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Gastrochilus yehii S. I. Hsieh, C. T. Lee & J. H. Wu, a new species of Orchidaceae discovered in Taiwan, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically close to G. ciliaris F. Maek., G. deltoglossus T.C. Hsu, S.I. Hsieh, J.H. Wu & H.C. Hung, and G. raraensis Fukuy. The distinguishing characters of G. yehii are semiorbicular epichile, which is whitish with purple dots and adaxial with densely long-hairy ciliate margin, and subconical hypochile, which is purple with reddish speckles.

To describe the nursing experiences and care needs of family caregivers caring for neonates with enterostomies in China.A qualitative study.We conducted semi-structured interviews with family caregivers who care for neonates undergoing enterostomy. Family caregivers were selected using a purposive sampling method from three children's hospitals until no new data were generated (N = 26). Data analysis applied the thematic analysis method. The caregivers' experiences were described using qualitative content analysis.The experience of family caregivers was described as growing in adaptation, where five main themes emerged: (1) complex emotional responses; (2) uncertainty about everything; (3) lack of confidence, anxiety and helplessness; (4) eagerness for professional support; (5) active adaptation, gain-harvest and gain-growth. These findings increased understanding and added knowledge on this topic that is rarely studied in China. Healthcare authorities and professionals should recognize and understand the lives and situations of family caregivers (whose neonates undergo enterostomy) to better identify their difficulties and needs.

Here, we describe a family case carrier with 3q29 microduplication, a 1.56Mb and 1.68 Mb duplicate region, that was identified by CNV-seq. Different from the common clinical traits of previously reported cases, this family of individuals shows an apparently normal phenotype.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to identify the family members carried the same microdeletion and to discover the symptoms of a familial 16p11.2 microdeletion were greatly different. Case Report: The son, a 6-years-old boy, displayed scoliosis, mental retardation, and language retardation. The mother displayed mild mental retardation, but no scoliosis or language retardation or genital tract malformation. Pedigree research revealed that the mother, her son, and her fetus carried the same 16p11.2 microdeletion through CNV-sequencing, Whole Exon Sequencing, and PCR, but the father was normal. And her fetal displayed no scoliosis by ultrasound. After birth, the baby displayed genital tract malformation, but no scoliosis or mental retardation.Conclusions: This finding uncovered that the symptoms of 16p11.2 microdeletion syndrome are greatly different, even in the same segment microdeletion.

Background: More than 100,000 neonates undergo enterostomy every year in China, and the incidence continues to increase gradually. Most neonates undergoing enterostomy are cared for by family after hospital discharge. However, there is a lack of qualitative studies on family caregivers’ experiences in caring for neonates undergoing enterostomy in China.Method: An explorative design was used in which qualitative semi-structured interviews with family caregivers were conducted. Family caregivers were selected using a purposive sampling method from a children’s hospital until no new data were generated (n = 26). Reporting adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist.Results: The experience of family caregivers was described as growing in adaptation, where five main themes emerged: (1) complex emotional responses; (2) uncertainty about everything; (3) lack of confidence, anxiety, and helplessness; (4) eagerness for professional support; (5) active adaptation, harvest, and growth.Conclusion: These findings increased understanding and added knowledge on this topic that is rarely studied in China. Healthcare authorities and professionals should recognise and understand the lives and situations of family caregivers (whose neonates undergo enterostomy) to better identify their difficulties and needs. Appropriate and effective support, both from government and society, should be planned and implemented for family caregivers caring for neonates undergoing enterostomy and maintaining the quality of their own lives.

With the excellent ability to transform near-infrared light to localized visible or UV light, thereby achieving deep tissue penetration, lanthanide ion-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) have emerged as one of the most striking nanoscale materials for more effective and safer cancer treatment. Up to now, UCNPs combined with photosensitive components have been widely used in the delivery of chemotherapy drugs, photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy. Applications in these directions are reviewed in this article. We also highlight microenvironmental tumor monitoring and precise targeted therapies. Then we briefly summarize some new trends and the existing challenges for UCNPs. We hope this review can provide new ideas for future cancer treatment based on UCNPs.

A new species, Gastrochilus deltoglossus, is described and illustrated from Taiwan. This species is characterized by the presence of pendulous stems, leaves without awned apex, 3.5–4.0 mm tall subconical hypochile, and broadly deltoid, ciliate, adaxially sparsely short-hairy epichile that are approximately as wide as hypochile. Notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status and taxonomic affinities are presented.

Spherical nano-structured and nano-agglomerated Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 cathode materials were prepared by simple blending and mechanical ball-milling process, respectively. The phase structure of Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 cathodes were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical tests of the cathodes were performed to examine the effect of particle morphology on the cycle performance, as well as the rate capability. The results show that spherical nano-structured sample prepared by simple blending process exhibits an initial discharge capacity of ∼234.0 mAh g−1 and remains ∼98.0% of that after 50 cycles. In contrast, the nano-agglomerated cathode synthesized by mechanical ball milling process retains only ∼84.0% of its initial discharge capacity after 50 cycles although it shows a better rate performance than the spherical nano-structured cathode. The good rate performance for the nano-agglomerated cathode can be attributed to th...

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish a rapid and accurate method for the detection of the Streptococcus agalactiae antibody (SA-Ab) to determine the presence of the bovine mastitis (BM)-causative pathogen. Methods: The multi-subunit fusion protein rSip-Pgk-FbsA was prokaryotically expressed and purified. The triple activities of the membrane surface-associated proteins Sip, phosphoglycerate kinase (Pgk), and fibronectin (FbsA) were used as the diagnostic antigens to establish an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for the detection of SA-Ab in BM. Results: The optimal antigen coating concentration was 2 μg/mL, the optimal serum dilution was 1:160, and the optimal dilution of the enzyme-labeled secondary antibody was 1:6000. The sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability tests showed that the method established in this study had no cross-reaction with antibodies to Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis in the sera. The results of the sensitivity test showed that a positive result could be obtained even if the serum dilution reached 1:12,800, indicating the high sensitivity and good repeatability of the method. The positive coincidence rate of this method was 98.6%, which is higher than that of previous tests established with the Sip or Pgk mono-antigen fusion protein, respectively, demonstrating the relatively higher sensitivity of this newly established method. The detection rate for 389 clinical samples was 46.53%. Conclusions: The indirect ELISA method established in this study could provide a more accurate and reliable serological method for the rapid detection of S. agalactiae in cases of BM.

Aim To describe the clinical characteristics with genetic lesions in a Chinese family with Crouzon syndrome. Methods All five patients from this family were included and received comprehensive ophthalmic and systemic examinations. Direct sequencing of the FGFR2 gene was employed for mutation identification. Crystal structure analysis was applied to analyze the structural changes associated with the substitution. Results All patients presented typical Crouzon features, including short stature, craniosynostosis, mandibular prognathism, shallow orbits with proptosis, and exotropia. Intrafamilial phenotypic diversities were observed. Atrophic optic nerves were exclusively detected in the proband and her son. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) implied a cystic lesion in her sellar and third ventricular regions. A missense mutation, FGFR2 p.Cys342Trp, was found as disease causative. This substitution would generate conformational changes in the extracellular Ig-III domain of the FGFR-2 protein, thus altering its physical and biological properties. Conclusion We describe the clinical presentations and genotypic lesions in a Chinese family with Crouzon syndrome. The intrafamilial phenotypic varieties in this family suggest that other genetic modifiers may also play a role in the pathogenesis of Crouzon syndrome.

Based on the background of a highway, for tunnels with small spacing of complex stress condition, adopt various construction schemes for numerical simulation using Midas Gts finite element software under the condition of deep-buried small net distance tunnel. Use full-face excavation method, benching tunneling construction method and both side heading method to compare surrounding rock stress, surrounding rock deformation, internal force of bolt and shotcrete support system structure, lateral-wall displacement and stability of surrounding rock. Analyse displacement and stress change laws before and after the excavation of tunnel surrounding rock and supporting structure under different schemes.

In this study, chitooligosaccharides were prepared from cicada slough of Cryptotympana atrata Fabricius by hydrolysis using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Factors affecting the hydrolysis of chitosan were investigated and the optimum hydrolysis conditions were as follows: time, 4 h; temperature, 65 °C; amount of H2O2, 2% (v/v); and pH, 5. Under these conditions, the average degree of polymerisation decreased to ~4.5. The Fourier transform infrared spectra and product sugar composition indicate that there were no significant chemical changes in the backbones of the chitosan treated with H2O2.The chitooligosaccharides had high antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli at the concentration of 100mg/mL.

Abelmoschus manihot var. pungens (Roxburgh) Hochreutiner is naturalized in abandoned land of central Taiwan. The distinguished characteristics of A. manihot var. pungens include the ovate-lanceolate epicalyx lobes, distinct prickly hairs all over the plant, and even over the margins of its epicalyx lobes. Descriptions, line drawings and photos of this species are provided.

First analyze the spherical sensor measuring's principle, a measuring instrument of power-frequency electric field based on the GPRS wireless data transmission are designed. Compared with the traditional, it has the advantage of the power frequency field strength environment for real-time monitoring and remote control. Adopting the wireless transmission, thus overcome the defect of short transmission distance, poor real-time capability, and poor reliability. The staff through the PC can be achieved on the field measurement of regional control Establish the power frequency electric field calculation model. the simulation of the 500kV single circuit of high voltage transmission lines in the same tower, Finally The results show that the system have higher sampling accuracy and more reliability of data transmission.

Gastrodia theana Aver. was first publicized in Vietnam (2005). Recently, the species was found in humus of broad-leaved forest at elevations about 1,000 m in the central Taiwan. A line-drawing, photographs and distribution map of this newly recorded species are provided to aid in identification. The distinguished characters of G. theana are the perianth tube is distinctly striate outside and the column short, hardly visible.

PSO has been widely used in continuous optimization problems, but in discrete domain the research and application is very little. By redefining the position and speed of particles and related operations, the discrete particle swarm algorithm can be constructed. Due to the weak capacity of local search of PSO and be easy to constringe the local optimum, it is combined with simulated annealing and the hybrid discrete PSO is constructed using the characteristics that simulated annealing can accept some ungraded solution under the control of certain probability,finally the algorithm is applied to solving the traveling salesman problem successfully. The simulation results show that the hybrid discrete PSO can get better optimization effect, which validates the effectiveness of the method.

To study the protective effect of Saussurea involucrata alcohol extract on liver mitochondria in mice under hypoxia condition.The hypoxia mice model was established, the BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups:normal group ,hypoxia model group, positive control group and Saussurea involucrata alcohol extract group. Mice were put into low pressure oxygen chamber and decompressed, adapted to hypobaric hypoxia environment of simulated altitude of 8,000 m for 12 h, and then recovered to normal altitude. The mice were sacrificed and the liver mitochondria was isolated, the mitochondrial membrane potential and the activity of malate dehydrogenase, aconitase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase and mitochondrial complex I, II and V were measured.Compared with hypoxia model group, Saussurea involucrata alcohol extract protected mitochondrial membrane potential, sustained the activities of aconitase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and mitochondrial complex I, II and V under hypoxia condition.Saussurea involucrata alcohol extract can protect the liver mitochondrial function in mice under hypoxia condtion.

Zn electrodeposited directly on the surface of AZ31 Mg alloy was researched in this paper. Zinc fluoride which was dissolved in ammonium citrate solution was used as metal ion source. The interface and morphology of Zn coating were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The results showed that Zn coating was smooth and dense. The experiment of making lattice on Zn coating showed good adhesion. The corrosion resistance of Zn coating was carried out in 5% NaCl solution, and its stabilization time was more than 5hrs. Cyclic voltammetry and polarization curve were used to investigate the transfer behavior and state of zinc ion in electrolyte. It indicated that Zn existed in the forms of three complex states in electroplating solution and ZnL proportion increased with increasing pH value. It was known that complex Zn electrodeposited directly on the cathode.

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most important fungal diseases in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) worldwide. Wheat germplasm N9436 is resistant to powdery mildew. In the present study, a backward subtracted cDNA library was constructed with cDNA from N9436 leaves inoculated by Blumeria graminis as the driver and cDNA from uninoculated N9436 leaves as the tester. A total of 120 positive clones were randomly chosen from the SSH-cDNA library and were amplified with sp6 and t7 primers to examine the insert size. After screening the repeated and redundant sequences, 59 expressed sequence tags (EST) were acquired. Nucleic acid and protein homology search were performed using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) program with the default settings at NCBI website (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). BlastX results in nr-protein database revealed that 23 ESTs were highly homologous with known proteins involved in primary metabolism, energy metabolism, transport, signal transduction, and disease resistance and defenses. BlastNr results showed that 47 and 10 ESTs had high identities with known Unigene and function-unknown ESTs, respectively, and two ESTs matched none in the nr-database. Twenty-one ESTs were both in the nucleic acid and protein databases, including seven ESTs associated with powdery mildew resistance. Among them, one was responsible for signal transduction and six for systemic acquired resistance (SAR) system.

Tamarix androssowii is one of the most remarkable salt-tolerance woody plant species in China. To investigate its expression profile in response to NaHCO 3 stress, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was analyzed. We have constructed a 0.4 mol/l NaHCO 3 treated cDNA library of T. androssowii and sequenced more than 3000 randomly selected clones. A total of 2455 high-quality ESTs were generated, 1268 (51.65%) of these ESTs showed significant similarity to the sequences in NCBI Nr database. Nearly 400 ESTs were found to be involved in salt-tolerance; among them, metallothionein-like protein and germin-like protein are the most abundant transcripts, and account for 2.44 and 1.91% of total ESTs, respectively. The database-matched ESTs were further grouped into 12 function categories including: metabolism (19.72%), cell rescue, defense (20.19%), protein synthesis (7.33%), energy (5.12%), transport facilitation (6.78%), protein destination (6.94%), signal transduction (4.89%), cell growth, division (4.42%), transcription (6.62%), photosynthesis (9.94%), cell structure (1.66%) and function unknown (6.39%). Ninety-six unique genes were selected for small cDNA microarray analysis. Six were down-regulated and three up-regulated significantly. The experimental results obtained from this research will represent a key step in understanding the molecular mechanism of NaHCO 3 tolerance of Tamarix species.

To investigate the protective effect and action mechanism of petroleum ether extracts from Saussurea involucrate on brain tissues of hypoxia rats under constant pressure and closed conditions.The PESI dosage-dependent experiment for hypoxia rats was conducted under constant pressure and closed conditions by intraperitoneally injecting 125, 250, 500 mg x kg(-1) to finalize that the optimum dosage is the high dose of PESI. Afterwards, 90 Wistar rats were randomly divided into the hypoxic model group, the acetazolamide 250 mg x kg(-1) group and the PESI high dose group. Each group was further divided into three subgroups according to different hypoxia times, with 10 rats in each subgroup. Under the same hypoxia and administration conditions, the rats were sacrificed after 0, 3, 6 h respectively. Their brain samples were collected for common pathological observation and immunohistochemical staining of HIF-1alpha. Real-time RT-PCR was used to detect HIF-1alpha, EPO, HO-1 and Caspase-3 gene expressions. And the Western blot assay was adopted to detect HIF-1alpha protein expression.The brain tissues of the hypoxia model group were severely damaged with the increase in the hypoxia time. The acetazolamide group and the PESI high does group were damaged in a much lower degree. According to the gene expression and the Western blot assay, high dose of PESI could inhibit HIF-1alpha expression. According to the pure gene expression test, high dose of PESI could increase EPO and HO-1 mRNA expressions, but inhibit Caspase-3 mRNA expression.PESI's protective mechanism for brain tissues of hypoxia rats under constant pressure and closed conditions may be related to its effects in inhibiting HIF-1alpha expression, increasing EPO expression and resisting cell apoptosis.

In this study, the xanthan-derived oligosacchrides were prepared by hydrolysis of xanthan using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in alkaline solution. The hydrolysis process was monitored by the dextrose equivalent values of the hydrolysates. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were found to be reaction time 24 h, temperature 65 °C, H2O2 concentration 1.6% (v/v), and NaOH concentration, 3 M. Under these optimized conditions, the maximum dextrose equivalent value (7.53%) was observed. The structure of the hydrolysates were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The xanthan-derived oligosacchrides showed high hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The xanthan-derived oligosacchrides content of the product and the yield were 96.8% and 95.7% (w/w), respectively.

Phytolacca icosandra L. (Phytolaccaceae), native to the South America has been found recently in central Taiwan. This newly naturalized species is distinguished by its erect spike-like racemes and 12–20 stamens. This paper describes the morphology of the species and provides line drawing and photographs for identification.

Management is an effective tool for increasing the productivity of Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica). This species has been widely planted in China, especially in sandy lands. However, optimization of management practices had not been fully explored. We established a system dynamic model to evaluate the effects of thinning and of manipulation of water supply on the productivity and population density of a Mongolian pine forest (17 scenarios in total). Different levels of thinning increased the mean biomass of Mongolian pine over no-management to a range from 202 to 256 t·ha-1. Increasing water supply decreased the mean biomass of Mongolian pine to a range from 176 to 199 t·ha-1. These results indicated that thinning at different levels may lead to an increase in biomass accumulation, while manipulating water supply may decrease biomass. Further, thinning appeared more effective than increasing water supply in efforts at maintaining high productivity of Mongolian pine forests. Moreover, the highest biomass occurred in a scenario with a thinning intensity of 30% in over-mature trees, indicating that this thinning intensity was the most effective choice for to the maintenance of the highest biomass in Mongolian pine forests. This study informs about the interactions between Mongolian pine and forest management, and provides guidelines for the practice of management of this forest type.

Complete simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) was achieved in an air lift circulation bioreactor. Based on this condition, the system could be switched to shortcut SND as the free ammonia (FA) concentration was increased with higher influent pH. The nitrogen removal and N2O emission characteristics of the shortcut SND process were investigated and those of the complete SND process were also observed as control. In the shortcut SND process, the average total nitrogen removal and average SND efficiency reached 71.9% and 80.9%, which was 18.0 and 16.8 percents higher than those in the complete SND process, respectively. In addition, the total nitrogen removal rate in the shortcut SND process was 0.11 mg x (L x min)(-1), 1.4 times as high as that in the complete SND process. Although higher nitrogen removal efficiency was obtained in the shortcut SND process, the mean N2O conversion rate reached 57.1% and the average N2O accumulated emission amount was approximately 4 times higher than that in the complete SND process. The results also indicated that the increase of NO2- -N concentration in the reactor should be responsible for the remarkable enhancement of N2O emission.

The cathodic catalyst plays an important role in the electricity generation of the microbial fuel cell (MFC). In order to evaluate the efficiency of oxygen reduction on the carbon nanotube (CNT) functionalized with different carboxylic groups supported Pt, carboxylic CNTs under the conditions of 80 degrees C and 95 degrees C were prepared, respectively. Pt/CNT catalysts (Pt/CNT-80 and Pt/CNT-95) was prepared by the dipping-precipitation method and their oxygen reduction efficiency was tested in the MFC (MFC-80, MFC-95 and MFC-C) with the air cathode. The results showed that the maximum power output densities of the MFC-95 and MFC-80 were 568.8 mWx m(-2) and 412.8 mWx m(-2), internal resistances were 204.7 omega and 207.7 omega, and open circuit potentials were 0.719 V and 0.651 V, respectively. However, the maximum power output density of the control MFC-C was only 5.4 mW x m(-2), and its internal resistance was 826.2 omega. XPS and XRD analysis results demonstrate that the efficiency of Pt/CNT-95 catalyst is better than Pt/CNT-80 may result from the surface of carboxylic CNT in the 95 degrees C introduced rich oxygen containing groups.

To investigate the effects of neopterin on ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux in human THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells, and to explore the role of the liver X receptor alpha (LXRα) involved. In the present study, THP-1 cells were pre-incubated with ox-LDL to become foam cells. The protein and mRNA expression were examined by Western blot assays and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. Liquid scintillation counting and high performance liquid chromatography assays were used to test cellular cholesterol efflux and cholesterol content. Neopterin decreased ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells, and the LXRα siRNA can reverse the inhibitory effects induced by neopterin. Neoterin has a negative regulation on ABCA1 expression via the LXRα signaling pathway, which suggests the aggravated effects of neopterin on atherosclerosis.

AIM: To establish the more feasible and sensitive assessment approach to the detection of adefovir (ADV) resistance-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies. METHODS: Based on the characteristics of rtA181V/T and rtN236T mutations, a new approach based on real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established for the detection of ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies, total HBV DNA, rtA181 and rtN236 mutations in blood samples from 32 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with unsatisfactory curative effect on ADV and compared with routine HBV DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Both the sensitivity and specificity of this new detection approach to ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies were 100%, which were much higher than those of direct HBV DNA sequencing. The approach was able to detect 0.1% of mutated strains in a total plasmid population. Among the 32 clinical patients, single rtA181 and rtN236T mutation and double rtA181T and rtN236T mutations were detected in 20 and 8, respectively, while ADV-resistant mutations in 6 (including, rtA181V/T mutation alone in 5 patients) and no associated mutations in 26. CONCLUSION: This new approach is more feasible and efficient to detect ADV-resistant mutants of HBV and ADV-resistant mutations before and during ADV treatment with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 100%.

This paper analyzes the shortcoming of web services (WS) access control model, discusses many research methods of policy-based access control technology. Based on SAML, XACML, OWL and policy protocol layer, the paper proposes an access control model WS-HPBAC of dynamic hierarchical policy of WS, and realizes a cross-domain semantic WS access control system. The system provides more overall access control mechanism for WS, makes perfect WS authority management ability, and increases WS access control application security. Finally the problems studied further are put forward. Keywords-Web services; policy-based access control; hierarchical policy; XACML; OWL; cross-domain access control

Inhibition effect of aniline on nitrifier was investigated in suspended sludge batch reactors and a three-phase fluidized bed. The tested nitrifier and aniline degradation bacteria were obtained from excess sludge of a treatment plant for aniline wastewater. The results showed that aniline had produced obvious inhibition on nitrifier in suspended sludge batch reactors. Barely when aniline concentration was less than 3 mg/L, had nitrifier gradually recovered their ability. But the recovered time prolonged with the augment of initial aniline concentration. Feasible hydraulic retention time (HRT) was a key operating factor to remove aniline and ammonia simultaneously in fluidized bed reactor. When aniline concentration in influent was 200 mg/L and HRT was 10 h, aniline concentration was 6.58 mg/L and nitrifying rate achieved 84.95% in the fluidized bed reactor. Three-phase fluidized biofilm nitrifying reactor was superior to suspended sludge nitrifying reactor in resisting aniline toxicity and has practical value in denitrifying treatment of wastewater containing toxic organic chemicals.

A direct adaptive control design method is proposed for a class of uncertain single-input single-output (SISO) nonaffine system. It is a difficult problem to be dealt with in the control literature, mainly because that the virtual controls and the final control law of uncertain nonaffine system is not easy to resolve. To overcome this difficulty, the fuzzy-neural approximator cancels the unknown part of the inverse functions adaptively. Then, Inverse design, backstepping design, and feedback linearization techniques are incorporated to deal with this problem. It is proved that the whole closed-loop system is stable in the sense of Lyapunov. The control performance is guaranteed by suitably choosing the design parameters. Simulation study was included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

To investigate the feasibility of transplanted endothelial progenitor cells transfected with VEGF165 gene to ischemic flap with increased neovascularization and augmented the survival areas.EPCs were isolated from human cord blood and cultured in vitro. Plasmid PcDNA3.1(-)/VEGF165 containing VEGF gene was transfected into the EPCs. EPCs transfected with blank plasmid, and EPCs without transfection were used as controls. ELISA was used to detect the expression of VEGF protein in the culture fluids. The EPCs were dyed with CM-DiI 7 days later. Ischemic skin flaps were made on the backs of 27 nude mice. The mice were randomly divided into 3 equal groups with their skin flaps being transplanted with EPCs transfected with 3.1(-)/VEGF165 plasmid, EPCs not transfected with 3.1(-)/VEGF165 plasmid, and injected with M199 medium at the basal part. Four days after the peduncles of the skin flaps were cut. Seven days after the cutting-off of the peduncles the survival rate of skin flap was observed and the blood perfusion was observed with laser Doppler flowmetry, 10 days after the density of capillary arteries were observed with microcirculation microscope. Three specimens of skin flap were taken 7 and 11 days after the skin flaps were made to undergo histological examination to detect the density of capillary arteries by CD34 immunohistochemistry and to observe the proliferation of EPCs with fluorescence microscopy. Peripheral blood samples were collected 1, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days after the skin flaps were made to undergo ELISA to detect the levels of VEGF proteinThe VEGF levels in the culture supernatants of the groups A, B, and C were 352 ng/L +/- 35 ng/L, 45 ng/L +/- 5 ng/L, and 0 ng/L respectively with significant difference between any 2 groups (all P0.05). The skin flap survival rates of the three groups were 97.2%, 60.3%, and 34.2% respectively with significant difference between any 2 groups (all P0.05) and the survival quality of the group A was the best. The capillary density of the group A was greater than those of the groups B and C. The VEGF levels at any time point of the group A were all significantly higher than those of the group B and C (all P0.05) and there was not a significant difference between the groups B and C. The capillary density levels at different time points decreased progressively in the order of groups A, B, and C with significant difference between any 2 groups (all P0.05). No EPC was shown by fluorescence microscopy in the skin flaps of the group C. The EPC density in skin flap 7 and 11 days after the flaps were made were 136 +/- 10 and 75 +/- 6/mm(2) and 305 +/- 26 and 199 +/- 18/mm(2) respectively with significant differences between the groups A and B. (both P0.05).The EPCs from human cord blood, especially those transfected with VEGF165 gene increases the neovascularization in ischemic skin flaps and augments their survival rate.

Based on the glutamate dysfunction hypothesis for the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, MK801, a noncompetitive antagonist for the NMDA-type of glutamate receptors, was administered to mice by i.p. injection. We observed hyperlocomotion and stereotypy, two behavioral signs indicative of schizophrenic symptoms in human. Aided with automated movement measuring of locomotion and videotaping for off-line scoring of stereotypy, these two schizophrenia-like behaviors were readily evaluated. According to the result of dose-response measurements of serial MK801 dosages in the BALB/c inbred mice, 0.6 mg/kg MK801 was determined as the optimum dosage for these behaviors. Furthermore, the same experiments were performed in another inbred strain C57BL/6 and the outbred stock ICR, and similar results were obtained. These results show that MK801 induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in both inbred and outbred mice. Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic drug for treating schizophrenia in human, was used in the schizophrenia models using BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. The results indicated that risperidone dose-dependently inhibited the MK801-induced schizophrenia-like symptoms in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Thus, our results indicate that the MK801-induced behaviors may serve as useful mouse models of schizophrenia.