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This study evaluated the effects of whole-grain rice (WGR) on pellet quality, geese performance, and economic benefits. A total of 360 one-day-old healthy male Jiangnan White goslings with similar body weight (BW) were randomly divided into 2 groups with 6 replicates per group and 30 geese per replicate. Pelleted diets were prepared with WGR for the experimental group and crushed rice (CR) for the control group to create the 2 treatments. Dietary rice (unhusked) inclusions were 20% for 1 to 21 d and 40% for 22 to 70 d. The pellets from d 1 to 21 were crumbled. Prepelleted WGR significantly decreased pellet length, hardness and pellet durability index. WGR pellets had significantly higher fine ratio (≤2.8 mm) and starch gelatinization than CR pellets. The different treatments did not affect BW on 21, 42, and 70 d of age or average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain, and feed to gain ratio (F/G) from 1 to 70 d. However, compared with the CR diet, the WGR diet increased ADFI and F/G from 1 to 21 d. At 70 d of age, similar slaughter performance, relative viscera weight, and meat quality of geese were observed, except for a significant increase in the spleen ratio in the WGR treatment compared with the CR treatment. From the observation, pelleting with WGR reduced the cost of feed manufacture by decreasing the electricity use of grinding and had no negative effect on feed cost per/kg weight gain of geese. Even with the decreased pellet quality, we recommend replacing CR in geese diets with WGR from 22 to 70 d of age in view of the geese performance, economic benefits, and electricity savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to explore the regulatory role of the target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) signaling pathway in crop milk synthesis in breeding pigeons (Columba livia). Three groups of breeding pigeons in the lactation period (n = 30 pairs/group) were respectively injected with rapamycin (RAPA, a specific inhibitor of the target of rapamycin complex) at doses of 0 (vehicle, control), 0.6, or 1.2 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day via the wing vein for 7 days. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) and BW of the breeding pigeons and the BW of young squabs were respectively recorded throughout the experimental period. The breeding pigeons were sacrificed to collect their crop tissues, crop milk, and serum on the eighth day of the experiment. The results showed that neither 0.6 nor 1.2 mg/kg BW RAPA injection affected BW loss or ADFI in breeding pigeons (P > 0.05), while crop thickness and crop relative weight were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the 1.2 mg/kg BW rapamycin-injected group. Simultaneously, RAPA (especially at 1.2 mg/kg BW) decreased the crude protein, αs1-casein, αs2-casein, β-casein, and amino acid contents (Asp, Thr, Ser, Glu, Gly, Ala, Cys, Val, Met, Ile, Leu, Tyr, Lys, His, Arg, and Pro) of crop milk (P < 0.05) and the concentrations of albumin, total protein, and uric acid in the serum of breeding pigeons (P < 0.05). Additionally, the expression of TORC1 pathway-related proteins (TORC1, S6K1, S6, 4EBP1, and eIF4E) was downregulated in the crop tissues of breeding pigeons by 0.6 or 1.2 mg/kg BW/day RAPA injection (P < 0.05). Accordingly, the average daily gain (ADG) of young squabs declined, and the mortality rate increased significantly (P < 0.05). Together, the results showed that RAPA reduced protein and amino acid levels in the crop milk of breeding pigeons and retarded young squab growth, suggesting a crucial role of TORC1 in crop milk synthesis in breeding pigeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leucine (Leu) plays a critical regulatory role in protein synthesis, however, the effects and molecular mechanisms of Leu on crop milk protein in the domestic pigeons (Columba livia) are still unknown. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary Leu supplementation on crop milk protein synthesis and the growth performance of squabs and the possible underlying mechanism. A total of 240 pairs of breeding pigeons (1102.3 ± 9.5 g/pair) were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatments, including a positive control (PC) diet that had adequate crude protein (crude protein, CP = 18%; Leu = 1.30%), a negative control (NC) diet that was low in CP (CP = 16%, Leu = 1.30%), and NC diets supplemented with Leu at 0.15%, 0.45%, or 1.05%. Compared with the NC diet, 0.15 to 0.45% Leu supplementation decreased BW loss and increased relative crop weight, crop thickness, and protein levels in the crop tissue and milk of breeding pigeons. However, dietary supplementation with 1.05% Leu inhibited ADFI in breeding pigeons. Dietary supplementation with 0.15 to 0.45% Leu decreased the mortality rate and increased the BW, eviscerated yield, and breast muscle yield of young squabs. The protein expression levels of the target of rapamycin (TOR), ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6), eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4EBP1), and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) were upregulated in the crop tissue of breeding pigeons in PC, 0.15% and 0.45% Leu-supplemented groups. Collectively, these results indicated that 0.15 to 0.45% Leu supplementation could decrease BW loss, increase milk protein synthesis in the crop of breeding pigeons, and enhance the survival rate and growth performance of young squabs through the TOR signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the study and design of a nuclear power plant extensive system modeling is necessary to determine how the reactor is going to perform in any given situation, not only in the normal performance of the reactor but also transients including anticipated transients without scram (ATWS) and hypothetical accidents. Primary and other loops in multiple coolant loop systems in nuclear power plants can be modeled in nuclear system codes, such as Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program (RELAP5), COBRA-TRAC, TRACE, and ATHLET, for the interaction and feedback effects between the coolant loops. In the recent years, new components, such as turbine, coolant pump, advanced compact heat exchangers, valves, sensors, instrumentation and control systems, are being designed to use in the coolant systems. However, current system codes are not capable of integrating the computational model of the whole nuclear power plant system to an experimental apparatus. Therefore, this article proposes a new coupling between a system code and Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LABVIEW) in a unique framework (called as Modeling of Coolant Systems with a Unique Framework -MCUF-) that allows integrating an experimental apparatus or a facility to a whole power plant model. MCUF allows online or interactive data exchange by using the powerful and flexible tools of LABVIEW. This article demonstrates how coupling between the primary and secondary coolant system of a typical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) can be performed by using MCUF. The primary and secondary sides of the PWR are modeled with RELAP5 and LabVIEW computer simulators respectively. The coupling between RELAP5 and LabVIEW has been executed with steady state and transients, in this case a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) for a four loop PWR. The results of the coupling have been compared with the typical RELAP5 results which significantly depend on “hard coded” data for second coolant loop. Code-to-code benchmark results demonstrate that this unique coupling framework has a good agreement with the RELAP5 code results with “hard coded” data for the secondary coolant system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To probe the mechanism underlying the auditory behavior-related response patterns of inferior collicular neurons to constant frequency–frequency modulation (CF–FM) stimulus in Hipposideros pratti , we studied the role of post-spike hyperpolarization (PSH) in the formation of response patterns. Neurons obtained by in vivo extracellular ( N = 145) and intracellular ( N = 171) recordings could be consistently classified into single-on (SO) and double-on (DO) neurons. Using intracellular recording, we found that both SO and DO neurons have a PSH with different durations. Statistical analysis showed that most SO neurons had a longer PSH duration than DO neurons ( p < 0.01). These data suggested that the PSH directly participated in the formation of SO and DO neurons, and the PSH elicited by the CF component was the main synaptic mechanism underlying the SO and DO response patterns. The possible biological significance of these findings relevant to bat echolocation is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperglycemia-induced vascular inflammation resulting in the enhanced monocyte-endothelial cell (EC) interaction is the key event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in diabetes. Here, we investigated the effect of isoflavone genistein on hyperglycemia-stimulated vascular inflammation. Human aortic EC (HAEC) were pretreated with genistein before the addition of high glucose (HG; 25 mmol/L) for 48 h. Genistein at a physiological concentration (0.1 μmol/L) significantly inhibited HG-induced adhesion of monocytes to HAEC and suppressed endothelial production of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and IL-8. Inhibition of adenylate cyclase or protein kinase A (PKA) significantly attenuated the antiadhesion effect of genistein. Consistently, genistein improved HG-impaired intracellular cAMP production and PKA activity in HAEC. Six-week-old diabetic db/db mice were untreated (db/db) or treated with a diet containing 1 g genistein/kg diet (db/db+G) for 8 wk. Their nondiabetic db/+ mice were used as normal controls. Circulating concentrations of MCP-1/JE and KC were significantly greater, whereas IL-10 concentrations were lower in db/db mice than those in normal mice. Dietary supplementation of genistein did not normalize but significantly suppressed the elevated serum concentrations of MCP-1/JE from 286 ± 30 ng/L to 181 ± 35 ng/L and KC from 321 ± 21 ng/L to 232 ± 20 ng/L while increasing that of IL-10 from 35 ± 4 ng/L to 346 ± 35 ng/L in db/db+G mice. Further, genistein treatment suppressed diabetes-induced adhesion of monocytes to EC by 87% and endothelial secretion of adhesion molecules. We conclude that genistein improves diabetes-caused vascular inflammation, which may be mediated through promoting the cAMP/PKA pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports a CO-tolerant electrocatalyst, mesoporous tungsten carbide-supported platinum (Pt/m-WC), for methanol oxidation. The support m-WC was synthesized by evaporation-induced triconstituent co-assembly method in which phenol formaldehyde polymer resin was used as the carbon precursor, tungsten hexachloride as the tungsten precursor and an amphiphilic triblock copolymers (P123) as the template. Nano-sized platinum particles were loaded on the m-WC to prepare Pt/m-WC. The structure and morphology of the prepared electrocatalyst were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and its activity toward methanol oxidation and its tolerance for CO were determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry (CP). It is found that the m-WC carburized at 900 °C(m-WC-900) has a larger specific surface area (182 m2 g−1) and a appropriate crystal structure compared to the m-WC carburized at 800 °C or 1000 °C, and thus is better as the support of platinum. The prepared Pt/m-WC-900 exhibits higher activity toward methanol oxidation and better tolerance for CO than Pt/Vulcan XC-72. The onset potential of CO electro-oxidation on Pt/m-WC is 0.449 V, which is more negative than that on Pt/Vulcan XC-72 (0.628 V). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clin Microbiol Infect 2011; 17: 1829-1833 Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of frequently inhaled nebulized hypertonic saline (HS) in infants with moderate to severe bronchiolitis. One hundred and twenty-six infants were randomized to receive either nebulized 3% hypertonic saline (HS) or 0.9% normal saline (NS), but only 112 patients completed the whole study. Cough, wheezing, pulmonary physical signs, clinical severity scores and the hospital length of stay (LOS) were recorded. The wheezing remission time was 4.8 ± 1.0 days in the NS group and 3.6 ± 0.9 days in the HS group (p <0.01). The cough remission time was 5.5 ± 0.9 days in the NS group and 4.3 ± 0.7 days in the HS group (p <0.01). The moist crackles disappeared at 6.2 ± 0.7 days in the NS group and at 4.4 ± 0.9 days in the HS group (p <0.01). The clinical severity scores decreased more significantly in the HS group than in the NS group on each day within 96 h after enrolment (p <0.01). The LOS decreased from 6.4 ± 1.4 days in the NS group to 4.8 ± 1.2 days in the HS group (p <0.01). The treatment was well tolerated, with no adverse effects attributable to nebulized HS. The conclusions are that frequently inhaled HS relieved symptoms and signs faster than NS, and shortened LOS significantly for infants with moderate to severe bronchiolitis, without apparent adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common and the third most deadly cancer worldwide, with more than half a million identified cases and about a similar number of subjects succumb to it each year. This study sought to evaluate our results of liver transplantation for HCC to identify prognostic factors. Methods: Between December 2001 and December 2006, 224 patients (205 men, 19 women; age range, 15–75 years) with HCC underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) at our center. All grafts were from deceased donors. There were 68 cases within Milan criteria (30.3%), 32 cases beyond Milan criteria but within UCSF (University of California, San Francisco) criteria (14.3%), and 124 cases beyond UCSF criteria (55.4%). Results: The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year patient cumulative survival rates were 82.5%, 60.1%, and 51.5%, respectively. The survival rates were comparable between patients within Milan and UCSF criteria, but were significantly greater than that of patients beyond UCSF criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed alpha fetoprotein (AFP) ≥ 800 μg/L, vascular invasion, and poor tumor differentiation to be independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: OLT is a safe and effective treatment for hepatitis B virus–related HCC. Compared with Milan criteria, UCSF criteria successfully expanded the indication without deteriorating the prognosis significantly, while preoperative AFP ≥ 800 μg/L, vascular invasion, and poor tumor differentiation indicated poor survival. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The change between elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) and hydrodynamic lubrication (HL) under a wide range of entrainment speeds and applied loads was studied using an optical EHL apparatus. A log–log scale linear relationship was demonstrated in the two lubrication regions between the film thickness and the entrainment speed (or load). A transition region can be clearly discerned between these two regions in which the film thickness no longer bears a linear relationship with the entrainment speed (or load). It is shown that a piezoviscous effect can be distinguished in the HL region by the speed exponent or the load exponent, and that relative sliding has a significant influence on the transition region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The mechanism for reaction of CH3O with NO2 is investigated at DFT (B3LYP), MP2 and QCISD levels with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The geometries and vibrational frequencies of stationary points on potential energy surface are obtained. There are six possible reaction paths that involve 8 conformers, 13 transition structures and 4 possible products for the title reaction. The recombination channel for the product CH3ONO2 is dominant. At the adopted levels of theory, the disproportionation channel, which is thought to be possible by simple intermolecular H-atom abstraction conjectured experimentally, has not been found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is regulated by various stimuli, including hormones, growth factors and nutritional status. We examined the effects of vitamin A on components of the IGF system in Japanese quail. Male quail (1 d old) fed a vitamin A-deficient diet for 14 or 21 d developed vitamin A deficiency, as confirmed by a depletion of serum retinol and hepatic retinyl palmitate. Consuming the vitamin A-deficient diet for 14 d did not affect growth rate, but decreased the serum IGF-I concentrations by 22% compared with the control group. The decreased serum IGF-I levels were accompanied by 21-52% lower levels of IGF-I mRNA in the testis, lung, liver and heart, whereas IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) and insulin receptor (IR) gene expressions were unaffected in these tissues. Continuous feeding of the vitamin A-deficient diet for 21 d retarded growth and further decreased the levels of serum IGF-I and tissue IGF-I mRNA. Serum IGF-I levels were reduced by approximately 50%; IGF-I mRNA levels were > 90% lower in the liver and lung and approximately 60% lower in the heart and testis. In contrast, levels of the IGF-IR and IR mRNAs were approximately 100% greater in some tissues examined. When vitamin A-deficient quail received a single injection of retinol or retinoic acid (0.1 mg/bird), tissue IGF-I, IGF-IR and IR gene expressions did not change after 4 h. These results suggest a possible physiologic role of the IGF system in mediating vitamin A-supported growth of Japanese quail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A general input parameter selection method is proposed, combined with an optimized wavelet de-noising ANFIS model to predict wastewater quality. • A network structure selection method is given to enhance the stability and scalability of ANFIS. • Statistical stratified sampling is employed to proportionally partition the dataset. • The experimental results confirm that the proposed model outperforms other existing AI models. The monitoring of wastewater quality is vitally important for the stability of an ecosystem. Among many machine learning techniques proposed for predicting the quality of wastewater, the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) can achieve the best accuracy. However, due to data size limitations, the uneven distribution of randomly sampled training data can cause out-of-range prediction errors in the ANFIS model. In this study, a general-purpose input parameter selection method is proposed, combined with an optimized wavelet de-noising ANFIS model, to predict salinity parameters in wastewater discharge samples from the Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, USA. A statistical, stratified sampling strategy is used to preprocess the wastewater quality dataset. Compared with existing artificial intelligence models, the experimental results prove that the proposed model has the best performance, in which the R 2 testing value achieves 0.976, 0.975, 0.988, and 0.986 in predicting chloride, sulfate, electrical conductivity, and total dissolved solids, respectively. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: We discuss the prevention of hepatitis B virus reinfection following orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods: Sixty-eight cases of chronic fulminant hepatitis B, the end stage of liver cirrhosis and liver carcinoma complicated with HBV cirrhosis, were given antiviral drugs pre- and posttransplantation to prevent hepatitis B virus reinfection. Lamivudine was administered to two cases and lamivudine + HBIG to 63 cases. Adefovir + HBIG was administered to three cases. The serum HBV, HBV DNA, liver biopsy immunohistochemistry and clinical examinations were performed. Results: One of two cases given lamivudine developed reinfection with serum HBSAg, HbeAb, HBcAb, HBV DNA, and positive and liver biopsy immunohistochemistry showing HBSAg phenotype. Two of the 63 cases given lamivudine + HBIG developed reinfection with serum HBSAg, HBeAb, HBcAb positive and liver biopsy immunohistochemistry showing HBSAg phenotype. The serum HBV DNA was positive in one of the two cases. Three cases given adefovir developed no reinfection with HBV. Conclusion: Orthotopic liver transplantation is an effective treatment for HBV infection; lamivudine + HBIG or adefovir + HBIG prevent hepatitis B virus reinfection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Platinum nanoparticles were loaded on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) by using ethylene glycol as reductant and with the assistance of hydrogen molybdenum bronze (H x MoO3, 0 < x ≤ 2) for the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol. In this approach, MWNTs were modified by H x MoO3 and used as the support for platinum nanoparticles. The XRD and TEM characterizations indicate that the average particle size of platinum supported by the modified MWNTs (Pt/H x MoO3-modified-MWNTs) is 3.4 nm, smaller than that (4.3 nm) of the platinum supported by the unmodified MWNTs (Pt/MWNTs). The voltammetric and chronoamperometric experiments show that Pt/H x MoO3-modified-MWNTs exhibits better electrocatalytic activity toward methanol oxidation than Pt/MWNTs, although the former has a less platinum loading (4.6 wt%) than the latter (6.0 wt%). The mechanism on the assistance of HxMoO3 to the platinum deposition was discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of maximal standard uptake values (SUVsmax) from serial fluor-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported platinum modified with HxMoO3 (Pt-HxMoO3/CNT) was prepared and used as an electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation. In the preparation of this electrocatalyst, a platinum precursor was loaded on CNTs and reduced by sodium borohydride in ethylene glycol, resulting in CNT-supported platinum without modification (Pt/CNT), and then the Pt/CNT was modified with HxMoO3 that was formed by hydrolysis and subsequent reduction of ammonium molybdate. The surface morphology, structure and composition of Pt-HxMoO3/CNT and Pt/CNT as well as their activity toward methanol oxidation were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), chronopentiometry (CP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results, obtained from TEM, XRD, EDS, and FTIR, indicate that the platinum loaded on CNTs has a face-centered cubic structure with particle sizes of 2–5 nm, and the modification of HxMoO3 on platinum with an atom ratio of Pt:Mo = 2:1 has little effect on the particle size, distribution and structure of the platinum. The results, obtained from CV, CA, CP, and EIS, show that the Pt-HxMoO3/CNT exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity toward methanol oxidation and better carbon monoxide tolerance than Pt/CNT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: The study aimed to describe the features of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in fetuses with tethered-cord syndrome (TCS) or lower spinal cord (LSC) and to analyse the clinical outcomes and complications during follow-up.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study of fetuses diagnosed with TCS or LSC using MRI from January 2015 to August 2019. The average gestational week (GW) at MRI examination was 25.46 ± 4.73 GW (range: 21-39 GW). MRI was used1 to identify the anatomical landmarks of the spine2; to measure the width of the conus medullaris and record the ending position of the LSC3; and to analyse other neurological deformities. The diagnostic results between MRI and ultrasonography (US) were compared.Results: A total of 38 fetuses with suspected intracranial or spinal lesions on US or MRI were included. Among all fetuses, 17 fetuses were diagnosed with LSC or TCS without associated anomalies. Twenty-one fetuses had complications of central nervous system (CNS) anomalies, one fetus also had a diagram hernia, and one fetus had an inverse foot. MRI provided more diagnoses than US in nine fetuses. Two cases of diastematomyelia detected on MRI were missed on US. The capability of MRI was comparable with that of US in terms of displaying spina bifida.Conclusion: In the present study, fetal MRI showed better performance than US for depicting TCS and related CNS abnormalities. MRI provided clinicians with additional information in terms of prenatal counselling and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Reproducible growth method of FePd with high PMA and parallely aligned magnetic domains. • Pseudo-reversible manipulation of the domain pattern after applying a saturating magnetic field. • Simulation of the Q y - Q z -map of a GISANS measurement using the Distorted Wave Born Approximation. Abstract L1 0 -ordered FePd thin films with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and self-organized domain patterns have been prepared using molecular beam epitaxy. We demonstrate reproducible growth methods for controlling the strength of the anisotropy and the lateral domain patterns. Neutron scattering experiments have been used to probe the FePd domain structure and were compared with simulations in the framework of the Distorted Wave Born Approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]