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During the development of water drive gas reservoirs, the phenomena of gas escaping from water and water separating out from gas will change the seepage characteristics of formation fluid. Therefore, the traditional gas-water two-phase inflow performance relationship (IPR) models are not suitable for calculating the water producing gas well inflow performance relationship in water drive gas reservoirs. Based on the basic theory of fluid mechanics in porous medium, using the principle of mass conservation, and considering the process of dissolution and volatilization of gas and water formation, this paper establishes a new mathematical model of gas-water two-phase flow. Multiobjective optimization method is used to automatically match the sample well production data in water drive gas reservoirs and then we can achieve the sample well's productivity equation, relative permeability curve, water influx intensity, and single well controlled reserves. In addition, the influence of different production gas water ratios (GWR) and gas-soluble water coefficients on absolute open flow rate (qAOF) is discussed. This method remedied the limitation of well testing on site and was considered to be a new way to analyze the production behaviors in water producing gas well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies the pressure transient of power-law fluids in porous media embedded with a tree-shaped fractal network. A pressure transient model was created based on the fractal properties of tree-shaped capillaries, generalized Darcy's law and constitutive equation for power-law fluids. The dimensionless pressure model was developed using the Laplace transform and Stehfest numerical inversion method. According to the model's solution, the bi-logarithmic type curves of power-law fluids in porous media embedded with a tree-shaped fractal network are illustrated. The influences of different fractal factors and Powerlaw fluids parameters on pressure transient responses are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution characteristics of liquid droplet size are described using the fractal theory for liquid droplet size distribution in gasliquid mist flow. Thereby, the fractal expression of the maximumdroplet diameter is derived. Thefractalmodel formaximumdroplet diameter is obtained based on the internal relationship between maximum droplet diameter and the droplet fractal dimension, which is obtained by analyzing the balance between total droplet surface energy and total gas turbulent kinetic energy. Fractal model predictions of maximum droplet diameter agree with the experimental data. Maximumdroplet diameter and droplet fractal dimension are both found to be related to the superficial velocity of gas and liquid. Maximum droplet diameter decreases with an increase in gas superficial velocity but increases with an increase in liquid superficial velocity. Droplet fractal dimension increases with an increase in gas superficial velocity but decreases with an increase in liquid superficial velocity. These are all consistent with the physical facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenylyl cyclase (AC)-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) cascade is considered to be associated with the pathogenesis and treatment of depression. The present study was conducted to explore the role of the cA MP cascade in antidepressant action of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment for chronic mild stress (CMS)-induced depression model rats. The results showed that EA improved significantly behavior symptoms in depression and dysfunction of AC-cA MPPKA signal transduction pathway induced by CMS, which was as effective as fluoxetine. Moreover, the antidepressant effects of EA rather than Fluoxetine were completely abolished by H89, a specific PKA inhibitor. Consequently, EA has a significant antidepressant treatment in CMS-induced depression model rats, and AC-cA MP-PKA signal transduction pathway is crucial for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent placement is a standard treatment for coronary artery disease (CAD). Instent restenosis after PCI remains a challenging clinical problem. In China, Chinese herbal medicines (CH Ms) are widely used for preventing restenosis. This paper systematically reviewed the literature on the effectiveness and safety of CH Ms in preventing restenosis after PCI in patients with CAD. Electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that compared CH Ms plus RW M with the same RW M plus placebo in preventing restenosis after PCI. A total of 52 trials (4905 patients) on 34 CH Ms met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Ten trials had low risk of bias. Methodological quality of included trials was generally poor. Meta-analysis showed that at the end of at least 3 months' followup, CH Ms plus RW M could significantly reduce restenosis rate, cardiac mortality, recurrence rate of angina, acute myocardial infarction, numbers of repeat PCI, and numbers of coronary artery bypass graft. Reported adverse events included gastrointestinal upset, granulocytopenia, and increased alanine transaminase (ALT). CH Ms may help prevent restenosis, thus reducing cardiac mortality after PCI. Caution should be exercised in drawing a definitive conclusion due to the poor methodological quality of the trials reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of pH, salinity, total ammonia-N and alkalinity on oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were studied in embryos and larvae of the Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) with closed volumetric flasks. The OCR of embryos increased with pH values rising from 5.5 to 7.0, but decreased with higher pH values rising from 7.0 to 9.0. The optimum pH as a single variable was determined to be between 6.5 and 7.5.OCR of embryos and larvae increased as the water salinity increased from 1.25to 20, but it became stable when salinity was higher than 40In water containing 1.07 mg/L to 34.15 mg/L of total ammonia-N both respiration frequency and OCR increased with the increase of concentration of total ammonia-N, but decreased when concentration was higher than 34.15 mg/L.OCR of larvae increased with alkalinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the effects of a traditional Chinese medicine, Qizhi Jiangtang Jiaonang (QJJ), on insulin resistance (IR) in vitro. After an in vitro model of IR was established by treating human liver cancer cells (HepG2 cells) with palmitic acid, the cells were then treated with various concentrations of QJJ. Treatment with 400 µM palmitic acid for 24 h induced IR in HepG2 cells. The survival rate for HepG2 cells in the IR group was significantly lower than that of the untreated control group (P < 0.001); however, QJJ restored HepG2 cell survival (P < 0.001). As compared with HepG2 cells in the IR group, QJJ at all doses analyzed significantly increased glucose consumption (all P < 0.05). Moreover, treatment with all the QJJ doses significantly reduced the mean intracellular reactive oxygen species levels as compared with the IR group (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, high-dose QJJ reduced both TNF-α and IL-6 levels as compared to the IR group (all P < 0.05). QJJ ameliorated the altered PI3K, GLUT4, and RAGE expression observed with IR. In conclusion, QJJ can improve IR in HepG2 cells, which may be mediated through the IRS-1/PI3K/GLUT4 signaling pathway as well as regulation of NF-κB-mediated inflammation and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been commonly used for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Syndrome differentiation is one of the important characteristics of TCM. To assess the application and basic characteristics of syndrome differentiation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Chinese herbal medicine for IBS, we performed this paper. We conducted electronic searches in main Chinese and English databases till March 2012. A total of 735 RCTs involving 67,784 IBS participants were included. 224 (30.5%) studies applied syndrome differentiation. The major syndromes of IBS patients were the syndrome of liver stagnation and spleen deficiency (56.8%), spleen-stomach weakness (49.4%), spleen-kidney yang deficiency (48.1%), and cold and heat in complexity (29.6%). Herbal formulas were prescribed based on syndrome differentiation in 202 studies. Chinese patent medicine was more commonly used in studies that only enrolled patients with a specific syndrome. 15 studies compared the therapeutic effect among different syndromes, of which 6 studies showed that there were significant differences among different syndromes. The low use of TCM syndrome differentiation in randomized trials of Chinese herbal medicine for IBS results in the poor pertinence of treatment. TCM syndrome differentiation should be used in further studies at the stage of recruitment, treatment, and data analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual fractal reservoir transient flow model was created by embedding a fracture system simulated by a tree-shaped fractal network into a matrix system simulated by fractal porous media. The dimensionless bottom hole pressure model was created using the Laplace transform and Stehfest numerical inversion methods. According to the model's solution, the bilogarithmic type curves of the dual fractal reservoirs are illustrated, and the influence of different fractal factors on pressure transient responses is discussed. This semianalytical model provides a practical and reliable method for empirical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equipment for breaking and blasting large barriers (EBBLB) is new break-blast equipment, which inevitably induces ground vibration and may cause substantial damage to rock mass and nearby structures as well as human beings. The ground vibration induced by break-blast is one of the inevitable outcomes. By monitoring vibration at measuring points at different distances from blasting center, time history curve of vibrating velocity can be obtained; it can be drawn that blasting seismic waves are generated mainly from the explosion of the precharge. Furthermore, different approaches have been adopted to fit relationship between particle peak velocity (PPV) and distance from blasting center, comparative analysis of which provides the most appropriate relation expression to predict attenuation of PPV of vibration with distance from blasting center. The relation between vibration frequency and distance from blasting center is obtained by Fourier transform. And the research decomposes vibrating signals in vertical direction of different distances from blasting center with Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT), extracting information of empirical mode components of blasting vibration signals; thus vibrating signals are contracted by spectrum information and energy information, three-dimensional energy, and energy attenuation of vibration with different distances from blasting center. The study can predict ground vibration generated by EBBLB and assess its damaging effects of blasting vibration for security and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The interaction between advanced glycation end products and their cellular receptor (RAGE) has an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the 2184A/G polymorphism in the RAGE gene and diabetic nephropathy in Chinese Han patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods. A total of 868 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (486 without and 382 with diabetic nephropathy) were enrolled in this study. The genotype and allele frequencies of the 2184A/G polymorphism were detected using the polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment-length polymorphism method. Results. The G allele and AG + GG genotype frequencies in patients with diabetic nephropathy were significantly lower than those in patients without diabetic nephropathy (𝑃 = 0.001 and 𝑃 = 0.005, resp.). After adjustments for possible confounders, multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the 2184A/G polymorphism was independently associated with diabetic nephropathy (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.22–0.92, 𝑃 = 0.028). Conclusions. Our study indicated that the 2184A/G polymorphism in the RAGE gene was significantly associated with diabetic nephropathy in Chinese Han patients with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Studies have reported inconsistent results regarding clinical feature and the prognosis status of the affected children in China melamine-contamination event. We summarized available literatures by performing a review and meta-analysis. Methods. Statistical pooling was performed using random-effects model; the sources of heterogeneity were explored through subgroup analyses. Results. Twenty-six studies involving 2164 patients with kidney abnormalities were identified; 94.4% of the patients had urinary calculi and 95.8% of the calculi were <10?mm in diameter. Of 2040 patients with known types of treatment, 5.6% underwent surgical treatment. The pooled recovery rates at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis or treatment initiation were 67.1%, 76.3%, 85.4%, and 92.3%, respectively; these pooled rates did not differ between the study subgroups stratified by mean age at diagnosis, mean duration of melamine exposure, types of patients (inpatient/outpatient), and treatment types (specific/nonspecific), except that the 1-month recovery rate for studies involving a specific treatment (71.9%) was higher than that for studies involving non-specific treatment (46.2%). Conclusion. The majority of patients had small calculi and could recover without surgical treatment. Kidney abnormalities remained in about 8% of the patients at 12-month followup, indicating a need for longer-term followup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the cognitive enhancement effect of WNK, an extracts combination of P. ginseng, G. biloba, and C. sativus L. and possible mechanisms, 5-month-old APP/PS1 transgenic mice were used in this study. After 3 months of administration, all mice received Morris water maze ( MWM) training and a probe test. Mouse brain sections were detected by immunohistochemistry, HE staining, and transmission electron microscopy. MWM results showed significant difference between transgenic mice and nontransgenic littermates (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). WNK-treated mice exhibited enhanced maze performance over the training progression, especially better spatial memory retention in probe test compared to transgenic mice (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) and better spatial learning and memory at the fourth day of MWM test compared to EGB761- (G. biloba extract-) treated ones (P < 0.05). Hippocampal Aβ plaque burden significantly differed between APP/PS1 and littermate mice (P < 0.001), while decreased Aβ plaque appeared in WNK- or EGB761-treated transgenic brains (P < 0.05). Neurodegenerative changes were evident from light microscopic and ultrastructural observations in transgenic brains, which were improved by WNK or EGB761 treatment. These data indicate WNK can reduce the decline in spatial cognition, which might be due to its effects on reducing Aβ plaque formation and ameliorating histopathology and ultrastructure in hippocampus of APP/PS1 mouse brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose. Traditional medicine (TM) has been widely used in China (including the Taiwan region), Korea, and Japan. The purposes of this paper are to summarize the basic data on TM systems in these three countries and to compare them in terms of overall policy, education, and insurance. Methods. Government websites, national statistics, and authoritative papers from each country were fully searched. Further data were gathered by TM experts from each country. Results. China and Korea showed similar patterns in TM systems, whereas Japan showed different patterns. In China and Korea, TM was practiced in a dual system with conventional medicine (C M), and TM education was 6-year training programs on average for TM doctors, and acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping were completely insured. Whereas, C M was dominant in Japan, and TM was practiced by each health care worker who has received different TMeducation respectively, and main TM therapies were partially insured. Conclusions. TM was developed similarly or somewhat differently based on differences in cultural background and national policies in East Asia.We cautiously propose that this study could contribute to the development of TM and also be used for reference in complementary and alternative medicine systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and the risk factors of prolonged QTc interval among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods. The retrospective study included 3156 outpatients from the Diabetes Centre, the 306th Hospital of PLA, during the period from September 2003 to June 2010. QT interval was measured manually in the 12-lead conventional electrocardiogram. The QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc) was calculated using Bazett's formula. Additional demographic and laboratory data were also collected. Potential risk factors of prolonged QTc interval were assessed using multivariable regression. Results. The prevalence of prolonged QTc interval among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes was 30.1%. Height (OR 0.156, 95% CI 0.032~0.748), waist circumference (OR 1.025, 95% CI 1.010~1.040), diastolic blood pressure (OR 1.016, 95% CI 1.007~1.026), postprandial glucose (OR 1.040, 95% CI 1.022~1.059), fasting insulin (OR 1.014, 95% CI 1.003~1.025), and presence of microalbuminuria (OR 1.266, 95% CI 1.033~1.551) were significant risk factors. Conclusions. Th e prevalence of prolonged QTc interval among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes is high. Risk factors for prolongation of QTc interval were low height, high waist circumference, increasing diastolic blood pressure levels, high postprandial glucose levels, high fasting insulin levels, and presence of microalbuminuria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tawny puffer Takifugu flavidus is a species found in China considered to have potential for aquaculture. Experiments were conducted to determine the optimal temperature for its incubation and larval culture. Fertilized eggs collected from cultured broodstocks that were induced to ovulate with a [-Ala-Pro-Net]-luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue were inseminated. The effect of temperature (19, 20, 23, 26 and 29 °C) on the hatch rate, incubation period, viability of 24 h post-hatch larvae and total mortality rate was assessed. The effect of temperature (20, 23, 26 and 29 °C) on the growth and survival of larvae from 3 to 19 days after hatching (dah) was also assessed. The results showed that the optimal temperature for successful development of fertilized eggs ranged from 23 to 26 °C, and the highest hatch rate, the optimal viability of 24 h post-hatch larvae and the lowest total mortality rate were all predicted using quadratic equations. The relationship between temperature and the incubation period of tawny puffer eggs was determined using the effective degree-day model. The temperature at developmental zero ( t) was 11.34 °C, and the sum of effective degree-days ( k) was 52.356. The survival rate of tawny puffer larvae at 20 °C was significantly lower than among 23, 26 and 29 °C, whereas the survival rate was not significantly different from that at 23, 26 and 29 °C. The larval growth rate increased rapidly as the temperature increased, showing a linear relationship in the range of temperatures investigated. The optimal temperature for larval culture ranged from 23 to 29 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory and field investigations were conducted to study the food habit of Chinese perch Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky) from first feeding through adult stage. Only fish larvae were consumed by Chinese perch larvae (2–21 days from hatching), and the presence of zooplankton did not have any significant effect on their survival rate. The ability of Chinese perch to feed on zooplankton is clearly limited by some innate factor. Instead of gill rakers, Chinese perch larvae have well-developed sharp teeth at the first feeding stage, and are well adapted to the piscivorous feeding habit unique to the larvae of Chinese perch, e.g. they bite and ingest the tails of other fish larvae. At the first feeding stage (2 days from hatching), daily rations were both very low, either in light or complete darkness. Although early-staged Chinese perch larvae (7–17 days from hatching) could feed in complete darkness, their daily rations were always significantly higher in light than in complete darkness. Late-staged Chinese perch larvae (21 days from hatching) were able to feed in complete darkness as well as in light, similar to the case of Chinese perch yearlings. Chinese perch yearlings (total length, 14–16 cm) consumed prey fish only and refused shrimp when visual cues were available (in light), but they consumed both prey when visual cues were not available (in complete darkness), suggesting that prey consumption by Chinese perch yearlings is affected by their sensory modality in predation. Both prey were found in the stomachs of similar-sized Chinese perch (total length, 14–32 cm) from their natural habitat, suggesting that shrimp are consumed by Chinese perch at night. Prey selection of Chinese perch with a length >38 cm, which consumed only fish in the field, appears to be based upon prey size instead of prey type. These results suggest that although environmental factors (e.g. light intensity) affect prey detection by Chinese perch, this fish is anatomically and behaviourally predisposed to prey on live fish from first feeding. This makes it a difficult fish to cultivate using conventional feeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]