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Steviol is an ent-kaurene diterpenoid with interesting pharmacological activity. Several steviol derivatives with an exo-methylene cyclopentanone unit were discovered as potent antitumor agents. However, their poor selectivity for tumor cells relative to normal cells reduces their prospects as potential anticancer drugs. In this study, based on previous work, 32 steviol derivatives, including 28 new analogues, were synthesized. Their cytotoxicity against tumor cells and normal cells was evaluated. Several new derivatives, such as 7a, 7h, and 8f, with improved cytotoxic selectivity and antiproliferative activity were obtained, and the structure–activity relationship correlations were investigated. The new compound 8fdisplayed potent antiproliferative activity against Huh7 cells (IC50= 2.6 μM) and very weak cytotoxicity against the corresponding normal cells HHL5 (IC50= 97.0 μM). Further investigation showed that 8farrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase and caused reactive oxygen species overproduction, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, and induced apoptosis of Huh7 cells through inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and NF-κB pathway as well as upregulation of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. The present study suggested that 8fis a promising lead compound for new cancer therapies, and the results presented herein may encourage the further modification of steviol for additional derivatives with enhanced efficacy and selectivity.

Background: The flow rate distribution in the flat tubes of a micro-channel evaporatoris essential for its heat transfer performance. Due to a large number of flat tubes in a microchannelevaporator, the flow rate distribution is often difficult to determine. Objective: An evaporator test rig was constructed to study the quantification of the refrigerantmass flow rate distribution in a two-pass evaporator without destroying its structure. Methods: A heat transfer performance test rig for a two-pass evaporator was utilized. Subcooledrefrigerant R134a was pumped into the inlet header, and infrared thermography was used to obtainthe cloud map of the wall temperature distribution on the surface of the evaporator. The flow ratedistribution in each flat tube was calculated based on an analysis that combines the heat balancebetween the air side and the refrigerant side with the effectiveness-Number of Transfer Units (ε-NTU) method. Results: The flow rate distribution was found to be in good agreement with the evaporator walltemperature distribution. The difference between the calculated and measured total mass flow rateswas less than 15.9%, which proves that the method is simple and effective. And the unevenness offlow rate distribution in the 1st and 2nd pass is 0.13 and 0.32, respectively. Conclusion: This method is simple and effective, and does not destroy the structure of the microchannelevaporator. However, it is only suitable for cases in which there exists a subcooled zone ina pass, and is not applicable to a pass in which the refrigerant is only in a single-phase or a twophasestate.

Ti-bearing blast furnace slag is an important reproducible Ti resource. The effective recovery of the Ti component from this slag can not only alleviate the resultant environmental problems but also overcome the shortage of Ti resources. In this study, the mineral and element of Ti-bearing blast furnace slag were analyzed and adjusted according to the gravity center rule of CaO–SiO2–TiO2ternary phase diagram. The Ti component in the Ti-bearing blast furnace slag was enriched into the perovskite phase by preoxidation treatment and high-temperature selective enrichment & precipitation. The results indicate that, the preoxidized slag was obtained with adding 2.54% of CaO to the original slag at 1025 °C for 30 min. Subsequently, the preoxidized slag with 1.0% of Fe2O3was melted at 1470 °C for 40 min, and the temperature was thereupon reduced to 1320 °C at 0.5 °C/min and kept constant for 90 min. The modified slag exhibited obvious enrichment and precipitation of perovskite, which had a crystal size of 63.17 μm and a crystallization volume of 30.62%. The perovskite phase was observed to exhibit mainly an orderly cross-shaped, granular, and beaded arrangement. During the selective enrichment and precipitation process, the fine-grain perovskite crystals fused together, and the concentrations of Ca2+and TiO32−surrounding the perovskite crystals decreased, which restricted the crystal growth and led to necking. Changes in the surface tension caused the melting point to drop, thereby facilitating remelting and resulting in narrower necking.

In this paper, the low cycle fatigue failure and ratcheting behavior, as well as their interaction of AH32 steel were experimentally investigated under uniaxial cyclic loading. The effects of mean stress, stress amplitude and stress ratio on the low cycle fatigue life and ratcheting strain were discussed. It was found that the ratcheting strain increased while the fatigue life decreased with the increase of mean stress and stress amplitude, and the increasing stress ratio would result in smaller ratcheting and larger fatigue life. Two kinds of failure modes, i.e. low cycle fatigue failure due to crack propagates and ratcheting failure due to large plastic strain will take place respectively. Based on the experimental results, considered the effect of ratcheting on fatigue life, a model with the maximum stress and ratcheting strain rate was proposed. Comparison with the experimental result showed that the new model provided a good prediction for AH32 steel.

A general stepwise strategy for the preparation of new humidity-responsive plasmonic nanosensor was described for the first time, based on Ag film functionalization by polyacrylamide (PAAM) brushes viasurface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) method and then assembled with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). We designed by this way a new plasmonic device made of Au NPs embedded in a humid vapor responsive polymer layer on Ag film and extensively characterized by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). When the relative humidity (RH) is above 50%, the number of plasmonic hotspots decreases, causing SERS signal reduced noticeably, for the volume expansion of PAAM brushes varied the nano-gap between closely spaced Au NPs, and between Au NPs and Ag film. The reversible optical properties of the prepared nanocomposite tuned by RH were probed through SERS using 4-mercaptopyridine (4-Mpy) as a molecular probe, and the decrease of the RH reversibly induces a significant enhancement of the 4-Mpy SERS signal. By means of the high reversibility, the RH responsive nanocomposite developed in this paper provides a dynamic SERS platform and can be applied as plasmonic nanosensor which is proved to be stable for at least two months. 本文报道了一种湿度响应纳米SERS传感器. 通过原子转移自由基聚合技术在银片表面嫁接了具有湿度响应性能的聚丙烯酰胺分子 刷, 并组装金纳米颗粒形成复合结构. 该分子刷湿度响应灵敏, 而且可有效抓取金纳米颗粒, 构成均匀分布的SERS“热点”. 通过调节湿度, 实现了SERS“热点”的可逆调控, 并通过拉曼光谱快速捕捉探针分子特征峰的SERS信号强度变化, 实现湿度响应的SERS传感功能. 湿度低 于50%时, 分子刷收缩, 金纳米颗粒间距降至纳米级, 形成大量热点, 使得SERS增强因子达到2×108; 湿度高于50%, 分子刷舒张, 金纳米颗粒 间距变大, 当湿度大于90%时, SERS“热点”最少, SERS信号最低. 可逆调控湿度变化, 得到可逆的SERS信号变化, 因此该复合材料实现了高 效灵敏的湿度响应SERS传感.

ABSTRACTChina will set up a national carbon emissions trading market by the end of 2017, which is initially open to individual investors from the initial market for business and institutional investors. In this article, the main influencing factors and mechanism of individual participation in carbon trading market are studied by establishing multiple linear regression model. The study found that age, education level, length of account opening time, and risk attitude are the main factors influencing the participation of individual investors. Environmental awareness and environmental impact are less affected; information transparency and transaction risk also have an impact on the degree of individual investor participation; investment experience does not affect the participation of individual investors in the carbon trading market.

Background Real-world data of the subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with semi-depot house-dust mite (HDM) allergen extract (a HDM allergen extract that contains a 50%-50% mixture of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farina) for allergic rhinitis and asthma was unavailable in China until recently.Aim To investigate the effectiveness and safety of a HDM-SCIT for allergic rhinitis and asthma in Chinese patients.Methods A multicenter, single-arm, open-label, self-controlled study. Chinese patients with allergic rhinitis or allergic asthma and with a history of symptoms from HDM exposure were included and received allergen-specific immunotherapy for 1 year by subcutaneous injection of HDM-SCIT. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of patients with an improvement in symptom severity assessed at 12 months after initiation of the treatment. The occurrence of adverse events and compliance of treatment were also evaluated.Results A total of 272 outpatients were included for effectiveness analysis. The subject-evaluated improvement rate in the visual analog scale (VAS) was 76.1% and 71.3% at 6 and 12 months, respectively; corresponding values for investigator-evaluated VAS were 77.9% and 71.7%, respectively (p < 0.0001). Symptom score changes were -2.43 and -3.79 at 6 and 12 months, respectively (both p < 0.0001); the VAS improvement rate and symptom score change did not differ significantly between children and adolescents and/or adults. Good injection schedule adherence was found in 98.8% of the patients. No study drug–related serious adverse events or serious systemic allergic reactions occurred.Conclusion HDM-SCIT was safe and effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma in a Chinese population, with good compliance.

The relationship of shock wave peak overpressure and the positive impulse of 10kg TNT, PW0,PW20,PW30 high energy explosives with different Al content and distance were studied through air explosion experiments. Besides, the damage of 140kg explosives to concrete and human being were analysized and calculated based on the fitted formulas, which shows that the damage area of PW20 is larger than other explosives.

Basedon the assumption of related parameters in compressible packing model, thecompressible packing model was used for the calculation of the explosivespacking efficiency. The accuracy of the calculation was verified by experimentsand the relative error was 2.49%. Besides, the influence of content offineparticles and particle size distribution in explosives on stacking efficiencywas discussed. The results show that the stacking efficiency was increasingwith the particle size distribution increasing from 0~300μm to 0~700μm. Thepacking efficiency reached it’s maximum value when we only increased thecontent of fine particles to 40%. Therefore, the packing efficiency has arelation with particle size distribution of raw materials.

Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) is an advanced radio frequency (RF) spectroscopic technique, widely used to analyse substances containing quadrupole nuclei, such as 2H, 14N, 17O, 35Cl and 39K. In this paper, we focus on the NQR detection of nitrogenous compounds including nucleus Nitrogen-14 or 14N. We will briefly introduce its fundamental principles, namely, nuclear quadrupole moment and NQR detection mechanism, and then provide some experimental results based on these theories, such as sodium nitrite, methenamine, urea and thiourea. At last, according to these results, we will make some discussion about the properties of NQR detection.

Background Herbal remedies predate written history and continue to be used frequently for many common ailments. The essential oil mixture standardized is a phytopharmaceutical with a distillate of a mixture of rectified essential oils of eucalyptus, sweet orange, myrtle, and lemon as active ingredients used to treat respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and rhinosinusitis. We evaluated the pharmacologic effects of a distillate of rectified essential oils standardized on primary human upper respiratory epithelial cultures specifically addressing electrolyte transport, cilia beat frequency (CBF), airway surface liquid (ASL) hydration, and mucus transport velocity.Methods Well-differentiated primary human sinonasal epithelial cultures grown at an air–liquid interface were treated on the apical or basolateral surface with varying concentrations of a distillate of rectified essential oils standardized. Changes in CBF were determined using the Sissons-Ammons Video Analysis system while changes in chloride flux were determined using the fluorescent dye 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl)quinolinium. ASL hydration was quantified using Texas red dextran and mucociliary transport velocity was measured using fluorescent microspheres and time lapse photography.Results When applied to the basolateral surface, a distillate of rectified essential oils standardized activated chloride efflux and ciliary beat in a dose-dependent fashion, increasing ASL height and accelerating mucociliary transport velocity. The ancillary apical application of a distillate of rectified essential oils standardized had minimal effects on the CBF.Conclusion Basolateral application of a distillate of rectified essential oils standardized stimulates both chloride efflux and cilia beat frequency resulting in a synergistic effect dramatically augmenting mucociliary transport velocity. These in vitro data support the clinical efficacy of this phytopharmaceutical in respiratory inflammatory disorders.

Background According to the hygiene hypothesis, bacterial infections during early life contribute to a reduced incidence of asthma in animals. However, the effects of microbial products at a safe dose and within a rational time course on the prevention of allergic rhinitis (AR) have been inconclusive. This study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of oral administration of a bacterial extract, OM-85 Broncho-Vaxom (BV), with a low dose and general time course, which is currently used for respiratory infections in humans, on AR inflammation in mice.Methods We developed a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced AR allergic inflammation in the nose mucosa of mice. Low doses of OM-85 BV were orally administered for 3 months (long term) before sensitization. We evaluated nasal symptoms, pathology in the nose, inflammatory cells, and the levels of T helper 1 (Th1)/Th2 cytokines in the nasal lavage fluids, and the serum levels of specific IgE and IgG1. We also observed enhanced effects of OM-85BV with 1 month (short term) of treatment.Results We found that long-term pretreatment with OM-85 BV protected the mice from the majority of allergy-specific symptoms; specifically, OM-85 BV suppressed nasal symptoms, inhibited eosinophil infiltration in the nose, inhibited inflammatory infiltrates and the Th2 response by reducing cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, or IL-13) in the nasal lavage fluids, and reduced IgE and IgG1 levels. Furthermore, short-term treatment with OM-85 BV decreased the levels of Th2 cytokines and IgE.Conclusion Taken together, our data suggested that OM-85 BV is a low-cost alternative candidate to prevent AR with simple oral administration.

This paper choose three kinds of explosives and two kinds of charge structure, the inner and outer layer, the left and the right structure. It studies the energy coupling between the two parts of explosives and the influence of charging way of energy output structure. Ls-dyna is used to numerically simulate the process, analyze this kind of composite explosive shock wave overpressure - time history curve and the change of temperature field with time when the explosive blast in deep water. Their energy outputs were compared with single formula of explosive. Simulation results show that: Using the same chemical composition, Different dual charging structure of explosives has an impact on the explosion of the same point load and the heat loss. The energy couples between two parts of explosive.

The HTPB-bonding system used for high-solid-containing PBX was optimizied by orthogonal experiment,and three major factors that were viscosity,hardness and curing time were confirmed as mian indexes for measuring properties of bonding system.The optimal variation range for viscosity,hardness and curing time was respectively 100~125 s,20~28 HC and 4~6 days.Through fitting experimental data,the equations of these three indexes were obtained and then changing laws of that were also studied.By sovling these equations,the best values of constitutions were obtained and formulations for bonding system with different plasticizers were optimized.

In this paper,by researching the underwater energy output structure of explosion and improving the technical method to enhance the energy of underwater high-power explosive,a new type of underwater high-power PBX explosive was developed. This type of PBX,of which the underwater shock wave energy was 1.75 TNT equivalent and its bubble energy was 2.41 TNT equivalent,was suitable for the main charge of underwater weapon warhead and its energy archived the domestic leading level.

Background The prevalence of bronchial asthma (BA) and the underlying risk factors in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) in China are largely unknown. Thus, this study is designed to assess the BA comorbidity in AR patients in two cities (Guangzhou and Zhuhai) of southern China and to determine the risk factors of BA in these AR patients.Methods We performed a cross-sectional, hospital-based survey in two modernized cities in southern China. The BA prevalence was evaluated in 1931 AR patients. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing specific items for AR and BA. A logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors of BA comorbidity in AR patients.Results The prevalence of concomitant BA in AR patients is 5.33% (103/1931). Most of the participants (98.4%) were sensitized to more than one allergen, and the most common sensitization was to house-dust mites. The strongest risk factor of BA determined by a multiple logistic regression analysis was a duration of AR of >5 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 8.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.74–20.06), followed by smoking (adjusted OR, 7.21; 95% CI, 1.86–8.23) and self-medication with antibiotics (adjusted OR, 6.35; 95% CI, 3.43–11.78).Conclusion Our findings suggested the risk factors of concomitant BA in AR patients may be helpful to establish preventive strategies.

Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) is a newly developed branch of radio frequency (RF) spectroscopic technique, allowing the detection of many substances containing quadrupole nuclei, such as 14N and 35Cl, widely existing in explosives and narcotics respectively. In this paper, we focus on the research of its detection mechanism for 14N in urea and thiourea. Based on the Density Functional Theory (DFT), employing Beckes three-parameter hybrid functional combined with Lee-Yang-Parr correlation functional (B3LYP), with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set, we have obtained the quantum chemical calculations by using Gaussian 09. Furthermore, experimental results and some discussions related are also presented. At last, we find that the absolute values of relative errors of NQR frequencies are all less than 2%, which indicates that this study is reasonable. Keywords: NQR, detection, DFT

Post-prestressed duct grouting is a complex construction process and it is affected by many factors. Since there are no clear cognitive relations to the influencing factors of the grouting quality, it is hard to make the best control program during the construction. By the theoretical applicability and parameters analysis through the grouting process, this article used the numerical simulation method to analyze the grouting process and obtained the correspondence between the initial velocity, grouting pressure and grouting quality. To the height difference and bending in the duct, the relationship between volume and forming quality were analyzed, the results has reference value to the design of duct gas vent.

This paper investigated the relationship of the nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) signal amplitudes with nitrogen contents and frequencies of explosive simulants based on the NQR explosive detection principle. The NQR signals of urea, urotropine and sodium nitrite were detected by experiment at room temperature, and the signal spectra of the nitrogenous compounds with different weights were obtained. The results indicate that the NQR signal amplitudes of the same mimic are increasing linearly with the increase of weights under the same experimental conditions, meanwhile, the higher the frequency, the greater the signal amplitude. The NQR signal amplitudes of different mimics do not rely on the nitrogen contents, but depend on the other internal factors such as relaxation times, NQR frequencies and so on. The experimental data are consistent with the theoretical predictions. The results will be of value to the detection of NQR signals in explosives and the research on how to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

We previously found that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human‐induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) exerted immunomodulatory effects on Th2‐mediated allergic rhinitis in vitro. However, their contribution to the asthma and allergic rhinitis in animal models remains unclear. In this study, we developed a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced allergic inflammation in both the upper and lower airways and evaluated the effects of the systemic administration of human iPSC‐MSCs and bone marrow‐derived MSCs (BM‐MSCs) on allergic inflammation. Our results showed that treatments with both the iPSC‐MSCs and BM‐MSCs before the challenge phase protected the animals from the majority of allergy‐specific pathological changes. This protection included an inhibition of inflammatory cell infiltration and mucus production in the lung, a reduction in eosinophil infiltration in the nose, and a decrease in inflammatory cell infiltration in both the bronchoalveolar and nasal lavage fluids. In addition, treatment with iPSC‐MSCs or BM‐MSCs before the challenge phase resulted in reduced serum levels of Th2 immunoglobulins (e.g., IgE) and decreased levels of Th2 cytokines including interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐5, or IL‐13 in the bronchoalveolar and/or nasal lavage fluids. Similar therapeutic effects were observed when the animals were pretreated with human iPSC‐MSCs before the sensitization phase. These data suggest that iPSC‐MSCs may be used as an alternative strategy to adult MSCs in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. STEMCELLS2012;30:2692–2699

Background Although Interleukin (IL)-17A has been suggested to play a role in corticosteroid hyporesponsiveness, whether IL-17A is able to affect the sensitivity of MUC5AC to intranasal corticosteroid treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) is unclear.Methods Twenty patients with moderate to severe AR were enrolled in this study and the expression of MUC5AC, IL-17A, and glucocorticoid receptor beta (GR beta) was detected using immunochemical staining and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) before and after treatment with fluticasone propionate (FP) nasal spray for 4 weeks, respectively. In addition, the effects of FP on IL-13– and IL-17A–induced MUC5AC and GR beta were also evaluated in the primarily cultured human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) in vitro.Results The increased MUC5AC expression was associated with IL-17A levels in AR, and IL-17A was found to affect the inhibition of MUC5AC by corticosteroid treatment. Both IL-13 and IL-17A significantly promoted MUC5AC mRNA expression in HNECs, and FP treatment was able to significantly inhibit MUC5AC mRNA expression in HNECs induced by IL-13 but not for that induced by IL-17A. Also, IL-17A but not IL-13 promoted GR beta mRNA expression in HNECs, which was not affected by administration of corticosteroid.Conclusion Our results suggest that the sensitivity of MUC5AC to topical corticosteroid is negatively associated with IL-17A in AR patients. This might help us to gain more insight into the pathophysiology and the pharmacotherapeutic mechanisms on AR treatment.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypaper, which has large specific surface area and tunable network structures, shows great potential in the application of heat dissipation for high power electronic devices. In this article, we report that the heat conduction in a buckypaper depends greatly on CNT network formation, in which CNT structures, lengths, and orientations are important issues. The buckypaper composed of multiwalled CNTs with large diameter (around 50 nm) and suitable length (1–10 μm) shows lower thermal impedance compared with those made by longer CNTs with smaller diameter. The thermal impedance of such buckypapers can be reduced to 0.27 cm2·K/W, lower than that of commercialized graphite foil and thermal grease. Thus, the buckypaper may serve as a promising candidate for advanced thermal interface materials. Detailed structural characterization indicates that the three-dimensional networks of buckypapers, with CNT orientations perpendicular to the surfaces, result in both the reduction of thermal contact resistance and the enhancement of heat conduction along the thickness.

Background Connexin (Cx) 26 plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of tight junctions. However, the expression and modulation of Cx26 in allergic rhinitis (AR) has not been well understood.Methods We detected the expression of Cx26 in house-dust mite (HDM)–sensitized AR patients and investigated the Cx26 production and modulation in primary human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) and BEAS-2B cells after treatment with the allergen Der p 1 from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.Results We found that the mRNA and protein levels of Cx26 were significantly down-regulated in AR patients compared with the control. Der p 1 was found to induce protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) expression and suppress Cx26 production significantly in vitro. PAR2 siRNA was shown to prevent the suppression of Cx26 induced by Der p 1 in BEAS-2B cells.Conclusion The suppression of Cx26 in HDM-sensitized AR patients is related to a PAR2-mediated pathway and might serve during the initiation and maintenance of AR. Targeting the PAR2-mediated Cx26 suppression may be a potential means of preventing allergic sensitization.

Objective: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) was recently demonstrated to be a potential stimulator of angiogenesis and arteriogenesis. The correlation between BNP level and collateral formation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been reported.Methods and results: The study included 311 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography were divided into three groups according to coronary angiography and collateral formation: normal group (100 patients with normal coronary angiographic findings); poor collateral group (116 patients with at least one coronary stenosis of ≥75% without visible collateral circulation); and good collateral group (95 patients with at least one coronary stenosis of ≥75% with well-developed collateral circulation). Collateral score was analyzed using the Cohen–Rentrop classification. Plasma BNP levels were 45.77 ± 4.66 pg/ml, 116.40 ± 28.15 pg/ml, and 254.20 ± 42.85 pg/ml for patients in normal, poor collateral, and good collateral groups, respectively. Plasma BNP levels in the latter were significantly higher than in the normal group (p < 0.01) and poor collateral group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the good collateral group and poor collateral group when compared with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular dimensions at end diastole (LVEDd), age, severity of angiographic disease, and other cardiovascular risk factors. After adjustment in the multiple ordinal logistic regression model, plasma BNP levels showed a strong independent association with collateral Cohen–Rentrop score (χ2 = 5.636, OR = 1.002, 95% CI 1.000–1.004, p = 0.018).Conclusions: An elevated level of BNP in plasma is independently associated with collateral development; patients with good collaterals tend to have a higher BNP level.

Rutting is one of the most serious problems on asphalt pavements. Decrease the surface temperature of the asphalt pavement is an effective method to solve the rutting problem on asphalt pavements. In this study, nano sized particles filled polymer composite was developed as an overlay to reflect the solar energy and decrease the surface temperature of asphalt pavements. The overlay was composed of acrylic or epoxy resin filled with nano TiO2or nano TiNO2. The solar reflection of the nano particle filled polymers was tested and the results showed that solar reflection effectiveness of the epoxy/TiO2composite reached the highest value. The results of outdoor temperature test indicate that the solar-reflective overlay could decrease the surface temperature of asphalt pavements about 10 °C when the pavement temperature is about 60 °C. Pavement skid resistance was also tested, which expressed by micro/macrotexture depth and the results of which showed that both matrix was qualified after coated with aggregates on the surface.

Background Osteopontin (OPN) is involved in cell survival, immunity, and tumor progression. The overexpression of OPN has been proposed as a biomarker of progression and metastasis for several tumor types, but it is still unclear whether it is up-regulated in sinonasal inverted papilloma (SIP).Methods We enrolled 33 subjects with SIP and 15 normal controls to determine the importance of OPN and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in SIP. Using immunohistochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we examined the distribution, mRNA expression, and protein levels, respectively, of OPN and VEGF. We then correlated these values with clinical severity.Results The immunostaining levels for OPN and VEGF were significantly increased in SIP tissues compared with control tissues (p< 0.05), as were their mRNA expression and protein levels (p< 0.05). The correlation between OPN and VEGF expression and the clinical stage of SIP was significant (p< 0.05).Conclusion Our findings indicate that OPN and VEGF were both overexpressed in the analyzed SIP tissues and were associated with clinical severity, suggesting that the OPN–VEGF axis might contribute to tumor progression by enhancing angiogenesis. Therefore, OPN may serve as a potential therapeutic target for preventing SIP progression and recurrence.

800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} After a long period time of working, an auxiliary shaft RC headframe in a colliery got series quality problems, such as the concrete carbonation of the RC members, the concrete loosen and spalling, the exposed steel bar, steel corrosion and the degradation of the bond quality. After making a detailed operating environment and safety detection and evaluation, we studied the deterioration mechanism and the rehabilitation and strengthening technology. Considering that the headframe belongs to the special structures of colliery, we emphatically introduced the strengthening design method and process in order to provide the similar reinforcement project with a reference.

A composite film with switchable transparency is fabricated by sandwiching a carbon nanotube (CNT) sheet within polyurethane (PU) films. The introduction of CNTs not only makes the composite film electrically conductive but also induces a rapid crystal melting of soft segments in the PU. As a result, the film can be switched from opaque to transparent in just several seconds after turning on voltage, and reversed back to opaque after turning off voltage. The film also possesses several other attractive properties, including excellent flexibility, low energy consumption, switching speed insensitivity to ambient temperature, and easy coloration, which make the film promising for a wide variety of practical applications.

Although microRNA (miRNA) is expressed extensively in the postnatal mouse inner ear, its expression in the sensory epithelium during embryogenesis has not been well characterized. We investigated miRNA expression at E13.5 and E16.5 by microarray analysis, quantitative real-time-PCR, and in-situ hybridization. MiRNA-182, miRNA-140, miRNA-200c, and others showed distinct temporal and spatial expression patterns. MiRNA-194, whose expression in zebrafish seems to play an important role in the differentiation of the intestinal epithelium, was also expressed in the spiral ganglia of the mouse inner ear, where it may play a similar role in neuronal differentiation. Our results indicate that miRNAs are widely expressed in the developing inner ear, with more species recruited as hair cells differentiate, suggesting an important developmental role.

Four new chiral 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-derived β-amino alcohols were synthesized from commercially available l-DOPA. These ligands were evaluated in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehydes and showed different catalytic activities (up to 86% ee). The solvent played an important role in the enantioselective process. The transition state models were proposed to explain the reversion of the product configuration.

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on failure behavior and ultimate strength of fiber-reinforced sandwich composite structures. Tests were conducted on the sandwich L-joints with Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) face sheet and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core. In the numerical simulation, a progressive damage method is established to simulate the strength and failure behavior of sandwich L-joint, different failure criteria are used to deal with the various failure modes of GFRP laminates. Cohesive zone model and viscoelastic material model are combined to model the face-core adhesive interface, hence the influence of fracture and debonding of adhesive to the total strength of sandwich joints is considered by the numerical modelling. On the base of these theories, the finite element model of sandwich L-joint has been successfully established, and the numerical predictions present a good agreement with the test results on both structural strength and failure process.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether the chloride channel protein CLC-3 is upregulated in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and whether topical corticosteroid treatment decreases the expression of CLC-3. DESIGN Histologic study. SETTING Academic research. PATIENTS Eighteen patients with AR were included in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Expression of CLC-3 was detected by immunohistochemistry and by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction before and at 4 weeks after treatment with the topical corticosteroid mometasone furoate. RESULTS Strong CLC-3 expression was detected in epithelium and in submucosal glands. An increased presence of CLC-3 was demonstrated in nasal mucosa compared with that in normal nasal tissue. A statistically significant difference in CLC-3 gene expression level was found in nasal tissues before vs at 4 weeks after treatment with mometasone. CONCLUSIONS CLC-3 may have a role in modulating the pathogenesis of AR. Decreased expression of CLC-3 may be the mechanism of action of corticosteroid treatment in controlling AR.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(3):301-305--

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) may cover different disease entities, and the pathogenic mechanism remains unclear.Methods The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of chloride channel protein CLC-2 and CLC-3 in CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and evaluate the roles of interleukin (IL)-4 and transforming growth factor (TGF) beta in the up-regulation of CLC-2 and CLC-3. We detected expression of CLC-2 and CLC-3 in 17 patients with CRSsNP by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and we examined the concentration of TGF-beta, IL-4, IL-5, and interferon (IFN) γ in ethmoid sinus mucosa by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results We found that CLC-2 and CLC-3 is up-regulated in CRSnNP and located in submucosal glands and epithelium of the ethmoid sinus. CLC-2 and CLC-3 mRNA correlated with IL-4 in CRSsNP (r = 0.57 and 0.65; p < 0.05). CLC-2 and CLC-3 mRNA correlated negatively with mucosal TGF-beta in CRSsNP (r = -0.49 and -0.54; p < 0.05).Conclusion We concluded that CLC-2 and CLC-3 is up-regulated in ethmoid mucosa and may affect the development of CRSsNP. TGF-beta and IL-4 may modulate the expression of CLC-2 and CLC-3 in CRSsNP.

Background: It has been suggested that human hepatitis A virus cellular receptor, also known as T‐cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain‐1 (TIM‐1), plays an important role in the development of allergic diseases on the basis of epidemiologic data, but the molecular mechanism has been unclear. In a murine model of ovalbumin (OVA)‐sensitized allergic rhinitis (AR), we examined the expression of TIM‐1 and its correlation with T helper1‐associated transcription factor, T‐bet, as a potential mediator of T‐cell immunoglobulin expression.