Search

In our study, patients who had a second delivery were categorised into the following 4 groups. Pelvic floor ultrasound data were compared during the 6th week after the second delivery. The incidence of cystoceles was highest in group A and lowest in group D. In addition, groups A and B had a higher rate of rectoceles or perineum descent. Similarly, the areas of the levator hiatus were higher in Groups A and B during Valsalva manoeuvres. The area of the levator hiatus from the resting state to the Valsalva manoeuvre effect had the greatest change in Group A. A comparison of the PR thickening rates among the four groups did not reveal significant differences. All second delivery methods can cause varying degrees of pelvic organ prolapse and decreased pelvic floor function; however, vaginal delivery as the second delivery mode may have a more significant effect in Chinese women.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? Different modes of delivery have significantly different effects on female pelvic floor function. Pregnancy beyond 35 weeks of gestation has an effect on female pelvic floor function, irrespective of the mode of delivery.What do the results of this study add? This study analysed the impact of different delivery modes on Chinese female pelvic floor function. Parous women who underwent different modes of second delivery all demonstrated different degrees of pelvic organ prolapse, as well as pelvic floor function decline.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Our study will provide basic research of Chinese female pelvic floor function after a second delivery, which will be of clinical significance around the world, as well as in China. China will keep promoting further delivery as the aging population is increasing. If the developing countries want to promote the second delivery around the women, they have basic research and data to instruct the females. What is already known on this subject? Different modes of delivery have significantly different effects on female pelvic floor function. Pregnancy beyond 35 weeks of gestation has an effect on female pelvic floor function, irrespective of the mode of delivery. What do the results of this study add? This study analysed the impact of different delivery modes on Chinese female pelvic floor function. Parous women who underwent different modes of second delivery all demonstrated different degrees of pelvic organ prolapse, as well as pelvic floor function decline. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Our study will provide basic research of Chinese female pelvic floor function after a second delivery, which will be of clinical significance around the world, as well as in China. China will keep promoting further delivery as the aging population is increasing. If the developing countries want to promote the second delivery around the women, they have basic research and data to instruct the females.

The inhibitory effect of three degraded sesquiterpene lactones, iso-seco-tanapartholide, arteludooicinolide A and millifolide A isolated from Achillea millefolium L., on anti-human lung cancer cells was examined using MTT and reporter gene assays. Millifolide A has significant inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human lung cancer cells probably through inducing cell apoptosis.

Background Systemic studies of association of genome-wide DNA methylated sites with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in prospective cohorts are lacking. Our aim was to identify DNA methylation sites associated with the risk of CVD and further investigate their potential predictive value in CVD development for high-risk subjects. Methods We performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to identify CpGs related to CVD development in a Chinese population.We adopted a nested case–control design based on data from China PEACE Million Persons Project. A total of 83 cases who developed CVD events during follow-up and 83 controls who were matched with cases by age, sex, BMI, ethnicity, medications treatment and behavior risk factors were included in the discovery stage. Genome-wide DNA methylation from whole blood was detected using Infinium Human Methylation EPIC Beadchip (850 K). For significant CpGs [FDR(false discovery rate) Results In discovery set, we identified 8 significant CpGs (FDR UACA) were replicated in another independent set (p p = 9.716E-15]. Conclusions Our study identified the novel CpGs associated with CVD development and revealed their additional predictive power in the risk of CVD for high-risk subjects.

The formation control problem of a class of wheeled robots with nonholonomic constraints and directional communication topology is discussed. In order to avoid the robot being unable to maintain the required geometric structure in the complex communication environment, a formation control protocol with coupling weight based on Zipf distribution is designed to reduce the information exchange between robots. The formation control problem of the multi-robot system is transformed into the stability analysis problem of the error system. The formation conditions of robot formation are given, and the effectiveness of the formation control protocol is verified by simulation experiments.

A fault-tolerant controller based on sliding mode control and switching control is designed to solve the problem of six-rotor UAV actuator failure and uncertain interference. The sliding mode control method is used to establish the controller in the fault-free state, and the backstepping method is used to design the controller in the fault state. On this basis, fault information is obtained by sliding mode observer, and fault tolerance is realized by combining the fault information with switching control. Simulation results show that the control strategy has good robustness, and it can effectively reduce the impact of actuator fault on flight.

It is reported that dopamine D

We investigated contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) characteristics related to the perfusion pattern and parameters of the time-intensity curve of ovarian endometrial cysts (OECs) pre- and post-sclerotherapy. Forty-three patients with one-sided, single, untreated OECs underwent CEUS pre- and post-sclerotherapy. OEC wall thickness was measured by 2-D ultrasonography and CEUS, and CEUS enhancement patterns and time-intensity curve parameters before and after sclerotherapy were compared. OEC wall thickness remained essentially unchanged post-sclerotherapy. Wall thickness was significantly larger on 2-D ultrasonography than on CEUS. The OEC wall exhibited rapid enhancement and slow clearance both pre- and post-sclerotherapy. Wash-in and wash-out times remained unchanged. The wall exhibited iso-enhancement pre-sclerotherapy, but low and partially uneven enhancement post-sclerotherapy. Post-treatment, time to peak was delayed, peak intensity was reduced and perfusion slope was decreased. The contrast agent arrival time and area under the curve remained similar. CEUS enhancement patterns and quantitative parameters were altered post-sclerotherapy; thus, treatments involving sclerosing agent retention can help to improve the efficacy of sclerotherapy for OEC.

Based on the artificial potential field algorithm and bacterial foraging algorithm, research method for obstacle avoidance and path planning of the mobile robot. Firstly, analysis method of bacterial foraging three operations: trends, replication, migration, establishment of bacterial foraging algorithm process; secondly establish the bacterial foraging algorithm model; and then analyze the artificial potential field algorithm and bacterial foraging the advantage and disadvantage of the algorithm, proposed a new hybrid algorithm has the global search ability and fast convergence. Using artificial potential field and bacterial foraging method on mobile robot global path planning and then compared with the mixture algorithm, based on the simulation results, the global path planning of mobile robot Simulation results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the hybrid algorithm.

The gain of the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is insufficient in traditional stochastic resonance (SR) method to detect weak signals. In order to obtaining a higher SNR gain, a kind of signal detection method of adaptive stochastic resonance that use cascade system is proposed. To achieve the optimal output, stochastic resonance parameters adjustment is transformed into the multi-parameter optimization of particle swarm optimization. The optimal result in weak signal detection can be reached by adjusting the parameters of two layers subsystem. The weak signal submerged in strong noise background can be extracted through this simple method that has a fast convergence speed. The threshold of the weak signal detection is lowered by this method, and the applicable scope of stochastic resonance can be enlarged.

To solve the problems of unsmooth stator flux linkage locus, large torque ripples and big power loss in conventional direct torque control system of permanent magnet synchronous motor, the discrete space vector modulation technique is analyzed, and a new direct torque control method (DSVM-DTC) is proposed in this paper. PI controller and DSVM modulator are used to instead hysteresis controller and switch table in conventional DTC system, which increased the equivalent voltage vectors and selected accurate zero vectors in different sectors. Therefore, the errors of flux and torque can be compensated accurately. Simulation results prove that DSVM-DTC effectively improved the steady-state performance of the system, declined the switching loss, reduced torque ripple, and flux linkage locus is more smooth under the premise of ensuring constant switching frequency.

Objective: A novel protein was first purified from Panax quinquefolius L. (AGNP), and in vitro antioxidant activities of AGNP were first studied in this work. Methods: AGNP was purified by Ion-exchange chromatography and Gel-filtration chromatography. The chemical characterizations of AGNP were tested by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), high-pressure gel-filtration chromatography, MALDI-TOF-MS and HPLC. In vitro antioxidant effects were tested in simple antioxidant assay including 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical (O2−) scavenging, hydroxyl radical (OH) scavenging, and ferric-reducing ability. Results: The results showed which the content of AGNP measured by Bradford method was 2.42 mg/mL and the subunit molecular weight of AGNP measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was 15 kD. The AGNP molecular weight was15, 114 Da both of SDS-PAGE and mass spectrum purity. The result of high-pressure gel-filtration chromatography demonstrated that the molecular weight of AGNP was 31,086 Da, which implied that AGNP was a homodimer. The in vitro Antioxidant results indicated that AGNP had obvious effects to remove the free radicals in vitro. Conclusion: In conclusion, AGNP had more powerful antioxidant capacity and it can be used as an effective natural antioxidant to alleviate oxidative stress.

Biological nitrogen removal via shortcut nitrification-denitrification is being studied by more and more engineers because of its economical advantages. This paper summarizes the progress of shortcut nitrification-denitrification on high NH4+-N and low carbon source wastewater and low NH4+-N and high carbon source wastewater, and raises the thought that realize shortcut nitrification-denitrification.

A series of new taxanes, 1-93, have been isolated, together with 37 known taxoids including Taxol(®) (paclitaxel) and cephalomannine, from the Canadian yew, Taxus canadensis (Taxaceae) in the past 30 years. These new taxoids possess various skeletons containing 5/7/6, 6/10/6, 6/5/5/6, 6/8/6, and 6/12 ring systems and six new taxanes with four novel skeletons, i.e., a taxane with a 6/6/8/6 ring system, a taxane with a [3.3.3] propellane skeleton, three taxanes with [3.3.3] [3.4.5] dipropellane sytems, as well as a novel taxane with a unique 5/5/4/6/6/6 hexacyclic skeleton, containing a unique [3.3.2] propellane, were isolated for the first time from natural sources. It should be emphasized that 13-acetyl-9-dihydrobaccatin III, a very useful starting material for the semisynthesis of Taxol(®) and Taxotere(®) , represents the most abundant taxane in the needles of this yew tree. These findings establish the above mentioned yew tree as significantly different from the remaining species. On the other hand, some chemical modifications on the taxanes isolated from this plant were carried out.

Leachate biochemical effluent containing large quantities of refractory matters are difficult to degrade by traditional biological processes. Photocatalysis technology seems to be a promising solution for leachate biochemical effluent because it can oxidize refractory organic compounds to harmless inorganics. But there are two key problems in TiO2photocatalytic degradation of biologically treated leachate. One is low quantum yield, the other is low photocatalytic activity in the visible-light region. The advice about solar photocatalytic degradation of biologically treated leachate using transition metal-nonmetal co-doped TiO2is put forward.

Higher nitrogen and phosphorus in the water cause water eutrophication. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal are the primary methods of solving water eutrophication. This paper analyzed the development and key technology from Triple oxidation ditch, UNITANK process to MSBR process for the object of nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

Objective The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) is a cognitive assessment tool used to measure the broad aspects of cognition that are most frequently impaired in patients with schizophrenia. This study aims to develop the normative data of the Chinese version of the BACS among the Mandarin-speaking population. Method This cross-sectional study included 382 healthy participants (age range: 19-79 years; mean age: 48.0 ± 16.7 years, 47.6% men) in Taiwan, who were evaluated with the BACS. Means and standard deviations of subtests and composite scores were arranged by age group and gender. The Z-scores calculated based on the U.S. norms were compared to our scores based on the norms established in this study. Results The raw scores of all the BACS tests (verbal memory, digit sequencing, token motor test, verbal fluency, symbol coding, and Tower of London) were negatively correlated with participants' age. Women were superior to men in verbal memory, but inferior to them in executive function. Furthermore, applying the U.S. norms of the BACS to determine the performance of the Chinese BACS results in bias with regard to verbal memory, token motor test, verbal fluency, symbol coding, Tower of London and composite score. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that directly applying western cognitive norms to a Mandarin-speaking population can cause biased interpretations. The results of this study can be an important reference for clinical settings and research related to cognitive assessments in Mandarin-speaking Chinese populations.

Objectives To study the effect of local interventional treatment of unruptured ectopic pregnancies with multiple-drug injection guided by color Doppler sonography. Methods In this retrospective analysis, 49 patients with an unruptured ectopic pregnancy were treated with two different local injection methods administered under sonographic guidance. The patients were divided into single-drug (n = 23) and multiple-drug (n = 26) injection groups, and they received a locally administered injection of methotrexate alone or a combination including methotrexate, hemocoagulase, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs, respectively. Overall, local injection treatment was successful in 44 patients. The 5 patients with failed treatment underwent laparotomy about 1 week after single-drug injection. Serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG ) levels, ectopic pregnancy mass sizes, blood flow at various points after treatment, the incidence of pelvic bleeding, and the time for serum β-hCG levels to return to normal and the mass to resolve were analyzed in the remaining 44 patients. Results Single-drug treatment was successful in 18 patients; 10 of 23 had low to moderate pelvic bleeding after treatment, and 5 were referred for surgery. All 26 patients were successfully treated by multiple-drug injection. Only 2 patients had a small amount of pelvic bleeding. Differences between groups were statistically significant (P < .05) for surgery rates, the incidence of pelvic bleeding, transient increases in serum β-hCG levels, mean days to normal β-hCG levels, mean days of mass resolution, and mean mass diameters 1 to 6 weeks after treatment. Conclusions Local multiple-drug injection under color Doppler guidance is a new, safe, and effective method for treating unruptured ectopic pregnancies. It accelerates the serum β-hCG decline and facilitates mass resolution. This regimen is associated with a very low rate of pelvic bleeding, improves the success rate of conservative treatment, and, therefore, has value as an important clinical application.

In order to diagnose the fault of rolling bearing by the vibration signal, a new method of fault diagnosis based on weighted fusion and BP (Back Propagation) neural network was put forward. At first, the vibration signal from the sensors was wave filtered through the method of correlation function, then the fused signal was obtained by the classical adaptive weighted fusion method, the multi-type characteristics parameters was to be as a neural network input. Finally, the fault diagnosis of rolling bearing was realized by the BP neural network, and the results show that the multi-sensor information fusion fault diagnosis method can be proved effectively to achieve the fault diagnosis of rolling bearing.

Combined with the knowledge of BP neural network and template matching, a new face recognition method was given. It matched the face image which was identified with the serial number and corresponding to the face model that based on random sequence in the matching process. The acquisition image should be preprocessed in filtering, smoothing and sharpening way by using BP neural network learning ability and classification ability which can achieve classifier. By using the actual face, it verify the correctness and reliability of the hardware and software design, manifest a good authentication capabilities and provide a reference for the research of similar products.

The research on the interactions between Ginsenosides and biomembranes plays a crucial role in thorough understanding the pharmacological activity and biologyical effect of Chinese medicine Panax ginseng. With the bilayer structure, DPPC often serves as an simulation model of the cell membrane to study the role of drug molecules and cell membranes. Ginsenoside Rb1, one of the most important components of Panaxginseng, playing the significant roles of pharmacological effects and biological properties. Raman and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are respectively a powerful tool for discussing the molecular interaction, and a kind of general technology by which researching the bilayer monomer structures and its interactions with drug molecules. However, rarely research reports on the interactions between drug molecules and biomembranes by means of both technologies above. In this paper, the influence of ginsenoside monomer Rb1 on DPPC membrane bilayers was investigated by thermo-Raman and DSC. In Raman spectra, the changes of DPPC molecule have been observed before and after interacted with ginsenoside Rb1, the data analysis indicates three aspects: the O-C-C-N+ polar head group skeleton, C-C stretching vibration area, and the C-H bond stretching vibrarion in terminated methyl group of alkyl chains. The results showed that ginsenoside Rb1 molecule with certain concentration has not changed the gauche conformation of the polar head backbone group in DPPC bilayers, the order of the internal molecular chain and the lateral chain-chain packing have been decreased as the temperature increased, the lateral disposed disorder has been increased. The changes of some thermodynamic constants obtained by DSC experiment such as phase transition temperature (Tm), the temperature at which the transition is half completed (ΔT1/2), and the transition enthalpy normalized per mol of DPPC (AH) have been showed further results of the thermo Raman experiments, with increasing the concentration of ginsenoside Rb1, the pre-transition temperature of DPPC bilayers dropped immediately with small amount of the Rb1 drug when the containtion was only 5 mol% and the whole system has been destructed at the same time, the main phase transition peak showed as a new little shoulder seam, however, both pre- and main transition peak disappeared completely until the drug concentration increased to 20 mol%, the phase transition temperature of DPPC has been reduced significantly, and the fluidity of bilayers has been increased. Both experiments indicated that the strong effects of ginsenoside Rb1 on DPPC.

In order to investigate the effects of grease lubrication on fretting wear of ball bearings, a series of fretting wear tests were performed under the dry condition and grease lubrication by a self-made fretting wear rig. And tests were completed at different angles, load and number of cycles. The results showed that the grease lubrication can effectively reduce fretting wear; reduction effects increase as the oscillation amplitude increases and load decreases; oxidation in fretting wear decreases as number of cycles increases under grease lubrication; and wear mechanism is diffrent at under different lubrication conditions.

Starting from the establishment of generalized predictive model based on neural network, LM optimization algorithm is applied to the perdictive control model for study in order to solve these problems that the training speed of the BP network is slow and it is easy to trap into the local minimum.Generalized predictive control and neural network which has the capability of approaching any nonlinear function are combined to forecast the future outputs of the system.LM algorithm is used instead of gradient descent method to optimize controller parameters and it makes full use of Jacobian matrix information identified by neural network.The result of Matlab simulation indicates that the neural network using LM algorithm has the feature of fast convergence rate,model of high precision and good robustness,which is more suitable for real-time nonlinear control.

Cu-Mo-Si alloys with different Cu contents were prepared by self-propagation high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The microstructure and the worn surface morphology were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) together with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Phase composition was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The wear behavior of the Cu-Mo-Si alloys was characterized by pin-on-disc wear tester. The results showed that most of Si atoms dissolved in Cu matrix or resulted in formation of compound with Cu, while only small amount of Si atoms reacted with Mo atoms to form Mo5Si3 particles in the Cu-Ni-Si alloys with 80% Cu content. The wear rate of Cu-Mo-Si alloys descended with a decrease of Cu content, and the predominant wear mechanism could be identified as abrasive wear for Cu content less than 90% and plastic deformation for Cu content higher than 90%.

There is an ongoing search for plant-derived sesquiterpenes, particularly for those with anticancer activity against human cancer cells. The sesquiterpene ineupatorolide B (InB), isolated from the Inula cappa, showed potent growth-inhibitory activity against HeLa cells but less activity against MM1-CB melanoma cells. Staining by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling method revealed that this activity was, at least in part, due to the induction of apoptosis. The activities of major transcription factors were examined by using a luciferase reporter assay. The results showed that the transactivation ability of nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) was enhanced. The activation of NFAT by InB was largely suppressed by preincubation with protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors such as staurosporine and K252a. Western blot analysis revealed that the the levels of phosphorylated PKCα, but not other subtypes, increased after treatment with InB. Knockdown of PKCα using siRNA attenuated the cytotoxic activity of InB. Thus, InB may exhibit growth-inhibitory activity through the activation of PKCα, followed by an increase in NFAT transactivation ability.

Objectives To detect the differentially expressed genes and subsequently identify disease-related signatures and potential biomarkers for patients with ovarian endometriomas in the serum before and after the ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy in patients with ovarian endometriomas. Design and methods Venous blood samples were collected from nine patients with ovarian endometriomas before and after ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy, and the serum were isolated after centrifugation. NimbleGen human gene expression microarrays analysis was conducted to analyse gene ontology categories (GO terms) and signalling pathways of differentially expressed genes. The accuracy of some typical genes from microarray analysis was verified by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results Approximately 45,033 genes were analysed by NimbleGen human gene expression microarrays, which identified 447 genes that showed differential expressions before and after therapy. Of these, 225 genes were up-regulated and 222 genes were down-regulated. The GO terms of the down-regulated genes were strongly associated with the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriomas; 15 down-regulated genes showed overlaps in both signalling pathways and GO terms. Among these, six genes showed statistical significance including IL6, CD36, JUNB, B4GALT1, HES1, and NR4A1, which were also validated by qPCR analysis. Conclusions There were differentially expressed genes in the serum before and after ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy in patients with ovarian endometriomas. Notably, the expressions of IL6, CD36, JUNB, B4GALT1, HES1, and NR4A1, which are strongly associated with the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriomas, were significantly down-regulated after ethanol sclerotherapy. This may not only help us understand EMs pathogenesis, but also provide potential biomarkers for verifying the effects of ethanol sclerotherapy.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess contrast-enhanced sonography features before and after interventional treatment of ovarian endometrial cysts. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 53 patients with ovarian endometrial cysts who underwent contrast-enhanced sonography before and after interventional treatment to assess the sonographic features of the cysts at these different times. The sonographic features and quantitative parameters for the cysts were compared before and after treatment. Results The wash-in mode showed rapid annular enhancement of the cyst wall and slow wash-out with even and uneven enhancement types. Compared to the internal iliac artery, the enhancement intensity was weaker, and the wash-in and wash-out times were longer in the cyst wall; furthermore, all 5 quantitative parameters differed between the cyst wall and internal iliac artery. The wash-in and wash-out characteristics of the cysts before and after interventional treatment were almost identical. The enhancement was primarily even before treatment and uneven after treatment; the enhancement intensity was low in all cases. Although the wash-in time before and after treatment did not differ, the wash-out time for the cysts before treatment was significantly lower than that observed after treatment. Two quantitative parameters differed before and after treatment. Conclusions The contrast-enhanced sonographic features and quantitative parameters for the walls of ovarian endometrial cysts differed before and after ultrasound-guided interventional treatment. These characteristics could be valuable for evaluating the efficacy of interventional treatment of ovarian endometrial cysts.

Achillinin A (2β,3β-epoxy-1α,4β,10α-trihydroxyguai-11(13)-en-12,6α-olide, 1), a new guaianolide isolated from the flower of Achillea millefolium, exhibited potential antiproliferative activity to A549, RERF-LC-kj and QG-90 cells with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values of 5.8, 10 and 0.31 µM, respectively.

As important traditional Chinese medicine materials, medicinal animals have been highly appreciated due to their strong bioactivities. Among these, medicinal insects have been thought to be significant, especially in preventing and treating modern diseases and tumors. Some of the most famous medicinal insects, such as horseflies, blister beetles and American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) have been well known due to their reported effects in anti-thrombosis and fighting cancer. In general, identifying the medicinal functions and active components of medicinal insects has been a gradual processes. Originally, these medicinal insects were collected from open fields and usually their whole bodies were adopted. But, currently, most medicinal insects are under large-scale artificial propagations and only their purified active components are in use. In this article, we reviewed the historical process of the application of the horsefly in traditional Chinese medicine and tried to provide useful references for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicines via discussing the interrelationship between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.动物药生物活性强、显效快，是中国医药学的重要组成部分，历来以“血肉有情”之品而备受重视。昆虫类中药药材在中国传统药物研究和利用中占有重要地位，特别是在治疗现代文明病和肿瘤方面具独特疗效。代表性昆虫类中药药材包括虻虫(牛虻)、斑蝥及美洲大蠊(

A series of new taxanes, 1–93, have been isolated, together with 37 known taxoids including Taxol® (paclitaxel) and cephalomannine, from the Canadian yew, Taxus canadensis (Taxaceae) in the past 30 years. These new taxoids possess various skeletons containing 5/7/6, 6/10/6, 6/5/5/6, 6/8/6, and 6/12 ring systems and six new taxanes with four novel skeletons, i.e., a taxane with a 6/6/8/6 ring system, a taxane with a [3.3.3] propellane skeleton, three taxanes with [3.3.3] [3.4.5] dipropellane sytems, as well as a novel taxane with a unique 5/5/4/6/6/6 hexacyclic skeleton, containing a unique [3.3.2] propellane, were isolated for the first time from natural sources. It should be emphasized that 13-acetyl-9-dihydrobaccatin III, a very useful starting material for the semisynthesis of Taxol® and Taxotere®, represents the most abundant taxane in the needles of this yew tree. These findings establish the above mentioned yew tree as significantly different from the remaining species. On the other hand, some chemical modifications on the taxanes isolated from this plant were carried out.

This study was to investigate the correlation between ovarian chocolate cysts and serum carbohydrate antigen (CA)-125 levels and to demonstrate the effect of ultrasound-guided interventional sclerotherapy (UGIS) on serum CA-125 levels.Based on the serum CA-125 level, as determined by chemiluminescence detection prior to UGIS, 105 patients with ovarian chocolate cysts were divided into the normal group (CA-125 ≤ 35 U/mL, 45 patients) and the abnormal group (35 U/mL CA-125 ≤ 200 U/mL, 60 patients). There were six clinical indicators including age, disease duration, dysmenorrhea history, child-bearing history, abortion history and surgical history. The ultrasonography characteristics were cyst diameter, cyst wall thickness and the side on which the cyst occurred. The correlations between serum CA-125 levels pretreatment and the clinical indicators and ultrasonography characteristics was analyzed. The serum CA-125 levels pretreatment, 3 months post-treatment and 6 months post-treatment were compared.The pretreatment serum CA-125 levels of the 105 patients positively correlated with disease duration (r = 0.3932, P = 0.0040), dysmenorrhea history (r = 0.2351, P = 0.0111), cyst diameter (r = 0.3415, P 0.0001) and cyst wall thickness (r = 0.4263, P 0.0001). Compared with the pretreatment level, the mean serum CA-125 level in the abnormal group at 3 months post-treatment was significantly lower (P 0.01), and at 6 months post-treatment, the mean serum CA-125 level had decreased to a normal level (P 0.01).UGIS significantly decreased abnormal serum CA-125 levels in patients with ovarian chocolate cysts.

To observe the effect of acupuncture of "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Taichong" (LR 3) on gastrointestinal hormone levels in diarrhea type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) rats so as to provide experimental evidence for acupuncture treatment of IBS-D.Forty-eight Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, model, acupuncture and medication groups, with 12 rats in each group. IBS-D model was established by chronic mild restraining stress combined with isolated raising and intragastric administration of Folium Sennae (10 mL/kg). For rats of the acupuncture group, bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) and "Taichong" (LR 3) were punctured and stimulated for 30 min, once daily for 14 days. The rats of the medication group were treated by gavage of Pinaverin bromide, once daily for 14 days, and those of the control and model groups were given with equal volume of saline. Somatostatin (SS), substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the rats' plasma and ileum tissues were detected by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Compared with the control group, the body weight and food intake quantity were reduced significantly, while the diarrhea index was increased significantly in the model group (P0.05, P0.01). In comparison with the model group, the body weight and food intake volume in both acupuncture and medication groups were increased remarkably after the treatment (P0.05, P0.01) whereas the diarrhea index in the latter two groups was reduced obviously (P0.01). Compared with the control group, plasma VIP level was increased significantly in the model group (P0.01), while those in both acupuncture and medication groups were decreased remarkably compared with the model group (P0.05). No significant changes of plasma SP and SS levels were found after modeling and after both acupuncture and medication treatments. In comparison with the control group, ileum SP, VIP and SS levels in the model group were up-regulated significantly (P0.01), while those in both acupuncture and medication groups were down-regulated considerably compared with the model group (P0.01). No significant differences were found between acupuncture and medication groups in the levels of ileum SP, VIP and SS (P0.05).Acupuncture of ST 36 and LR 3 can effectively down-regulate ileum SP, VIP and SS levels in IBS-D rats, which may contribute to its effect in relieving IBS-D.

3 Eight sesquiterpene lactones were isolated from the roots of Inula helenium and fl owers of I. japonica. Among them, isoalantolactone () and santamarine (6) exhibited significant growth inhibitory activities against gynecologic cancer cell lines, while others weakly inhibited the growth of the cell lines (IC50 ≤ 100 μM). In addition, 3 significantly inhibited the tumour growth of S180 tumour-bearing mice. Compounds 3 and 6 were not toxic to human embryonic lung fibroblast cells in vitro. These results demonstrated that the antitumour activities are closely related to the structures of the compounds, that is, an α-exomethylene- γ-lactone ring is necessary for these activities.

By the method of pitfall trapping, an investigation was conducted on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants in a lac plantation in Yayi Town of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province of Southwest China in December 2009-May 2010, aimed to understand the effects of lac insect honeydew on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants. The presence or absence of lac insect honeydew and its dynamics all affected the species composition, abundance, and diversity of ground-dwelling ants. In the lac plantation with lac insect hosting, a total of 4953 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 34 species, 23 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae; whereas in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, a total of 2416 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 30 species, 20 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae. The relative abundance, species richness (S), and ACE index in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting were higher than those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, and the common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting differed from those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, suggesting that lac insect hosting altered the community structure of ground-dwelling ants. The adult lac insects excreted larger quantity of honeydew than the larval lac insects, and the relative abundance, S, and ACE index of ground-dwelling ants were higher at the adult stage than at the larval stage of lac insects. The common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants also had great differences between the two stages of lac insects.

From October 2008 to May 2010, an investigation was made in a lac plantation in Yayi region of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province, China, aimed to understand the behavior of the monopolization of honeydew sources by ant Crematogaster macaoensis, and its effects on the sex ratio, mortality, fecundity, and lac production of Yunnan lac insect Kerria yunnanensis. The results showed that C. macaoensis fed and monopolized the honeydews around the clock during the whole life cycle of K. yunnanensis on the stick-lac, and the average number of visiting C. macaoensis ranged from 16.8 +/- 2.3 to 39.3 +/- 10.0 per 10 cm length of the stick-lac. C. macaoensis constructed shelters to prevent other animals from visiting the lac insect. C. macaoensis monopolization reduced the lac production of individual K. yunnanensi significantly, but had no significant effects on the lac production of whole lac insect colony. In addition, C. macaoensis monopolization reduced the mortality of K. yunnanensis significantly, and increased the percentage of K. yunnanensis females and the adult female fecundity. It was concluded that ant monopolization of the lac insect honeydew seemed to be beneficial to the lac production by the Yunnan lac insect.

In order to reveal the coexistence mechanism of ant community in lac plantation, an investigation was made on the ant community composition and the ability of ant species in discovering and holding food resources in a lac plantation in Yayi Town of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province, with the relationships between ant body size and its ability of finding food under habitat heterogeneity probed. There were six dominant ant species in the plantation, i. e., Tetraponera allaborans (Walker), Crematogaster macaoensis Wheeler, Crematogasterferrarii Emery, Dolichoderus thoracicus (Smith), Polyrhachis proxima Roger, and Camponotus parius Emery. The hind leg length (y) of the six ant species increased allometrically with their head width (x), and the regression equation was y = 0.56 + 1.02x + 5.97x2 - 10.85x3. Different ant species had significant differences in their actual and relative frequency in discovering food resources in different habitats, but habitat type had no significant effects on the actual frequency in holding food resources by the ant species. The ant species with bigger head width and bigger body size index could discover more food resources in simple habitat. In contrast, the ant species with smaller head width, shorter hind leg length, and smaller body size index could discover more food resources in complex habitat. The heterogeneity of habitat caused the coexistence of ants: the smaller ant species lived in complex habitat, while the larger ones lived in simple habitat. In addition, numerically dominant ant species were unable to possess all resources, and thereby, could provide the opportunity to other ant species for resources acquisition, making the species coexistence come true.

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided interventional therapy in the treatment of postoperative recurrent chocolate cysts. The 198 patients enrolled in this study were divided into three groups. In group 1, the saline washing group, the cavity of the cyst was washed thoroughly with warm saline. In group 2, the ethanol short-time retention group, after washing with saline, the cyst was injected with 95% ethanol with a volume of half of the fluid aspirated from the cyst. Ten minutes later, the rest of the ethanol was aspirated. In group 3, the ethanol retention group, the procedures were the same as with the ethanol short-time retention group, except that 95% of the ethanol was retained in the cyst. An ultrasound examination was performed in the third, sixth and 12th months after therapy. The chocolate cyst cure rate was significantly higher in the ethanol retention group (96%, 66/69) than in the ethanol short-time retention group (82%, 56/68) and no case was cured in the first group (saline washing). We conclude that ultrasound-guided injection and 95% ethanol retention are an effective therapy for the treatment of postoperative recurrent chocolate cysts.

With wireless communication technology and modularization design strategy, a novel automatic passenger train water supply system is proposed. Three combination schemes of the proposed system is expatiated, and the design principle, working principle and wireless coding and decoding circuits of the corresponding remote control solenoid valves module, portable remote control module, sensors and special connector module are presented one by one. The application effect and the further research project are finally presented as a conclusion.