Search

Presented here are the structure, optical properties, photocurrent response and theoretical study of a non-perovskite copper iodobismuthate hybrid, namely, [(Me)2-(DABCO)]2Cu2Bi2I12 (1).

Although genome-wide association studies are widely used to mine genes for quantitative traits, the effects to be estimated are confounded, and the methodologies for detecting interactions are imperfect. To address these issues, the mixed model proposed here first estimates the genotypic effects for AA, Aa, and aa, and the genotypic polygenic background replaces additive and dominance polygenic backgrounds. Then, the estimated genotypic effects are partitioned into additive and dominance effects using a one-way analysis of variance model. This strategy was further expanded to cover QTN-by-environment interactions (QEIs) and QTN-by-QTN interactions (QQIs) using the same mixed-model framework. Thus, a three-variance-component mixed model was integrated with our multi-locus random-SNP-effect mixed linear model (mrMLM) method to establish a new methodological framework, 3VmrMLM, that detects all types of loci and estimates their effects. In Monte Carlo studies, 3VmrMLM correctly detected all types of loci and almost unbiasedly estimated their effects, with high powers and accuracies and a low false positive rate. In re-analyses of 10 traits in 1439 rice hybrids, detection of 269 known genes, 45 known gene-by-environment interactions, and 20 known gene-by-gene interactions strongly validated 3VmrMLM. Further analyses of known genes showed more small (67.49%), minor-allele-frequency (35.52%), and pleiotropic (30.54%) genes, with higher repeatability across datasets (54.36%) and more dominance loci. In addition, a heteroscedasticity mixed model in multiple environments and dimension reduction methods in quite a number of environments were developed to detect QEIs, and variable selection under a polygenic background was proposed for QQI detection. This study provides a new approach for revealing the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.

Power transformer is regarded as one of the crucial part of electrical power transmission and distribution system. The quality of transformer oil can directly affect the operation of the power transformer, and breakdown voltage (BDV) and water content are the two main parameters of transformer oil quality. Monitoring the BDV and water content of transformer oil is considered as an important method to evaluate the safe operation of power systems. This work proposes the measurement of BDV and water content in transformer oil using multi frequency ultrasonic and generalized regression neural network (GRNN). The BDV and water content of all 210 samples were firstly tested according to the traditional testing methods and the multi frequency ultra-sonic technology, separately. And then the 210 samples were randomly divided into training sets and test sets. The obtained multi frequency ultrasonic data were set as the input of GRNN, and the BDV and water content as the output of GRNN. Moreover, the 20-fold-cross-validation was incorporated to obtain the best smoothing factor δ for GRNN. Finally, the GRNN model was trained by the training sets with δ =4.54 and was evaluated with the test sets. All results show that the lower BDV or the higher water content of the sample will cause greater ultrasonic sound attenuation, and the prediction accuracy of the prediction model for BDV and water con-tent in oil is up to 95%. It provides a new method for evaluating the health of transformer oil.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Granulosa cells (GCs) surrounding oocytes are crucial for follicular growth, oocyte development, ovulation, and luteinization under the dynamic co-stimulation of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). This study aimed to investigate the effect of LH levels on GCs in preovulatory follicles under gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist-based ovarian stimulation. In vitro experiments were also conducted to study the direct effect of LH on GCs. METHODS: Twelve infertile women were divided into low (L), medium (M), and high (H) LH groups according to their serum LH levels during ovarian stimulation. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted to examine the transcriptome profiles of GCs obtained from the above patients during the oocyte retrieval. The activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenase was measured under the stimulation of recombinant LH (rLH) concentration gradient combined with recombinant FSH. The ultrastructures of subcellular organelles were observed. RESULTS: Bioinformatic analyses showed that compared with the M group, molecule and pathway changes in the L group and in the H group were similar. In cultured GCs, both insufficient and excessive rLH impaired the activity of mitochondrial dehydrogenase. With the medium rLH concentration, numerous cell connections and abundant mitochondria and liposomes were observed. Compared with the medium concentration, GCs showed smaller and rounder mitochondria, more autophagosomes, and massive organelles damages with excessive rLH, and swollen, circular, or forked mitochondria were observed with inadequate rLH. CONCLUSIONS: RNA-seq provided a novel spectrum of transcriptome characteristics of GCs potentially affected by serum LH levels during ovarian stimulation. In vitro, rLH could directly affect GCs at the subcellular level. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10815-021-02066-8.

The reprogramming of host physiology has been considered an essential process for baculovirus propagation. Trehalose, the main sugar in insect blood, plays a crucial role as an instant energy source. Although the trehalose level is modulated following infection with Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), the mechanism of trehalose metabolism in response to BmNPV infection is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that the trehalose level tended to be lower in BmNPV-infected hemolymph and higher in the midgut. The omics analysis revealed that two trehalose transporters, BmTret1-1 and BmTret1-2, and trehalase, BmTRE1 and BmTRE2, were differentially expressed in the midgut after BmNPV infection. BmTret1-1 and BmTret1-2 had the ability to transport trehalose into the cell and promoted cellular absorption of trehalose. Furthermore, the functions of BmTret1-1, BmTret1-2, BmTRE1 and BmTRE2 in BmNPV infection were analyzed. These genes were upregulated in the midgut after BmNPV infection. Virus amplification analysis revealed that these genes could promote BmNPV proliferation in BmN cells. In addition, these genes could promote the expression of BmPI3K, BmPDK1 and BmAkt and inhibit the expression of BmFoxO in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt signalling pathway. Similarly, the increased trehalose level in BmN cells could promote the expression of BmPI3K, BmPDK1 and BmAkt and inhibit the expression of BmFoxO. Taken together, BmNPV infection promote the expression of trehalose hydrolysis and transport-related genes. These changes affect the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway to facilitate BmNPV proliferation. These findings help clarify the relationship between trehalose metabolism and BmNPV infection.

BACKGROUND: It is a common problem that high‐concentration petroleum hydrocarbon (hc‐PH) is difficult to degrade and remove using biological methods. RESULTS: In this study, when the concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon (PH) were increased from 972.4 ± 40.3 to 6953.8 ± 294.3 mg L⁻¹, all degradation rates of PH by activated sludge (AS) were beyond 79%. However, the degradation rate of hc‐PH (from 9958.3 ± 401.6 to 19 953.3 ± 896.5 mg L⁻¹) by AS was significantly lower than that of low‐concentration petroleum hydrocarbon (lc‐PH) (from 972.4 ± 40.3 to 6953.8 ± 294.3 mg L⁻¹). Meanwhile, the heterotrophic microorganism number and bacterial community diversity in the hc‐PH environment were lower than those in the lc‐PH environment. Sequencing results of the bacterial community showed that the dominant bacterial community of AS was stable and composed by the genera Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Burkholderia‐Paraburkholderia in the hc‐PH condition. Moreover, aimed to enhance the tolerance to hc‐PH stress, the relative abundances of microbial community functions of environmental adaptation, membrane transport, replication and repair were increased. However, the digestive system, circulatory system and endocrine system of the microbial community were significantly disturbed by hc‐PH, which eventually caused the degradation rate of PH by AS to decrease significantly. CONCLUSION: Thus the decrease of microbial community diversity and tolerance ability can be regarded as the main limiting factors to enhance the degradation rate of hc‐PH by microorganisms. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

This study explored the impact of low luteinizing hormone (LH) levels during ovarian stimulation on endometrial function. Based on previous studies by us and others, we divided the patients into low ( 4 IU/L), medium (4-10 IU/L), and high ( 10 IU/L) LH groups. The study utilized a comparison control group design with three groups of 10 patients. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was applied for functional annotation. By analyzing the exon differentially expressed genes in the endometrium of these three patient groups during the embryo implantation window, we found that when compared to the medium LH group, low LH downregulated endometrial cell metabolism, including mitochondrial-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (Normalized Enrichment Scores, NES = - 1.53) and glycolytic metabolism (NES = - 1.22), immune regulation, and autophagy (NES = - 1.58). Transcription factors were the main regulators of cell function. We found that MCM2 was probably involved in regulating the endometrial function induced by low LH. MCM2 target genes were enriched in low LH group, NES = - 1.54. Low LH, but not high LH, altered the endometrial receptivity assay gene expression in comparison to the medium LH. Our results indicated that low LH impacted the endometrial cell function, with a greater effect than high LH. This research provides timely and necessary data on the involvement of LH in important endometrial cellular processes and these data support further clinical development of endometrial receptivity.

To prospectively study the accuracy of the palliative prognostic index (PPI) survival prediction model combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation.The PPI survival prediction model was used to predict survival time. Patients' real survival time was recorded. The survival time was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the logrank method was used to test the difference.The average PPI survival prediction score of 227 patients was 5.83 (95% CI: 5.29-6.37). There was a significant difference in the real-life period between the different PPI groups (P0.05). PPI group I (predicted survival of6 weeks) showed the highest predictive sensitivity and PPI group II (predicted survival of 3-6 weeks) showed the highest predictive specificity. According to TCM syndrome differentiation, 82 cases (36% ) were diagnosed with liver and kidney Yin deficiency (type IV). The actual survival time of type IV patients was significantly shorter than that of other types of patients (mean: 21.85 vs 28.70, P = 0.007). In group I, the median survival time of type IV patients and other types was 25 and 34 d, respectively (P0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of PPI prediction were improved in group II by TCM syndrome differentiation. For patients in group III whose predicted survival time was3 weeks, the specificity of PPI survival prediction was higher in type IV patients.This study shows that the PPI predictive tool for survival rate has important value. TCM syndrome differentiation and typing has certain significance for further classification and survival prediction.

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is the mainstay in the treatment of allergic diseases, but the therapeutic effects of AIT need to be improved. CD38We sought to elucidate the role of antigen-specific CD38An analysis was carried out on AIT results of 48 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis (AR), among which peripheral blood immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry; serum cytokine levels were determined by ELISA. An AR murine model was developed to test the role of CD38A fraction of antigen-specific CD38Antigen-specific CD38

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of phenylalanine and leucine in patients with severe infection. Methods: Ninety-three patients with infection who had a quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score ≥2 were enrolled. Plasma phenylalanine, leucine, albumin, C-reactive protein, pre-albumin, and transferrin were measured and the SOFA score at enrollment was calculated after hospitalization. Results: During the 3-month follow-up, 30 (32.3%) patients died. Death was associated with higher SOFA scores, a higher incidence of bacteremia and admission to the intensive care unit, higher C-reactive protein and phenylalanine levels, worse kidney function, and lower pre-albumin and transferrin levels. Patients were categorized into three groups: high-risk type 1 (phenylalanine ≥84 μM), high-risk type 2 (phenylalanine

OBJECTIVES Myocardial bridging (MB) can cause myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, or even sudden cardiac death. We aimed to evaluate the left ventricular function in patients with MB of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) using longitudinal strain (LS) measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography. METHODS We enrolled 46 subjects with MB in the LAD diagnosed by coronary angiography. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the severity of tunneled artery stenosis

In order to solve the problem of slow speed and low efficiency of product defect detection, this paper proposes an improved Fully Convolutional One-Stage Object Detection (FCOS) algorithm for detection, and compares it with several currently widely used target detection algorithms. Through experimental verification, the improved Fully Convolutional One-Stage Object Detection (FCOS) has improved the detection effect by 6.9% compared with the original Fully Convolutional One-Stage Object Detection (FCOS) algorithm, and the applicability of the improved Fully Convolutional One-Stage Object Detection algorithm is verified through experiments.

Background Ultrafast ultrasound imaging has been demonstrated to be an effective method to evaluate carotid stiffness through carotid pulse wave velocity (PWV) with high reproducibility, but lack of reference values has precluded its widespread use in clinical practice. This study aimed to establish reference values of PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging in a prospective, multicenter, population-based cohort study and to investigate the main determinants of carotid PWV. Methods A total of 1,544 healthy Han Chinese volunteers (581 [38%] men; age, 18–95 years) were enrolled from 32 collaborating laboratories in China. The participants were categorized by age, blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI). The basic clinical parameters and the carotid PWV at the beginning of systole (BS) and end of systole (ES) were measured via ultrafast ultrasound imaging techniques. Results The PWV at both BS and ES was significantly higher in the left carotid artery than in the right carotid artery. The PWV at BS was significantly higher in men than in women; however, no significant difference was noted in the PWV at ES between men and women. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that age, BP, and BMI were independently correlated with the PWV at both BS and ES. The PWV at BS and ES progressively increased with increase in age, BP, and BMI. Further, the age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging were established. Conclusions Reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, stratified by sex and age, were determined for the first time. Age, BP, and BMI were the dominant determinants of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, which should be considered in clinical practice for assessing arterial stiffness.

Aims Previous studies found a relationship between elevated phenylalanine levels and poor cardiovascular outcomes. Potential strategies are available to manipulate phenylalanine metabolism. This study investigated whether increased phenylalanine predicted mortality in critical patients with either acute heart failure (HF) or acute on chronic HF, and its correlation with inflammation and immune cytokines. Methods and results This study recruited 152 subjects, including 115 patients with HF admitted for critical conditions and 37 normal controls. We measured left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), plasma concentrations of phenylalanine, C‐reactive protein, albumin, pre‐albumin, transferrin, and pro‐inflammatory and immune cytokines. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and maximal vasoactive–inotropic scores (VISmax) were calculated. Patients were followed up until death or a maximum of 1 year. The primary endpoint was all‐cause death. Of the 115 patients, 37 (32.2%) were admitted owing to acute HF, and 78 (67.8%) were admitted owing to acute on chronic HF; 64 (55.7%) had ST elevation/non‐ST elevation myocardial infarction. An LVEF measured during the hospitalization of

Due to the increasing pollution by petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs), it is an important task to develop eco-friendly and highly efficient methods for remediating petroleum-contaminated soils. In this study, bioremediation technology was applied to remediate PHs contaminated soils, and the bacterial community structure and physicochemical characteristics of the soil treated using different bioremediation regimens were analyzed. Compared with the control condition (S0), the PHs removal efficiency of biostimulation (S2) and bioaugmentation (S3) was increased significantly. Combined biostimulation with bioaugmentation (S4) had the highest PHs removal efficiency, up to 60.14 &plusmn, 4.12%. Among all the selected remediation strategies (S1&ndash, S4, S1: soil moisture content: 25&ndash, 30%), the bacterial alpha-diversity was higher than in S0. The genera Acinetobacter, Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides, Microbacterium, and Parabacteroides were found to greatly contribute to PHs&rsquo, degradation. In the group S4, the PH-degraders and soil enzyme activity were higher than in the other remediation regimens, and these indices gradually decreased in the mid-to-later periods of all remediation tests. Additionally, the abundance of alkB and nah genes was increased by improving the environmental condition of the microorganism communities. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) had a positive correlation with total PHs degradation. This study offers insights into the microbial community response to environmental factors during bioremediation, which shows a promoting effect in enhancing the efficiency of PHs remediation.

The paper introduced the status of digital substation network monitoring and message analysis, analyzed the procedures and execution process of the typical business chains, including control business chain, relay action business chain, and measurement business chain, and proposed the business chain analysis and display method for digital substation network monitoring. By taking the control business chain as an example, the author illustrated the model mapping method of business chain and the key information points of the protocols, and realized the function of business chain analysis and display method for network monitoring via multi-protocols association analysis. At last, presented the verification instance, and summarized the beneficial effects of the method.

1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) as a kind of alkaloid has been confirmed that could modulate glycometabolism and has toxicity for the eri-silkworm in our previous research. On the contrary, what is the potentially defensive mechanism when the DNJ enters the eri-silkworm. Based on comparative transcriptome sequencing, we found that ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes could be induced significantly by DNJ. In this study, a total of 16 putative ABC transporter genes were identified, which can be classified into seven subfamilies, namely one ABCA, four ABCBs, three ABCCs, two ABCDs, one ABCE, three ABCFs, and two ABCGs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ScABCs had strong conservation with Bombyx mori. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) suggested that 6 ABC transporters had a strong positive correlation between RT-qPCR and transcriptome data. Additionally, S. c. ricini ABC transporter C-subfamily 4 (ScABCC4), S. c. ricini ABC transporter G-subfamily 4 (ScABCG4), S. c. ricini ABC transporter A-subfamily 3 (ScABCA3) and S. c. ricini ABC transporter C-subfamily 10 (ScABCC10) showed different expression pattern in two feed dose (1% and 2% DNJ) and three time points (6h, 12 h, 48 h). This study provides the first study on identification, characterization and expression patterns of ABC transporter genes in S. c. ricini response to DNJ, and lays a foundation for further understanding of their physiological roles response to the alkaloid.

Chloride ion penetration, which leads to corrosion of steel reinforcement, is the leading cause of offshore reinforced concrete bridge deterioration. Global warming would accelerate the process of chloride ion penetration and then structural degradation. In China, durability design code for concrete structures has been issued in 2008, and some thresholds of design parameters have been specified to mitigate corrosion in concrete bridge. However, influence of global warming on structure durability was not considered in the issued code. This would overestimate the durability of concrete structures. In this paper, a reliability based method was adopted to evaluate the influence of climate change on the durability of offshore RC bridges considering the acceleration of chloride ion penetration caused by temperature rise. Two climate change scenarios according to IPCC report were considered to define the global warming. A baseline scenario, in which the mean average temperature equals to that of the year 2000, were defined. It is found that the amount of chloride ion on the surface of reinforcing steel bar in the global warming scenarios are 6%-15% higher than that of structure in the baseline scenario. Meanwhile, the probability of corrosion initiation and corrosion damage increased also. In 2100, structures in environmental categories III-C and III-F, designed according to Chinese codes, can no longer adapt the impact of climate change on structure. Comparison of reliability of improved and pre-improved structure was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed improvement measures.

This paper focuses on the developing rule of elastic modulus of Fly Ash Concrete (FAC) under sustained load. Mechanism of the action of sustained load on concrete is discussed and a new model for the elastic modulus of FAC is constructed based on the Triple-phase Spherical Model (TSM). An experiment with three concrete mix designs and five testing groups were conducted. The experimental compressive strength and elastic modulus at six different ages were used to calibrate the parameters in the model. Influences of two important parameters (loading age and loading level) in the model were analyzed. Test data confirmed the fact that elastic modulus for the loaded concrete have a small increment compared to the non-loaded, which is more evident for younger concrete, and calculation results showed that the newly constructed model can well predict the elastic modulus of concrete under sustained load. Besides, compared to the loading age, the loading level was proved to be a more important factor in deciding the development rule of elastic modulus for the loaded concrete.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) have significantly higher mean blood lead levels (BLLs) than those in healthy individuals. Because elementary lead can be found in particulate matter with a diameter of

Ming-Hui Liu,1,* Ming-Jen Chan,2,* Ching-Wei Hsu,2,3 Cheng-Hao Weng,2,3 Tzung-Hai Yen,2,3 Wen-Hung Huang2,3 1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, 2Department of Nephrology and Division of Clinical Toxicology and Toxicology Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Medical Center, 3Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Uremic pruritus (UP) is a common and incapacitating symptom in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). The pathogenesis of UP is multifactorial and complex. Particulate matter (PM), a major air pollutant, is a mixture of particles with various chemical compositions. PM is associated with several allergic diseases, including dermatitis. To assess the role of PM (PM with a diameter of

Background High levels of suspended particulate matters (PMs) and bioaerosols are created by dental procedures. The present study aimed to evaluate the size and concentration of PMs produced by drilling and grinding teeth, and to assess the efficiency of central vacuum system and protective masks for the removal of PMs. Methods A total of 20 extracted permanent teeth were collected. A novel experimental system and particle counter were used to evaluate the PMs produced by dental procedures and the PM removal efficiency of a central vacuum system and surgical/N95 masks. Results The number concentration of total PMs produced by drilling and grinding teeth was significantly higher than the indoor background concentration. The average aerodynamic diameter of particle was generally less than 1 μm. The average number concentration of ultrafine particles was 2.1x1011 particles/m3 during tooth drilling and grinding. The efficiency of the central vacuum system was 35.74% for PM≥0.5 and 35.41% for PM10. For PM≥0.5, the ratios of inside and outside masks were 0.8-1.34 without vacuum and 1.18-1.36 with vacuum. No difference was found with the use of surgical/N95 masks during dental therapy, with or without vacuum use. Conclusions High levels of PMs were found during tooth drilling and grinding procedures, especially among PM1. The PM removal efficiency of a central vacuum system and surgical/N95 masks were limited.

Chitin deacetylase (CDA) is an insect chitin degradation enzyme that catalyzes the deacetylation of chitin to form chitosan. In this study, combination of rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology with Cnaphalocrocis medinalis transcriptome database analysis revealed the presence of at least five C. medinalis CDAs (CmCDAs), which were CmCDA1, CmCDA2, CmCDA4, CmCDA5, and CmCDA6. The cDNA sequences of CmCDA1, CmCDA2, and CmCDA4 had whole open reading frame (ORF) for further analysis. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that insect CDAs could be categorized into five groups. CmCDAs' structural domain analysis revealed that all three CDAs contained the chitin deacetylase-like catalytic domain. CmCDA1 and CmCDA2 belong to Group I because they both contain the chitin-binding peritrophin-A domain (ChBD), low-density lipoprotein receptor class A domain (LDLa), and chitin deacetylase-like catalytic domain. CmCDA4 only contains ChBD and chitin deacetylase-like catalytic domain thus belongs to Group III. Tissue and developmental stage expression analysis showed that the expression levels of CmCDA1, CmCDA2, and CmCDA4 are significantly higher in the head than other tissues and also significantly higher in adults than in larvae. CmCDA5 had significantly higher expression in the integument than other tissues, suggesting potential roles in the process of degradation of chitin. In contrast, CmCDA5 showed relatively high expression in larvae. In conclusion, this study analyzed the cDNA sequences of three CDA genes and determined their expression and molecular characteristics, which provided a new sequence resource and improved the development of bio-pesticides and the biological pest control and contributed to management of this important agricultural pest.

Background: Administration of chemotherapy and radiotherapy near the end of life is a frequently discussed issue nowadays. We have evaluated the factors associated with the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the end of life among terminally ill patients in China. Methods: This study included the data from patients who had died from advanced cancer who underwent palliative chemotherapy and radiotherapy between January 2007 and December 2013 at the Department of Palliative Care of Fudan University, Shanghai Cancer Center. Data were collected from hospital medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the factors independently associated with the use of chemo- and radiotherapy. Results: Among the 410 patients included (median age, 68 years; range, 18-93; 53% males), 47 (11.5%) underwent palliative chemotherapy and 28 (6.8%) underwent radiotherapy in the last 30 days. Age Conclusion: The findings indicate that younger patients with a lower performance status who do not have complications are more likely to opt for chemo- or radiotherapy. Further, the use of palliative chemo- and radiotherapy should be considered carefully in terminally ill patients with cancer, as they seem to indicate a higher risk of cardiovascular complications requiring resuscitation.

To improve the structure and basic performance, carbon fibre-reinforced woodceramics with a laminated structure were prepared by using liquefied wood and carbon powder as matrix materials and carbon fibre as a reinforcing material through structure and process designs with the establishment of a unit structure model thereof. Basic performance tests indicated that the sintering temperature and content of liquefied wood played important roles. The apparent density first reduced, later increased and then decreased with increasing sintering temperature; the apparent porosity decreased with increasing liquefied wood content. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the woodceramics presented a clear laminated structure and tight joints between glassy carbon (GC) and the embedded carbon fibres. There was an interface layer found between the amorphous carbon and GC. Meanwhile, it still partially retained the natural structural characteristics of wood. Raman spectrum detection verified that raising the sintering temperature could increase the number of graphite crystallites and the orderliness of their arrangement. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the specimens formed at higher temperatures presented clear lattice fringes. In addition, the laminated structure and the application of reinforced carbon fibre greatly enhanced the bending strength, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness.

The strength of concrete will be developed as the age increases. When a sustained load is applied on the concrete, the development rules will be changed. Research on these rules is needed to estimate more rationally the developing strength of concrete used in structures than those without considering the action of sustained loads. In this paper, the development rule of compressive strength of concrete under sustained loads is explored. According to the mechanism assumption, a new model based on the Compressible Packing Model (CPM) for concrete compressive strength is proposed. For calibrating the model, experiments are carried out. Compressive strength of concrete were determined at four different ages and were compared with those of specimens without any sustained loads applied. Comparison of the results by the model and by the experiments show the model presented in this paper can be suit for concrete strength development of concrete under sustained loading.

Background: Although palliative chemotherapy during end-of-life (EOL) care is used to relieve symptoms in patients with metastatic cancer, chemotherapy may lead to more aggressive EOL care. We evaluated the use of and variables associated with chemotherapy at EOL. Methods: This study included data from patients who died from advanced cancer and underwent palliative chemotherapy between April 2007 and May 2017 at the Department of Palliative Care of Fudan University, Shanghai Cancer Center. Data were collected from hospital medical records. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the variables that independently predicted the use of palliative chemotherapy. Results: Among the 542 patients in the study, 85 (15.7%) underwent palliative chemotherapy during the last month and 28 (5.2%) underwent it during the last 2 weeks of life. Age Conclusion: The observed chemotherapy rates of 15.7% during the last month of life and 5.2% during the last 2 weeks of life are in line with international recommendations. This study showed that palliative chemotherapy is associated with more aggressive EOL care and indicates that younger patients and those with lower performance status are more likely to receive palliative chemotherapy. Significant variations in EOL treatment strategies among different age groups during the last year of life were also identified.

An efficient noise-reduction method with a more accurate wavelength calibration procedure is proposed for a spectrometer system to achieve a higher signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution. By using a two-dimensional (2D) array detector with an integrated grating composed of 10 sub-gratings, the system has a merit of high data acquisition speed to satisfy the condition in which in-situ spectral data analysis is critically required. The noise level has been effectively reduced down to approximately 25% of the previous level. The spectral curvature effect due to imperfection of the optical system is also analyzed and significantly reduced using the spectral calibration procedure to achieve higher resolution.

Bioaerosols produced by dental procedures may affect indoor air quality and cause infections in dental healthcare workers. To provide air quality data that can be used to protect dental healthcare workers, this study evaluated the air quality and its influencing factors in the dental department of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. The study was a cross-sectional study design. Indoor air quality (IAQ) evaluations were conducted in six locations: pediatric dentistry, craniofacial orthodontic dentistry, periodontal dentistry, and general practice dentistry, instrument washing room, and patient waiting area. The measured air quality parameters included temperature, relative humidity, and concentrations of CO2, total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), suspended particulate matter (PM), and bacteria. TVOCs concentrations at all six sampling stations were found to exceed the indoor air quality standards prescribed by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency. The highest concentrations of atmospheric PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were found in the periodontal dentistry department, while the lowest concentrations occurred in the patient waiting area. The detection rate for Gram-positive bacteria was highest in the pediatric department (25%) and lowest in the instrument washing room (9%). Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus were the primary pathogens detected. The dental departments of the hospital had a serious TVOCs pollution. The air quality of dental departments deserves long-term surveillance and attention.

Life cycle inventory (LCI) involves creating an inventory of flows from and to nature for a product system, which is a prerequisite of life cycle assessment (LCA). This paper conducts a comparative analysis of available inventories of cement produced in China and points out the reliability of these inventory results. 1 ton cement was chosen to be the functional unit, and the system boundary was defined from cradle to gate. In the process of cement production, many pollutants will be emitted, so only the four main emissions (CO2, NOX, SO2 and dust) are considered. The analysis showed that the reliability of cement inventories is affected by inaccurate or non-representative data, and all results are difficult to compare due to the varying system boundaries.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) have significantly higher mean blood lead levels (BLLs) than those in healthy individuals. Because elementary lead can be found in particulate matter with a diameter of

The molecular mechanism of silkworm resistance to Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection remains largely unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that subcellular fractionation combined with proteomics is an ideal technique to analyse host antiviral mechanisms. To clarify the anti-BmNPV mechanism of the silkworm, the near-isogenic line BC9 (resistant strain) and the recurrent parent P50 (susceptible strain) were used in a comparative subcellular proteomics study. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) was conducted on proteins extracted from the cytosol, mitochondria, and microsomes of BmNPV-infected and control larval midguts. A total of 87 proteins were successfully identified from the three subcellular fractions. These proteins were primarily involved in energy metabolism, protein metabolism, signalling pathways, disease, and transport. In particular, disease-relevant proteins were especially changed in microsomes. After infection with BmNPV, differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) primarily appeared in the cytosolic and microsomal fractions, which indicated that these two fractions might play a more important role in the response to BmNPV infection. After removing genetic background and individual immune stress response proteins, 16 proteins were identified as potentially involved in repressing BmNPV infection. Of these proteins, the differential expression patterns of 8 proteins according to reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analyses were consistent with the 2-DE results.

According to the thermal decomposition achievement of coal shale and coal samples, which are gathered from the Lower-Cretaceous coal-measure strata of Hulin basin, the organic matter abundance, type and maturation have been analyzed with TOC, S1+ S2, Hydrogen Index, content of maceral, Tmax , Ro. The result indicates that the organic abundance of coal shale and coal in Qihulin formation is average ,kerogen type is type III and their thermal evolution is over mature . The organic abundance of coal shale in Yunshan formation is general to better while the coal’s organic abundance is from better to best, they are both type III kerogen, and their thermal evolution is mature. The above analysis indicates that the hydrocarbon generating potential is limited in the Lower-Cretaceous coal-measure strata of Hulin basin while coal-measure source rocks in the Yunshan formation have good hydrocarbon generating potential.

P2P Live streaming systems is unstructured mesh topology, except satisfying large-scale concurrent node access, it would also lead to long transmission delay due to excessive number of times of data transmission. In order to reduce the number of times of data transmission in the network, the node classification concurrent transmission algorithm is suggested in this paper, which makes the peer-level nodes concurrent to initiatively transmit data, avoiding the inefficient bandwidth utilization of random transmission request of node and high management cost; meanwhile, each level will continue to transmit data to its next-level nodes, triggering and continuously accelerating the concurrent transmission within this level, thus to achieve the maximum use of bandwidth and reduce the overall delay of transmission. Analyze by conducting mathematical modeling, when the data content is divided into enough copies by classification concurrent transmission algorithm, the total time unit spend in transmitting data blocks to all of the nodes and the average time unit spent on nodes are superior to those of the existing transmission algorithms.

This paper aims to experimentally study static responses of bridge longitudinal truss, and the distribution rules of the structural and local stresses were analyzed. The results of the analyses on experimental data show that the typical details in the longitudinal truss concentrate to a limited area on the toe of a dominate weld at the intersection among the upper chord or bottom chord, diagonal and the gusset plates; with boundary conditions being strengthened, stress distribution of the tested specimen became flat and the monolithic tress level decreased relatively. Based on obtained test information, the results are used for updating and validating this kind of structural model, and determining the parameters of finite element model.

Introduces a STC89C51 microcontroller core with the speed of measurement and control system, the system can control the motor starts and stops, either manually or automatically adjust the duty cycle to control the motor speed is set by the Hall sensor data, for motor speed is measured to calculate and display the current motor speed in real time on the LCD. The system is made in the actual measurement with good results, as the research engine performance provides an important reference, so that the entire digital measurement speed system can be widely used, there is a strong practicality.