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We study the thermal light correlated interference using a He-Ne laser beam with intensities modulated by mathematical functions. Three mathematical functions are adopted: a power function f [I(x)] = I n(x); an exponential function f [I(x)] = exp[ pI(x)]; and an inverse trigonometric function f [I(x)] = tan-1[qI(x)]. Our results show that these correlation methods influence the contrast of correlated interference fringes, but not the periods of the fringes, which just depend on the relation of correlated spatial coordinates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Litchi (Litchi chinensis) pepper spot disease results in black spotting symptoms on litchi fruits. This disease was first observed on litchi cultivar Guiwei, in Guangzhou, China, in 2009, and then found widespread in other litchi‐growing regions of China. Colletotrichum isolates were consistently recovered from typical black spot lesions of diseased fruits with frequency ranging from 83% to 100%. Three representative Colletotrichum isolates from Maoming, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were selected for identification and pathogenicity testing in the field. Based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis using the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), calmodulin (CAL), actin (ACT), β‐tubulin (TUB2) and glutamine synthetase (GS) gene sequences, the three isolates were identified as C. siamense. In the pathogenicity experiments, typical symptoms appeared on the inoculated litchi fruits, including black spots and green patches around these black spots. These symptoms were consistent with the symptoms originally observed in the field. Colletotrichum siamense was successfully reisolated from the typical black spot lesions of the inoculated litchi fruits. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on characterization of C. siamense as the causal agent of litchi pepper spot disease in mainland China by successful inoculation on fruits under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a theoretical study about length measurement with polychromatic vortex beam in Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer. The interference results show gear shapes as orbital angular momentum interference. According to the gear shape, we can predict the length difference explicitly. Our results suggest implicit measurement can be achieved with this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a Wheatstone bridge-type pressure sensor based on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure was fabricated for the first time. The pressure sensor consisted of four gateless high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on a 585 μm depth circular membrane, in which 15-μm-thick silicon substrate was left. Direct voltage readout was realized in the AlGaN/GaN pressure sensor, which exhibited a non-linearity of 0.6% with a sensitivity of 1.25 μV/kPa/V over a wide pressure range from 0.1 MPa to 5 MPa. Because of the in-plane isotropic properties, the working mechanism in the AlGaN/GaN pressure sensor is found to be quite different from the silicon-based sensor. Although the resistances of the four gateless HEMTs all increased with enlarging pressure, the changes of neighboring resistors varied with alignments under the piezoelectric effects. Finally, voltage linear readout was realized by the differential operation of Wheatstone bridge circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a theoretical study about length measurement with polychromatic vortex beam in Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer. The interference results show gear shapes as orbital angular momentum interference. According to the gear shape, we can predict the length difference explicitly. Our results suggest implicit measurement can be achieved with this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analog applications attract increasing interest for graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs). GFET with a cutoff frequency of up to 427 GHz has been reported; however, the device suffered from the large parasitic parameters and poor drain current saturation, which made their maximum oscillation frequency lower than the cutoff frequency. In this letter, quasi-free-standing bilayer graphene transistors with a gate length of 60 nm and ultra-thin gate dielectric are fabricated by an improved, self-aligned, process. Good gate coupling is achieved, and parasitic parameters are suppressed to a significant extent. The as-measured extrinsic cutoff frequency reaches 70 GHz and the maximum oscillation frequency reaches 120 GHz, which are the highest extrinsic frequencies reported for graphene transistors to date. Our results show the application potential of graphene RF devices in future high-speed electronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering its high carrier mobility and high saturation velocity, a low-noise amplifier is thought of as being the most attractive analogue application of graphene field-effect transistors. The noise performance of graphene field-effect transistors at frequencies in the K-band remains unknown. In this work, the noise parameters of a graphene transistor are measured from 10 to 26 GHz and noise models are built with the data. The extrinsic minimum noise figure for a graphene transistor reached 1.5 dB, and the intrinsic minimum noise figure was as low as 0.8 dB at a frequency of 10 GHz, which were comparable with the results from tests on Si CMOS and started to approach those for GaAs and InP transistors. Considering the short development time, the current results are a significant step forward for graphene transistors and show their application potential in high-frequency electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-noise amplifier is one of the most attractive applications of graphene transistors in the RF area. In this letter, a graphene amplifier MMIC is fabricated on the quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene grown on SiC (0001) substrate. In order to realize both the high gain and low return loss, Au matching lines are designed as the input and output impedance match networks. The fabricated graphene amplifier MMIC shows a small-signal power gain of 3.4 dB at 14.3 GHz and a minimum noise figure of 6.2 dB. This letter is a significant step forward for graphene electronics in low-noise amplifier and demonstrates graphene’s potential in RF applications for future high-speed electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Quasi-free-standing epitaxialgraphenegrown on wide band gap semiconductorSiC demonstrates high carrier mobility and good material uniformity, which make it promising for graphene-based electronic devices. In this work, quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxialgraphene is prepared and its transistors with gate lengths of 100 nm and 200 nm are fabricated and characterized. The 100 nm gate length graphenetransistor shows improved DC and RF performances including a maximum current density Ids of 4.2 A/mm, and a peak transconductance gm of 2880 mS/mm. Intrinsic current-gain cutoff frequency fT of 407 GHz is obtained. The exciting DC and RF performances obtained in the quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxialgraphenetransistor show the great application potential of this material system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real time information on process parameters such as residence time distribution (RTD) is essential for diagnosis and control of continuous processes. In the present paper, an improved apparatus for inline measurement of RTD of thermomechanically complex systems was developed. The apparatus possessed many important advantages over those reported in the literatures. A reference detector was added to the system to improve the resistance of the latter to both external and internal disturbances, and it had two light paths instead of one. Meanwhile, a special optical fibre probe with pressure and heat resistance was designed to obtain operating data under high pressure and high temperature circumstance. As an important use of the improved apparatus, the local residence volume distributions of turbine mixing elements were investigated under various operating conditions such as feedrate and screw speed, on the basis of inline measurement of partial RTDs. The working principle of this apparatus is expected to be suitable for various types of process equipments and chemical systems including thermomechanically complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study evaluated the plastic changes of c-jun and c-fos in the right sixth lumbar dorsal root ganglion (L6 DRG), Rexed’s lamina II in representative spinal segments L3, L5, and L6 and in the nucleus dorsalis (ND) at L3 segments after electro-acupuncture (EA) in cats subjected to removal of L1–L5 and L7–S2 DRG. Following dorsal root ganglionectomy, there was a significant increase in the density of c-jun immunoreactivity in the neurons and glia in spinal lamina II and in the ND; there was also marked elevation in the expression of c-fos in ND. In both cases there was no change in the c-jun and c-fos immunoreactivity in the DRG. After EA in the operated animals, there was an up-regulation in the expression of c-jun in the L6 DRG and the associated spinal lamina II; however, increased c-fos expression was detected only in the L6 DRG. Western blot and RT-PCR were also performed to quantitatively explore the mRNA and protein expression changes in the spinal dorsal horn and associated DRG. Following partial deafferentation, there was a significant increase in the protein level of both c-jun and c-fos in the dorsal horn, while, in both cases there was no change in c-jun and c-fos protein and mRNA in the DRG. After EA in the operated animals, both c-jun protein and its mRNA in the L6 DRG as well as the associated dorsal horn of L6 spinal segment were upregulated, but increased c-fos protein and its mRNA was observed only in the L6 DRG. These findings suggested that c-jun and c-fos might be related to the acupuncture promoted spinal cord plasticity as reported previously. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ZnFe2O4 samples with the triblock copolymer P123 (P123) additive quantity of 0 wt.%, 2 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 8 wt.% and 10 wt.% were prepared by a very facile homogeneous precipitation method followed by high temperature sintering. The microstructures of the prepared samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results revealed that the five prepared samples are all normal spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4); the sample with the P123 additive quantity of 8 wt.% has the smallest particle size among the five samples. The lithium storage performances of the prepared samples are characterized by cyclic voltammograms (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and charge-discharge tests. The results demonstrated that adding proper amount of P123 can obviously improve the lithium storage performances of zinc ferrite spinel powder. But excessive P123 can induce the particle agglomerates so that the lithium storage performance of sample decays significantly. The ZnFe2O4 sample with the P123 additive quantity of 8 wt.% exhibited the highest electrochemical activity, the best rate performance, and superior cycling stability. For example, after 50 charge/discharge cycles under a current density of 120 mA g-1, the ZnFe2O4 sample with the P123 additive quantity of 8 wt.% can retain a specific discharge capacity of 468 mAh g-1, much higher than that of for the ZnFe2O4 sample with the P123 additive quantity of 0 wt.% (224 mAh g-1).

Although many epidemiology studies have evaluated the correlation between vitamin D receptor (VDR) BsmI polymorphism and osteoporosis, the current results remain inconclusive. This meta-analysis updated and reevaluated the possible association between VDR BsmI polymorphism and osteoporosis in Chinese populations. Studies were identified using PubMed and Chinese databases through December 2016. The associations were assessed with pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of nine studies with 688 osteoporosis cases and 730 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, no significant association was found between VDR BsmI polymorphism and osteoporosis when all studies in Chinese populations were pooled into this meta-analysis. In subgroup analyses, significantly decreased risk was found in South China (bb vs. BB: OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.06-0.76; bb+Bb vs.BB: OR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.09-0.81). This meta-analysis suggests that VDR BsmI polymorphism may have a protective role against the development of osteoporosis in South China.

Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Nian Ju, an important ornamental plant, is traditionally displayed during the Chinese Spring Festival because its golden fruits are a symbol of auspiciousness. In the spring of 2012, foliar blight was observed on 10 to 30% of the Nian Ju plants at four nurseries in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, China. Initial symptoms appeared as brown to black foliar lesions, followed by expansion of spots into blight. Some young branches also had necrosis. During frequent rainfall and prolonged wet periods at 22°C to 30°C, white and dense mycelia and sporangia were observed on the infected seedlings. To isolate the causal organism, leaves and stems were cut into sections. Each section included some partial lesion and adjacent asymptomatic tissues. They were surface-disinfested in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 60 s, rinsed three times with sterile water, and placed on V8 juice agar (V8A) at 25°C. After 3 days, 10 isolates were obtained and purified by single-zoospore method. These isolates were identified to species level by sequencing the rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Four representative isolates had an identical ITS sequence (GenBank Accession No. KF750568), which had 99% homology with Phytophthora capsici sequences in GenBank. In addition, all recovered isolates were identical in morphological characteristics. They produced caducous, papillate, and ovoid to ellipsoid sporangia (Length × width = 46.2 ± 7.7 × 23.6 ± 11.3 μm), often with a tapered base. The average length of pedicels was 33.3 ± 4.5 μm. All isolates are A2 mating type. They produced gametangia when paired with an A1 tester of P. capsici isolated from pepper on V8A. Plerotic oospores were 25.3 ± 2.1 μm in diameter. Amphigynous antheridia were 13.6 ± 2.8 μm long and 11.2 ± 0.9 μm wide. Oogonia were 27.4 ± 3.2 μm in diameter. To determine the pathogenicity, three 3-year-old potted C. reticulata cv. Nian Ju plants were sprayed with 20 ml of zoospore suspension from one representative isolate at 10 5 per ml. Two control plants were sprayed with 20 ml distilled water. All plants were then maintained at 90% relative humidity at 25°C with a 12-h photoperiod. Symptoms similar to those observed in the nurseries developed on all inoculated plants but not on any control plants after 10 days. The pathogenicity test was repeated once and similar results were obtained. P. capsici was recovered from all inoculated plants and resultant isolates had identical morphology to that of the isolates used for inoculation. P. capsici has a relatively broad host range including pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, beans, squashes, and spinach (1,2). To our knowledge, this is the first report of foliar blight of C. reticulata cv. Nian Ju caused by P. capsici. This study indicates that P. capsici is potentially an important pathogen of C. reticulata cv. Nian Ju plants and further investigations into its epidemiology and development of site-specific integrated management programs for this new disease are warranted. References: (1) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1996. (2) D. Tian and M. Babadoost. Plant Dis. 88:485. 2004.

In the spring of 2011, leaf and fruit spot symptoms were observed in three orchards planted with Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Nian Ju in Longmen City, Guangdong Province. The incidence of fruit and leaf spot ranged from of 5 to 25% across all three orchards. Similar symptoms were not observed on the fruit of C. reticulata cv. Shiyue Ju planted at the same orchards. Lesions on the diseased leaves and fruit first emerged on the lower portions of the trees and were initially small, circular, and diffuse in distribution over the leaf surface. Within 2 weeks, the small circular spots on the leaves and fruit enlarged to brown sunken necrotic lesions ranging from 5 to 30 mm in diameter. To isolate the causal organism, symptomatic leaves and fruit peels (from different trees) adjacent to the lesions as well as the lesions themselves were surface-disinfested with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min and rinsed three times with sterile water. The tissues were then plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) under alternating light and dark conditions at 28°C for 4 days. Sixteen fungal isolates with nearly identical fungal colonies were recovered from all samples. After 7 days of incubation, isolates with grayish white to dark gray mycelium and salmon pink conidia masses were observed. The conidia were hyaline, smooth-walled, aseptate, one-celled, and falcate, with oil droplets in the cytoplasm. The conidia were 19.7 to 22.5 (mean = 21.5) × 2.8 to 3.9 (mean = 3.4) μm. The fungal colonies also produced acervuli, setae, and sclerotia in the culture. The cultural and morphological characteristics of these isolates were consistent with the description of Colletotrichum truncatum (2). The ACT, TUB2, CHS I, GAPDH, and ITS regions of four representative isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. KF591214, KF591213, KF591211, KF591212, and KF011205) were sequenced and identical to those of the type specimen of C. truncatum CBS 151.35. To determine pathogenicity, leaves of three 3-year-old potted plants and ten 8-month-old fruit of C. reticulata Blanco cv. Nian Ju were each wound-inoculated with 20 μl of a suspension of conidia (1 × 10 5 conidia/ml). Leaves of an additional two potted plants and 10 similarly-aged fruit were wound-inoculated with 20 μl of sterile water as control. The citrus plants and fruit were then maintained at 90% relative humidity at 28°C with a 12-h photoperiod. Symptoms identical to those observed in the orchards in Longmen City developed on all of the inoculated citrus leaves and fruit after 14 days. The controls remained healthy throughout this period. The inoculation experiment was performed a second time with identical results. Isolates of C. truncatum identical to that of the isolate used for inoculation were obtained from all the inoculated symptomatic citrus leaves and fruit. C. truncatum has a broad host range and is known to be pathogenic on several crops including Medicago sativa L., Phaseolus lunatus, and Arachis hypogea (1,2,3,4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf and fruit rot of C. reticulata Blanco cv. Nian Ju caused by C. truncatum in China. The golden-yellow fruit of C. reticulata Blanco cv. Nian Ju are commonly displayed during the Spring Festival of the Chinese New Year, and future epidemics of fruit spot may affect sustainability of this important cultural practice. References: (1) P. A. Backman et al. Plant Dis. 66:1032, 1982. (2) U. Damm et al. Fungal Divers. 39:45, 2009. (3) C. Eken and E. Demirci. Plant Dis. 84:100, 2000. (4) F. Huang et al. Fungal Divers. 61:61, 2013.

Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Shiyue Ju, which produces one of China's most popular tropical fruits, is widely planted throughout southern China. In 2008, a new citrus disease was found in Zhaoqing City in Guangdong Province on about 20,000 ha. Yield losses averaged 15% on a wide range of different aged trees of C. reticulata cv. Shiyue Ju. No yield losses were observed on C. reticulata cv. Gong gan. Symptoms first appeared on young leaves as leaf lesions, which were reddish-brown, elliptical, and 2 to 5 mm in diameter. After several weeks, 20 to 70% of leaves dropped and 10 to 50% of fruits on the trees showed brown spots (5 to 40 mm in diameter). Leaves and fruit peels adjacent to and including lesions from different trees were surface disinfested with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min and rinsed three times in sterile water. Then the tissues were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) in alternating light and dark at 28°C for 3 days. Twenty-three similar isolates of a fast-growing fungus were recovered from all samples. For identification, single-spore cultures were grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 28°C. Initially, the colonies were white, but after 5 days, they became pale gray with concentric zones and greenish black beneath. No setae, acervuli, or ascocarp were observed in the PDA culture. Conidia formed in pink conidial masses, were hyaline, fusiform, straight, obtuse at the ends, sometimes slightly curved, and 14 to 20 × 4.5 to 6 μm (x¯ = 16.2 ± 1.5 × 4.9 ± 0.5, n = 100). The cultural and morphological characteristics of these isolates matched the description of Colletotrichum siamense (3), but not that of C. gloeosporioides or C. acutatum, which cause anthracnose on citrus plants (1,2). The actin, β-tubulin, CHS I, CAL, GPDH, and ITS regions of four representative isolates (GenBank KC524462, KC524463, KC524464, KC524465, KC524466, and KC524467) were identical and with almost 100% identity to those of the type specimen of C. hymenocallidis isolate CSSN3 (C. hymenocallidis is synonymous with C. siamense) (4), except for two inconsistent nucleotide bases in the GPDH gene. Four potted plants of C. reticulata cv. Shiyue Ju were used for pathogenicity tests. On each plant, 10 randomly selected leaves and four 6-month-old fruits were wound-inoculated with 20 μl of sterile water or conidial suspensions (1 × 10 5 conidia per ml). Plants were then maintained at 90% relative humidity with a 12-h photoperiod at 28°C. Symptoms resembling those in the field were observed on three inoculated plants after 14 days. In another similar experiment without wounding, three of 20 inoculated plants exhibited the symptoms after 14 days. Controls remained healthy throughout this period. The tests were performed three times. C. siamense was reisolated from all diseased inoculated plants, and the culture and fungus characteristics were the same as the original isolate. Thus, C. siamense was determined to be the pathogen causing leaf drop and fruit spot on C. reticulata cv. Shiyue Ju. To our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf drop and fruit spot on C. reticulata cv. Shiyue Ju caused by C. siamense. References: (1) H. Benyahia et al. Plant Pathol. 52:798, 2003. (2) N. A. Peres et al. Plant Dis. 89:784, 2005. (3) H. Prihastuti, et al. Fungal Diversity 39:89, 2009. (4) B. Weir et al. Stud Mycol. 73:115, 2012.

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) has been implicated in a wide variety of cellular functions that affect the biological response to tumors. However, there is insufficient evidence to prove that IL-18 gene variants are associated with risk of prostate cancer. We examined a possible association between two promoter polymorphisms, -137G/C (rs187238) and -607C/A (rs1946518), in the IL-18 gene and prostate cancer occurrence and prognosis in Han Chinese. We used a high-resolution melting method to genotype these two polymorphisms in 375 Chinese Han patients with prostate cancer and in 400 age-matched healthy controls. A hundred and eighty-one prostate cancer patients who had been receiving androgen deprivation therapy, including operational and medical castration, were enrolled to follow-up in this study. Carriers of the GG genotype of the -137G/ C polymorphism had a 2.165-times higher risk of prostate cancer progression than carriers of GC [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.270-3.687]. Patients with the GG genotype at clinical stages III and IV also had significantly lower rates of progression-free survival (relative risk = 2.174, 95%CI = 1.211-3.906). However, we found no significant association of genotype or allele distributions of these two polymorphisms with occurrence of prostate cancer. We conclude that there is evidence that the IL-18 gene promoter polymorphism -137G/ C influences the prognosis of prostate cancer patients in androgen deprivation therapy, although neither of the two SNPs contributes to prostate cancer development.

Ghrelin is an important orexigenic hormone that reduces fat oxidation and increases adiposity. This study investigated plasma ghrelin levels in Chinese Uygur patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Plasma ghrelin and anabolic and catabolic factors were measured in 38 patients and 24 control subjects. COPD patients were divided into two groups based on body mass index (BMI): underweight (BMI < 20 kg/m(2), n = 18) or normoweight (BMI > or = 20 kg/m(2), n = 20). Plasma ghrelin levels were found to be significantly higher in underweight than in normoweight patients or healthy controls. Circulating tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 concentrations were significantly higher in underweight than in normoweight patients, whereas insulin concentrations were significantly lower. Plasma ghrelin levels correlated negatively with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1); r = 0.35), but did not significantly correlate with FEV(1)/forced vital capacity. Plasma ghrelin levels were elevated in underweight COPD patients and were associated with cachexia and abnormal pulmonary function.