Search

Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 (L2MO) material coated with Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3(LATP) was synthesized by sol-gel method. The coating amount was 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%. It is found that LATP coating improves the cycle stability of the material. After 200 cycles at 0.6 C rate, the cycle retention rate of the uncoated sample is 72.7%, while the retention rate of sample with 1% coating amount reaches 85%. LATP coating improves the rate performance of the material. The sample with 1% coating amount has the best rate performance, and the discharge specific capacity is 71.5 mAh/g at 10 C rate, while the discharge specific capacity of the sample without coating is 60.1 mAh/g. LATP coating alleviates the side reaction between the material surface and the electrolyte. As a solid electrolyte, it promotes the transmission of Li+ and reduces the charge transfer impedance of the material. The thermal stability of these materials was tested by DSC. The results show that LATP coating could improve the thermal stability of the material in charged state.

A range of allylic alcohols are shown to readily react with ethereal H2O2 in the presence of catalytic amounts of Na2MoO4-gly or MoO2(acac)2, affording the C═C trans hydroxylation-hydroperoxylation products in good yields with high regio- and stereoselectivity. Use of enantiomers of cyclic substrates resulted in corresponding enantiopure diol-tert-hydroperoxides. The possibility of further conversion of the diol-tert-hydroperoxides into triols or linear building blocks with an isolated tert-peroxy group containing a quaternary center is also exemplified.

In White Teeth, Zadie Smith portrays the lives of three immigrant families in Britain in the late half of twentieth century. Besides the generally celebrated theme of multiculturalism, this article argues that the novel is an exploration of the relationship between the identity of the second-generation immigrants and their fathers’ masculinity. The lack of masculinity in the fathers among the first-generation immigrants makes the second-generation immigrants cannot construct their British identity, they have to turn to other fatherly fingers for financial and social capital. Through the portrait of masculinity, the author expresses her concern of the racial discrimination against the immigrants and the importance of first-generation immigrants’ masculinity. But on the other hand, the novel’s portrait of men without masculinity intensified the stereotyped negative image of immigrants.

Autophagy has an important role in the pathogenesis of plasma cell development and multiple myeloma (MM); however, the prognostic role of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) in MM remains undefined. In the present study, the expression profiles of 234 ARGs were obtained from a Gene Expression Omnibus dataset (accession GSE24080), which contains 559 samples of patients with MM analyzed with 54,675 probes. Univariate Cox regression analysis identified 55 ARGs that were significantly associated with event-free survival of MM. Furthermore, a risk score with 16 survival-associated ARGs was developed using multivariate Cox regression analysis, including ATIC, BNIP3L, CALCOCO2, DNAJB1, DNAJB9, EIF4EBP1, EVA1A, FKBP1B, FOXO1, FOXO3, GABARAP, HIF1A, NCKAP1, PRKAR1A and SUPT20H, was constructed. Using this prognostic signature, patients with MM could be separated into high- and low-risk groups with distinct clinical outcomes. The area under the curve values for the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.740, 0.741 and 0.712 for 3, 5 and 10 years prognosis predictions, respectively. Notably, the prognostic role of this risk score could be validated with another four independent cohorts (accessions: GSE57317, GSE4581, GSE4452 and GSE4204). In conclusion, ARGs may serve vital roles in the progression of MM, and the ARGs-based prognostic model may provide novel ideas for clinical applications in MM.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the effects of myeloma cells exposed to fluid shear stress on osteocytes and osteoclasts, and clarify the potential underlying mechanisms. MATERIAL AND METHODS A flow and a non-flow model were established using a flow fluid chamber. The myeloma cell line U266 and murine osteocytic MLO-Y4 cells were cultured in vitro. The osteocytes and osteoclasts were examined under a microscope. Osteoclasts were stained for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity. RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene expression were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Compared with the controls, Y4 cells cultured with U266 culture supernatant showed altered morphology, fewer osteocytes, increased RANKL gene expression, a higher RANKL/OPG gene ratio, and a greater number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts (P

The non-random three-dimensional (3D) organization of the genome in the nucleus is critical to gene regulation and genome function. Using high-throughput chromatin conformation capture, we generated chromatin interaction maps for Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea at a high resolution and characterized the conservation and divergence of chromatin organization in these two species. Large-scale chromatin structures, including A/B compartments and topologically associating domains, are notably conserved between B. rapa and B. oleracea, yet their KNOT structures are highly divergent. We found that genes retained in less fractionated subgenomes exhibited stronger interaction strengths, and diploidization-resistant duplicates retained in pairs or triplets are more likely to be colocalized in both B. rapa and B. oleracea. These observations suggest that spatial constraint in duplicated genes is correlated to their biased retention in the diploidization process. In addition, we found strong similarities in the epigenetic modification and Gene Ontology terms of colocalized paralogues, which were largely conserved across B. rapa and B. oleracea, indicating functional constraints on their 3D positioning in the nucleus. This study presents an investigation of the spatial organization of genomes in Brassica and provides insights on the role of 3D organization in the genome evolution of this genus.

BACKGROUND Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic cancer with poor prognosis. Novel therapeutic strategies are needed to decrease the high mortality rate. The aim of this study was to identify prospective agents for MM. MATERIAL AND METHODS A microarray dataset was mined, which contains the transcriptome profiles of 588 MM patients. Univariate Cox analysis was performed to analyze the relationships between genes and clinical outcome. Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were determined. Protective and risky genes were uploaded to Connectivity Map (CMAP) database to identify the potentially unknown effects of existing drugs. An example was selected to be docked on the known molecules. RESULTS A total of 1445 genes significantly correlated with the event free survival (EFS) of MM patients were identified and included 676 protective and 769 risky indicators. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that these prognosis-associated genes were enriched in the "cell cycle," "DNA replication," and "P53 signaling pathway". The top t3 most significant potential molecules were vorinostat, trifluoperazine, and thioridazine. CDK1 (cyclin-dependent kinase-1) ranked as the core in the class of prognosis-related genes in MM based on protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. With Sybyl-X 2.0, the majority of the top 10 molecules aforementioned displayed high binding forces with CDK1. Among these molecules, trichostatin A had the greatest ability in combining with CDK1. CONCLUSIONS Genes that mainly accumulate in the cell cycle pathway play an essential role in the prognosis of MM, and these prognosis-related genes also have great value in drug development.

Muqubilin, negombatoperoxide B, and negombatoperoxide C/D were synthesized through enantioselective routes, with the quaternary center derived from a peroxy chiral building block of known absolute configuration. The C-2/C-3 stereogenic centers were introduced by asymmetric aldol condensation, and the 1,2-dioxane ring was constructed via an intramolecular alkylation of a hydroperoxide with a mesylate. The synthetic samples showed physical and spectroscopic data consistent with those reported in the literature and thus verified the configurations of the natural products. A potentially more expeditious enantioselective entry to the 1,2-dioxane-aldol moiety (C-1 to C-6) of such cyclic peroxides was also briefly explored, where the C-2/C-3 stereogenic centers were installed through a [2+2] cycloaddition and the 1,2-dioxane ring was closed via an intramolecular alkylation coupled with an alkyl-oxygen cleavage of a β-lactone.

This study aimed to validate the simplified Chinese version of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) for Chinese patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). The construct validity was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The convergent validity was based on factor loading, composite reliability (CR), and Pearson correlation coefficients (r). Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s α, test–retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and the ceiling and floor effects were also examined. A total of 168 native Chinese-speaking patients were enrolled. The CFA indicated that construct validity did not meet the preset criteria to be considered as good. Except for Q 4-1, the factor loading was higher than the standard of 0.5, and the CR values ranged from 0.70 to 0.85. Strong to moderate correlations were found between other scales and the simplified Chinese JOACMEQ. The scale showed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α 0.639–0.821), and test–retest reliability (ICC 0.760–0.916). Moreover, the ceiling effect was displayed from Q1 to Q4. This study indicates that the simplified Chinese JOACMEQ is a reliable and valid measure of the functional status among Chinese patients with CSM.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONThe JOACMEQ was translated into the simplified Chinese and culturally adapted for Chinese-speaking patients with CSM for the first time.The simplified JOACMEQ demonstrated an excellent level of internal consistency and good test–retest reliability.The simplified Chinese JOACMEQ was reliable and valid for the measurement of the functional status among the patients with CSM. The JOACMEQ was translated into the simplified Chinese and culturally adapted for Chinese-speaking patients with CSM for the first time. The simplified JOACMEQ demonstrated an excellent level of internal consistency and good test–retest reliability. The simplified Chinese JOACMEQ was reliable and valid for the measurement of the functional status among the patients with CSM.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic value of sagittal measurement of thoracic inlet parameters for degenerative cervical spondylolisthesis (DCS). MATERIAL AND METHODS We initially included 65 patients with DCS and the same number of health people as the control group by using cervical radiograph evaluations. We analyzed the x-ray and computer tomographic (CT) data in prone and standing position at the same time. Measurement of cervical sagittal parameters was carried out in a standardized supine position. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate these parameters as a diagnostic index for DCS. RESULTS There were 60 cases enrolled in the DCS group, and 62 cases included in the control group. The T1 slope and thoracic inlet angle (TIA) were significantly greater for the DCS group compared to the control group (24.33±2.85o versus 19.59±2.04o, p=0.00; 76.11±9.82o versus 72.86±7.31o, p=0.03, respectively). We observed no significant difference for the results of the neck tilt (NT), C2-C7 angle in the control and the DSC group (p>0.05). Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that preoperative T1 slope of more than 22.0o showed significantly diagnostic value for the DCS group (p

Background Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic musculoskeletal disorder that seriously affects quality of life. Patients with KOA frequently develop one or more of the following typical symptoms: joint pain, stiffness, joint friction noise and impaired functionality. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been shown to have a superior effect and a particular advantage in the treatment of KOA; among TCM, the Tong-luo Qu-tong plaster is the convenient and most commonly used method in China to improve symptoms including pain, stiffness and limited mobility in patients with KOA, as it causes few adverse effects. But there is a lack of high-quality clinical evidences to support the therapeutic effect that Chinese adhesive plaster can have in relieving pain and stiffness. The purpose of this study will be to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tong-luo Qu-tong plaster in patients with KOA. Methods/design This study will be a randomized, double-blind, parallel positive controlled, multi-center clinical trial, a non-inferiority trial design was adopted. A total of 2000 participants older than 40 years, with KOA, will be randomly allocated into an experimental group (n = 1500) and a control group (n = 500). All participants will receive a conventional conservative treatment lasting for 14 days as two courses, once daily. Tong-luo Qu-tong plaster will be administered externally to participants in the experimental group, while the control group will receive a Qi-zheng Xiao-tong plaster. The outcome of the total Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index scores, TCM syndrome quantitative score and visual analog scale scores will be measured during the assessment visits (baseline and 1-week and 2-week follow up). In addition, adverse events related to clinical symptoms and signs and results of laboratory tests will be documented during the clinical trials. Discussion This study will provide reliable evidence of the effectiveness and safety of Tong-luo Qutong plaster in patients with KOA. If the results are favorable, it is expected that the patients with KOA will benefit from this study, many patients may have a good alternative treatment for KOA. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03309501. Registered on 8 November 2017. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-019-3481-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic musculoskeletal disorder that seriously affect quality of life. Patients with KOA frequently develop one or more of the typically following symptoms: joint pain, stiffness, joint friction noise, impaired functionality. Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have showed a superior effect and peculiar advantage on the treatment of KOA, among TCMs, the Tong-luo Qu-yu plaster is the convenient and most commonly used method in China to improve symptoms including pain, stiffness and limited mobility in patients with KOA, as it causes few adverse effects. But there is a lack of high quality of clinical evidences to support the therapeutic effect that Chinese adhesive plaster can relieve pain and stiffness. The purpose of this study will be to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tong-luo Qu-yu plaster in patients with KOA. Methods: This study will be a randomised, double-blind, parallel positive control, multi-center clinical trial. A total of 2000 participants older than 40 years with KOA, will be randomly allocated into a experimental group (n=1500) and a control group (n=500). All participants will receive a conventional conservative treatment lasted for 14 days as two courses, daily 1 time. Tong-luo Qu-yu plaster will be administered externally to participants in the experimental group, while the control group will receive a Qi-zheng Xiao-tong plaster. The outcome of the total Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index scores, TCM syndrome quantitative score, visual analog scale scores will be measured during the assessment visits (baseline and 1-, 2-week follow-up). In addition, adverse events concerning clinical symptoms and signs as well as laboratory tests will be documented during clinical trials. Discussion: This study will be a randomized, double-blind, parallel positive control trial to further evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Tong-luo Qu-yu plaster for patients with KOA in nine medical centers compared with control group, it is expected that the patients with KOA will benefit from this study. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03309501. Registered on 08 November 2017. Keywords: Clinical trials, Knee osteoarthritis, Tong-luo Qu-yu plaster, Randomized, Protocol

Increased EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) expression has been reported in many types of human cancer and its levels are positively associated with advanced cancers. Recently, upregulation of Id-1 (inhibitor of differentiation or DNA binding) protein was found in over 70% of ovarian cancer samples and correlated with poor survival of ovarian cancer patients. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the role of Id-1 in ovarian cancer are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Id-1 on ovarian cancer proliferation and its association with the EGFR pathway. To achieve this, we transfected an Id-1 expression vector into three ovarian cancer cell lines and examined cell proliferation rate by flow cytometry and bromodeoxyuridine staining. We found that ectopic Id-1 expression led to increased cell proliferation demonstrated by increased BrdU incorporation rate and S-phase fraction. The Id-1-induced cell growth was associated with upregulation of EGFR at both transcriptional and protein levels. In contrast, inactivation of Id-1 through transfection of an Id-1 antisense vector resulted in downregulation of EGFR. Our results indicate that increased Id-1 in ovarian cancer cells may promote cancer cell proliferation through upregulation of EGFR. Our findings also implicate that Id-1 may be a potential target for the development of novel strategies in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Ohnologs -paralogous gene pairs generated by whole genome duplication- are enriched for dosage sensitive genes, that is, genes that have a phenotype due to copy number changes. Dosage sensitive genes frequently occur in the same metabolic pathway and in physically interacting proteins. Accumulating evidence reveals that functionally related genes tend to co-localize in the three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of chromosomes. We query whether the spatial distribution of ohnologs has implications for their dosage balance. We analyzed the colocalization frequency of ohnologs based on chromatin interaction datasets of seven human cell lines and found that ohnolog pairs exhibit higher spatial proximity in 3D nuclear organization than other paralog pairs and than randomly chosen ohnologs in the genome. We also found that colocalized ohnologs are more resistant to copy number variations and more likely to be disease-associated genes, which indicates a stronger dosage balance in ohnologs with high spatial proximity. This phenomenon is further supported by the stronger similarity of gene co-expression and of gene ontology terms of colocalized ohnologs. In addition, for a large fraction of ohnologs, the spatial colocalization is conserved in mouse cells, suggestive of functional constraint on their 3D positioning in the nucleus.

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are uncommon, with the pleura as a site of predilection. Central nervous system SFTs, particularly intracranial SFTs, are extremely rare. The lesions are generally benign and localized, and surgery is the main therapeutic solution. The current study reports the cases of a patient who presented with right haunch pain, right leg weakness and paresthesias for several months, and a patient with a history of unexpected loss of consciousness. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of lesions, with a spindle cell morphology evident on pathological examination. The immunohistochemical examination demonstrated a strong immunoreaction for cluster of differentiation 34, which supported the diagnosis of an SFT. Following a near-total resection, the patients had a good neural prognosis. The present study also provides a literature review, discussing the imageological and pathological characteristics of SFT, and the diagnostic methods that aid in distinguishing the entity from other spindle-cell central nervous system tumors.

STUDY DESIGN Psychometric test of the cross-cultural adaptation the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ) in low back pain (LBP) patients. OBJECTIVE To investigate the agreement, responsiveness, and minimal important change (MIC) of the simplified Chinese version of the JOABPEQ in LBP patients. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, validity, floor and ceiling effect of simplified Chinese JOABPEQ have been tested, while the agreement, responsiveness, and MIC were required. METHODS The agreement, responsiveness, and MIC of the simplified Chinese version were assessed by completing the Chinese JOABPEQ twice. Agreement was tested with Bland-Altman plot. Responsiveness was operationalized using receiver operating characteristic analyses. The anchor-based method was used to calculate MIC. RESULTS One hundred sixty-two of 184 patients returned to finish the booklet twice were available for analysis (response rate: 88.0%). While the responsiveness, the area under the curves of each subscale were ranged from 0.746 to 0.875, which meant a good responsiveness. While the MIC (MIC%) of simplified Chinese JOABPEQ was 19.28 (44.98%) for Q1 Low back pain, 15.20 (24.13%) for Q2 Lumbar function, 15.79 (22.76%) for Q3 Walking ability, 9.58 (19.86%) for Q4 Social life function, 7.33 (17.28%) for Q5 Mental health. While compared with the MIC, only the Q3 Walking ability had a positive rating for agreement in the Bland-Altman plot. CONCLUSION The simplified Chinese JOABPEQ has positive agreement of Q3 Walk ability and acceptable to excellent responsiveness of all the subscales. The MICs for subscales of the simplified Chinese JOABPEQ ranged from 7.33 to 19.28 points. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of MIP-1 alpha and sclerostin in bone marrow of patients with multiple myeloma (MM), the possible association of the sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha with MBD and the clinical characteristics. 53 patients (29 M, 24 F), median age 64 years was studied. MIP-1 alpha, sclerostin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (bALP) levels were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha mRNA expression was determined by RT-PCR. PTH and 1,25(OH) 2D3 levels were measured with an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha concentrations in patients with MM were higher than those in the controls. RT-PCR analysis verified that the bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) of most patients showed sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha mRNA expression. The sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha levels in patients with ISS stage III disease were significantly higher than those in patients with ISS stage II disease (p=0.01 and 0.06). The sclerostin and MIP-1 alpha levels in patients with BMD in group C were significantly higher than those in group A+B. There was positive correlation between sclerostin levels and MIP-1 alpha, beta2-microglobulin and aCa levels. A negative association was seen between sclerostin levels and bALP, HB and ALB levels. The MM patients with high sclerostin levels (>0.72 ng/ml) had significantly shorter median survival than those with low sclerostin levels (≤0.72 ng/ml) (χ(2)=7.574, p=0.006). Our findings support the positive relationship between sclerostin levels and MIP-1alpha levels deserve further detailed research.

China’s one-child policy was initiated in late 1979. Since its inception, nearly 150 million single children have been born in China. It is believed that this generation of only children has dramatically changed family structure, family relationships, and family lifestyle in China. It has also resulted in problems and issues not previously present in Chinese families, such as smaller families, a simplification of family structure, a shift from parented centered families to child centered families, the child becoming the focus of the family, changes in living patterns, and changes in family lifestyle. Also, there has been a decreased base of support for the elderly. We discuss these and related issues in this overview analysis of China’s changing family structure in the context of the one-child policy.

In this paper, the status of adjuvant standard for Chinese materia medica processing in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015 edition, the National Specification of Chinese Materia Medica Processing, and the 29 provincial specification of Chinese materia medica was summarized, and the the status including general requirements, specific requirements, and quality standard in the three grade official specifications was collected and analyzed according to the "medicine-adjuvant homology" and "food-adjuvant homology" features of adjuvants. This paper also introduced the research situation of adjuvant standard for Chinese materia medica processing in China; In addition, analyzed and discussed the problems existing in the standard system of adjuvant for Chinese materia medica processing, such as lack of general requirements, low level of standard, inconsistent standard references, and lack of research on the standard, and provided suggestions for the further establishment of the national standards system of adjuvant for Chinese materia medica processing.

Rationale Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a rare disease that presents with neurogenic and vascular symptoms similar to those of cervical spondylosis. However, making the diagnosis of TOS can be challenging due to a lack of standardized objective confirmatory tests. Patient concerns A 66-year-old man presented with neck, supraclavicular, and right shoulder pain as well as numbness and weakness in the right arm after surgery to correct cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Diagnosis Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the diagnosis of CSM. He was diagnosed with TOS based on the manifestations and examination findings. Interventions After surgery for CSM, nonoperative management was provided. Outcomes The patient reported pain relief and improving sensation in the shoulder and supraclavicular region. Lessons Based on this case and the reviewed literature, to optimize the diagnosis and treatment of CSM, clinicians should consider preoperative differential diagnosis to preliminarily exclude it.

Liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and the copolymer of LCOand Pendant Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsequioxanes (LCP-POSS) showed the first-order photoisomerization reaction. As compared with LCP, the photoisomerization rate constant of LCP-POSS decreased a little. With a higher thermal stability and more stable LC behavior as well as a little decreased photoisomerization rate constant, the incorporation of POSS to azobenzene liquid crystalline polymers may have significant sense and will definitely play a key role in developing novel high-performance optic and photonic nanodevices.

The spectrum of genetic variations ranges from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to large-scale structural variants (SVs). Genome SVs involving kilobase- to megabase-sized insertions, deletions, duplications, and inversions, as well as complex combinations of rearrangements, are common during evolution in various species (Feuk et al., 2006; Saxena et al., 2014). A larger fraction of the human genome is affected by SVs than SNPs, indicating that SVs may have more significant impacts or consequences for phenotypic variation (e.g., various chronic diseases) and evolution than SNPs.

A probabilistic model is used to assess the structural reliability of typical reinforced concrete masonry walls under combined shear and compression. Factors such as model error, shear strength of concrete masonry, wall aspect ratio, horizontal and vertical reinforcement ratios, structural safety class, axial load-to-dead ratio, height and thickness radio of the wall, and load effect combination will be considered. Based on a relatively large number of test results and theoretical analysis from the literature, the limit state equation for shear bearing capacity was established. A sensitivity analysis will be performed to identify the key contributors to the reliability of the masonry walls under the combination of gravity and earthquake. The results will provide a base to evaluate whether consistent safety is achieved for masonry walls that are subjected to different load combinations. The counteracting load factors in current design codes for masonry structure will be investigated.

Human Skin Color(HSC) features have been widely used in video moving human positioning. However, in complex background video sequences, due to illumination changes or other moving objects which have similar HSC regions, the effect of moving human positioning is not satisfactory. A new method of moving human positioning applied on complex background video sequences is presented in this paper. Firstly, brightness information of the video sequence images is detected and analyzed based on HSV color model. Secondly, adopt the multi frame subtraction method to extract the moving object regions from motionless background. Then, the regions with distinctive HSC features are separated from other moving objects using the data fusion model of HSC and brightness information. Finally, identify human object among regions with HSC features according to the prior knowledge of human. The experimental results show that the method provided in this paper is effective in moving human positioning of complex background video, and has the strong illumination change adaptability and anti-jamming ability.

The mechanical analysis of a novel plywood formwork structure with steel frame was studied with finite element method systematically. By optimizing the parameters of the section shape, node position and the number of formwork heel, a kind of the optimization design scheme was presented. Less building construction materials and better mechanical property was accomplished by the scheme. By contrasting the optimization results with experimental results, the design method is valuable.

Human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, purified after overexpression in E. coli, was shown to contain one molecule/subunit of acid-extractable "structural" NADP+ and no NADPH. This tightly bound NADP+ was reduced by G6P, presumably following migration to the catalytic site. Gel-filtration yielded apoenzyme, devoid of bound NADP+ but, surprisingly, still fully active. Mr of the main component of "stripped" enzyme by gel filtration was approximately 100,000, suggesting a dimeric apoenzyme (subunit Mr = 59,000). Holoenzyme also contained tetramer molecules and, at high protein concentration, a dynamic equilibrium gave an apparent intermediate Mr of 150 kDa. Fluorescence titration of the stripped enzyme gave the K d for structural NADP+ as 37 nM, 200-fold lower than for "catalytic" NADP+. Structural NADP+ quenches 91% of protein fluorescence. At 37 degrees C, stripped enzyme, much less stable than holoenzyme, inactivated irreversibly within 2 d. Inactivation at 4 degrees C was partially reversed at room temperature, especially with added NADP+. Apoenzyme was immediately active, without any visible lag, in rapid-reaction studies. Human G6PD thus forms active dimer without structural NADP+. Apparently, the true role of the second, tightly bound NADP+ is to secure long-term stability. This fits the clinical pattern, G6PD deficiency affecting the long-lived non-nucleate erythrocyte. The Kd values for two class I mutants, G488S and G488V, were 273 nM and 480 nM, respectively (seven- and 13-fold elevated), matching the structural prediction of weakened structural NADP+ binding, which would explain decreased stability and consequent disease. Preparation of native apoenzyme and measurement of Kd constant for structural NADP+ will now allow quantitative assessment of this defect in clinical G6PD mutations.

Recent chromosome conformation capture (3C) derived techniques have revealed that topologically associating domain (TAD) is a pervasive element in chromatin three-dimensional (3D) organization. However, there is currently no parameter to quantitatively measure the structural characteristics of TADs, thus obscuring our understanding on the structural and functional differences among TADs. Based on our finding that there exist intrinsic chromatin interaction patterns in TADs, we define a theoretical parameter, called aggregation preference (AP), to characterize TAD structures by capturing the interaction aggregation degree. Applying this defined parameter to 11 Hi-C data sets generated by both traditional and in situ Hi-C experimental pipelines, our analyses reveal that heterogeneous structures exist among TADs, and this structural heterogeneity is significantly correlated to DNA sequences, epigenomic signals and gene expressions. Although TADs can be stable in genomic positions across cell lines, structural comparisons show that a considerable number of stable TADs undergo significantly structural rearrangements during cell changes. Moreover, the structural change of TAD is tightly associated with its transcription remodeling. Altogether, the theoretical parameter defined in this work provides a quantitative method to link structural characteristics and biological functions of TADs, and this linkage implies that chromatin interaction pattern has the potential to mark transcription activity in TADs.

The new dual-band infrared detector can be read out to design a weak signal readout circuit, the readout circuit integration time is adjustable, and has characteristics of low power consumption, low noise and high sensitivity.Using feedback enhanced direct injection readout circuit (FEDI) and high performance capacitive feedback transimpedance amplifier (H-CTIA) combining circuit pattern structure, and the switch circuit is adjusted by way of two adjacent pixels ,which share one of the amplifier circuit. This not only reduces the area which is occupied by an amplifier in the single pixel circuit, but also reduces the complexity of the circuit design. By integrating capacitor circuit and adjusting the sampling capacitor, the readout circuit can be achieved after the first integrator output mode and the side edge integral output mode. Combined with complementary S matrix coding regulatory principles to eliminate stray light circuit dark current noise, ultimately it can read out weak signals. In this study, TSMC 0.35um 2P4M technology taped the circuit area of the synthesized pixel unit of 35um × 35um, entered the photocurrent is 0.09pA ~ 48nA, the output signal to noise ratio can reach 72dB, high linearity response to 99.3%, ROIC accuracy has been greatly improved, which can meet the desired designing requirements.

Two severe Class I human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD, EC1.1.1.49) mutations, G6PD(Wisconsin) (nt1177 C-->G, R393G) and G6PD(Nashville) (nt1178 G-->A, R393H), affect the same codon, altering a residue in the dimer interface close to the "structural" NADP+ site. These mutations are predicted to influence interaction with the bound "structural" NADP+, long supposed to be crucial for enzyme stability. Recombinant proteins corresponding to these mutants have been constructed, expressed and purified to homogeneity. Steady-state kinetic parameters of the mutant enzymes were comparable to those of normal human G6PD, indicating that the mutations do not alter catalytic efficiency drastically. However, investigations of thermostability, urea denaturation, protease digestion, and hydrophobic exposure demonstrated that G6PD R393H is less stable than normal G6PD or R393G, and stability was more NADP+-dependent. Apoenzymes were prepared by removal of "structural" NADP+. Again the G6PD(Nashville) protein was markedly less stable, and its dissociation constant for "structural" NADP+ is approximately 500 nM, about 10 times higher than values for R393G (53 nM) and normal G6PD (37 nM). These results, together with structural information, suggest that the instability of the R393H protein, enhanced by the weakened binding of "structural" NADP+, is the likely cause of the severe clinical manifestation observed for G6PD(Nashville). They do not, however, explain the basis of disease in the case of G6PD(Wisconsin).

Increased EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) expression has been reported in many types of human cancer and its levels are positively associated with advanced cancers. Recently, upregulation of Id-1 (inhibitor of differentiation or DNA binding) protein was found in over 70% of ovarian cancer samples and correlated with poor survival of ovarian cancer patients. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the role of Id-1 in ovarian cancer are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Id-1 on ovarian cancer proliferation and its association with the EGFR pathway. To achieve this, we transfected an Id-1 expression vector into three ovarian cancer cell lines and examined cell proliferation rate by flow cytometry and bromodeoxyuridine staining. We found that ectopic Id-1 expression led to increased cell proliferation demonstrated by increased BrdU incorporation rate and S-phase fraction. The Id-1-induced cell growth was associated with upregulation of EGFR at both transcriptional and protein levels. In contrast, inactivation of Id-1 through transfection of an Id-1 antisense vector resulted in downregulation of EGFR. Our results indicate that increased Id-1 in ovarian cancer cells may promote cancer cell proliferation through upregulation of EGFR. Our findings also implicate that Id-1 may be a potential target for the development of novel strategies in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Cloning and over-expression of human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (Glc6P dehydrogenase) has for the first time allowed a detailed kinetic study of a preparation that is genetically homogeneous and in which all the protein molecules are of identical age. The steady-state kinetics of the recombinant enzyme, studied by fluorimetric initial-rate measurements, gave converging linear Lineweaver-Burk plots as expected for a ternary-complex mechanism. Patterns of product and dead-end inhibition indicated that the enzyme can bind NADP+ and Glc6P separately to form binary complexes, suggesting a random-order mechanism. The Kd value for the binding of NADP+ measured by titration of protein fluorescence is 8.0 microm, close to the value of 6.8 microm calculated from the kinetic data on the assumption of a rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism. Strong evidence for this mechanism and against either of the compulsory-order possibilities is provided by repeating the kinetic analysis with each of the natural substrates replaced in turn by structural analogues. A full kinetic analysis was carried out with deaminoNADP+ and with deoxyglucose 6-phosphate as the alternative substrates. In each case the calculated dissociation constant upon switching a substrate in a random-order mechanism (e.g. that for NADP+ upon changing the sugar phosphate) was indeed constant within experimental error as expected. The calculated rate constants for binding of the leading substrate in a compulsory-order mechanism, however, did not remain constant when the putative second substrate was changed. Previous workers, using enzyme from pooled blood, have variously proposed either compulsory-order or random-order mechanisms. Our study appears to provide unambiguous evidence for the latter pattern of substrate binding.

Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF beta 1) plays important roles in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation in both normal and malignant prostate epithelial cells. Although certain pathways have been suggested, the mechanisms responsible for the action of TGF beta 1 are not well understood. In the present study, using a human papilloma virus 16 E6/E7 immortalized prostate epithelial cell line, HPr-1, we report that TGF beta 1 was able to suppress the expression of Id-1, a helix-loop-helix (HLH) protein, which plays important roles in the inhibition of cell differentiation and growth arrest. In addition, a decrease at both Id-1 mRNA and protein expression levels was associated with TGF beta 1-induced growth arrest and differentiation, indicating that Id-1 may be involved in TGF beta 1 signaling pathway. The fact that up-regulation of p21(WAF1), one of the downstream effectors of Id-1, was observed after exposure to TGF beta 1 further indicates the involvement of Id-1 in the TGF beta 1-induced growth arrest in HPr-1 cells. However, increased expression of p27(KIP1) was also observed in the TGF beta 1-treated cells, suggesting that in addition to down-regulation of Id-1, other factors may be involved in the TGF beta 1-induced cell growth arrest and differentiation in prostate epithelial cells. Our results provide evidence for the first time that TGF beta 1 may be one of the upstream regulators of Id-1.

A current question in the high-order organization of chromatin is whether topologically associating domains (TADs) are distinct from other hierarchical chromatin domains. However, due to the unclear TAD definition in tradition, the structural and functional uniqueness of TAD is not well studied. In this work, we refined TAD definition by further constraining TADs to the optimal separation on global intra-chromosomal interactions. Inspired by this constraint, we developed a novel method, called HiTAD, to detect hierarchical TADs from Hi-C chromatin interactions. HiTAD performs well in domain sensitivity, replicate reproducibility and inter cell-type conservation. With a novel domain-based alignment proposed by us, we defined several types of hierarchical TAD changes which were not systematically studied previously, and subsequently used them to reveal that TADs and sub-TADs differed statistically in correlating chromosomal compartment, replication timing and gene transcription. Finally, our work also has the implication that the refinement of TAD definition could be achieved by only utilizing chromatin interactions, at least in part. HiTAD is freely available online.

Retinitis pigmentosa, causing progressive blindness, is genetically heterogeneous. RP10, due to a defect in inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 1 (IMPDH1), shows autosomal dominant inheritance. Recombinantly expressed clinical mutants show unaltered kinetic behaviour. It is unclear why reportedly impaired DNA binding is important and how it would explain negative dominance. An alternative view relates to the mutant proteins' tendency to aggregate. Regarding negative dominance, a key question is whether the defective protein can subvert the function of its normal counterpart in the same cell. Potentially, the homotetrameric structure of IMPDH1 might offer a vehicle for such an effect. We have established a reliable protocol for reproducible refolding of recombinantly expressed IMPDH1 in vitro. Clinical mutants R224P and D226N both show impaired folding. For equimolar mixtures of normal and mutant enzymes, independent refolding would predict activity regain midway between pure mutant and pure normal. Under various conditions regain is close to the mutant figure, suggesting that, in hybrid tetramers, mutant subunits impose their faulty conformation on normal partners. The observed molecular recruitment is a negative counterpart of the intra-allelic complementation, also mediated via oligomeric structure and postulated many years ago by Fincham. These findings appear potentially to account for the negative dominant inheritance. This interpretation must be provisional at present, as the predominant transcript in retina is an alternatively spliced version not fully identical to that used in our study. The results nevertheless have a general significance in pointing to a mechanism for negative dominance that could be widespread.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of Pseudomonas alcaligenes biomass for the removal of strontium ions from aqueous solutions. Batch experiments were performed to study the adsorption of strontium on pH, Pseudomonas alcaligenes biomass adsorbent with respect to initial Sr(II) concentration, contact time and biomass dose. The experimental data were modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Langmuir model resulted in the best fit of the adsorption data. The maximum adsorption capacity for Sr(II) was 67.35 mg/g (pH 6.0 and 5 g•L-1 biomass dose). Kinetics of adsorption followed second-order rate equations. The FTIR results of Pseudomonas alcaligenes biomass showed that biomass has different functional groups and these functional groups are able to react with metal ion in aqueous solution. The results of the present study suggest that Pseudomonas alcaligenes biomass can be used beneficially in treating industrial effluents containing heavy metal ions.

Gaussian mixture model is a commonly used background modeling method in moving object detection. Gaussian mixture model has a strong adaptivity to various complicated backgrounds, but converges slowly and lacks shadow detection capability. In this paper, we propose an improved Gaussian mixture model which models background and foreground at the same time, accelerates convergence when moving objects suddenly stop and completes object detection with shadow detection simultaneously. Experimental results show that the proposed improved Gaussian mixture model achieves better results in shadow detection and converges more quickly when a sudden stop happens.

Using the plastic-plate of rice seedling, we studied that phosphogypsum as acidifier in affected on the growth of rice seedling. It was shown that phosphogypsum could adjust soil pH value of into the pH range of rice seedling growing, which had increased effectively plant height, root length, dry weight, chlorophyll content and root activity of rice seedling. Phosphogypsum treatment mixed sulfuric acid with 1:1 and singly phosphogypsum streatmen (33.43g•m-2) were the best amang all treatments, which were significant difference with other treatment(p＜0.05). We suggested that phosphogypsum could partly replace sulfuric acid as in rice seedling in order to reduce the cost of acidifier in rice seedling and decrease environmental burden while utilize effectively resources.

Data analysis from satellite and weather stations during 1982-2000 shows nonlinear relationship between vegetation cover and sand-dust events is present in most part of China. Vegetation cover ratio in summer can impact significantly on the frequency of sand-dust storms from winter to spring in the source regions of sand-dust events. It is not quite clear about the hysteresis that vegetation cover in summer influence sand-dust events during winter and spring. A quasi-geostrophic barotropic model is used under the condition of 3 magnitude of frictional coefficient to investigate the cause of the hysteresis. Wind velocity shows a greatest decline at 90% during 72 h as initial wind velocity is 10 m/s for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and water surface, greatest decline at 100% during 18 h for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and bare soil and a 100% reduction of wind speed during 1 h for magnitude of frictional coefficient between atmosphere and vegetation cover. Observation and simulation prove that residual root and stem from summervegetation are one of factors to influence sand-dust events happened during winter and spring. Air inhibition from residual root and stem is a most important reason for hysteresis that vegetation cover influence sand-dust events.

Purpose Single disseminated tumor cells are detectable in regional lymph nodes of 30–50% patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study investigated if these disseminated tumor cells express MAGE-A and thus might be targeted by adjuvant anti-MAGE-A immunotherapies. Experimental design Lymph nodes of 32 consecutive patients without neoadjuvant therapy were removed by systematic lymphadenectomy during resection of NSCLC. One-hundred of these lymph nodes were cut into two equal halves which were examined using either routine histo-pathology or quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR amplification of cytokeratin 19 transcripts was applied for the detection of disseminated tumor cells. Expression of MAGE-A was analyzed using one single primer pair amplifying subgroups MAGE-A1 to -A6 in one qRT-PCR reaction. Results Ninety-four (94%) lymph nodes were tumor-free by histo-pathology. qRT-PCR detected disseminated tumor cells in 26 (28%) of these lymph nodes resulting in 19 (59%) patients with disseminated tumor cells. All of the remaining 6 lymph nodes that were judged by the pathologist to contain tumor cells exhibited CK19 transcripts. Fifteen (46%) lymph nodes with disseminated tumor cells contained MAGE-A transcripts resulting in 12 (37%) patients with disseminated tumor cells which expressed MAGE-A. There was no correlation between clinico-pathological parameters and the occurrence of disseminated tumor cells or their MAGE-A expression. Conclusions Since 37% of patients with operable NSCLC harbored disseminated tumor cells that expressed MAGE-A, only these patients might benefit from adjuvant immunotherapies directed against MAGE-A1 to -A6. This study may provide a basis for the preselection of patients to be included in such immunotherapy trials after resection of NSCLC.

This paper introduces the design and realization of the FIR dynamic filter by EP1C6Q240 of Cyclone of Altera Corporation, showing the hardware diagram of the filter and the process of calculating parameters, and compares and analyzes the B mode ultrasound images created by using the dynamic filter and by using the constant filter.

Clones overexpressing clinical glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) mutants Union (c.1360C>T/p.Arg454Cys) and Andalus (c.1361G>A/p.Arg454His), have been constructed. These abolish a salt bridge between Arg454 and Asp 286. One mutant is reportedly a Class II clinical variant and the other a Class I. Kinetic studies of the purified proteins reveal that, for both mutants, kcat is about 10-fold decreased, thus giving a 90% decrease in the WHO assay, and also presumably under physiological conditions. In contrast with unfavourable changes in Vmax for both mutants, Km values for both G6P and NADP+ are decreased approximately 5-fold. Measurements with alternative substrates confirm that G6PD Union, like the wild-type enzyme, follows a rapid-equilibrium random-order mechanism, allowing calculation of enzyme-substrate dissociation constants from initial-rate parameters. The mutations result in several-fold tighter binding of glucose 6-phosphate to the free enzyme. Binding, however, is clearly less productive than with normal enzyme. G6PD mutations are thought to cause haemolytic anaemia by compromising enzyme stability. Both these mutants indeed show somewhat decreased thermostability. However, at 37 degrees C and with NADP+, the stability differences are only moderate. Decreased catalytic efficiency clearly contributes to the disease phenotype of these two mutants, entirely accounting for reported decrease in leukocyte G6PD levels, though not for still lower levels in erythrocytes. Neither the kinetic nor the stability effects appear to justify the different clinical classification of these mutations.

Objective: Detection of disseminated tumor cells in mediastinoscopic biopsies could improve staging and might be helpful concerning indications for neoadjuvant therapy regimens. This prospective study was performed to evaluate a simple and observer-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the detection of disseminated tumor cells in regional lymph nodes. Methods: Lymph nodes of 32 consecutive patients without neoadjuvant therapy were removed by systematic lymphadenectomy during resection of primary NSCLC. One hundred of these lymph nodes were cut into two equal halves which were examined using either routine histopathology or quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR amplification of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) transcripts was applied for the detection of tumor cell-specific RNA. We differentiated between illegitimate marker gene transcription and cancer-specific expression by using a cut-off value that was obtained from the analysis of 18 lymph nodes of patients with benign lung diseases. Subsequent to the evaluation of qRT-PCR, a pilot project with five additional patients was conducted to examine 19 mediastinoscopic biopsies, which were cut into two equal halves and proceeded as described above. Results: Ninety-four (94%) lymph nodes were tumor-free by histopathology. qRT-PCR detected disseminated tumor cells in 26 (28%) of these lymph nodes. All of the remaining six lymph nodes that were judged by the pathologist to contain tumor cells exhibited CK19 transcripts. Twenty-three patients had a pN0 status. qRT-PCR detected disseminated tumor cells in 13 (56%) of these pN0 patients. The mediastinoscopic biopsies showed disseminated tumor cells in four (21%) out of 19 histopathologically tumor-free samples. Conclusions: CK19 qRT-PCR is a sensitive and specific tools for the detection of disseminated tumor cells in regional lymph nodes of patients with operable NSCLC. Further studies are required to asses if this molecular method might improve mediastinoscopic staging.