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Zhou-peng Zheng,1– 4 Su-lin Tang,1– 4 Shao-lan Fu,1– 4 Qian Wang,1– 4 Li-wei Jin,1– 4 Yan-li Zhang,1– 4 Rong-rong Huang1– 4 1Department of Anesthesiology, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310,000 People’s Republic of China; 2Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Hangzhou, 310,000 People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310,000 People’s Republic of China; 4Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310,000 People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Rong-rong Huang, Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 166, Qiutao North Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, Email hrr8310@zju.edu.cnObjective: To identify risk factors for postoperative sore throat (POST) after general anesthesia in oral and maxillOfacial surgery.Material and Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort design study. We enrolled patients with oral and maxillofacial surgery who underwent endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia in the Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School Of Medicine between April 2020 and April 2021. They were divided into the POST group and the without POST group. The distribution Of various characteristics in the two groups was firstly analyzed. Then, logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the independent predictors for POST occurrence. Following this, logistic regression and random forest models were constructed and their performance was evaluated to predict POST occurrence.Results: A total of 891 participants were enrolled in the study. Female gender and cough during extubation were significantly associated with increased POST occurrence in multivariate analysis (all P < 0.05). Stratified logistic regression analysis results showed that the female gender was an independent predictor for POST occurrence in the 4≤age≤ 14 and 14 60 group after adjusting American Society of Anesthesiologists status and throat and lung disease (all P < 0.05). The logistic regression model had a similar effect to the random forest model in predicting POST occurrence. Interestingly, the female gender had a higher important weight compared to the cough during extubation.Conclusion: This research reveals female gender and cough during extubation as potential risk factors for POST occurrence, which may provide guidance for the effective prevention of POST in oral and maxillofacial surgery.Keywords: oral and maxillofacial surgery, postoperative sore throat, female gender, cough during extubation, predictors

In this paper, we construct the discrete rogue wave(RW) solutions for a higher-order or generalized integrable discrete nonlinear Schr¨odinger(NLS) equation. First, based on the modified Lax pair, the discrete version of generalized Darboux transformation are constructed. Second, the dynamical behaviors of first-, second- and third-order RWsolutions are investigated in corresponding to the unique spectral parameter λ, higher-order term coefficient γ, and free constants dk, fk (k = 1, 2, · · · ,N), which exhibit affluent wave structures. The differences between the RW solution of the higher-order discrete NLS equation and that of the Ablowitz-Ladik(AL) equation are illustrated in figures. Moreover, numerical experiments are explored, which demonstrates that strong-interaction RWs are stabler than the weak-interaction RWs. Finally, the modulation instability of continuous waves is studied.

Remote sensing has become an important data source for estimating net surface shortwave radiation (NSSR) on glacier surface. However, for a small-scale mountain glacier, NSSR is influenced by not only the atmospheric environment and the sun-earth geometric system but also other surface features, such as terrain and the surface anisotropic reflectance characteristics. In this study, an integrated approach is proposed to obtain the spatial distribution of NSSR with the aid of a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM), Landsat TM images, and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) atmospheric and BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) products. The estimation results of 18 typical observation periods closest to the corresponding MODIS overpass times show that NSSR exhibits very strong temporal and spatial heterogeneity in the Dayekou watershed of the Heihe River Basin, which is greatly affected by atmospheric and terrain environments. Verification results show that this algorithm performs well; the square of the correlation coefficient (R2) is 0.756, the mean bias error percentage (MBE%) are and the root-mean-square difference percentage (RMSD%) are −8.8% and 10.1%, respectively.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of Tianqijiangtang capsule on the survival, self-renewal and differentiation of hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) of embryonic rats cultured in high glucose medium. Materials and methods: A cell model of diabetic encephalopathy was established. Cell viability was assessed to screen the optimal concentration of glucose for the cell model of diabetic encephalopathy. Then, the effects of Tianqijiangtang capsule on the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs, and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the culture medium and cells were detected. Results: High glucose significantly reduced the ability of survival, proliferation and differentiation of NSCs, which was statistically significant, when compared to the control group (P < 0.05 or 0.01). Tianqijiangtang capsule significantly enhanced the survival, proliferation and differentiation of NSCs cultured in high glucose medium, which was statistically significant, when compared with the high glucose group (P < 0.05 or 0.01). The high glucose culture resulted in a significant decrease in VEGF and BDNF levels in culture medium and cells of NSCs. Tianqijiangtang capsule significantly increased the level of VEGF nuclear BDNF in cells and the culture medium, which was significantly higher, when compared to that in the high glucose group (P < 0.05 or 0.01). Conclusion: Tianqijiangtang capsule enhances the level of neurotrophic factor synthesized and secreted by hippocampal NSCs cultured with high glucose through the autocrine and paracrine pathway, promotes the NSC survival, replication and differentiation of new neurons and astrocytes, and reduces the degeneration and necrosis of nerve cells.

Two new norsesquiterpenoids, dioscopposin A (1) and dioscopposin B (2), as well as 21 known compounds (3–23) were isolated from the stems and leaves of Dioscorea oppositifolia L. Their structures were elucidated by detailed analysis of comprehensive spectroscopic data. The absolute configurations were deduced by the comparison of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. Estrogenic activity of all the isolated compounds were evaluated using MCF-7 cells proliferation assay and compounds 2, 3, 7, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 21 exhibited proliferation activity.

Objective: To contrast the clinical effects and complications for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma between autologous stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy. Methods: Multiple databases were searched to identify relevant studies. Articles that met the inclusion criteria were included. Results: A total of 11 studies including 795 patients were involved, which eventually met the eligibility criteria. 385 and 410 samples were included in ASCT group and chemotherapy group respectively. The heterogeneity test suggested that clinical efficacy (RR = 1.29, 95% CI [1.17, 1.42], P < 0.00001; P for heterogeneity = 0.0002, I(2) = 72%), side effects (RR = 1.72, 95% CI [1.15, 2.58], P = 0.009; P for Heterogeneity < 0.0001, I² = 85%) and overall 5-year survival rate (RR = 1.16, 95% CI [1.05, 1.29], P = 0.004; P for Heterogeneity = 0.008, I² = 58%) were significantly different between ASCT group and chemotherapy group, while non-disease 5-year survival rate (RR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.04, 1.48], P = 0.02; P for Heterogeneity = 0.22, I² = 24%) appears insignificantly. Conclusions: This study presents a comprehensive summary and critical assessment of the current evidence for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma. The evidence shows that the clinical efficacy of ASCT was better than that of chemotherapy to some extent, but ASCT might lead to more possibility of complications.

ObjectivePandrug-resistant (PDR) bacterial infections are associated with considerable prolongation of hospitalization and mortality in clinical practice.MethodThis case-series study was conducted during a 3-year period from 2011 to 2013. A total of 30 PDR patients consulted by clinical pharmacist were recorded to evaluate the anti-infection treatment.ResultsAll isolates of PDR bacteria from patients were identified as pan-drug resistant acine-tobacter baumannii (63.3%), pan-drug resistant klebsiella pneumonia (20.0%), and pandrug-resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa (16.7%). Of the 30 patients, 96.7% therapeutic regimens supposed by clinical pharmacists were applied to treat the infectious patients up to 82.8% clinical cure rates. 30 patients completed the prescribed treatment, of which 19 underwent monotherapy that the clinical cure rate was 78.9%, and 10 underwent combination therapy that the clinical cure rate was 90.0%. In the following therapy, doxycycline, cefoperazone shubatan and amikacin have the certain effect on anti-infection therapy. Combination therapy combined with doxycycline was better treatment option for PDR infectious patients.ConclusionIn a word, it appears to be effective for the successful therapy of PDR infections upon tetracyclines administration.

Objective To evaluate by meta-analysis the effects of dexmedetomidine versus midazolam on postoperative delirium in patients that received postoperative mechanical ventilation. Methods The electronic databases of PubMed, Web of Science, EMbase, CNKI, CBM, Cochrane library and WanFang were searched by two reviewers. All the clinical studies related to dexmedetomidine versus midazolam on postoperative delirium were screened and collected in this meta-analysis. The combined postoperative delirium risk between dexmedetomidine and midazolam groups was pooled by random effect model. The publication bias was assessed by Begg’s funnel plot and Egger’s line regression test. Results A total of six studies including 386 subjects (202 in the dexmedetomidine group and 184 in the midazolam group) were finally included in this meta-analysis. All six studies reported adequate sequence generation. Three studies used blindness methods and 2 publications were free of selective reporting. However, only 1 publication reported allocation concealment. Because of significant heterogeneity across the studies (I2=61.7%, p Conclusion Compared with midazolam, patients that received dexmedetomidine for postoperative mechanical ventilation sedation had less risk of developing delirium.

Fat and lean pig breeds show obvious differences in meat quality characteristics including the fatty acid composition of muscle. However, the molecular mechanism underlying these phenotypes differences remains unknown. This study compared meat quality traits between Lantang (a Chinese indigenous breed) and Landrace (a typical lean breed). The Lantang pigs showed higher L* values and intramuscular fat content, lower pH45min, pH24h and shear force in longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle than Landrace (P < 0.05). Fatty acid analysis demonstrated the lower monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) percentage in Lantang LD than that in Landrace LD (P < 0.05). To further identify candidate genes for fatty acid composition, the transcriptome of LD muscle from the two breeds were measured by microarrays. There were 586 transcripts differentially expressed, of which 267 transcripts were highly expressed in Lantang pigs. After the validation by real-time quantitative PCR, 13 genes were determined as candidate genes for fatty acid composition of muscle, including Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD). Then, a SCD over-expression plasmid was transfected into C2C12 cells to reveal the effect of SCD on the fatty acid composition in vitro. The results showed that SCD over-expression significantly increased PUFA proportion, while reduced that of saturated fatty acids (SFA) in C2C12 cells (P < 0.05). In summary, this study compared the differences of fatty acid composition and transcriptome in two breeds differing in meat quality, and further identified the novel role of SCD in the regulation of PUFA deposition.

In order to effectively solve the problem on the moving object tracking in the complex environment, a method that adopts the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) is presented in this paper. Firstly, a searching window of narrow size is set. Secondly, extreme points are detected in scale space and the main direction of the feature points is calculated. Thirdly, in order to find the matched keypoint descriptors, we set a threshold, if the ratios of the nearest distance to the second nearest distance in current frame are below the threshold, the keypoints will be kept. It is a better solution to the shortcoming of rather time-consuming for traditional SIFT algorithm in determining descriptions of the large number of keypoints. The experimental results verified the SIFT superiority properties of the scale-invariant, rotation-invariant and other image transformations, and the good tracking results are demonstrated for the moving car in spite of the background is changing as well.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) specific protease 1 (SENP1) on human PXR-mediated MDR1 transcriptional activity and mRNA expression. Empty vector and expression plasmids, including PXR, SENP1 and SENP1 mutant (SENP1m) were transiently transfected into HepG2 and LS174T cells using Lipo2000. Transcriptional activity was detected by dual luciferase reporter gene assay, and mRNA level was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that SENP1 could remarkably reduce the rifampicin (RIF)-induced MDR1 reporter activity and mRNA level in hPXR over expressed HepG2 and LS174T cells (P0.05), whereas adding SENP1m restored the RIF-induced increases (P0.05). These results indicated that SENP1 could repress the RIF-induced hPXR-mediated MDR1 transcriptional activity and mRNA expression.

Objective To observe the effect of Yangyin Humo Decoction (养阴护膜饮, YHD) on oral mucomembranous reaction in patients with head-neck tumor undergoing radiotherapy.

Collagen triple helix repeats containing 1 (CTHRC1) participates in vascular remodeling, bone formation, and developmental morphogenesis. Recently, CTHRC1 has been found up-regulated in many solid tumors and contributes to tumorigenesis, but its role in the progression of human colorectal cancer (CRC), remains unclear. In this study, CTHRC1 expression in human CRC cell lines was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and immunoblot analyses. The role of CTHRC1 in CRC cell proliferation and extracellular matrix invasion in vitro was analyzed by gene over-expression and recombinant protein. Reporter luciferase assay was used to reveal key relevant signaling pathways involved in CRC cells. The results show that CTHRC1 is secreted both by colorectal epithelia cells and stromal fibroblasts. Recombinant CTHRC1 promotes CRC cell migration and invasion dose-dependently. CTHRC1 overexpression promotes CRC cell migration, invasion and proliferation in vitro. Wnt/PCP signaling but not Wnt/catenin signaling was activates by CTHRC1 in CRC cells. Together, CTHRC1 promotes CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, which is possibly mediated by activating Wnt/PCP pathway.

The use of spatial analysis in conservation biology as a research tool has grown tremendously over the past decade and a half. Although conservation biologists and ecologists have recognized the potential of spatial information for informing conservation biology and policy for a long time, such as for studying changes and trends in populations and habitats, it has been only recently that spatial analysis has been incorporated into most conservation biology studies. Since the 1990s, conservation biology has developed quickly by the application of spatial analysis technologies. In this paper, we review the history, methodologies and applications of this tool, and the potential for growth and other applications by using some projects and works in which the authors were involved as examples. First, we discussed the use of spatially explicit data on biodiversity and its distribution, and the significance of using spatially explicit methods in conservation biology was summarized. We presented patterns of biodiversity at the global scale and country level, and discussed plant diversity centers and vascular plant family diversity as monitored by the World Conservation Monitor Center (WCMC). We also discussed the spatial distribution of four groups (plant, birds, fishes and molluscs) of endangered species in the United States. Mapping the spatial distribution of biodiversity is a useful comparative tool for analyzing the patterns, magnitude and extent of biodiversity, changes in spatial distributions at different temporal scales, understanding the relationships between populations and habitats, and for conservation by spatial overlap analysis as in GAP analysis. Second, we reviewed various conservation projects including Global Forest Watch of World Resource Institute, National GAP Analysis of United States, Roadless Area of Forest Service-USA, and Nature Audit of Canada. Also, some examples from the literature were used, such as a comparative study of plant diversity richness between East Asia and North America and the spatial analysis of biological invasions. The spatial analysis of patterns of biodiversity and habitats were discussed in the third part of this paper. During the last two decades, pattern-oriented ecology and conservation biology has made a lot progress, especially spatial pattern analyses, spatial statistics originating from geo-statistics, geographic information systems, spatially explicit model-based growth of individuals (grid), population theory based on patch analysis (e.g., metapopulations and source-sink models), and so on. The application of spatial pattern analysis in conservation biology was summarized by examining two conservation projects: the forest fragmentation analysis of the USA and late seral forests spatial pattern analysis in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We also presented the theory of "Matrix conservation" by Lindenmayer and Franklin, "Conserving Forest Biodiversity, A Comprehensive Multiscaled Approach"(2002). We agree with the authors of this new initiative that extends conservation efforts beyond nature reserves to integrated conservation strategies that balance conservation and development at landscape or regional scales. Lastly, models that are used widely in conservation biology, the spatially explicit model, process-based spatial model, agent-based spatial adaptation model (SWAM) and Dynamics Global Vegetation Model (DGVM), were discussed.This new branch of conservation, spatial conservation biology, has matured as a new discipline that contains a lot of spatial and information technology and may make more contributions to the global biodiversity conservation.

Early-stage endometrial carcinoma (EC) patients have a high cure rate; however, those with high-risk factors may have poor prognosis. Thus, there is an urgent need for searching for new prognostic molecules to more accurately predict survival of patients. We detected the Rictor mRNA expression level in 30 fresh EC tissue and 17 normal endometrial tissue samples with real-time quantitative RT-PCR and Rictor protein expression level in 134 (test cohort) and 115 (validation cohort) paraffin tissue samples by immunohistochemistry, analyzed the correlation between variables and overall survival (OS) using Cox proportional hazards regression, compared the prognostic accuracy of Rictor with other clinicopathological risk factors by logistic regression. The results showed that Rictor mRNA expression of EC is higher than that of normal endometrium; Rictor protein expression level was closely correlated with FIGO stage, grade and vascular invasion in both cohorts; a univariate analysis showed that the pathological type, stage, grade, vascular invasion, lymphatic metastasis and Rictor were predictors of OS in both cohorts; furthermore, multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis indicated that vascular invasion and Rictor were independent prognostic factors for EC in both cohorts; an ROX curve comparison showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for Rictor combined with other clinicopathological prognostic factors was higher than any individual factor or other clinicopathological prognostic factors' combination. Based on the above data, we concluded that Rictor is an independent prognostic factor for EC. It combined with other clinicopathological risk factors was a stronger prognostic model than individual risk factor or their combination.

This study was purposed to investigate the conditions for improving human-mouse xenograft and the erythroid differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in the xenotransplant model. The engraftments of different mouse strains (NOD/SCID or NOD/SCID/IL2rγ(null)), schemes of irradiation (single-time or 2-times radiation; Co(60)γ-ray or X-ray) and strategies of CB CD34(+) cells ex vivo culture time and lentivirus infection were compared. The results showed that at 4 weeks after transplantation, the ratio of hCD45 positive cells in bone marrow of NOD/SCID/IL2rγ(null) mice increased to (51.4 ± 13.9)%, and erythroid precursor could be detected. All of the mice receiving X-ray irradiation for 2 times (a dose of 1 Gy, then the second of 1.5 Gy, with an interval of 15 min) survived. Fresh isolated CB CD34(+) cells were cultured and infected with lentivirus for 72 h and then transplanted into receptor mouse. After 4 weeks, higher engraftment [hCD45 (51.4 ± 13.9)%] and better erythroid development [hCD71(+) GPA(+) (5.98 ± 3.46)%] were observed. It is concluded that NOD/SCID/IL2rγ(null) mice receiving X-ray irradiation for 2 times and were injected with fresh isolated CB CD34(+) cells cultured and infected with lentivirus ex vivo within 72 h show a better xenograft and erythroid development.

With economic globalization, facing increasingly fierce competition, more and more companies draw keen focus on how human capital can successfully promote the implementation of firm strategic objectives. Thus, how strategic human capital as corporate strategic resources enables enterprises to gain sustained competitive advantage is getting more and more concerns by more scholars. Based on the resource-based view of the firm and strategic human resource management theory, this paper puts forward the construct of ‘strategy human capital’. Through the survey of questionnaires responded by human resources managers and general managers in 105 companies in China, it makes an accurate and direct measurement of firms' strategic human capital, and examines the data by hierarchical regression analysis. The results show that the interaction of different human resource management systems and different competitive strategies have different influences on sustained competitive advantage. Meanwhile, different configures of strategic human capital play different intermediary roles in different human resources systems interacting with the competitive strategy on sustained competitive advantage.

Firstly, this paper summarizes the related concepts and models between human capital and regional economic convergence from classical literature. Secondly, it makes some regional economic convergence tests by the convergence model based on the data of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, moreover, it analyzes on the regional economic convergence category and its human capital factor of the three regions. The results indicate that, there is no σ regional economic convergence among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei since 1978, and absolute β convergence does not exist since 1996. However, there is a strong β conditional convergence when introducting human capital factor, but the club convergence exists neither in Beijing nor Hebei, but a weak club convergence exists in Tianjin. Finally, according to empirical results, the paper puts forward some corresponding proposals for coordinated development of regional economic of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

At present, the unilateral study on human capital or technological innovation capability has been very rich, while this paper tries to start from the linkages between the two. By using the Granger causality test, it makes an empirical analysis on the role of human capital in technological innovation with the data from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei regions, and the results show that there is a positive correlation between the two. Although the R&D input of funds also has a positive effect on scientific and technological innovation capability, the coefficient of human capital is much larger than the coefficient of the Investment in R&D funding. If we do not make good use of the human capital stock, any great amount of R&D funding and equipment investment cannot be sufficient to promote technological innovation capabilities.

The black box between High performance work systems(HPWS) and organizational performance is an important issue in the domain of Human Resource Management. Scholars strive hard to uncover it. After 2007's financial storm, they try to uncover it from the perspective of human resource flexibility which stems from the practices of HPWS and thereafter turns out to be organizational performance through employees relative behaviors, thus it mediates the relationship between HPWS and organizational performance, particularly it emphasizes on flexible response to external environment. In this vein the paper makes an empirical examination of 110 Chinese organizations on the relationship among them, the results confirm that HPWS has a positive effect on organizational performance and human resource flexibility (employee skill flexibility, employee behavior flexibility and human resource practice flexibility) partially mediate the relationship between HPWS and organizational performance.

To observe the effect of Yangyin Humo Decoction (YHD) on oral mucomembranous reaction in patients with head-neck tumor undergoing radiotherapy.Forty-Forty-two patients with head-neck tumor undergoing radiotherapy were randomized equally into two groups. The two conventional Western medical treatment was administered to all, including intravenous dripping of 2% lidocaine 20 mL, dexamethasone 5 mg, gentamycin 80,000 units, vitamin B(12) 5 mg, dissolved in saline 250 mL, and 5% sodium bicarbonate solution for gargling, but to the patients in the tested group, YHD was given additionally. The medication was started simultaneously all through the whole course of the radiotherapy. Patients were examined every day to observe and compare the degree, initiating time, and repairing time of their oral lesions; the dosage of radiation they received was recorded as well.The degree of mucomembranous reaction that appeared in most patients in the test group was of grade 1-2, while in the control group, it was grade 2-3. The average time for oral lesion of 1, 2, 3 grades to be initiated in the test group was 12.0+/-1.1, 11.0+/-1.3 and 10.0+/-0.8 days, respectively, after radiation started, which was later than that in the control group (P0.01). Moreover, the average repairing time for the lesions of grades 1, 2, and 3 in the test group was 3.0+/-0.7, 10.0+/-1.3 and 19.0+/-0.8 days, which were shorter than those in the control group respectively (P0.01). The radiation applied on the primary tumor of patients with oral lesion of grade 1-3 in the test group was 24.2+/-2.2, 42.0+/-2.6 and 58.0+/-1.6 Gy on the average, respectively, which were higher than that applied on patients in the control group (P0.05 or P0.01).The Chinese herbal preparation YHD could alleviate oral mucomembranous reaction to radiation applied in patients with head-neck tumor.

The system structure and operation process of the minimally invasive surgery robot based on vision location technology are expounded. The three- dimensional location problem of robotpsilas hand-eyes vision system is lucubrated, whose core idea is directly putting the image coordinate mapped into the robotpsilas radical coordinate and getting the system parameter as a whole and not separately calculating every parameter of camera inner. According to the basic principal of three-dimensional vision, the there-dimensional vision model and camera calibrating model are set up and the vision location system of the minimally invasive surgery robot is designed. The experiment proves that the method has a better location effect and analyzes the reason of causing the error.

Hypercrosslinked sorbents which have excellent adsorption capacities for organic compounds were prepared by cross-linking the polypropylene grafted styrene-divinylbenzene fiber according to the Friedel-Crafts reaction. As crosslinking agents, we have used monochloromethylether and bis-chloromethylated derivatives of benzene or biphenyl. We have performed detailed investigations of the preparation and the optimal synthesis conditions of hypercrosslinked sorbents were obtained. Compared with the initial fiber, hypercrosslinked fibers were remarkable materials exhibiting high specific surface area and exceptional adsorption properties for organic compounds. The adsorption capacities on the hypercrosslinked sorbents were related with the size of cross-linking agents, which increased by about 8 to 10 fold. KEY WORDS : Hypercrosslinked sorbents, Fibers, Surfaces; Adsorption; Organic compounds Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2007 , 21(3), 397-403.

International audience; Compared with other medical imaging modalities, ultrasound imaging has its own advantages. The three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound stereo visualization technique has a broad promising future for its ability superior to traditional two-dimensional (2-D) ultrasound image, and it helps to understand the complex structures of tissues as well as to measure tissular volumes. However, it is often difficult to interpret the 3-D structure from acoustic data because of the speckle noise. To solve this problem, we propose a new enhancement algorithm which is based on calculating nonstationary degree of ultrasound data to improve the image quality. We observe data within a finite length window and then map them to an N-dimensional space where every point represents the observed data. According to the data features, we divide this space into two parts: the stationary subspace constituted by the stationary points, which represent a line in the space, and the nonstationary subspace is formed by the points out of the line. Then the nonstationary degree of a set of observed data is defined as the distance from the correspondent point to the stationary line. Thus, we can enhance the image since the nonstationary degree is larger on tissular border where features vary rapidly. Finally, the application of the proposed algorithm to real data of the liver of a rabbit is described. The results are shown by means of 3-D ultrasound stereo visualization, and the results demonstrate a significant improvement compared with the original image

This article proposes a finite element model (FEM) for predicting the acoustic scattering from an encapsulated microbubble near rigid boundary. The validity of the model is first examined by comparing the acoustic nonlinear response of a free microbubble with that obtained by the Church model. Then this model is used to investigate the effect of the rigid boundary on acoustic scattering signals from microbubble. The results indicate that the resonance frequency decreases while the oscillation amplitude increases as the microbubble approaches the rigid boundary. In addition, the fundamental component of the acoustic scattering signal is enhanced compared with that of the free microbubble.

The ab initio electronic structure optimization and total-energy calculations are used to study the equation of state （EOS） and elastic properties of fcc aluminum at zero temperature. We use the calculated energy of a solid as a function of the molecular volume fitting to the quasi-harmonic Debye model to obtain the non-equilibrium Gibbs function, then to derive the thermal equation of state （EOS） of the corresponding phase. The melting curve at different pressures is presented based on the Burakovsky-Preston-Silbar （BPS） model. All total-energy calculations are based on the average of local density approximation （LDA） and general gradient approximation （GGA）. The results show that the calculated EOS and pressure dependence of thermodynamics and melting curve are in good agreement with the shock compression and the diamond-anvil-cell （DAC） data within a wide range of pressure up to 225 GPa.

We present a design of diffractive optical element to produce 3D optical chain along optical axis near the focus of a high numerical aperture (NA) lens by spatially modulating the phase of incoming vector beam. This optical chain can trap multiple individual particles in three dimensions at different planes near the focus. For flexibly controlling this special optical trapping system, we systematically analize the factors affecting the characteristics of the optical chain, such as different incoming vector polarization of light, the NA of the lens, and the structure of the DOE.