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The regularities in the secondary radiation (fluorescence and Raman) spectra of single diamond microcrystals have been investigated. The Raman spectrum excited by infrared laser radiation exhibits the fundamental diamond mode with a frequency of 1332 cm–1 and a two-phonon band peaking at a frequency of 2615 cm–1. The fluorescence spectra contain zero-phonon lines of NV centers with a pronounced phonon structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties of KIO3 photonic structures of various types were studied in this article. The composite photonic materials used were based on opal photonic crystals, monodisperse silica nanoparticles, and diamond microparticles, respectively. The size effect of the Raman intensity in these structures was investigated. At a certain size of globules or particles, the Raman intensity of ferroelectric photonic structures was greater than the initial Raman spectral intensity of KIO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that play crucial roles in gene expression. However, the comparative profiling of testicular and ovarian microRNAs in birds are rarely reported, particularly in pigeon. 2. In this study, Illumina next-generation sequencing technology was used to sequence miRNA libraries of the gonads from six healthy adult utility pigeons. A total of 344 conserved known miRNAs and 32 novel putative miRNAs candidates were detected. Compared with those of ovaries, 130 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified in the testes. Among them, 70 miRNAs showed down-regulation in the ovaries, while another 60 miRNAs were up-regulated. 3. Combining the results of the expression of target gene measurements and pathway enrichment analyses, it was revealed that some DEmiRNAs from the gonad samples involved in sexual differentiation and development (such as cli-miR-210-3p and cli-miR-214-3p) could down-regulate AR (androgen receptor). Cli-miR-181b-5p, cli-miR-9622-3p and cli-miR-145-5p were highly expressed in both the ovaries and testes, which could co-target HOXC9, and were related to regulation of primary metabolic processes. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that DEmiRNAs may play biological and sex-related roles in pigeon gonads. 4. The expression profiles of testicular and ovarian miRNA in adult pigeon gonads are presented for the first time, and the findings may contribute to a better understanding of gonadal expression in poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic electroluminescent (EL) devices with planar microcavity structure, indium-tin-oxide/ Ag/N,N'-diphenyl-N, N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4, 4'-diamine/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)- aluminum (AlQ):4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethyl aminostyryl)-4H-pyran/ AlQ/LiF/ Al, were fabricated. The Ag and Al layers acted as not only hole-injection layer and cathode, respectively, but reflective mirrors, resulting in strong microcavity effects, such as spectral narrowing and directional emission. The effects of device parameters on the EL performance were studied in detail and were discussed in terms of conventional microcavity theory. On-axis light magnification with a coefficient (EL enhancement ratio between cavity and noncavity devices) of ~5 was observed, which was consistent with the theoretical calculation. At the same time, optimized microcavity device with bright pure red emission showed maximum luminance of 5140 cd/m2, peak at 624 nm, Commission International de I'Eclairage coordinates of x=0.663 and y=0.336, and high EL efficiency of 1.71 cd/A were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, we isolated a novel probiotic strain, designated HDRsEf1. In this study, we investigated the effects of this probiotic strain on intestinal barrier function and how it regulates the tight junction protein occludin in vitro. We used an ETEC‐infected mouse model for the in vivo experiment. Briefly, 40 ICR mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group, assigned to saline gavage; prevention group, given HDRsEf1 before and saline after infection with ETEC; infection group, given saline both before and after infection with ETEC; treatment group, given saline before and HDRsEf1 after infection with ETEC. The weight loss was alleviated both in the prevention and treatment groups. The ETEC‐induced intestinal inflammation was alleviated and the occludin mRNA expression levels in the jejuna of infected mice were increased in the prevention group. We explored the mechanism by which HDRsEf1 regulates occludin expression in vitro and found that HDRsEf1 prevented the downregulation of occludin expression in the prevention group. Simultaneously, we found that toll‐like receptor‐2 (TLR‐2) and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) play an important role in maintaining occludin expression. Therefore, we concluded that HDRsEf1 can prevent ETEC‐induced infection by enhancing the intestinal barrier function and increasing the expression levels of occludin. Significance and Impact of the Study: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of infectious diarrhoea in children, and porcine ETEC has been the leading cause of post‐weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. In our present study, we demonstrated for the first time that HDRsEf1 protects occludin from ETEC‐induced suppression. Moreover, HDRsEf1 was found to regulate occludin expression via TLR‐2 activation and the PI3K pathway. The results provide insights into the mechanism by which HDRsEf1 protects cells against ETEC infection and a rationale for the use of HDRsEf1 as a therapeutic and preventative agent. Significance and Impact of the Study: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a major cause of infectious diarrhoea in children, and porcine ETEC has been the leading cause of post‐weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. In our present study, we demonstrated for the first time that HDRsEf1 protects occludin from ETEC‐induced suppression. Moreover, HDRsEf1 was found to regulate occludin expression via TLR‐2 activation and the PI3K pathway. The results provide insights into the mechanism by which HDRsEf1 protects cells against ETEC infection and a rationale for the use of HDRsEf1 as a therapeutic and preventative agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycoviruses associated with hypovirulence are potential biological control agents and could be useful to study the pathogenesis of fungal host pathogens. Sclerotium rolfsii, a pathogenic fungus, causes southern blight in a wide variety of crops. In this study, we isolated a series of dsRNAs from a debilitated S. rolfsii strain, BLH-1, which had pronounced phenotypic aberrations including reduced pathogenicity, mycelial growth and deficient sclerotia production. Virus-curing and horizontal transmission experiments that eliminated or transmitted, respectively, all dsRNA elements showed that the dsRNAs were involved in the hypovirulent traits of BLH-1. Ultrastructure examination also showed hyphae fracture and cytoplasm or organelle degeneration in BLH-1 hyphal cells compared to the virus-free strain. Three assembled cDNA contigs generated from the cDNA library cloned from the purified dsRNA indicated that strain BLH-1 was infected by at least three novel mycoviruses. One has similarity to the hypovirulence-associated Sclerotinia sclerotiorum hypovirus 2 (SsHV2) in the family Hypoviridae, and the other two are related to two different unclassified dsRNA mycovirus families. To our knowledge, this is the first report of S. rolfsii hypovirulence that was correlated with its associated dsRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After removal of the anus and rectum during abdominoperineal resection, closure of the pelvic peritoneum can reduce the incidence of perineal wound complications, intestinal obstruction and perineal hernia [[1]]. Running suture with barbed suture or Absorbable-Suture-Clips are ideal choices but they are costly or unavailable in developing countries. [Extracted from the article]

The basement membrane (BM) is an extracellular matrix associated with overlying cells and is important for proper tissue development, stability, and physiology. COL4A1 is the most abundant component of type IV collagen in the BM, and COL4A1 variants can present with variable phenotypes that might be related to cerebral palsy ( CP). We postulated, therefore, that variations in the COL4A1 gene might play an important role in the etiology of CP. In this study, six single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNPs) in the COL4A1 gene were genotyped among 351 CP patients and 220 healthy controls from the Chinese Han population. Significant association was found for an association between CP and rs1961495 (allele: p = 0.008, odds ratio ( OR) = 1.387, 95% confidence interval ( CI) = 1.088-1.767) and rs1411040 (allele: p = 0.009, OR = 1.746, 95% CI = 1.148-2.656) SNPs of the COL4A1 gene. Multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis suggested that these SNPs had interactive effects on the risk of CP. This study is the first attempt to investigate the contribution of polymorphisms in the COL4A1 gene to the susceptibility of CP in a Chinese Han population. This study shows an association of the COL4A1 gene with CP and suggests a potential role of COL4A1 in the pathogenesis of CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth System Models (ESMs) that incorporate carbon-climate feedbacks represent the present state of the art in climate modelling. Here, we describe the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS)-ESM1 that combines existing ocean and land carbon models into the physical climate model to simulate exchanges of carbon between the land, atmosphere and ocean. The land carbon model can optionally include both nitrogen and phosphorous limitation on the land carbon uptake. The ocean carbon model simulates the evolution of nitrate, oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity and iron with one class of phytoplankton and zooplankton. From two multi-centennial simulations of the pre-industrial period with different land carbon model configurations, we evaluate the equilibration of the carbon cycle and present the spatial and temporal variability in key carbon exchanges. For the land carbon cycle, leaf area index is simulated reasonably, and seasonal carbon exchange is well represented. Interannual variations of land carbon exchange are relatively large, driven by variability in precipitation and temperature. We find that the response of the ocean carbon cycle shows reasonable agreement with observations and very good agreement with existing Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) models. While our model over estimates surface nitrate values, the primary productivity agrees well with observations. Our analysis highlights some deficiencies inherent in the carbon models and where the carbon simulation is negatively impacted by known biases in the underlying physical model. We conclude the study with a brief discussion of key developments required to further improve the realism of our model simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To compare the neonatal outcomes in macrosomic term infants of diabetic mothers and non-diabetic mothers. METHODS: This is a retrospective survey of all live-born term singletons with a birth weight ≥4000 g, admitted at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital between 2010 and 2013. Data collected for the mothers included age, parity, gestational age, method of glycemic control and mode of delivery. Data for the infants included sex, birth weight, birth length, duration of hospital stay and laboratory tests. Outcomes were compared between infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs) and infants of non-diabetic mothers (Non-IDMs). All data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0. RESULTS: One hundred and eleven infant-mother pairs met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-seven were IDMs while 54 were non- IDMs. Seven (12.28%) of the IDMs were delivered vaginally while 50 (87.72%) were delivered via Caesarian section (CS). Seventeen (31.48%) of the non-IDMs were delivered vaginally while 37 (68.51%) were delivered by CS. Respiratory distress was the most common morbidity affecting 52.6% of the IDMs and 40.7% of the non-IDMs. Hyperbilirubinemia was observed in 49.1% of the IDMs and 14.8% of the non-IDMs. Hypoglycemia affected 38.6% of the IDMs and 7.4% of the non-IDMs. Cardiac enzymes were higher in IDMs than in non-IDMs. On average, IDMs had a longer duration of hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Macrosomic IDMs in comparison to macrosomic non-IDMs are at an increased risk for adverse neonatal outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct deposition of a uniform and high-quality Bi2Se3 thin film on a graphene film (layer controlled) is performed using a catalystfree vapor deposition system in a Se-rich environment. The Se-rich environment is utilized to fill the Se vacancies and is beneficial to achieving the uniform chemical composition of the product. The layers of graphene can be controlled easily and precisely by the transfer times. Besides the graphene film, the morphology of the product is sensitive to the growth parameters (temperature of the substrate, growth time and gas flow). By controlling the growth parameters, we can also grow a crystal Bi2Se3 plate on the graphene/SiO2/Si substrate. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirm the presence of uniform and high-quality Bi2Se3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sedum plumbizincicola X.H. Guo et S.B. Zhou ex L.H. Wu (Crassulaceae), a new species restricted to lead-zinc mining areas in Zhejiang Province, China, is described and illustrated. This taxon belongs to sect. Sedum (H. Ohba) S.H. Fu based on the adaxially gibbous carpels and follicles. It superficially resembles S. alfredii Hance and three other Sedum species found in the same area, but differs from these other taxa in bearing 4-merous flowers. Differences in geographical distribution, growth habit, phenology, macromorphology, leaf and stem anatomy, as well as seed micromorphology among S. plumbizincicola, S. alfredii and other related taxa in the genus Sedum are also reported. nrDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) sequences from seven populations of S. plumbizincicola support the recognition of this as a taxonomic entity distinct from S. alfredii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we proposed a new method using the spark plasma sintering technique to join ceramics to alloys. MoSi and 316L stainless steel were chosen as sample materials and can be welded well with graded interlayers. We found that dense uniformed joints were achieved because of the comparable coefficient of thermal expansion of the interlayers. Furthermore, such a compatibility between the graded interlayers prevented MoSi with low toughness from the occurrence of microcracks resulted from the residual stresses formed during cooling of the joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A peach-like ultra-wideband (UWB) planar monopole antenna (PMA) with dual stopband characteristic is presented in this paper. It is designed to work on a substrate Rogers RT5880 that has a thickness of 1 mm and relative permittivity of 2.65. The proposed antenna is fed by microstrip line; the U-slot is used to reject the frequency band (3.3–4.2 GHz) limited by IEEE 802.11a or HIPERLAN/2. Another rejection band (5.15–5.825 GHz) limited by IEEE 802.11b and C-band satellite communication systems is obtained by using the V-slot defected ground structure (DGS). The size of the antenna is 33 mm × 35 mm. Effects of varying the interior degree of the V-slot DGS and the length of the U-slot on antenna performance have also been studied. Measured result shows the designed antenna with an impedance bandwidth covering at least 3.11 to 15 GHz assuming a 10 dB return loss, except 5.04–6.42 GHz and 3.35–4.24 GHz band. Also the simulated results show that the antenna has omnidirectional radiation patterns in the x-z plane and good gain flatness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed diamond monopole antenna with dual stopband characteristic is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna consists of a circular CPW feeding line and a diamond shape radiation patch. By using a U-slot in the feeding line, a stopband of 800 MHz for band rejection of wireless local area network (WLAN) is achieved. Another stopband of 600 MHz is obtained by implanting two slits in the ground plane. Experimental results show the designed antenna, with a compact size of 40 mm × 25.8 mm, has an impedance bandwidth of 3.2–10.7 GHz for voltage standing wave radio (VSWR) less than 2, except two frequency stopbands of 3.4–4.3 GHz and 5.1–5.9 GHz. Moreover, the antenna also shows omnidirectional radiation patterns in the H-lane and good gain flatness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of thiram on liver antioxidant capacity and incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia in broilers. 2. One hundred and twenty Avian commercial broilers were allotted at random to three treatments: control group, low thiram group (50 mg/kg) and high thiram group (100 mg/kg). 3. Blood samples were collected to determine the activity of AST (aspartate aminotransferase). At the end of the trial, broilers were killed and liver samples were collected to determine the activity of SOD (superoxide dismutase), GSH-Px (glutathione peroxidase) and MDA (malondialdehyde) content, while the right proximal tibiotarsi were dissected in longitudinal section for assessment of tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) incidence and TD score. 4. The results showed that thiram increased the incidence of TD and TD scores, increased serum AST activity and MDA content of liver, and decreased the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in the liver. 5. They suggest that thiram causes TD in broilers by reducing liver antioxidation capability and damaging liver function; this may be one of the mechanisms by which thiram causes TD in broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel algorithm based on the correlation analysis of waveforms to distinguish between the magnetizing inrush and the short-circuit fault current is proposed. The algorithm makes use of the characteristics of differential current waveform in the nonsaturation zone that it is similar to a part of the sinusoidal wave under the short-circuit fault and far different with the sinusoid under the inrush condition. To realize this algorithm, the nonsaturation zone of the transformer is decided by comparing the algebraic sum of sampling data in a short slide window of the differential current under the magnetizing inrush or the short-circuit fault, then two kinds of normal sinusoidal waveforms are structured according to the value and position of the peak point of differential current in the nonsaturation zone. The correlation coefficients between the original waveform and two structured sinusoidal waveforms are calculated, and the magnetizing inrush or fault current is judged according to the average of two correlation coefficients. The experimental results verify that the algorithm can correctly open the differential protection shortly for the internal short-circuit fault in operation, energized with a turn-to-turn short-circuit fault, reliably blocking the protection during the magnetizing inrush, and obtaining good immunity to the saturation of the current transformer. Low computation and requirements contributing to this algorithm are performed in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-This paper presents our research on how support vector regression (SVR) and parametric adaptive learning, which are normally used independently, can be exploited together to benefit adaptive neural control. In the context of friction compen- sation for servo-motion control systems, we present the notion of support vector networks which play an essential role in combining SVR and adaptive neural network (NN) in cooperation for friction estimation. The analysis shows that the proposed support vector network contributes not only to the performance improvement but also to the practical usefulness in adaptive friction compensation. Experimental results are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the presence of friction in a haptic display device seriously affects its performance, proper compensation of the fractional effects in such a device is of practical importance for advanced virtual reality applications where haptic display plays a critical role. This paper addresses the issue of friction modeling and compensation for haptic control system designs. A new method based on the Support Vector Machine (SVM) is developed in a controller design based on a two-port network to achieve accurate haptic display. The approximation model of friction is established offline through SVM learning and is used for online feed forward friction compensation. The advantages of this novel method are demonstrated through the experiments performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for analyzing the phase shift of probe beat in heterodyne interferometric measurement has been developed. The phase shift is obtained directly from the changes of the probe beat period without comparing with a reference beat. An electric circuit system has been designed according to this method of measurement, combined with a heterodyne interferometer of HCN laser or 4 mm microwave of line-integrated electron density of plasma in the compact helical system (CHS). The experimental results show that the method is effective. It simplifies the interferometric system and is free from the trouble of initial phase difference between the probe beat and reference. The minimum measurable phase shift is determined by the ratio of beat frequency to the counting clock frequency. The maximum measurable phase shift is infinite in principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the electroluminescent (EL) efficiencies of interfacial exciplex emission and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the acceptors systematically investigated. A nearly linear relationship was observed between LUMOs of acceptors and exciplex efficiency for a fixed donor of 4,4′,4″-tris[3-methyl-phenyl(phenyl)amino]-triphenylamine in exciplex-type devices. This result indicates that the lower the LUMO of the acceptor is, the higher the EL efficiency of the exciplex is. The effect of acceptor on the efficiencies of exciplex-type devices is attributable to the interactions between the donor and acceptor molecules, which were closely related to the matched LUMOs and intermolecular conformations overlap between donor and acceptor molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulating electroluminescent (EL) spectra from interfacial exciplex emissions were observed by varying the ratios of two acceptors of exciplex-type devices in which the emissive wavelengths were tuned from 530 to 656 nm. In the devices 4,4′,4″-tris[3-methyl-pheny(phenyl)amino]triphenylamine and (bathocuproine: scdolinium-(dibenzoyl-methane)3bathophenyl-phenathroline) mixtures were used as donor and acceptor materials, respectively. In terms of the exciplex broad band emission a white organic light emitting diode was demonstrated by skillfully designing the structure when blue subband was subjoined in the white spectrum. The white device behaves the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage coordinates of (0.32, 0.35) with higher color stability at various biases, a color rendering index of 90.4, and a maximum luminance of 425 cd/m2, respectively, although the EL efficiency needs to be further improved. The emission mechanism of the broad exciplex band formed by two mixed acceptors was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on mumps activity in the U.S. from January 1 to October 7, 2006. A total of 5,783 confirmed or probable cases of mumps have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Iowa reported the most number of mumps cases, followed by Kansas and Wisconsin. More than a quarter of these cases were reported during April 16-29. Vaccination remains the number one preventive measure against the outbreak of this disease.

A new approach for the design of rate-compatible low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes is presented. The approach uses a sequence of rate-compatible degree profiles based on row and column constraints of the parity-check matrices of the sequence of codes. Simulation results show that LDPC codes constructed in this manner perform better than rate-compatible LDPC codes constructed using other known techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The output power of a cw 337-μm HCN laser is maintenance-freely stabilized by a feedback control aided by a microcomputer. As a result, the laser power has no observable drift in the long term and its fluctuation in the short term is less than ± 1%. This stabilizing method is especially useful when the laser is used in circumstances where the ambient temperature changes severely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]