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Background Inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell (IPT-like FDC) tumors of the liver is an uncommon tumor with extremely low incidence. To date, the radiologic findings of this tumor in multiphase computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging have not been described. Case summary Patient 1 is a 31-year-old Chinese female, whose complaining incidentally coincided with the finding of multiple liver masses. In the local hospital, an abdominal enhanced CT found two hypo-dense solid lesions, with heterogeneous sustained hypoenhancement, in the upper segment of the liver's right posterior lobe. In our hospital, enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with hepatocyte-specific contrast agents showed a similar enhanced pattern of lesions with patchy hyperintensity in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP). The patient underwent surgery and recovered well. The final pathology confirmed an IPT-like FDC tumor. No recurrence was found on the regular re-examination. Patient 2 is a 48-year-old Chinese male admitted to our hospital for a huge unexpected hepatic lesion. A dynamic enhanced abdominal CT revealed a huge heterogeneous enhanced solid tumor in the right lobe of the liver with a size of 100 mm × 80 mm, which showed a heterogeneous sustained hypoenhancement. In addition, enlarged lymph nodes were found in the hilum of the liver. This patient underwent a hepatic lobectomy and lymph node dissection. The final pathology confirmed an IPT-like FDC tumor. No recurrence was found upon regular re-examination. Conclusion When a hepatic tumor shows heterogeneous sustained hypoenhancement with a patchy enhancement during HBP, an IPT-like FDC tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

To optimize the spatial distribution of cotton bolls and to increase the yield, the relationship between yield components and boll spatial distribution was investigated among different Bt (Bacillus thuringensis) cotton varieties. A five-year field experiment was conducted to reveal the reasons for the differences in lint yield and fiber quality across three Bt cotton varieties with different yield formations from 2013 to 2017. The lint yield of Jiman 169 (the average yield from 2013–2017 was 42.2 g/plant) was the highest, i.e., 16.3 and 36.9% higher than Lumianyan 21 (L21) and Daizimian 99B (99B), respectively. And the differences in boll weight among the three cultivars were similar to the lint yield, while the others yield components were not. So the increase in lint yield was mainly attributed to the enlargement in boll weight. However, the change in fiber quality was inconsistent with the lint yield, and the quality of L21 was significantly better than that of Jimian 169 (J169) and 99B, which was caused by the diversity of boll spatial distribution. Compared with 99B, the loose-type J169 had the highest number of large bolls in inner positions; the tight-type L21 had a few large bolls and the highest number of lower and middle bolls. And approximately 80.72% of the lint yield was concentrated on the inner nodes in Jiman 169, compared with 77.44% of L21 and 66.73% of 99B during the five-year experiment. Although lint yield was significantly affected by the interannual changes, the lint yield of J169 was the highest and the most stable, as well as its yield components. These observations demonstrated the increase in lint yield was due to the increase in boll weight, and the large bolls and high fiber quality were attributed to the optimal distribution of bolls within the canopies.

Stubble return is a proposed practice for soil amelioration and yield improvement. However, from the perspective of reducing soil salinity and improving soil nutrient availability, we have little knowledge of the effect of successive stubble return on cotton yield and nutrient uptake when cotton stubble is incorporated into saline field soil. Hence, a 5-year field study was conducted to investigate the effects of successive stubble management (stubble return and stubble removal) on lint yield and nutrient uptake of cotton, soil nutrients and salinity in the 0–80-cm soil profile. Stubble return increased lint yield by 22.7% and 47.3% in the fourth and fifth year, respectively, mainly through the production of more and larger bolls and the acquisition of more nutrients compared with stubble removal. 5-year cotton stubble return produced 20.0% more bolls and 7.7% larger bolls than stubble removal. Cotton plants accumulated 58.9% more nitrogen (N), 54.5% more phosphorus (P), and 48.2% more potassium (K) under stubble return than stubble removal during the last two years of the experiment. Stubble return increased internal N use efficiency (iNUE) and internal K use efficiency (iKUE) at the fourth or fifth year compared with stubble removal, without influence on internal P use efficiency (iPUE). Stubble return decreased soil pH and salinity in the 0–40-cm soil layer in the fourth and fifth year. The soil nitrate content below the 40-cm soil layer was reduced, while the nitrate concentration in the 0–20-cm soil layer increased after 4 years of stubble return. Available K in the 0–40-cm soil layer increased, while available P in the 0–20-cm soil layer was reduced after 5 years of stubble return. Our analyses demonstrate that cotton stubble return has the potential to improve cotton yield and may be an effective practice to apply in coastal saline areas.

Background The anatomical dimensions of the lumbar dural sac determine the sensory block level of spinal anesthesia; however, whether they show the same predictive value during continuous epidural anesthesia (CEA) remains undetermined. We designed the present study to verify the efficacy of the anatomical dimensions of the lumbar dural sac in predicting the sensory block level during labor analgesia. Methods A total of 122 parturients with singleton pregnancies requesting labor analgesia were included in this study. The lumbar dural sac diameter (DSD), lumbar dural sac length (DSL), lumbar dural sac surface area (DSA), and lumbar dural sac volume (DSV) were measured with an ultrasound color Doppler diagnostic apparatus. CEA was performed at the L2-L3 interspace. After epidural cannulation, an electronic infusion pump containing 0.08% ropivacaine and sufentanil 0.4 μg/ml was connected. The sensory block level was determined with alcohol-soaked cotton, a cotton swab, and a pinprick. The analgesic efficacy of CEA was determined with a visual analog scale (VAS). The parturients were divided into two groups, “ideal analgesia” and “nonideal analgesia,” and the groups were compared by t test. Pearson’s correlation was performed to evaluate the association between the anatomical dimensions of the lumbar dural sac and sensory block level. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to create a model for predicting the sensory block level. Results In the ideal analgesia group, the height, DSL, DSA, DSV and DSD were significantly smaller, and the body mass index (BMI) was significantly larger (P r = − 0.816, P r = − 0.874, P r = − 0.727, P Conclusion In conclusion, our study shows that the sensory block level of CEA is higher when the DSL, DSA, DSV and DSD of puerperae are lower. DSL and BMI can be treated as predictors of the peak sensory block level in CEA during labor analgesia.

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is the most common and undesirable complications associated with anaesthesia, leading to discomfort in patients and extended hospital stays. The present study evaluates and compares the effects of preoperative low-dose mannitol infusion on PONV in patients undergoing gynaecological laparoscopic surgery.Methods: Fifty-three patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups (mannitol group, Group M, and control group, Group C). In the group M, low dose of 20% mannitol (0.5g/kg) was applied 30 minutes before induction. In the group C, equal volume of 0.9% normal saline was infused. Both groups were maintained with Ringer’s lactate in 8 ml/kg/h intraoperatively. The primary endpoint was the incidence and severity of PONV within the first postoperative 24h. The secondary endpoints were the average vascular resistance indexes(RI) and angle-corrected time-averaged flow velocity(TIMV)of bilateral vertebral artery (VA) and internal carotid artery (ICA) and cerebral blood flow volume (CBFV) using non-invasive Doppler ultrasound at time points just 5 min after laryngeal mask airway placement (T1：baseline);pneumoperitoneum started and position changed(T2);15 minutes after pneumoperitoneum with the position change (T3); pneumoperitoneum stopped with a position change (T4);15 minutes after pneumoperitoneum had stopped (T5).Results: Within 24h after operation, the incidence of PONV in group M (28.0%) was significantly lower than group C (56.0%) (P=0.045). Compared with group C, the severity of PONV in group M was significantly lower(P=0.040). The RI of VA and ICA were statistically different between the two groups(PP＞0.05).Conclusion: Pretreatment with a low dose of mannitol effectively reduced the incidence and severity of PONV in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery by reducing the RI of the VA and ICA.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IPR-16007749, registered date: 12/01/2016.), http://www.chictr.org.cn

The aim of this study is to report and analyze the factors related with earlier occurrence of silicone oil (SO) emulsification in patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy and SO injection in our hospital. We retrospectively reviewed consecutive case series undergone both SO injection and removal in our hospital, and 182 ones were eligible. Possible related independent factors included: macula status (on/off), concomitant phacoemulsification with the surgery of SO tamponading, concomitant status of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, combined surgery of retinotomy, time to have emulsification (

The present study aimed to reveal the metabolic alterations of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in uterosacral ligament (USL) with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and to explore the role of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in pathogenesis of POP. For this purpse, 60 participants who underwent hysterectomy for benign indications were enrolled, 30 of which had symptomatic POP (grade II, III or IV) and composed the POP group, and the other 30 had asymptomatic POP (grade I or less) and served as the controls. Collagen fibers, elastin, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2/9, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)-2 and TGF-β1 were examined by Masson's trichrome staining, immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR using USL biopsies. In vitro, human USL fibroblasts (hUSLFs) were primary cultured, pre-treated with recombinant TGF-β1 (0, 5, or 10 ng/ml) and then subjected to cyclic mechanical stretching (CMS; 0 or 5,333 με strain). Changes in the expression levels of collagen type I/III, elastin, TIMP-2, MMP-2/9 and Smad were detected. Our results revealed that at the tissue level, the expression of collagen fibers, elastin, TIMP-2 and TGF-β1 was significantly reduced in the POP group, while the activities of MMP-2/9 were significantly upregulated, compared with the control group. Statistical analysis indicated that the mRNA expression of TGF-β1 inversely correlated with the severity of POP partially. Our in vitro experimental data demonstrated that a CMS of 5333 με strain promoted the degradation of ECM proteins, inhibited the synthesis of TIMP-2, and upregulated the proteolytic activities of MMP-2/9. Pre-treatment with TGF-β1 attenuated the loss of ECM by stimulating the synthesis of TIMP-2 and inhibiting the activities of MMP-2/9 through the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway. On the whole, our data indicate that the reduced anabolism and increased catabolism of ECM proteins in USL are the pathological characteristics of POP. TGF-β1 not only has a specific value in predicting the severity of POP, but should also be considered as a novel therapeutic target for POP.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-injury effect and protective mechanism of hydrogen-enriched water in a rat model of acute liver injury induced by aflatoxin B

Background: Mechanical ventilation is indispensable in many animal experiments, and establishing a stable airway to control breathing is critical. However, endotracheal intubation in small rodents is very difficult due to the lack of visibility of the epiglottis. In addition, traditional blind endotracheal intubation methods usually cause laryngopharyngeal injury and can even result in death; thus, a noninvasive endotracheal intubation device is needed. Results: The video laryngoscope required significantly less time and fewer attempts to achieve successful intubation. The incidences of vomiting reflex, asphyxia and injury were significantly lower in video laryngoscope group. In addition, the time elapsed until the first feeding postextubation was less in video laryngoscope group, indicating faster recovery. Conclusions: The new video laryngoscope endotracheal intubation device used in this study is simple, noninvasive, safe and practical.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a global health problem, for which the pathophysiological mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. The loss of extracellular matrix protein has been considered to be the most important molecular basis facilitating the development of POP. Oxidative stress (OS) is a well‑recognized mechanism involved in fiber metabolic disorders. The present study aimed to clarify whether OS exists in the uterosacral ligament (USL) with POP, and to investigate the precise role of OS in collagen metabolism in human USL fibroblasts (hUSLFs). In the present study, 8‑hydroxyguanosine (8‑OHdG) and 4 hydroxynonenal (4‑HNE), as oxidative biomarkers, were examined by immunohistochemistry to evaluate oxidative injury in USL sections in POP (n=20) and non‑POP (n=20) groups. The primary cultured hUSLFs were treated with exogenous H2O2 to establish an original OS cell model, in which the expression levels of collagen, type 1, α1 (COL1A1), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‑2, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)‑2 and transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1 were evaluated by western blot and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses. The results showed that the expression levels of 8‑OHdG and 4‑HNE in the POP group were significantly higher, compared with those in the control group. Collagen metabolism was regulated by H2O2 exposure in a concentration‑dependent manner, in which lower concentrations of H2O2 (0.1‑0.2 mM) stimulated the anabolism of COL1A1, whereas a higher concentration (0.4 mM) promoted catabolism. The expression levels of MMP‑2, TIMP‑2 and TGF‑β1 exhibited corresponding changes with the OS levels. These results suggested that OS may be involved in the pathophysiology of POP by contributing to collagen metabolic disorder in a severity‑dependent manner in hUSLFs, possibly through the regulation of MMPs, TIMPs and TGF‑β1 indirectly.

By performing first-principles calculations, we have studied the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of transition-metal (TM) (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) doped bilayer WS2 in both the AA and AB configurations. We have examined three probable interlayer doping positions, and found that the doped TM atoms prefer to stay below the S atoms. The TM atoms are covalently bound to the upper layer and lower layer S atoms with binding energies ranging from −0.74 to −1.72 eV for the AA configuration and from −0.69 to −1.80 eV for the AB configuration. Our calculations indicate that all the studied configurations are still semiconductors although the corresponding band gaps reduce a lot, except for the Fe-doped AA configuration which changes to a semi-metal with one spin state cross over at the Fermi level. Additional, our calculations indicate that Mn, Fe and Co-doping induces magnetism in both the AA and AB configurations. More importantly, a high spin polarization of 100% at the Fermi level is achieved in the Co-doped AA configuration and the Mn and Fe-doped AB configurations, which implies the potential for application in spintronic devices.

The effects of air exposure on the antioxidant capacity of marine gastropod, Babylonia areolata, were evaluated. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels in the muscle and hepatopancreas in B. areolata were measured after air exposure and re-submersion. Results showed that SOD activity minimally increased in the hepatopancreas and muscle, after air exposure for 4h. SOD activity in the hepatopancreas was lower than the normal level after 20 h of air exposure and air exposure followed by 4 h of re-submersion. T-AOC levels in the hepatopancreas and muscle of B. areolata decreased significantly (P

In order to adapt to the trend of electronic business, improve the efficiency of the express sorting, this paper desires to explore the barcode technology on image recognition in the express sorting system. Firstly, it briefs the design scheme, and the structure of the sorting robot. In the second, it discussed the key techniques on image recognition about the barcode. Finally, we do some experiments to prove the feasibility of this method.

By performing first-principles calculations, we have studied the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of transition-metal (TM) (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) doped bilayer WS2 in both the AA and AB configurations. We have examined three probable interlayer doping positions, and found that the doped TM atoms prefer to stay below the S atoms. The TM atoms are covalently bound to the upper layer and lower layer S atoms with binding energies ranging from -0.74 to -1.72 eV for the AA configuration and from -0.69 to -1.80 eV for the AB configuration. Our calculations indicate that all the studied configurations are still semiconductors although the corresponding band gaps reduce a lot, except for the Fe-doped AA configuration which changes to a semi-metal with one spin state cross over at the Fermi level. Additional, our calculations indicate that Mn, Fe and Co-doping induces magnetism in both the AA and AB configurations. More importantly, a high spin polarization of 100% at the Fermi level is achieved in the Co-doped AA configuration and the Mn and Fe-doped AB configurations, which implies the potential for application in spintronic devices.

Manipulating electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional (2D) transitional-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) MX2 by doping has raised a lot of attention recently. By performing the first-principles calculations, we have investigated the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of transitional metal (TM)-doped MoS2 at low and high impurity concentrations. Our calculation result indicates that the five elements of V-, Mn-, Fe-, Co-, and Cu-doped monolayer MoS2 at low impurity concentration all give rise to the good diluted magnetic semiconductors. By studying various configurations with different TM-TM separations, we found that the impurity atoms prefer to stay together in the nearest neighboring (NN) configuration, in which the doped TM atoms are FM coupling except for Fe doping at 12 % concentration. For V, Mn, and Fe doping, the total magnetic moment is smaller than the local magnetic moment of the dopants because the induced spins on the nearby host atoms are antiparallel to that of the doped atoms. In contrast, Co and Cu doping both give the higher total magnetic moment. Especially, Cu doping induces strong ferromagnetism relative to the local spins. However, the atomic structures of Co- and Cu-doped MoS2 deviate from the original prismatic configuration, and the magnetic moments of the doped systems decrease at 12 % impurity concentration although both elements give higher magnetic moments at 8 % impurity concentration. Our calculations indicate that V and Mn are promising candidates for engineering and manipulating the magnetism of the 2D TMDs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s11671-016-1376-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A series of white phosphorescent OLED devices with buffer layer and multiple dopant structure is investigated in order to obtain better electro-optic performances and color stability. The color coordinate and color stability are related to the location of multiple dopants layer, and the optimized location can compensate for the change of the blue emission intensity under a high voltage and stabilize the spectrum. The electro-optic performances and color stability can be further improved by changing the composition and thickness of the buffer layer between the emitting layer and the electron transport layer. In device B2, the distance from multiple dopant layer to buffer layer is 2 nm and the thickness of buffer layer is 5 nm, the maximum luminance, current density, and power efficiency can reach 9091 cd/m2, 364.5 mA/cm2, and 26.74 lm/W, respectively. The variation of international commission on the illumination (CIE) coordinate of device B2 with voltage increasing from 4 V to 7 V is only (0.006, 0.004).

In order to determine the equation of state in the isospin asymmetrical nuclear interactions, we have found the observables for extracting the information of them within the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics in recent years. The several sensitive probes for extracting the information of the in-medium nucleon–nucleon cross section and the symmetry potential have found; meanwhile, their mechanisms are investigated in more details. The main point in this paper gives the summary for above probes and their outlook in the future.

Mechanical loading on pelvic supports contributes to pelvic organ prolapse (POP). However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Our previous study identified that mechanical strain induced oxidative stress (OS) and promoted apoptosis and senescence in pelvic support fibroblasts. The aim of the present study is to investigate the molecular signaling pathway linking mechanical force with POP. Using a four‑point bending device, human uterosacral ligament fibroblasts (hUSLF) were exposed to mechanical tensile strain at a frequency of 0.3 Hz and intensity of 5333 µe, in the presence or absence of LY294002. The applied mechan- ical strain on hUSLF resulted in apoptosis and senescence, and decreased expression of procollagen type I α1. Mechanical strain activated phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling and resulted in downregulated expression of glutathione peroxidase 1 and Mn‑superoxide dismutase, and accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. These effects were blocked by administration of LY294002. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that PI3K/Akt was activated in the uterosacral ligaments of POP patients, and that OS was increased and collagen type I production reduced. The results from the present study suggest that mechanical strain promotes apoptosis and senescence, and reduces collagen type I production via activation of PI3K/Akt-mediated OS signaling pathway in hUSLF. This process may be involved in the pathogenesis of POP as it results in relaxation and dysfunc- tion of pelvic supports.

Besides earlier predictions based on both phenomenological models and modern microscopic many-body theories, circumstantial evidence was recently found for a reduced kinetic symmetry energy of isospin-asymmetric nucleonic matter compared to the free Fermi gas model prediction due to the short-range correlation of high-momentum neutron-proton pairs. While keeping the total symmetry energy near the saturation density of nuclear matter consistent with existing experimental constraints, we examine the correspondingly enhanced role of the isospin degree of freedom in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies due to the reduced (enhanced) kinetic (potential) symmetry energy. Important observable consequences are investigated.

The longitudinal momentum (p//) distributions of fragments after one-proton removal and reaction cross sections (σR) for several N = 10 isotones at intermediate energy (~ 70A MeV ) have been measured simultaneously at the RIken Projectile fragment Separator (RIPS). p// was measured using a direct time-of-flight (TOF) technique, while σR was determined using a transmission method. An enhanced σR is observed for 23 Al comparing with its neighbors. The p// distribution for 22 Mg fragments from 23 Al one-proton removal reaction has been obtained for the first time. The experimental data are discussed within a Few Body Glauber (FBG) framework. Analysis of p// indicates a dominant d-wave component in the ground state of 23 Al . This agrees with recent experimental results. We also suggest the possibility of an enlarged 22 Mg core for proton-rich nucleus 23 Al .

We study systematically the average property of fragmentation reaction and momentum dissipation induced by halo-nuclei in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions for different colliding systems and different beam energies within the isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model (IQMD). This study is based on the extended halo-nucleus density distributions, which indicates the average property of loosely inner halo nucleus structure, because the interaction potential and in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section in IQMD model depend on the density distribution. In order to study the average properties of fragmentation reaction and momentum dissipation induced by halo-nuclei we also compare the results for the halo-nuclear colliding systems with those for corresponding stable colliding systems with same mass under the same incident channel condition. We find that the effect of extended halo density distribution on the fragment multiplicity and nuclear stopping (momentum dissipation) are important for the different beam energies and different colliding systems. For example the extended halo density distributions increase the fragment multiplicity but decrease the nuclear stopping for all of incident channel conditions in this paper.

We investigate the dependence of isospin fractionation degree on the entrance channel condition, which includes the impact parameter, the beam energy, the mass and the neutron–proton ratio of the colliding system as well as quantifying the gas phase and the liquid phase by using the isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. We found that the isospin fractionation degree increases markedly with the enhancements of the neutron–proton ratio of system and the beam energy; however, it decreases with increasing system mass as well as slowly increases with the enhancement of the impact parameter. In particular, the property for the sensitive dependence of isospin fractionation degree on the symmetry potential and its weak dependence on the in-medium nucleon–nucleon cross-section is preserved for all the neutron-rich systems and all the impact parameters in the relative lower beam energy region. In this case, the isospin fractionation degree for all the neutron-rich systems can be directly compared with the experimental data to extract the information on the symmetry potential in the relative lower beam energy region.

We studied the special roles of loose neutron-halo structure of 19 B on the fragmentation and momentum dissipation by using isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics. In order to protrude the special roles of neutron-halo structure on the reaction dynamics we compared the fragmentation multiplicity and nuclear stopping (momentum dissipations) induced by neutron-halo nucleus 19 B with those induced by a same mass stable nucleus 19 F under the same incident channel condition. We found that the loose neutron-halo structure of 19 B increases the fragmentation multiplicity in lower beam energy region. On the contrary, the special halo structure of 19 B weakens the nuclear stopping, compared to those induced by stable nucleus 19 F. However both fragmentation multiplicity-difference and nuclear stopping-difference between the reactions induced by 19 B and 19 F gradually decrease and finally disappear as the increase of beam energy. These results suggest a good project for the experimental measurements of the fragmentation multiplicity and nuclear stopping to study the reaction dynamics induced by neutron-halo nuclei.

The degree of isospin fractionation is measured by $(N/Z)_{n}$ / $(N/Z)_{N_{imf}}$, where $(N/Z)_{n}$ and $(N/Z)_{N_{imf}}$ are the saturated neutron-proton ratio of nucleon emissions (gas phase) and that of fragment emissions (liquid phase) in heavy ion collision at intermediate energy . The calculated results by using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model show that the degree of isospin fractionation is sensitive to the neutron-proton ratio of colliding system but insensitive to the difference between the neutron-proton ratio of target and that of projectile. In particular, the degree of isospin fractionation sensitively depends on the symmetry potential. However its dependences on the isospin dependent in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section and momentum dependent interaction are rather weak. The nucleon emission (gas phase) mainly determines the dynamical behavior of the degree of isospin fractionation in the isospin fractionation process, compared to the effect of fragment emission. In this case, we propose that $(N/Z)_{n}$ / $(N/Z)_{N_{imf}}$ or $(N/Z)_{n}$ can be directly compared with the experimental data so that the information about symmetry potential can be obtained

The influence of medium correction from an isospin dependent nucleon nucleon cross section on the fragmentation and nucleon emission in the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions was studied by using an isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamical model (IQMD). We found that the medium correction enhances the dependence of multiplicity of intermediate mass fragment $N_{imf}$ and the number of nucleon emission $N_{n}$ on the isospin effect of the nucleon nucleon cross section,while the momentum dependent interaction (MDI) produces also an important role for enhancing the influence of the medium correction on the isospin dependence of two-body collision in the fragmentation and nucleon emission processes. After considering the medium correction and the role of momentum dependent interaction the increase for the dependence of $N_{imf}$ and $N_{n}$ on the isospin effect of two-body collision is favorable to learn the information about the isospin dependent nucleon nucleon cross section, 7 figures

Background The spleen is thought to be central in regulating the immune system, a metabolic asset involved in endocrine function. Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection leads to a mortality rate of up to 50%. However, there is still controversy on performing subtotal splenectomy as treatment of splenomegaly due to portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients. In the present study, immunocytes and the indexes of splenic size, hemodynamics, hematology and immunology in the residual spleen were analyzed to support subtotal splenectomy due to splenomegaly. Results In residual spleen, T lymphocytes mainly were focal aggregation in the periarterial lymphatic sheath. While B lymphocytes densely distributed in splenic corpuscle. In red pulp, macrophages were equally distributed in the xsplenic cord and adhered to the wall of splenic sinus with high density. The number of unit area T and B lymphocytes of splenic corpuscle and marginal zone as well as macrophages of red pulp were obviously increased in the residual spleen, while the number of macrophages didn’t be changed among the three groups in white pulp. While there were some beneficial changes (i.e., Counts of platelet and leucocyte as well as serum proportion of CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells were increased markedly; serum levels of M-CSF and GM-CSF were decreased significantly; The proportion of granulocyte, erythrocyte, megakaryocyte in bone marrow were changed obviously; But serum IgA, IgM, IgG, Tuftsin level, there was no significant difference; splenic artery flow volume, portal venous diameter and portal venous flow volume, a significant difference was observed in residual spleen) in the clinical indices. Conclusion After subtotal splenectomy with splenomegaly due to portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients, the number of unit area T and B lymphocytes, and MØ in red pulp of residual spleen increased significantly. However, whether increase of T, B lymphocytes and MØs in residual splenic tissue can enhance the immune function of the spleen, still need further research to confirm.

Sulfur mustard (SM) is believed to be a major threat to civilian populations because of the persistent asymmetric threat by nonstate actors, such as terrorist groups, the ease of synthesis and handling, and the risk of theft from stockpiles. The purpose of this study was to establish mechanisms of acute tracheal injury in rats induced by SM using histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and biochemical parameters. Male rats (Sprague-Dawley) were anesthetized, intratracheally intubated, and exposed to 2 mg/kg of SM. Animals were euthanized 6-, 24-, 48-, and 72-hour postexposure, and intracavitary blood samples from the heart and tracheal tissues were collected. Exposure of rats to SM resulted in rapid tracheal injury, including tracheal epithelial cell shedding, focal ulceration, and abundant lymphocyte invasion of the submucosa. There was also evidence of a large number of apoptotic cells in the epithelium and submucosa, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β (IL) 1β, IL-6, and γ-glutamyl transferase peaked at 24 hours, and the serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase, glutathione peroxidase, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance peaked at 6 hours. The SM exposure also resulted in a loss of the cellular membrane, leakage of cytoplasm, fuzzy mitochondrial cristae, medullary changes in ciliated and goblet cells, and the nuclear chromatin appeared marginated in basal cells and fibroblasts. The results in the propylene glycol group were the same as the control group. These data demonstrated the histologic changes, inflammatory reactions, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and DNA damage following SM (2 mg/kg)-induced acute tracheal injury; the severity of changes was time dependent.

The nuclear symmetry energy (E_sym(\roh)) is a vital ingredient of our understanding of many processes, from heavy-ion collisions to neutron stars structure. While the total nuclear symmetry energy at nuclear saturation density (\rho_0) is relatively well determined, its value at supranuclear densities is not. The latter can be better constrained by separately examining its kinetic and potential terms and their density dependencies. The kinetic term of the symmetry energy, E_sym^kin(\rho_0), equals the difference in the per-nucleon kinetic energy between pure neutron matter (PNM) and symmetric nuclear matter (SNM), often calculated using a simple Fermi gas model. However, experiments show that tensor force induced short-range correlations (SRC) between proton-neutron pairs shift nucleons to high-momentum in SNM, but have almost no effect in PNM. We present an approximate analytical expression for E_sym^kin(\rho) of correlated nucleonic matter. In our model, E_sym^kin(\rho_0) = -10 MeV, which differs significantly from +12.5 MeV for the widely-used free Fermi gas model. This result is consistent with our analysis of recent data on the free proton-to-neutron ratios measured in intermediate energy nucleus-nucleus collisions as well as with microscopic many-body calculations, and previous phenomenological extractions. We then use our calculated E_sym^kin(\rho) in combination with the known total symmetry energy and its density dependence at saturation density to constrain the value and density dependence of the potential part and to extrapolate the total symmetry energy to supranuclear densities., Comment: Published in PRC. 6 pages, 5 figures. Final version: 06-Feb-15

Using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model, the entropy of an intermediate-energy heavy ion collision system after the reaction and the number of deuteronlike and protonlike particles produced in the collision is calculated. In the collision, different parameters are used and the mass number used here is from 40 to 93 at incident energy from 150 MeV to 1050 MeV. We build a new model in which the density distribution of the reaction product is used to calculate the size of the entropy. The entropy calculated with this model is in good agreement with experimental values. Our data reveals that with the increase of the neutron-proton ratio and impact parameter, the entropy of the reaction system decreases, and it increases with the increase of system mass and reaction energy.

The purpose of this study is to describe the infiltration of mast cells as well as T and B cells in the walls of thrombotic varicose great saphenous veins. Sections were obtained from venous segments of patients with varicose veins and stained with toluidine blue for mast cells, while immunohistochemistry for T cells (using CD45RO antibody) and B cells (CD20) was analyzed using light microscopy after staining. The number of mast cells, T, and B cells observed in thrombotic varicose veins was 1.925 ± 1.203, 72.038 ± 34.707, and 19.519 ± 9.899, respectively. In varicose veins, the corresponding values were 0.265 ± 0.099, 0.600 ± 0.432, and 0.488 ± 0.400. Significantly higher number of mast cells, T cells, and B cells were observed in thrombotic varicose veins compared with control veins. A significant difference was not observed between the varicose group and control group. Thrombi in varicose veins can induce infiltration of mast cells, T cells, and B cells, which may be involved in the remodeling of venous walls.

Based on a modified quantum molecular dynamics model, we calculate the neutron-proton ratio and the nuclear stopping of reaction systems with different symmetry potentials and collision cross sections. We perform correlations of several probes using the covariance data processing method. It is shown that the correlation between the nuclear stopping and the isospin-dependent nucleon-nucleon cross sections is strong, but the nuclear stopping and symmetry potentials have a weak correlation. The correlation between neutron-proton ratio and symmetry potentials in the case of low energy is stronger. The correlation between neutron-proton ratio and isospin-dependent collision cross sections is enhanced with the increase of energy, but remains weak. In addition, the correlations of the emission numbers of the deuteron with the symmetry potentials and collision cross sections at different beam energies are not obvious compared to two prior physical quantities. In this paper, we define a parameter to quantitatively describe the sensitivity of isospin-dependent probes. By analyzing this parameter, one can extract more information about the isospin effects of the physical quantity.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is a main rate-limiting enzyme resulting in over-production of nitric oxide following hypoxia-ischemia (HI). The aim of this study was to observe the expression of iNOS protein and gliacyte apoptosis in the brains of premature rats after HI, in order to explore possible relationships of iNOS with white matter damage (WMD).One hundred and twelve 2-day-old premature rats were randomly subjected to right carotid ligation followed by 4 hrs hypoxic stress (WMD group) or sham operation (control group). The pups were sacrificed at 1, 3, 6, 12 hrs, and 1, 3 and 7 days after HI. Immunohistochemical technique was applied to determine the iNOS expression in periventricular white matter tissues. Gliacyte apoptosis was detected in these tissues by TUNEL.Compared with the control group, iNOS expression began to increase 1 hr after HI and reached the peak 1 day after HI in the WMD group. Gliacyte apoptosis increased 1 hr after HI and peaked 1 day after HI in the WMD group compared with the control group.In the neonatal rats with WMD, the expression of iNOS may be involved in the ischemic cellular events including apoptosis, and plays a role in the pathophysiological process of WMD.

To explore the expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinases 1/2 (pERK1/2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in brain and the correlations with cerebral edema after hypoxia-ischemia brain damage (HIBD).144 seven-day-old SD rats were randomly dividend into three groups that was the sham operation group, HIBD group and intervention group with anti-MIF. Each group were executed in 1 h, 6 h, 12 h and 24 h, 3 d, and 7 d. The expression of MIF, MMP-9 protein in the right cerebral cortex was detected with immunohistochemistry methods, the relative content of pERK1/2 was detected with Western blot and the water content of brain was evaluated with dry-wet method.Comparing with the sham group the expression of MIF in the HIBD group began to increase on 1 h, and peaked on 24 h (P0.05), and MMP-9 began to express on 6 h, and also peaked on 24 h (P0.05), while pERK1/2 expressed rapidly to peak on 1 h, and quickly decreased on 6 h, and began to increase on 12 h and reached the peak again on 24 h (P0.05). Being treated with hypoxia-ischemia, the water content of brain began to increase on 6 h and peaked on 3 d (P0.05). And comparing with HIBD group, the expressions of MIF, pERK1/2, MMP-9 and the water contents were decreased obviously in the anti-MIF group (P0.05).The increased expression of MIF in the neonatal rats with hypoxia-ischemia brain damage maybe via activing the ERK1/2 ways to induce MMP-9 expressand leading to cerebral edema.

The effects of Cordyceps sinensis (Caterpillar fungus) and strontium ranelate on ovariectomized osteopenic rats was studied in this paper. After the rats were treated orally with C. sinensis, strontium, and C. sinensis rich in strontium ranelate (CSS) respectively, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartarate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), serum osteocalcin (OC), homocysteine, C-terminal crosslinked telopeptides of collagen type I (CTX), estradiol, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) level were examined. The beneficial effects of CSS on improvement of osteoporosis in rats were attributable mainly to decrease ALP activity, TRAP activity, CTX level, and IFN-γ level. At the same time, CSS also increase the OC and estradiol level in ovariectomized osteopenic rats. This study demonstrates the value of C. sinensis rich in strontium ranelate in the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis in humans.

Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is a rate-limiting enzyme which dictates the activity of human telomerase and thus decides the life span of cells. The aim of this study was to explore the expression of hTERT in bone marrow from children with beta-thalassemia major and the relationship between the expression of hTERT and hemoglobin levels.Multiple allele specific polymerase chain reaction (MASPCR) was used for targeted DNA amplification and gene mutation analysis of beta-thalassemia. hTERT mRNA expression in bone marrow was examined using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis in 29 children with beta-thalassemia major, in 10 children with agranulocytosis and in K562 cell line. The hemoglobin levels in peripheral blood were measured. The relationship between hTERT expression and hemoglobin levels was evaluated by the Spearman test in the beta-thalassemia major group.hTERT mRNA expression significantly increased in bone marrow from children with beta-thalassemia major compared with that from children with agranulocytosis (0.2928+/- 0.0838 vs 0.0993+/- 0.0336; P0.01), but was significantly lower than that in K562 cell line (0.8291+/- 0.0908) (P0.01). A significantly inverse correlation was found between hTERT mRNA expression and hemoglobin levels (r=-0.841, P0.01).A low hemoglobin concentration might contribute to the up-regulation of marrow hTERT expression in children with beta-thalassemia major.

We investigate separately the isospin effects of Coulomb interaction and symmetry potential on the dissipation and fragmentation in the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions by using isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. The calculated results show that the Coulomb interaction induces the reductions of both isospin fractionation ratio and nuclear stopping (momentum dissipation). However, the Coulomb interaction not only does not change obviously the strong isospin effect of the symmetry potential on the isospin fractionation ratio but also does not change obviously that of in-medium two-body collision on the nuclear stopping. On the contrary, the symmetry potential induces the enhancement of the isospin fractionation ratio but it is insensitive to the nuclear stopping. Finally, the competition between the Coulomb interaction and symmetry potential induces the reductions of both isospin fractionation ratio and nuclear stopping for two forms of symmetry potentials in this paper.

Based on an isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model we studied the influence of a medium correction of an isospin dependent nucleon nucleon cross section on the fragmentation at the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions. We found that the medium correction from an isospin dependent nucleon nucleon cross section increases the dependence of the fragmentation on the isospin effect of in-medium nucleon nucleon cross section, at the same time, the momentum dependent interaction (MDI) produces also an important role for enhancing the influence of the medium correction on the isospin effect of two-body collisions in the fragmentation process. In this case, the dependence of the multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments $N_{imf}$ on the isospin effect of two-body collision due to the medium correction and MDI, is a probe for extracting the information on the isospin dependent nucleon cnucleon cross section in the medium correction., 4 pages,3 figures

We study the isospin effects of the mean field and two-body collision on the nucleon emissions at the intermediate energy heavy ion collisions by using an isospin dependent transport theory. The calculated results show that the nucleon emission number $N_{n}$ depends sensitively the isospin effect of nucleon nucleon cross section and weakly on the isospin dependent mean field for neutron-poor system in higher beam energy region . In particular, the correlation between the medium correction of two-body collision and the momentum dependent interaction enhances the dependence of nucleon emission number $N_{n}$ on the isospin effect of nucleon nucleon cross section. On the contrary, the ratio of the neutron proton ratio of the gas phase to the neutron proton ratio of the liquid phase, i.e., the degree of isospin fractionation $_{b}/_{b}$ depends sensitively on the isospin dependent mean field and weakly on the isospin effect of two-body collision for neutron-rich system in the lower beam energy region. In this case, $N_{n}$ and $_{b}/_{b}$ are the probes for extracting the information about the isospin dependent nucleon nucleon cross section in the medium and the isospin dependent mean field,respectively., Comment: 4 pages,4 figures

We develop the method for the calculation of the total reaction cross sections induced by the halo nuclei and stable nuclei. This approach is based on the Glauber theory, which is valid for nuclear reactions at high energy. It is extended for nuclear reactions at low energy and intermediate energy by including both the quantum correction and Coulomb correction under the assumption of the effective nuclear density distribution. The calculated results of the total reaction cross section induced by stable nuclei agree well with the 30 experimental data within 10 percent accuracy.The comparison between the numerical results and the 20 experimental data for the total nuclear reaction cross section induced by the neutron halo nuclei and the proton halo nuclei indicates a satisfactory agreement after considering the halo structure of these nuclei, which implies the quite different mean fields for the nuclear reactions induced by halo nuclei and stable nuclei. The halo nucleon distributions and the root mean square radii of these nuclei can be extracted from above comparison based on the improved Glauber model, which indicate clearly the halo structures of these nuclei. Especially, it is clear to see that the medium correction of the nucleon-nucleon collision has little effect on the total reaction cross sections induced by the halo nuclei due to the very weak binding and the very extended density distribution., Comment: 15 pages,2 figures. Communucations in Theoretical Physics, (2003) in press

We studied the influence of a momentum dependent interaction in the context of isopspin effects on fragmentation and dissipation in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions by using an isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. It is shown that the nuclear stopping, the number of nucleons emitted ,and the multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments are larger with a momentum dependent interaction than without. In particular, the differences for these observables, when using an isospin dependent in-medium nucleon nucleon cross section versus an isospin independent one, are also larger at high energies for a momentum dependent interaction than without one. Therefore,momentum dependence enhances the sensitivities of those observables to the isospin effect of the in-medium nucleon nucleon cross section towards high beam energies, Comment: 6 pages,3 figures