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Guided by MetGem Molecular Networking, eight daphnane-type and tigliane-type diterpenoids including four undescribed compounds were isolated from Daphne genkwa.

Habitat degradation and fragmentation are crucial factors which result in biodiversity loss among the world. Understanding how species respond to the habitat change is helpful and essential for the conservation of the endangered ones. Therefore, the aim of current study is to explore how to carry out biodiversity conservation from the perspective of the habitat selection of species. We studied the microhabitat selection of blue eared pheasant ( Crossoptilon auritum) during its breeding time (including mating, incubation, and feeding periods). The field research was carried out from April to August in 2014 at Helan Mountains, China. Six nests of blue eared pheasants were found; 323 used plots and 171 control plots were recorded. Results indicated that blue eared pheasants prefer mountainous coniferous forest at shady slope with domination of Picea crassifolia, and its habitat selection was mainly influenced by shrub density, tree density, altitude, slope degree, hiding cover, water resource, and human disturbance. However, there were slight differences among the three periods. Our study firstly compared factors that affect the microhabitat selection of blue eared pheasants among the three periods of its breeding time. Meanwhile, combining the current study with the previous ones, specific strategies could be applied on the works of endangered species and biodiversity conservation.

This study aimed to investigate conductivity behavior of concrete containing graphite and its sensitivity to the effects of pressure. Graphite powder was added to concrete to replace partial cement (4 wt.%, 8 wt.%, 12 wt.%, and 16 wt.%) as conductive fillers with a water-to-cementitious ratio of 0.45. Specimens with 0.5 vol.% Kuralon fibers were treated to enhance the performance of self-sensing properties to investigate the influence of graphite and fiber contents on electrical resistivities. The relationship between the axial load and changes in resistivity was determined using cyclic loading tests, indicating the existence and development of internal cracking in concrete. The results indicated that the compressive strength presented a linear decline proportional to the addition of graphite. Specimens with 8% graphite reached the lower bound of self-sensing properties, and with an increase in the amount of graphite, resistivity gradually decreased. In the cyclic loading tests, specimens containing >8% graphite were able to better reflect the relationship between loading and resistivity. Kuralon fibers in concrete had further improvement in resistance and self-sensing properties. In inclusion, the mixture with 8% graphite provided the best self-sensing properties to warn for preventing the effects of cracking, as well as achieved better mechanical properties.

This paper considers a robust optimal portfolio problem under Heston model in which the risky asset price is related to the historical performance. The finance market includes a riskless asset and a risky asset whose price is controlled by a stochastic delay equation. The objective is to choose the investment strategy to maximize the minimal expected utility of terminal wealth. By employing dynamic programming principle and Hamilton-Jacobin-Bellman (HJB) equation, we obtain the specific expression of the optimal control and the explicit solution of the corresponding HJB equation. Besides, a verification theorem is provided to ensure the value function is indeed the solution of the HJB equation. Finally, we use numerical examples to illustrate the relationship between the optimal strategy and parameters.

Background Methionine or lysine has been reported to influence DNA methylation and fat metabolism, but their combined effects in N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) RNA methylation remain unclarified. The combined effects of rumen-protected methionine and lysine (RML) in a low-protein (LP) diet on lipid metabolism, m6A RNA methylation, and fatty acid (FA) profiles in the liver and muscle of lambs were investigated. Sixty-three male lambs were divided into three treatment groups, three pens per group and seven lambs per pen. The lambs were fed a 14.5% crude protein (CP) diet (adequate protein [NP]), 12.5% CP diet (LP), and a LP diet plus RML (LP + RML) for 60 d. Results The results showed that the addition of RML in a LP diet tended to lower the concentrations of plasma leptin (P = 0.07), triglyceride (P = 0.05), and non-esterified FA (P = 0.08). Feeding a LP diet increased the enzyme activity or mRNA expression of lipogenic enzymes and decreased lipolytic enzymes compared with the NP diet. This effect was reversed by supplementation of RML with a LP diet. The inclusion of RML in a LP diet affected the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-3 PUFA, and n-6 PUFA in the liver but not in the muscle, which might be linked with altered expression of FA desaturase-1 (FADS1) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). A LP diet supplemented with RML increased (P 6A levels in the liver and muscle and were accompanied by decreased expression of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) and alkB homologue 5 (ALKBH5). The mRNA expressions of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) in the LP + RML diet group were lower than those in the other two groups. Supplementation of RML with a LP diet affected only liver YTH domain family (YTHDF2) proteins (P YTHDF3 (P = 0.09), which can be explained by limited m6A-binding proteins that were mediated in mRNA fate. Conclusions Our findings showed that the inclusion of RML in a LP diet could alter fat deposition through modulations of lipogenesis and lipolysis in the liver and muscle. These changes in fat metabolism may be associated with the modification of m6A RNA methylation. Graphical abstract A systematic graph illustrates the mechanism of dietary methionine and lysine influence on lipid metabolism and M6A. The green arrow with triangular heads indicates as activation and brown-wine arrows with flat heads indicates as suppression.

In this paper, we study an optimal investment and reinsurance problem in which the interest rate is driven by the Vasicek process and two dependent classes of insurance business are correlated thro...

Two new xanthones, calmemxanthone A (1) and calmemxanthone B (2), along with eleven known compounds were isolated from the dried twigs of Calophyllum membranaceum Gardn. et Champ. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were established by analysis of spectra and mass spectrometry data. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was confirmed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectral analysis. The anti-inflammation action of these compounds were evaluated on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory damage to human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs), and the structure-activities of 1-13 were also discussed. Compound 10 presented the anti-inflammation action with an IC

Most cancers are caused by somatic mutations. Some common mutations in the same cancer type can form a "signature" to specifically predict the prognosis or to distinguish it from other cancers. In this study, 710 somatic cell mutations were identified in 142 cases, including digestive, lung and urogenital cancers, and the digestive cancers were further divided into liver, stomach, intestinal, esophageal and cardia cancer. The above mutations were located in 166 genes. In addition, a group of high-frequency mutation genes with specific characteristics were screened to form predictive signatures for each cancer. Verification using TCGA suggested that the signatures could predict the stages, progression-free survival, and overall survival of digestive, intestinal, and liver cancers (P 0.05). The validation cases further confirmed the predictive role of digestive and liver cancers signatures in diagnosis and prognosis. Overall, this study established predictive signatures for different cancer systems and their subtypes. These findings enable a better understanding in cancer genome, and contribute to the personalized diagnosis and treatment.

Guiding by LC-MS/MS analysis and the GNPS Molecular Networking, five undescribed daphnane diterpenoids, tanguticanines A-E, and eleven known analogues were discovered from the whole plants of Daphne tangutica Maxim. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined via extensive NMR spectroscopic analysis, ECD calculations, and X-ray diffraction crystallography. Tanguticanine E (5) exhibited promising cytotoxicity against the HepG2 cell line with an IC

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of low-protein diets on blood calcium (Ca) level, bone metabolism, and the correlation between bone metabolism and blood calcium in goats. Twenty-four female Xiangdong black goats with similar body weight (19.55 ± 3.55 kg) and age (8.0 ± 0.3 months) were selected and allocated into two groups: control group (CON, 10.77% protein content) and low-protein group (LP, 5.52% protein content). Blood samples were collected on days 1, 4, 7, 16 and 36 before morning feeding to determine the concentration of calcium (Ca), parathyroid hormone (PTH), bone gla protein (BGP), C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX-1), bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), and 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3]. Liver samples were collected to determine the expression of bone metabolism-related genes. There was no difference observed between LP and CON in concentration of plasma Ca or any of bone metabolism markers (P > 0.05). In the liver, the mRNA expression of bone gamma carboxyglutamate protein (BGLAP), alkaline phosphatase (ALPL), and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog-1 (SMAD1) were increased (P < 0.05) in LP as compared with CON. The correlation analysis of Ca and bone metabolism markers showed no significant correlation between Ca and bone metabolism. These results suggest that the blood Ca concentration in mature goats may keep at a stable level through nitrogen cycling when the providing protein is not enough.

Methionine or lysine has been reported to influence DNA methylation and fat metabolism, but their combined effects in N6-methyl-adenosine (mThe results showed that the addition of RML in a LP diet tended to lower the concentrations of plasma leptin (P = 0.07), triglyceride (P = 0.05), and non-esterified FA (P = 0.08). Feeding a LP diet increased the enzyme activity or mRNA expression of lipogenic enzymes and decreased lipolytic enzymes compared with the NP diet. This effect was reversed by supplementation of RML with a LP diet. The inclusion of RML in a LP diet affected the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-3 PUFA, and n-6 PUFA in the liver but not in the muscle, which might be linked with altered expression of FA desaturase-1 (FADS1) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). A LP diet supplemented with RML increased (P 0.05) total mOur findings showed that the inclusion of RML in a LP diet could alter fat deposition through modulations of lipogenesis and lipolysis in the liver and muscle. These changes in fat metabolism may be associated with the modification of m

A molecular networking-guided study on the Daphne genkwa Sieb. et Zucc led to the isolation of twelve daphnane-type diterpenoids including four undescribed compounds, yuanhuakines A-D. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, ECD calculations, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. All isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against the A549, Hep3B, and MCF-7 cell lines. The majority of compounds inhibited A549 cells with IC

Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) is a debilitating sudden-onset disease that affects the central nervous system...

This paper deals with an optimal investment problem with complete memory over an infinite time horizon, where the appreciation rate of the risky asset depends on the historical information and the ...

We analyse an optimal portfolio and consumption problem with stochastic factor and delay over a finite time horizon. The financial market includes a risk-free asset, a risky asset and a stochastic factor. The price process of the risky asset is modelled as a stochastic differential delay equation whose coefficients vary according to the stochastic factor; the drift also depends on its historical performance. Employing the stochastic dynamic programming approach, we establish the associated Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation. Then we solve the optimal investment and consumption strategies for the power utility function. We also consider a special case in which the price process of the stochastic factor degenerates into a Cox–Ingersoll–Ross model. Finally, the effects of the delay variable on the optimal strategies are discussed and some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the results. doi:10.1017/S1446181119000014

A simple Al3+ fluorescent chemosensor (1) based on diacylhydrazone has been designed and synthesized by the condensation reaction of 2-hydroxy naphthaldehyde and metaphthalic hydrazide. The chemose...

In this paper, we study a portfolio selection problem under safety first expected utility model with distortion (SFEUD model) where the underlying probability scale is transformed by a nonlinear distortion function. By employing the quantile formulation and the relaxation method, we obtain the general form of optimal solution to the problem, and the necessary and sufficient condition for existing such an optimal solution is also proved. We further demonstrate an analytical solution to the optimal strategies under four different monotonic cases. What’s more, the optimal terminal wealth process is replicated into a portfolio of options and deposits under specific circumstances. In addition, we empirically verify the model implication and figure out that investors’ realization of disaster risk can explain the price change of call options to some degree.

In this article we demonstrated the study of strength and durability of cement paste blended with waste solar PV cells. In order to investigate the corresponding performance of both strength and durability due to the sustainable use of solar PV panels in cement-based composite, in which the cement was replaced with amorphous PV powders from discarded solar PV panels with a high proportion of silicon dioxide. The conclusions were made on effect of this cement replacement. The use of ground solar cells for various properties of cement-based composite was investigated, and as a result, we identified the factors affecting the strength and durability for those of cement mortar specimens which had predefined and made in laboratory. As a summary, using solar PV cells as the cement replacement did not perform well from a strength perspective while it did give a better performance of durability.

This paper investigates the optimal investment strategy and the pricing of derivatives in an incomplete financial market with one risk-free asset, one stock and one non-redundant derivative security. In the exponential utility maximization criterion, a dynamic relationship between optimal positions for the stock and derivative security is established and the dynamic derivatives pricing formulae depending on the current optimal positions are also obtained by employing the stochastic control approach. The explicit representations of the corresponding solutions are demonstrated and their properties are discussed. Finally, numerical results are presented to characterize the behavior of the derivative security price.

Ilan area is located between the east and the northeastern earthquake regions of Taiwan, which the earthquake occurs quite frequent. Langyang Plain is alluvial plain coupling with fine particles of loose granular soil and high groundwater level, the possibility of soil liquefaction in Ilan area is very high once the earthquake occurs. Therefore, soil liquefaction potential needs to be carefully investigated. In Ilan area the primary soil liquefaction areas was formed with precision is 1/25000 scale. February 6, 2016 Meinung earthquake in the southern Taiwan area brought a lot of liquefaction damages. Therefore, soil liquefaction once again gains people attention. The precision of soil liquefaction potential map is requested to improve to 1/2500 scale. In order to improve the precision of geospatial information effectively, the geological drilling density of 4 holes/km2 are demanded. The drilling method employs the SPT method in general. The soil physical test is taken every 1.5 m or the soil layer change. This study adds about 213 boreholes of geological drilling data in the densely populated areas, low floor houses, old buildings and complex geological conditions of Ilan area. It is believed that we can use the drilling data to know the soil liquefaction potential more accurately. Finally, this study will use SPT-N HBF analysis method to calculate soil liquefaction potential value. The method is a simple evaluation technique to determine the occurrence of soil liquefaction in Taiwan with good accuracy and reliability. The proposed analysis in this study can be used to accomplish more precise soil liquefaction potential with different size earthquake occurs in the region.

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on ovarian reserve in patients with diminished ovarian reserve undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Material and Methods A total of 240 patients were randomly divided into the Han's acupoint nerve stimulator TEAS treatment (TES), comforting false Han's placebo (FHP), artificial endometrial cycle treatment (AEC), and control (CON) groups. Results Fifty-six patients in TES, 56 in FHP, 54 in AEC, and 60 in CON fulfilled the study, respectively. Antral follicle count and anti-Mullerian hormone levels were increased, whereas the estradiol level, follicle-stimulating hormone level, and follicle-stimulating hormone/luteinizing hormone ratio were significantly decreased after treatment in the TES and AEC groups. After treatment, the number of oocytes retrieved and average number of embryos transferred were higher in the TES and AEC than in the CON and FHP groups. Clinical pregnancy rate in the TES group was markedly higher than values obtained for the other three groups. Conclusion TEAS and AEC treatments could improve basal endocrine levels in patients, and increase the number of oocytes retrieved and high-quality embryos. TEAS treatment could improve the clinical pregnancy rate in patients with decreased ovarian reserve during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer cycles.

In recent years, full-scale specimens for seismic test were important to safety assessment of the structure in nuclear power plants but the full-scale tests were not easy to realize due to the limited capable of the existing shaking table capacity. In Taiwan, it was first time to construct a 1/25 scale-down reinforced concrete reactor building specimen in a nuclear power plant and conduct to study the dynamic properties using shaking table test. The specimen was with a length of 2.9 m, width of 2.9 m, height of 2.9 m and weight of 28 tons and cast using the non-demoulding technology and self-consolidating concrete. The entirety structure was composed of a primary containment (thickness of 10 cm), a secondary containment (thickness of 7.5 cm) and three floors (thickness of 30 and 15 cm). The comparison of measured and calculated results demonstrate that ETABS numerical model was satisfactory and can be further used for numerical shaking table tests and real life structures.

This paper investigates a dynamic asset allocation problem for loss-averse investors in a jump-diffusion model where there are a riskless asset and N risky assets. Specifically, the prices of risky assets are governed by jump-diffusion processes driven by an m-dimensional Brownian motion and a (N − m)-dimensional Poisson process. After converting the dynamic optimal portfolio problem to a static optimization problem in the terminal wealth, the optimal terminal wealth is first solved. Then the optimal wealth process and investment strategy are derived by using the martingale representation approach. The closed-form solutions for them are finally given in a special example.

A 1/25 scale-down specimen was constructed of a reinforced concrete reactor building used in the nuclear power plant. The non-demoulding technology and self-consolidating concrete were used to cast the specimen with a length of 2.9 m, width of 2.9 m, height of 2.9 m and weight of 28 tons. The entirety struc-ture was composed of a primary containment (thickness of 10 cm), a secondary containment (thickness of 7.5 cm) and three floors (thickness of 30 and 15 cm). Shaking table tests were conducted on it in the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering. Testing results indicated that the scale-down specimen kept the structural integrity under a 0.6 g specific seismic wave hit. In addition, the ETABS model accurately represented the dynamic characteristics of the scale-down specimen by numerical method obtained the conservative results.

In the previous article we studied the strength quality of cement paste blended with waste solar PV cells. In this study, the similar research was performed by replacing cement paste with concrete except that a large w/c ratio of 0.55 was set since high permeability or more capillary pores may take a better observation on the experimental results. The conclusions were made on the effect of cement replacement with ground solar cells. The use of ground solar cells on the mechanical properties of cement-based composite was investigated, and as a result, we identified the strength performance for those of concrete specimens.

In this article we demonstrated the study results of strength quality of cement paste blended with waste solar PV cells. The conclusions were made on effect of this cement replacement. The use of ground solar cells on the mechanical properties of cement-based composite was investigated, and as a result, we identified the factors affecting the strength for those of cement mortar specimens which predefined and made in lab.

It’s quite often that dispensing a topping material like concrete crystalline penetration sealer materials onto the surface of a plastic substance such as concrete to extend its service life span by surface protections from outside breakthrough. When applied to concrete it reacts with calcium hydroxide and reduces the porosity and permeability of the concrete matrix. This serves to increase the hardness and chemical resistance which, in turn, increases the service life span of the surface. A series of tests, such as rapid chloride permeability test, scanning electron microscope, and mercury intrusion porosimetry, were performed on the concrete test samples to examine the durability, by taking the penetration depth of concrete crystalline penetration sealer materials as a characterization parameter describing the durability in relation to water resistance. The penetration depth is a critical property for concrete crystalline penetration sealer materials to function effectively. The deeper the penetration, the greater the thickness of concrete strengthened, thus improving wear resistance, the life span and durability. The desirable depth drawn from tests is about 10mm with a minimum of 5mm. However the regular attainment of such penetration will require considerable care in surface preparation and in assuring that the concrete is properly dry. The quality of the concrete will also be a major factor in the depth of penetration obtained. Penetration depths may be greater with poor quality porous concrete while a 10mm depth may not be possible with high-quality dense concrete. Other Factors affecting concrete sealer penetration depth are related to the process, such as coverage and application, a user who should understand how it works, and material itself, having its own image.

In this article we demonstrated the study results of durability quality of cement paste containing waste solar PV cells. The conclusions were made on effect of this cement replacement. The use of ground solar cells on the durability properties of cement-based composite was investigated. As a result, we identified the factors affecting the durability for those of cement mortar specimens which predefined and made in lab.

Previous studies demonstrated that imatinib mesylate (IM) induces autophagy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and that this process is critical to cell survival upon therapy. However, it is not known if the autophagic process differs at basal levels between CML patients and healthy individuals and if pretreatment CML cells harbor unique autophagy characteristics that could predict patients' clinical outcomes. We now demonstrate that several key autophagy genes are differentially expressed in CD34(+) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, with the highest transcript levels detected for ATG4B, and that the transcript and protein expression levels of ATG4 family members, ATG5 and BECLIN-1 are significantly increased in CD34(+) cells from chronic-phase CML patients (P < .05). Importantly, ATG4B is differentially expressed in pretreatment CML stem/progenitor cells from subsequent IM responders vs IM nonresponders (P < .05). Knockdown of ATG4B suppresses autophagy, impairs the survival of CML stem/progenitor cells and sensitizes them to IM treatment. Moreover, deregulated expression of ATG4B in CD34(+) CML cells inversely correlates with transcript levels of miR-34a, and ATG4B is shown to be a direct target of miR-34a. This study identifies ATG4B as a potential biomarker for predicting therapeutic response in treatment-naive CML stem/progenitor cells and uncovers ATG4B as a possible drug target in these cells.

This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of sugarcane bagasse ash fineness on the properties of cement-based composites. Three sugarcane bagasse ash contents (10, 20 and 30% by weight of cement) and three particle sizes of bagasse ash (particles less than 45, 75 and 150 μm) were used as a partial replacement for cement in mortar specimens with a constant water/cementitious ratio of 0.55. The pozzolanic strength activity test, compressive strength test and scanning electron microscope observations were conducted and compared. Test results indicated that the compressive strength decreased with the addition of sugarcane bagasse ash content increased. Addition of sugarcane bagasse ash to replace cement in cementitious composites could provide hydration and pozzolanic reaction, but it would still keep more rugged and some larger pores observed from the paste surface and resulted in the weaker microstructures and poorer properties in cementitious composites. In conclusion, the critical usage of sugarcane bagasse ash is 10 % with 45μm particles.

Nowadays, its more common of dispensing a topping material like concrete crystalline penetration sealer materials (CSM) onto the surface of a plastic substance such as concrete to extend its service life span by surface protections from outside breakthrough. Its known as the CSM may penetrate into the existing pores or possible cracks in such a way that it may form crystals to block the potential paths which provide breakthrough for any unknown materials. Even though all kinds of test data and researches have been reported to boast of its advantages in both theoretical technologies and application functions, to accept that as an agreed fact, namely the major components and those proportions have not been fully announced in public or research. This study employed various experiments, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), to identify key components of CSM for developing another type of CSM so that its components could be open for the public. There are two types of commercial CSM adopted for the tests and then thru a series of discusses of test results the most possible components of CSM are proposed as a future reference of CSM related researches.

The most desired disaster prevention in Taiwan has to be typhoon; therefore there is a saying good weather, good life. The government does everything to prevent nature disaster, preparedness, response and recovery, especially on typhoon flooding survey. In order to conduct instant contingency handling disaster reaction in biggest disaster conditions, the government hopes to control the disaster immediately, and calculate the disaster loss. The main purpose of this study is to build a flood automation system. Apply auto-recording water level monitoring system (internal or external water) from water stations to collect stage data, and integrate Geographic Information System by the terrain grid computing, then obtain the instant scope of inundation and flood depth. Together with the instant rainfall and forecast to achieve the effectiveness of the flood watch or warning, then we should possibly control the instant information for the anticipation of the flood disaster. Taking it further with the Flood Security Plan, we have the best reference for decision-making use in the Emergency Response Center. The study area is located in Yilan County, the most sensitive flooded region, to set up immediate foregoing typhoon instant information system or so-called flood automation system, and then by several times of investigations and post-disaster flood scar volume measured we completely record ground hydrological information, and calibrate it with water level gauges built by Taiwan National Typhoon and Flood Research Center and AWRSIP weather telemetry information platform of synthetic aperture radar images on the flooded scope and depth. The concept of flood automation system is based on the fact that the occurrence and distribution of flood is not merely a product of chance, but the result of a combination of climatic, hydrologic, geologic, topographic and soil-forming factors that together form an integrated dynamic system, thus, through a combination of real-time rainfall forecast, flood recording, automation requirement, Geographic Information System, flood warning, instant data transmission and the internet, be setting up an ideal typhoon instant information system, which can become high accurate and be suitable for easy use of flooded areas, in order to achieve sustainable development in those areas.

This study was aimed to evaluate the protection effectiveness of various concrete surface treating materials. Four types of surface treating materials and six parameters were selected. Compressive strength test, absorption test and permeability test were performed. Taguchi method was adopted to identify the key factors influencing the protection effectiveness provided by the surface treatment. L16(81Î26) orthogonal array was chosen to reduce the number of experiments. The major sequentially influential factors are type of coating material, w/c ratio of concrete substrate and coating thickness.

This study investigated the influence of crystalline sealers and curing environment on compressive strength, splitting strength and elastic modulus of cement-based composites. Four kinds of crystalline sealers addition (0 %, 3 %, 5 % and 7 %) were used in the concrete specimens. SEM observations were assisted in verifying the results of mechanical properties. The test results demonstrated that the specimens increased the mechanical properties with the inclusion of crystalline sealers increased. The crystalline sealers reacted with cement to produce the crystals and hydrations, which could fill with the pore and supply a denser microstructure. This appearance was verified by the SEM micrographs. In inclusion, the cement-based composites containing 7 % crystalline sealers seem to give superior mechanical properties, and make the pores become finer and enhance the durability.

This study investigated the influence of individual constituents of calcined shale or hybrid constituents of calcined shale and fly ash or silica fume on the workability and compressive strength. Calcined shale is heat treated in a kiln and then ground to a finer powder and the calcination temperatures of 800 °C were used. The test results demonstrated that the workability and compressive strength decreased with the inclusion of calcined shale increased and the compressive strength of the specimens containing calcined shale all lower than that of the control specimens. It might be due to the higher water demand and lower CaO value. However, the hybrid batches with calcined shale and fly ash or silica fume enhanced better performance on compressive strength than individual constituents of calcined shale. The combination of 10 % calcined shale and 10 % silica fume in concrete seemed to give superior compressive strength and gave the highest value in the testing series. Finally, the inclusion of calcined shale is help to reduce the emissions of CO2and revealed an ecological advantage for concrete containing a binder blend of cement and calcined shale.

This study investigates the effectiveness of concrete protection with two inorganic silicate sealer materials (ISSMs). The Taguchi method and grey relational analysis (GRA) have been used to identify the key factors influencing concrete protection provided by the surface treatment. Seven control factors with two levels were selected. By using the orthogonal array L12 (27), 12 experiments are chosen and four tests—the compressive strength test, resistivity test, absorption test and permeability test—were performed. Results have shown that the major factors affecting the protection effectiveness of ISSM are the water-binder ratio of mortar substrate, age of substrate for sealer application, addition of pozzolanic material and sealer type.

To provide a certain level of serviceability, road authorities need to perform appropriate and timely maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) activities. However, the vast expanse and different deterioration properties of road systems greatly increase the complexity of M&R activities. Because of lack of funding and resources, it is almost impossible for road engineers to monitor every road and to promptly maintain and rehabilitate any defects that have been identified. Therefore, the monitoring and reporting of defects by the public are becoming indispensable. For several years, location-based services (LBSs) have been applied to mobile devices with mobile positioning functions to provide users with location-specific services. Augmented reality (AR) can support users in manipulating virtual objects in real environments. In this study, a road monitoring and reporting system (RMRS) is developed including a mobile RMRS (an Android application) on smartphones and a web-based RMRS by integrating LBS and AR technologies. By using LBS and AR technologies, the time and costs of M&R activities can be significantly decreased, because routes of M&R activities can be planned in advance and the neighboring defects can be instantly identified and processed, which conforms exactly to the current policies of the Public Oversight of Public Works Projects and Smooth Roads Project in Taiwan. By using field data from Ilan County in Taiwan and considering the indefinite delivery contract, different strategies for M&R operations derived from the mobile and web-based RMRSs are analyzed. The results are presented to demonstrate the system’s benefits, costs, and feasibility.

Background/Aims: Intestinal mucositis (IM) is a commonly encountered side effect in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis) in attenuating the severity of chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis by regulating the T cell subsets in rats with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were injected dimethyl hydrazine (DMH) subcutaneously for 10 weeks, and then injected SW480 cells in rectal mucosa to create a CRC model, and the rats were randomly divided into three groups: Control group (saline + saline), Chemotherapy group (saline + 5-FU+Oxaliplatin), B. infantis group (B. infantis + 5-FU+Oxaliplatin). IM was evaluated based on diarrhea severity, intestinal villus height, crypt depth, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α), T cell subsets (CD4+ IL17A+ cells and CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Tregs) and related cytokine profiles. Results: The results showed that the B. infantis group demonstrated a higher body weight (BW) and intestinal villus height and a deeper crypt depth compared to the Chemotherapy group. The level of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α which increased by chemotherapy, was lowered by B. infantis administration. Real time reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed B. infantis reduced relative expression of Th17 and Th1 cells related cytokines, and increased relative expression of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Tregs related cytokines. Furthermore, Flow cytometry analysis showed B. infantis reduced CD4+ IL17A+ cells and increased CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Tregs in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) compared to the Chemotherapy group. Conclusion: B. infantis effectively attenuates chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis by decreasing Th1 and Th17 response and increasing CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Tregs response.

To evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of panoramic radiography in detection of maxillary teeth roots projecting into the maxillary sinus.Paired panoramic radiographs and cone-beam CT (CBCT) images of maxilla from 110 subjects were analyzed. 42 males and 68 females (15~36 years old) with the second molars erupted completely were included. The 2 radiographic techniques were used to observe if the roots of maxillary teeth project into the sinus, including canine, the first premolar, the second premolar, the first molar and the second molar. With CBCT as a gold standard, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of panoramic radiography were evaluated, as well as the accuracy, prevalence, positive likehood ratio, and negtive likehood ratio.The sensitivity for canine, the first premolar, the second premolar, the first molar, and the second molar was 100%, 100%, 96%, 99%, and 96%, respectively. The specificity for canine, the first premolar the second premolar, the first molar, and the second molar was 94%, 92%, 84%, 67%, and 67%, respectively.Panoramic radiography has a high diagnostic sensitivity in detection of the teeth roots projecting into the maxillary sinus for maxillary teeth. However, it can't afford sufficient proof for orthodontic anchorage design because of low specificity, especially for the second premolar, the first molar and the second molar.

We reported here the clinical, genetic, and molecular characterization of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) with C5601T mutation in seven Chinese families. The ophthalmologic examinations of seven Chinese families who were clinically diagnosed LHON were conducted. Strikingly, these families exhibited very low penetrance of visual impairment, and the penetrance was 9.5%, 14.3%, 4.5%, 8.3%, 10.0%, 22.2% and 25.0%. Meanwhile, entire mitochondrial genome of seven probands was amplified by PCR using 24 pairs of oligonucleotide primers with overlapping fragments. Molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in these pedigrees revealed the absence of three common LHON associated G11778A, G3460A and T14484C mutations but the presence of homoplastic LHON associated tRNAAla C5601T mutation in probands and other matrilineal relatives. These mtDNA polymorphism sites belongs to the Asian haplogroups G2, G2a1, G2a1, G2, G2b, G2a1 and G2. By analyzing mitochondrial genome, seven LHON families all carry the C5601T mutation. The C5601T mutation occurs at the highly conserved nucleotide (conventional position 59) of tRNAAla, thereby contributing to the structural formation and stabilization of functional tRNAs and leading to mitochondrial dysfunction involved in visual impairment. The incomplete penetrance of visual loss in these seven Chinese pedigrees strongly indicates that the tRNAAla C5601T mutation was itself insufficient to produce a clinical phenotype. The lack of functional mtDNA variants in these pedigrees ruled out the role of mitochondrial background in the phenotypic expression of visual loss. Therefore, nuclear backgrounds and environmental factors seem to be modifying factors for the phenotypic manifestation of the tRNAAla C5601T mutation in the seven Chinese families.

This study evaluates the permeability of cement-based composites, which are a mix of polyolefin fibers and silica fume. Test results indicate that permeability increases as the water/cementitious ratio increases. Silica fume in cement-based composites produced hydrated calcium silicate and filled the pores. However, permeability decreased as the addition of silica fume increased. Specimens containing polyolefin fibers also provided higher permeability resistance. The polyolefin fiber length did not have a significant effect on permeability. The decrease in the permeability is mainly due to the addition of silica fume and lower water/cementitious ratio. Addition of fibers marginally decreases the permeability. Incorporating polyolefin fiber and silica fume in composites achieved more significant decreases in permeability. The correlated test results reveal the interrelationship between them.