Search

The tower of Hangzhou Zhijiang Bridge is a curved steel tower with lower stiffness and damping. Its free-standing construction state is thus liable to vortex-induced vibration. An aeroelastic model test of full tower was carried out to determine the vibration amplitude and the corresponding lock-in range of wind speed. The test results show that the amplitude of the longitudinal vortex-induced vibration is excessive and needs to reduce through proper aerodynamic measures. The aerodynamic measures investigated in this paper include: flow-disturbing rail, multi-orifice angle-shape flow disturbers and multi-orifice flow-disturging plates mounted at the corners of the tower model. The further tests indicate that the measure of multi-orifice flow-disturbing plates is very effective in decreasing the amplitude of vortex-induced vibration to meet the relevant requirement of the wind resistant code. The mechanism of vibration reduction of the multi-orifice flow-disturbing plates is that the plates can disorder or weaken the regular vortices shedding at the tower corners via allowing some appropriate quantity of air flow passing their orifices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an interview,Professor Xu You-yu,who is almost of the same age as the People's Republic of China, talked about the influence of his living background ,family background and growth experience on the development of his thought. In particular, he recalled his experience in reading philosophy books and learning English during the Great Cultural Revolution in China,which played a predominant role in the development of his thought. This article serves as an autobiography in his thought, which is typical of liberal intellectuals in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemp has become popular in the study of natural fibers as its excellent ecological properties. In the article, degummed hemp was carded with cashmere carding machine. The fineness and length of degummed hemp, carded hemp and noil hemp were tested and the test data was statistically analyzed. The result showed that the fineness of hemp improved 15. 3% after carding, and the evenness of fineness decreased 46. 5% ; the average length of hemp decreased 1. 6% , but the evenness of length improved 13. 8%. The effect of removing coarse fibers by carding with cashmere carding machine was good, the evenness of length and fineness were both deceased largely, and it provided a basis for developing hemp/cashmere blending yarns or fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the experiment was to explore the feature on grayscale of CT images during frozen soil thawing. Siltyclay sample was taken into isothermal air (20 °C) to melt by natural convection after being frozen at -27 °C, and the CT images were obtained by X-ray scan, at the same time, its temperature-time history was recorded. The curve of grayscale-time was acquired by counted CT images at each moment, and compared with its temperature-time history. The results show that the average grayscale increases obviously with temperature rising and thawing in frozen soil. However, after sample thaws completely, the average grayscale is not practically changing even temperature still rising. A break point is obviously observed in the graph of grayscale-time at the moment of phase-ransition finished, which is considered as a symbol of frozen soil melting complete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the possible association of interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) polymorphisms with the susceptibility and phenotype of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in Jiangsu Han population., Methods: We genotyped 178 IBD patients including 135 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 43 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 134 healthy controls for rs11805303, rs1343151, rs11465804, rs11209032, rs17375018, rs11465788., Results: Comparing with the controls (50.4%), there was a significant increase in the carriage of the T allele of rs11805303 in UC (60.4%)(P = 0.020). In genotype-phenotype correlation of rs17375018 in UC, clinical severity (UCDAI) was associated with the prevalence of the G allele showed a trend to mild activity. Genotype polymorphisms of rs17375018A was observed more in younger than 25 in the genotype-phenotype correlation in CD (41.7% vs 22.0%, P = 0.050, OR = 2.532, 95%CI 0.988 - 6.494), while rs11805303 was associated with age at diagnose and disease lesion (P = 0.039 and 0.044). The risk of extra intestinal manifestation in rs17375018A allele carriers was lower (23.1% vs 46.7%, P = 0.040, OR = 2.917, 95%CI 1.027 - 8.283)., Conclusions: We confirmed the susceptibility of rs11805303 polymorphisms with UC and first demonstrated the genotype-phenotype correlation of rs11805303, rs17375018 with UC, CD in Jiangsu Han population.

Objective: To explore the distribution of Toll-like receptors gene polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Chinese Han patients and Caucasians., Methods: The toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) genes Arg677Trp and Arg753Glu, TLR4 genes Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile, and TLR9 gene 1237T/C polymorphisms were genotypes in 113 patients with IBD and 120 age and gender-matched healthy controls by the analyses of polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). A meta-analysis was performed to test whether TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms were associated with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) susceptibility and whether 299Gly carriage was associated with phenotypes of CD patients in the Caucasian population., Results: We found two carriers of TLR9 1237C in UC patients, one carrier in CD patients and one in healthy controls respectively (CD: P = 0.361; UC: P = 0.569). There was no statistically significant difference in both allelic and genotypic frequencies. The mutant genotypes of TLR2 gene Arg677Trp and Arg753Glu, TLR4 gene Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile were not found in either the IBD patients or the healthy controls. The TLR4 299G allele showed a significant association with CD and UC in Caucasian population (OR = 1.29, 95%CI: 1.08 - 1.54, P = 0.004 and OR = 1.28, 95%CI: 1.08 - 1.51, P = 0.004 respectively). Similar association was detected between T399I polymorphism and susceptibility to IBD (OR = 1.37, 95%CI: 1.12 - 1.68, P = 0.002 and OR = 1.46, 95%CI: 1.13 - 1.88, P = 0.003 respectively). However, no significant association was identified between CD phenotypes and 299Gly carriage., Conclusion: TLR2 genes Arg677Trp and Arg753Glu, TLR4 genes Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile and TLR9 gene 1237T/C polymorphisms are not associated with IBD in Chinese Han patients. In Caucasians, both TLR4 299G and 399I confer a significant risk for developing CD and UC. The contribution of genetic determinants may differ significantly between ethnicities.

Objective: To investigate the effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-inducing protein-alpha (Tipalpha) released from Helicobacter pylori (Hp) on human gastric epithelial cells., Methods: Human gastric epithelial cells of the line GES-1 were cultured. Tipalpha gene located in Hp 0596 was extracted from the genome sequence of the Hp strain 26695 and its open reading frame were cloned into the eukaryotic expressing vector pcDNA3.1. The recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-Tipalpha thus obtained and the blank plasmid pcDNA3. 1 were transfected into the GES-1 cells, and the G418-resistent clones were screened. The GES-1 cells transfected with blank vector pcDNA3.1 and normal GES-1 cells were used as controls. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of Tipalpha. The influences of Tipalpha protein on the cells proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycles, concentration of related cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-8, and the expression of Bcl-2 and P53 genes were respectively observed by MTT assay, flow cytometry, ELISA, and Western blotting., Results: 1. A eukaryotic expression vector of Hp Tipalpha was successfully constructed. Steadily transfected strains were screened by G418. 2. MTT method showed that the growth curve of the GES-1 cells transfected with GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha was higher, showing a faster growth. 3. Flow cytometry showed an increase in the proportion of the S-phase and a decrease in the G1-phase in the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha-transfected cells [(45.33 +/- 1.03)% vs (38.24 +/- 1.5)%, (33.94 +/- 1.67)%, (41.39 +/- 0.08)% vs (49.74 +/- 0.12)%, (49.27 +/- 0.15)%], and the apoptotic rate of the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha-transfected cells was 0.76 +/- 0.04, significantly lower than those of the GpcDNA3.1-transfected cells and non-transfected cells (16.84 +/- 2.16 and 8.36 +/- 1.07 respectively, both P < 0.05). 4. ELISA showed that there was no significant difference in intracellular TNF-alpha concentration among the 3 GES-1 cell groups (all P > 0.05), however, the extra-cellular TNF-alpha level of the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha-transfected cells was significantly higher than those of the 2 control groups (both P < 0.05), and that the intra- and extra-cellular IL-1beta and IL-8 concentrations of the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha-transfected cells were both significantly higher than those of the 2 control groups (all P < 0.05). 5. The expression level of Bcl-2 gene of the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalphac-transfected cells was obviously higher than those of the 2 control groups, and the expression of P53 gene of the GpcDNA3.1-Tipalphac-transfected cells was lower than those of the 2 control cells., Conclusion: The GpcDNA3.1-Tipalpha-transfected cells steadily and highly express Tipalpha protein, that induces the high expression of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-8, proinflammatory cytokines, enhances cell proliferation, and upregulates Bcl-2 gene and down-regulates P53 gene. Tipalpha may play an important carcinogenic role in gastric cancer progression.

In order to increase the SNR of the prostate image, we have designed a RF endorectal coil. Its properties have been evaluated using a network analyzer. Moreover the images got with a special phantom show that the coil has much higher SNR at the region of interest (ROI).

Objective: To detect the telomerase activity and c-Myc expression in gastric diseases and to examine the relation between these values and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) as a risk factor for gastric cancer., Methods: 171 gastric samples were studied to detect telomerase activity with telomerase polymerase chain reaction enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and c-Myc expression using immunohistochemistry., Results: Telomerase activity and c-Myc expression were higher in cancers (87.7% and 61.5%) than in noncancerous tissues. Telomerase activity and c-Myc expression were higher in chronic atrophic gastritis with moderate or severe intestinal metaplasia (52.4% and 47.6%) than in chronic atrophic gastritis with mild intestinal metaplasia (13.3% and 16.7%). In chronic atrophic gastritis with moderate or severe intestinal metaplasia, telomerase activity and c-Myc expression were higher in cases with Hp infection (67.9% and 67.9%) than in these without infection (21.4% and 7.1%). c-Myc expression was higher in gastric cancer with Hp infection (77.3%) than that without infection (28.6%). Telomerase activity and c-Myc expression were coordinately up-regulated in Hp infected gastric cancer and chronic atrophic gastritis with moderate or severe intestinal metaplasia., Conclusions: Hp infection may influence both c-Myc expression and telomerase activity in gastric diseases, especially in chronic atrophic gastritis. c-Myc and telomerase co-expressed in gastric cancer and chronic atrophic gastritis with moderate or severe intestinal metaplasia.