growth of green GDP. However, the urban development of Jiaxing primarily depends on the input of ecosystem resources, which hinders the sustainability of development structures within Jiaxing. These findings indicate that economic aggregates drive the development of Jiaxing and that the development structures within Jiaxing are unsustainable, resulting from the low sustainability of the natural subsystem and the economic subsystem. As such, it is proposed that industrial structures, development models, and management policies be adopted within cities in the YRD of China in order to promote sustainable development of cities in the YRD of China. This study, therefore, seeks to provide methodological guidance for urban sustainable evaluation.

A new indole, kalshiliod A (1), a new flavonoid glycoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-β-D- glucuronide-6′′-ethyl ester (2), and ten known compounds (3–12) were isolated from the herbs of Kalimeris shimadai. The compounds’ structures were elucidated through comprehensive spectroscopic techniques. All of the compounds were isolated from K. shimadai for the first time. Furthermore, the new compounds’ cytotoxicities against five human cancer cell lines were evaluated through the SRB assay.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) has been shown to be a highly phenotypic flexibility trait within species. A significant proportion of an individual's energy budget is accounted for by BMR, hence among-individual variation in this trait may affect other energetic processes, as well as fitness. In this study, we measured BMR, organ mass, mitochondrial respiration capacities and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activities in muscle and liver and circulating levels of plasma triiodothyronine (T

Background Gastrointestinal manifestations of the COVID-19 pandemic may mimic Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and social distancing measures may affect IBS patients negatively. We aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on respondents with IBS. Methods We conducted an anonymised survey using MySurvey platform from May to June 2020 in 35 countries. The general public’s knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding personal hygiene and social distancing during this COVID-19 pandemic and the psychological impact of COVID-19 were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the differences in well-being and compliance to social distancing measures between IBS and non-IBS respondents. Factors associated with worsening of IBS symptoms were evaluated. For newly developed IBS-like symptoms, subjects must fulfill ROME IV criteria. Results Out of 2704 respondents, 2024 (74.9%) did not have IBS, 305 (11.3%) had IBS and 374 (13.8%) did not know what IBS was. Respondents with IBS reported significantly worse emotional, social and psychological well-being compared to non-IBS respondents and were less compliant to social distancing (28.2% vs 35.3%, p=0.029, table 1). Of the non-IBS respondents, 96 (4.7%) developed new IBS-like symptoms. Among IBS respondents, the majority reported no change in symptom severity (61.6%), while 26.6% reported improvement and 11.8% reported worsening in IBS symptoms. A higher proportion of respondents with no change in the severity of IBS symptoms was willing to practice social distancing indefinitely compared to those who deteriorated (74.9% vs 51.4%, p=0.016, table 2). In multivariate analysis (table 3), willingness to continue social distancing for only another 2–3 weeks was significantly associated with higher odds of worsening IBS while better emotional well-being was associated with lower odds. Flourishing was excluded from analysis due to overlap with emotional well-being. *Excluded from multivariable analysis due to 0 respondents in reference categories for respondents with no change in control IBS Conclusions Our study showed differences in well-being and compliance to social distancing between IBS and non-IBS respondents, and these factors influence the worsening in severity of IBS. Further research will focus on how occupational stress and dietary changes may influence IBS symptoms

We present a method to enhance steady-state bipartite and tripartite entanglement in a cavity-optomagnonics system by utilizing the Kerr nonlinearity originating from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The system comprises two microwave cavities and a magnon and represents the collective motion of several spins in a macroscopic ferrimagnet. We prove that Kerr nonlinearity is reliable for the enhancement of entanglement and produces a small frequency shift in the optimal detuning. Our system is more robust against the environment-induced decoherence than traditional optomechanical systems. Finally, we briefly analyze the validity of the system and demonstrate its feasibility for detecting the generated entanglement.

Background: Salvia miltiorrhiza is a medical herb for human disorders including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the interactions between Salvia miltiorrhiza and its endophytes are largely unknown. The current study aimed at identifying its endophytic fungi and examining their inhibitory effects on anti-pathogenic fungus. Materials and Methods: Distinct species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza, cultured, sequenced, aiming to predict their taxonomical structures. Meanwhile, extracts from each endophytic fungus fermentations were isolated, compared and evaluated on the inhibitory efficacies on five pathological fungi, Cercospora nicotianae, Phoma arachnidicola, Staphylococcus, Phytophthora eggplant, and Rhizoctonia cerealis. Results: A total of 34 strains of endophytic fungi were obtained from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Among them, SX19 and C. Gloeosporioids exhibited the most effective inhibitions on five pathogenic fungi. Conclusion: The anti-fungal activities of the endophytic fungus from Salvia miltiorrhiza were confirmed for the first time, and this may benefit crop quality and production in the future.

A significantly low value of the single-photon coupling constant is a major challenge in the creation of a single-photon source via photon blockade. Here, we propose a photon blockade scheme composed of a weakly second-order nonlinear medium with an optical parametric amplification in a low-frequency cavity. Unlike the traditional weakly coupled system, the effective coupling strength in the proposed scheme can be significantly higher than the decay rate of the cavity mode. This can be achieved by adjusting the squeezing parameter even if the original coupling strength is weak. The thermal noise of the squeezed cavity mode can be suppressed by a squeezed vacuum field. Using a probability amplitude method, we obtain the optimal condition of photon blockade in the steady-state. By solving the master equation numerically in the steady-state, a strong photon antibunching effect that is consistent with the optimal conditions can be obtained in the cavity with low frequency. Besides, the photon blockade phenomenon and cross-correlation of two cavities can be significantly enhanced under a specific squeezing parameter. Our results may be useful for future studies on the characteristics of photon statistics.

Following publication of the original article [1], the author reported an error in the reference citation. In Results and Discussion section, Zhang et al. [2] should be cited after the first and third sentences of the first paragraph under the sub-section “Determination of main components in different processed products of Boju”. The reference has been included in the list.

The effect of La microalloying on microstructure evolution of oxygen-free copper tube annealed at elevated temperature was investigated. Different with the significant grain growth in La-free copper tube, growth behavior of La microalloyed tube is effectively inhibited. Meanwhile, Cu6La particles are detected with mainly segregating near annealing twin boundaries but less at grain boundaries. With such experimental observations, a new mechanism for constrained growth of recrystallized grain is proposed with pinning of Cu6La particle coupled with annealing twin dragging. Moreover, refined microstructure is maintained for La microalloyed tube after elevated temperature, which greatly improves the surface quality during successive bending and flattening processes.

Five novel globoscinic acid derivatives, aspergilates A-E (1-5) have been isolated from endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp. derived from Paeonia ostii. The structures of aspergilates A-E were determined by in-depth analyses of NMR spectra, HRESIMS and CD experiments. The absolute configurations of compounds 2-5 were determined by the ECD calculations based on quantum chemistry. Cytotoxic activities against five selected tested tumor cell lines of 1-5 were evaluated.

Three new norclerodane diterpenoids, diosbulbin E acetate (1), diosbulbin R (2), and diosbulbin S (3), and seven known compounds (4-10) were isolated from an ethanol extract of Dioscorea bulbifera tubers. The structure of compounds 1–10 was determined through extensive NMR and mass spectroscopic analyses. The new compounds were investigated to determine their cytotoxic activity against the SMMC-7721 cancer cell line.

In a study of the potential anti-inflammatory constituents from

Two new pyridine derivatives climacomontaninates A–B (1–2), and a new sesquiterpenoid derivative climacomontanetate (3), together with twelve known compounds (4–15) were isolated from the culture extract of the fungal strain Climacocystis montana from the root bark of Paeonia ostii. The structures of these compounds were determined through spectroscopic methods such as NMR and HRMS. Moreover, we expound the absolute configuration of 1 using the organic synthesis method. The cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines of new compounds were evaluated by SRB assay.

Five new limonoids, swieteliacates A–E (1–5) and a tirucallane-type triterpenoid, swietesenin (6), together with four known compounds (7–10) were isolated from fruit of Swietenia macrophylla. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. The new compounds were tested in vitro for their cytotoxic effects against five human cancer cell lines. Compound 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against SW480 and HL-60 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 30.6 and 32.9 μM, respectively.

The TP2 copper tube was prepared with La microalloying by horizontal continuous casting (HCC). The absorptivity of La and its effects on microstructure, tensile and corrosion properties of HCC TP2 copper tube were studied by means of the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The results show that the absorptivity of La in the HCC TP2 copper tube is about 15% under antivacuum conditions due to the good chemical activities of La. The impurity elements in copper tube such as O, S, Pb and Si can be significantly reduced, and the average columnar dendrite spacing of the copper tube can also be reduced from 2.21 mm to 0.93 mm by adding La. The ultimate tensile strength and the elongation with and without La addition are almost unchanged. However, the annual corrosion rate of the HCC TP2 copper tube is reduced from 10.18 mm•a-1 to 9.37 mm•a-1 by the purification effect of trace La.

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common upper gastrointestinal disorder worldwide, but the current treatments for FD are still unsatisfactory. The aims of this study were to investigate the efficacy and safety of Qi-Zhi-Wei-Tong granules in patients with postprandial distress syndrome (PDS)-predominant FD. Methods: The study was conducted as a randomized, double-blinded, multicenter, placebo-controlled design in 197 patients with PDS. All participants received placebo treatment for 1 week. Patients whose total symptom score decreased by

Three new pterocarpon flavonoids, wisterones B-D, together with nine isoflavone known compounds, were isolated from Wisteria sinensis Tumor. The structure of those compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, including UV, IR, MS and NMR experiments. These new compounds were investigated for their activities against anti-crop pathogenic fungi.