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Objective. To explore the effects and satisfaction of comfort nursing plus psychological nursing in the clinical nursing of neurology patients. Methods. In this prospective study, 90 neurology patients admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were recruited and randomized into a control group and an experimental group with 45 cases in each group. The control group received routine care, and the experimental group received comfort care plus psychological care. The comfort scores and nursing satisfaction of the two groups were compared. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was used to assess the emotional state of patients before and after the intervention. The Exercise of Self-care Agency Scale (ESCA) was used to assess the patient’s self-care ability after the intervention. Results. The comfort scores of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group ( P < 0.05 ). The experimental group showed significantly higher satisfaction than the control group ( P < 0.05 ). Patients in the experimental group had lower HAD scores after intervention than those in the control group ( P < 0.05 ). After the intervention, the experimental group had higher ESCA scores and a higher Barthel index than the control group ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion. Comfort nursing plus psychological care improves nursing satisfaction and self-care ability of neurology patients and relieves their negative emotions.

PurposeIt is an important style classification way to sort out suits according to the button arrangement. However, since the different dressing ways of suit cause the buttons to be easily occluded, the traditional identification methods are difficult to identify the details of suits, and the recognition accuracy is not ideal. The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of fine-grained classification of suit by button arrangement. Taking men's suits as an example, a method of coordinate position discrimination algorithm combined faster region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) algorithm is proposed to achieve accurate batch classification of suit styles under different dressing modes.Design/methodology/approachThe detection algorithm of suit buttons proposed in this paper includes faster R-CNN algorithm and coordinate position discrimination algorithm. Firstly, a small sample base was established, which includes six suit styles in different dressing states. Secondly, buttons and buttonholes in the image were marked, and the image features were extracted by the residual network to identify the object. The anchors regression coordinates in the sample were obtained through convolution, pooling and other operations. Finally, the position coordinate relation of buttons and buttonholes was used to accurately judge and distinguish suit styles under different dressing ways, so as to eliminate the wrong results of direct classification by the network and achieve accurate classification.FindingsThe experimental results show that this method could be used to accurately classify suits based on small samples. The recognition accuracy rate reaches 95.42%. It can effectively solve the problem of machine misjudgment of suit style due to the cover of buttons, which provides an effective method for the fine-grained classification of suit style.Originality/valueA method combining coordinate position discrimination algorithm with convolutional neural network was proposed for the first time to realize the fine-grained classification of suit style. It solves the problem of machine misreading, which is easily caused by buttons occluded in different suits.

During rapid proliferation and metabolism, tumor cells show a high dependence on methionine. The deficiency of methionine exhibits significant inhibition on tumor growth, which provides a potential therapeutic target in tumor therapy. Herein, ClO2-loaded nanoparticles (fluvastatin sodium&metformin&bupivacaine&ClO2@CaSiO3@MnO2-arginine-glycine-aspatic acid (RGD) (MFBC@CMR) NPs) were prepared for synergistic chlorine treatment and methionine-depletion starvation therapy. After outer layer MnO2 was degraded in the high glutathione (GSH) tumor microenvironment (TME), MFBC@CMR NPs released metformin (Me) to target the mitochondria, thus interfering with the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and promoting the production of lactate. In addition, released fluvastatin sodium (Flu) by the NPs acted on monocarboxylic acid transporter 4 (MCT4) in the cell membrane to inhibit lactate leakage and induce a decrease of intracellular pH, further prompting the NPs to release chlorine dioxide (ClO2), which then oxidized methionine, inhibited tumor growth, and produced large numbers of Cl- in the cytoplasm. Cl- could enter mitochondria through the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) channel, which was opened by bupivacaine (Bup). The disruption of Cl- homeostasis promotes mitochondrial damage and membrane potential decline, leading to the release of cytochrome C (Cyt-C) and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) and further inducing cell apoptosis. To sum up, the pH-regulating and ClO2-loaded MFBC@CMR nanoplatform can achieve cascade chlorine treatment and methionine-depletion starvation therapy toward tumor cells, which is of great significance for improving the clinical tumor treatment effect.

High temperatures are a major threat to plant growth and development, leading to yield losses in crops. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) act as critical components of Ca2+ sensing in plants that transduce rapid stress-induced responses to multiple environmental stimuli. However, the role of CPKs in plant thermotolerance and their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. To address this issue, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cpk28 mutants were generated using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing approach. The responses of mutant and wild-type plants to normal (25°C) and high temperatures (45°C) were documented. Thermotolerance was significantly decreased in the cpk28 mutants, which showed increased heat stress-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and levels of protein oxidation, together with decreased activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and other antioxidant enzymes. The redox status of ascorbate and glutathione were also modified. Using a yeast two-hybrid library screen and protein interaction assays, we provide evidence that CPK28 directly interacts with cytosolic APX2. Mutations in APX2 rendered plants more sensitive to high temperatures, whereas the addition of exogenous reduced ascorbate (AsA) rescued the thermotolerance phenotype of the cpk28 mutants. Moreover, protein phosphorylation analysis demonstrated that CPK28 phosphorylates the APX2 protein at Thr-59 and Thr-164. This process is suggested to be responsive to Ca2+ stimuli and may be required for CPK28-mediated thermotolerance. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CPK28 targets APX2, thus improving thermotolerance. This study suggests that CPK28 is an attractive target for the development of improved crop cultivars that are better adapted to heat stress in a changing climate.

Rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) is one of the best thermal insulation materials available, but its flammability makes it a potential fire hazard. Due to its porous nature, the large specific surface area is the key factor for easy ignition and rapid fires spread when exposed to heat sources. The burning process of RPUF mainly takes place on the surface. Therefore, if a flame-retardant coating can be formed on the surface of RPUF, it can effectively reduce or stop the flame propagation on the surface of RPUF, further improving the fire safety. Compared with the bulk flame retardant of RPUF, the flame-retardant coating on its surface has a higher efficiency in improving fire safety. This paper aims to review the preparations, properties, and working mechanisms of RPUF surface flame-retardant systems. Flame-retardant coatings are divided into non-intumescent flame-retardant coatings (NIFRCs) and intumescent flame-retardant coatings (IFRCs), depending on whether the flame-retardant coating expands when heated. After discussion, the development trends for surface flame-retardant systems are considered to be high-performance, biological, biomimetic, multifunctional flame-retardant coatings.

Objectives To identify novel genetic loci associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate potential genetic differences between ethnic Chinese and European populations in SLE susceptibility. Methods A new genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted from Jining, North China, on 1506 individuals (512 SLE cases and 994 matched healthy controls). The association results were meta-analysed with existing data on Chinese populations from Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Central China, as well as GWAS results from four cohorts of European ancestry. A total of 26 774 individuals (9310 SLE cases and 17 464 controls) were included in this study. Results Meta-analysis on four Chinese cohorts identifies KLF2 as a novel locus associated with SLE [rs2362475; odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, P=2.00E-09]. KLF2 is likely an Asian-specific locus as no evidence of association was detected in the four European cohorts (OR = 0.98, P =0.58), with evidence of heterogeneity (P=0.0019) between the two ancestral groups. Meta-analyses of results from both Chinese and Europeans identify STAB2 (rs10082873; OR= 0.89, P=4.08E-08) and DOT1L (rs4807205; OR= 1.12, P=8.17E-09) as trans-ancestral association loci, surpassing the genome-wide significance. Conclusions We identified three loci associated with SLE, with KLF2 a likely Chinese-specific locus, highlighting the importance of studying diverse populations in SLE genetics. We hypothesize that DOT1L and KLF2 are plausible SLE treatment targets, with inhibitors of DOT1L and inducers of KLF2 already available clinically.

Nitric oxide (NO) gas treatment offers a promising strategy for tumor therapy; however, its practical application is still limited due to its poor efficacy and biotoxicity which were caused by gas leakage during blood delivery. Herein, a nano-platform (CMH-OBN) composed of chlorin e6-melanin-hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (Ce6-MNP-HA, CMH) and oxidized bletilla striata polysaccharide microcapsules (Oxi-BSP) carrying NO donors was prepared for responsive and cascaded release of NO, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and its secondary metabolite reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in tumor sites. Melanin not only endowed CMH with good photothermal properties, but also helped Ce6 to produce a large number of ROS under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. OBN microcapsules, which were sensitive to ROS, can release NO donors under the stimulation of ROS released by CMH nanoparticles under NIR irradiation and can further release NO in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with high expression of glutathione (GSH). NO could further up-regulate soluble guanylate cyclase-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (sGC-cGMP) signal pathways to relieve hypoxia, thus further enhancing the photodynamic therapy (PDT). Moreover, the cascaded release of ROS and NO could produce RNS with higher lethality, which could sequentially initiate the cellular apoptotic procedure and promote immunotherapy by activating T cells at the tumor sites. More interestingly, the CMH-OBN nano-platform could supply magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and infrared photothermal imaging guidance for tumor therapy. In conclusion, the development of a CMH-OBN nano-platform provides a satisfactory demonstration by combining NO therapy with photothermal therapy (PTT), PDT and immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

Adequate greenhouse environmental management is very important for improving resource use efficiency and increasing vegetable yield. The objective of this study was to explore suitable climate and cultivation management for cucumber to achieve high yield and build optimal yield models in semi-closed greenhouses. A fruit cucumber cultivar Deltastar was grown over 4 years in greenhouse and weekly data of yields (mean, highest and lowest) and environmental variables, including total radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration were collected. Regression analyses were applied to develop the relationships and build best regression models of yields with environmental variables using the first 2 years of data. Data collected in years 3 and 4 were used for model validation. Results showed that total radiation, nutrient, temperature, CO2 concentration, and average nighttime relative humidity had significant correlations with cucumber yields. The best regression models fit the mean, lowest, and highest yields very well with R2 values of 0.67, 0.66, and 0.64, respectively. Total radiation and air temperature had the most significant contributions to the variations of the yields. Our results of this study provide useful information for improving greenhouse climate management and yield forecast in semi-closed greenhouses.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has the remarkable characteristics of strong oxidation, in which its vapour ([H2O2]g)has further advantages, such as economize and good light transmission. But there is very rare research about its degradation effect in Gas-Phase Advanced Oxidation (GPAO). In the present study, the photochemical oxidation for gas containing benzene series, using ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and [H2O2]g, was investigated in a transparent bag made of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). Only UV or [H2O2]g hardly reduced the pollutant in 5 hours in which the reactor was also stable. With the high pollutant concentration (248 to 756 mg/m3) and short residence time (3S) compared with the related studies, studying the degradation of benzene, toluene and xylene, the apparent rate by UV/[H2O2]g/(powder active carbon, PAC) was higher compared with the different way (UV/[H2O2]g, UV/[H2O2]g/TiO2 and UV/[H2O2]g/ZnO), but it was found that the terminal degradation by UV/[H2O2]g significantly decreased, in which the conductivity decreased after reaction. The effects of increasing pollutant concentration and H2O2 pH were negative for the treament, but the UV radiated power positive till 40W. In addition, the characteristic absorbance for three benzene series showed that the key structure of pollutant molecule were damaged in GPAO.

Considering the authoritative engineering education certification standards is of great significance to formulate a curriculum system that meets the actual needs of engineering talents. However, the existing research on intelligent optimization of curriculum system pays little attention to certification standards. In this paper, a mathematical model of course selection and balance problem is established with the optimization goal of the support degree of curriculum system based on Washington Accord Graduate Attribute and the balance of academic load between semesters, and a two-stage improved genetic firefly algorithm(GAFA) is proposed to solve the model. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm are verified by taking the actual training requirements and course data as examples.

Microplastic pollution in marine environments and organisms has received a great deal of international attention. However, the long-term field studies of microplastics are rare. Here, we assessed annual variation in microplastic abundance in the Maowei Sea, a classic mariculture bay in southern China, and analyzed the long-term accumulation in oyster tissues. U-shaped time trends of microplastics in water were observed from January to December in 2018 in the estuarine region, inner bay, and mouth bay sites, representing an inverse relationship with the local rainfall patterns. The common microplastic particles in Maowei Sea are PET/PE fibers, and polystyrene foams, which are mainly related to textile pollution and fishery activities. After one year of continuous monitoring, we did not find accumulation of microplastics in the whole soft tissues of oyster after 10% KOH digestion. No significant correlation of microplastic abundances between water and oysters was observed. The microplastic abundance in oyster was correlated with some environmental variables (i.e. salinity, pH, nutrients and total organic carbon) of the surrounding water following Spearman correlation analysis. The microplastic levels in oysters could probably be influenced by the environmental variables.

Countries throughout the whole world, including China, are working together to curb the greenhouse effect, but the effects seem very limited in spite of the fact that various low-carbon development strategies have been adopted, particularly in industrial enterprises. Therefore, carbon emissions caused by the public should be taken seriously, and the public should be encouraged to engage in behavior that limits carbon emissions. Therefore, this article introduces a new incentive mechanism called the Carbon Generalized System of Preferences (CGSP), which was first introduced in Guangdong Province, China. It is believed that this new mechanism matches the role of leadership in Guangdong in the urbanization and economic development of China by addressing the small sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and by issuing carbon coins. Compared with Chinese Certified Emission Reduction (CCER), the development scope, management level, and novel criteria of CGSP are very different but relatively easy for the public to accept. The CGSP shows that the network platform, reduced carbon emissions, and urban pilots are all compatible with the goals of the nation and city, and they promote the CGSP in different ways. Because of its consistency with ecological civilization in China, the prospect of the CGSP is bright; however, there are some challenges, such as policy and economic factors, combined with pollution control.

Dysfunction of the calcium balancing system and disruption of calcium distribution can induce abnormal intracellular calcium overload, further causing serious damage and even cell death, which provides a potential therapeutic approach for tumor treatment. Herein, a nano-platform, which includes UCNPs-Ce6@RuR@mSiO2 @PL-HA NPs (UCRSPH) and SA-CaO2 nanoparticles, is prepared for improving the tumor micro-environment (TME), Ca2+ signal disturbance as well as enhanced photodynamic tumor therapy (PDT). UCRSPH combined with SA-CaO2 can alter TME and relieve hypoxia of the tumor to realize self-reinforcing PDT under near-IR irradiation (980 nm). The ruthenium red (RuR) in the UCRSPH NPs can be released to the cytoplasm after endocytosis of the nanoparticles, target Ca2+ channel proteins on the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase (SERCA), and mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU). The combined participation of nanoparticles and RuR promotes Ca2+ imbalance and cytoplasmic calcium overload with the assistance of CaO2 , and provides tumor cells higher sensitivity to PDT. Furthermore, the nano-platform also provides fluorescence imaging and calcification computed tomography imaging for in vivo treatment guidance. In conclusion, this image-guided nano-platform show potential for highly specific, efficient combined therapy against tumor cells with minimal side-effects to normal cells by integrating TME improvement, self-reinforcing PDT, and Ca2+ signal disturbance.

To investigate the responses of plant photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence to excessive sulfur fumigation stress (Sulfur) alleviated by pre-treated salt in the soil (Salt), seedlings of a tomato cultivar (Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Money Maker’) were exposed to the Sulfur with or without the Salt treatment for 15 h. Leaf fresh weight, dry weight, chlorophyll (Chl) content, carotenoid (Car) content, photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were measured. The results showed that the Sulfur treatment significantly decreased leaf fresh weight, dry weight, Chl and Car contents, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry (Fv/Fm), actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (ФPSII), photochemical quenching coefficient (qP), electron transport rate (ETR), and the effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (F′v/F′m). In addition, the Sulfur treatment significantly increased intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) and non-photochemical quenching coefficients (qN). Plants in soil pre-treated with salt clearly experienced less damage from sulfur toxicity, and these plants were able to retain higher leaf mass per area, greater total Chl and Car contents and photosynthetic activities, and to maintain the integrity of their chlorophyll fluorescence systems than fumigated plants growing in soil that was not pre-treated. Reduced leaf photosynthesis in the Sulfur treatment was due to non-stomatal limitation, and to disturbance of the chlorophyll fluorescence system which needs more energy consumption for thermal dissipation. Our results showed that a cross-tolerance exists between the salt stress and extreme sulfur fumigation stress, and plants pre-treated with salt provided some protection against excessive sulfur toxicity.

Hypothesis Organic foamy materials possess good thermal insulation properties and inorganic materials are non-combustible. Hence, it is possible to develop a kind of organic-inorganic lightweight thermal insulation materials with excellent fire safety. Experiments Hollow glass microsphere (HGM), as one kind of lightweight noncombustible inorganic material, was chosen as the filling material. Phenolic resin (PR), as the flame retardant polymeric material, was used as binding material. A series of HGM/PR composites with various PR/HGM mass ratio were prepared. Properties, such as apparent density, microstructure, mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, burning behavior and flame retardancy of the specimens were determined, respectively. Findings The results show that the surface of HGM particles is coated by a layer of cured PR and the HGM powder is glued together firmly from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. With the increase of PR/HGM mass ratio, both of apparent density and mechanical strength of HGM/PR composites increase, but thermal conductivity and limiting oxygen index (LOI) values decrease, all of the specimens still possess high LOI value (>50%). What’s more, no flaming combustion (merely partial carbonization) and hardly any smoke can be observed during the burning process, which indicates the HGM/PR composites possess excellent flame retardant property and fire safety.

Objective Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a serious complication of eye in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. In order to automatically screen DR, we aim to use convolutional neural network (CNN) to screen DR fundus images automatically. Methods A total of 10,551 fundus images from Kaggle fundus image dataset were collected for this experiment. Firstly, the images were preprocessed by histogram equalization and image augmentation. Then, the CNN was constructed and trained with Caffe framework. Our designed CNN models were trained by 8,626 images. Finally, the performance of the trained CNN model was validated by classifying 1,925 fundus images into DR and non-DR ones. Results The performance results indicated that the CNN achieved accuracy of 75.70% in 1,925 test fundus images. Conclusions CNN model is useful to classify the DR fundus images, thus might be applicable in further DR screening program for larger DM population.

Barium (Ba) is a toxic element and can cause serious health effects. Humans have experienced increased exposure to Ba due to its intensive usage in industrial areas and daily life. Anthropogenic activities of Ba mining and the manufacture of Ba containing products introduce the element into surrounding areas, posing environmental concerns. Concentrations of total Ba (TBa) and dissolved Ba (DBa) in water samples collected from active Ba mines in Tianzhu, east Guizhou Province, southwestern China were measured to show the regional dispersion of Ba contamination. Aqueous Ba species in water were calculated using the PHREEQC program. The results showed that TBa and DBa concentrations ranged from 6.7 to 483.1 μg/L and from 7.5 to 222.7 μg/L, respectively. TBa concentrations presented a high average value of 126.6 μg/L and greatly exceeded the reported common value of 10 μg/L Ba in surface water set by the Ministry of Environment Protection of China. PHREEQC results indicated that Ba species in water were present as Ba2+, BaSO4, BaHCO3, BaCO3, and BaOH+. The distribution of Ba species in water is controlled by pH and total organic carbon (TOC), and the lower pH (pH

TiO2/LaFeO3 composites were synthesized by a simple self-combustion method in this study. All the composites were evaluated by photocatalytic experiments with methyl orange as model contaminant. The effects of calcination temperature and content of component were investigated in detail. The results show that the TiO2/LaFeO3 composites are responsive to both ultraviolet and visible light. The composites show fairly good reusability in at least 3 using cycles. It is a promising photocatalyst to treat environmental pollutions.

In this study, a novel hyperbranched phosphorus/nitrogen-containing flame retardant (HPNFR) was facilely synthesized via the transesterification reaction of dimethyl methylphosphonate and tris (2-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate and characterized successfully by 1H NMR and FTIR. The sample with 4 wt% HPNFR can achieve V-0 rating in UL-94 test and possess a LOI value as high as 34.5%. Conspicuous blowing-out effect was observed during the vertical burning test. TG results indicated that the presence of HPNFR significantly improved the thermal stability of EP thermosets. From cone test, THR, p-HRR, p-SPR and TSP values of HPNFR/EP composites were decreased in comparison to those of pure EP, revealing the reduced fire hazard of EP composites with HPNFR. SEM images of EP thermoset with 4 wt% of HPNFR after cone test exhibited compact and continuous char layers, while those of pure EP are fragmentary and broken. From TG-IR test, the yield of toxic CO and other pyrolysis products was significantly reduced, indicating a decrease in toxicity. Phosphorus-containing compounds were detected in gas phase, which verified the gaseous phase flame retardant effect of HPNFR. Besides, HPNFR would not significantly damage the transparence of EP thermosets, consequently reserved it’s application value in some special fields.

This work aims to investigate the effects of dosing regiments on drug delivery in solid tumors and to validate them with experiments on rats. The lumped parameter models of pharmacokinetics and of drug delivery in tumor were developed to simulate time courses of average drug concentration (Ct) of tumor interstitium in two types of dosing regiments (i.e., single-shot and triple-shot ones). The two regiments were performed via antitumor drug, hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), on rats, to measure the drug concentration in the tumor. The simulations of the drug concentration in the tumor of the two dosing regiments were conducted and compared with the experimental data on rats. The coefficients in the models were investigated. It is concluded that the triple-shot method is more effective than that of single-shot injection. The present lumped-parameter model is quantitatively competent for drug delivery in solid tumor.

Bottom ash is the main solid residue (in weight) which is produced by municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) facilities. This material is composed of a mineral matrix and may be used as secondary raw material for construction purpose. However, for this specific application the leaching behavior of the environmentally relevant elements under field conditions is different from the predicted behavior based on results obtained from the standardized leaching test. Therefore, a 70-day simulative experiment has been carried out in this study to investigate the release of major heavy metals (Cu and Pb) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from several particle fractions of bottom ash under a static leaching condition, where bottom ash was immersed in water at different initial pH values. Results showed that: (1) the leaching behavior of Cu and Pb was much similar with that depicted by the standardized leaching tests, and fit well with the solubility-controlling mechanism; (2) the sorption mechanism on the neoformed phases may control the solubility of Pb, whereas the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) may play an important role in the solubility of Cu; and (3) the leached PAHs were degraded during the later period of leaching process.

A coupled intravascular–transvascular–interstitial fluid flow model is developed to study the distributions of blood flow and interstitial fluid pressure in solid tumor microcirculation based on a tumor-induced microvascular network. This is generated from a 2D nine-point discrete mathematical model of tumor angiogenesis and contains two parent vessels. Blood flow through the microvascular network and interstitial fluid flow in tumor tissues are performed by the extended Poiseuille’s law and Darcy’s law, respectively, transvascular flow is described by Starling’s law; effects of the vascular permeability and the interstitial hydraulic conductivity are also considered. The simulation results predict the heterogeneous blood supply, interstitial hypertension and low convection on the inside of the tumor, which are consistent with physiological observed facts. These results may provide beneficial information for anti-angiogenesis treatment of tumor and further clinical research.

Numerical simulation of hemodynamics under the combined effects of both the host blood vessel and the microvascular network, which is based on a 2-D tumor inside and outside vascular network generated from a discrete mathematical model of tumor-induced angiogenesis, is performed systemically. And a “microvascular network—transport across microvascular network—flow in interstitium” model is developed to study the flow in solid tumor. Simulations are carried out to examine the effects of the variations of the inlet Reynolds number in the host blood vessel, the hydraulic conductivity of the microvascular wall, and interstitial hydraulic conductivity coefficient on the fluid flow in tumor microcirculation. The results are consistent with data obtained in terms of physiology. These results may provide some theoretical references and the bases for further clinical experimental research.

Summary Elevated CO2 enhanced defence against Pseudomonas syringae in tomato plants, not only by reducing stomata-mediated entry of P. syringae but also by invoking a stomata-independent pathway to counteract P. syringae., Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) in agricultural and natural ecosystems is known to reduce plant stomatal opening, but it is unclear whether these CO2-induced stomatal alterations are associated with foliar pathogen infections. In this study, tomato plants were grown under ambient and elevated [CO2] and inoculated with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000, a strain that is virulent on tomato plants. We found that elevated [CO2] enhanced tomato defence against P. syringae. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that stomatal aperture of elevated [CO2] plants was considerably smaller than their ambient counterparts, which affected the behaviour of P. syringae bacteria on the upper surface of epidermal peels. Pharmacological experiments revealed that nitric oxide (NO) played a role in elevated [CO2]-induced stomatal closure. Silencing key genes involved in NO generation and stomatal closing, nitrate reductase (NR) and guard cell slow-type anion channel 1 (SLAC1), blocked elevated [CO2]-induced stomatal closure and resulted in significant increases in P. syringae infection. However, the SLAC1-silenced plants, but not the NR-silenced plants, still had significantly higher defence under elevated [CO2] compared with plants treated with ambient [CO2]. Similar results were obtained when the stomata-limiting factor for P. syringae entry was excluded by syringe infiltration inoculation. These results indicate that elevated [CO2] induces defence against P. syringae in tomato plants, not only by reducing the stomata-mediated entry of P. syringae but also by invoking a stomata-independent pathway to counteract P. syringae. This information is valuable for designing proper strategies against bacterial pathogens under changing agricultural and natural ecosystems.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of a group education program with personal rehabilitation for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD).Methods:A single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial, with a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design. Fortyfour stable, non-demented patients with IPD were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=23) and control group (n=21). Three group lectures on health education specific to IPD were delivered to the intervention group. The theme of lectures was “Not a lonely journey, as your friend, we—experts specializing in IPD— would love to join with you.” Three domains of the management of IPD were mentioned: “How to manage your routine Meal, Moving and Mood after suffering from IPD” Each lecture was scheduled for 45 minutes (excluding breaks), and designed as an interactive dialogue rather than a traditional lecture. To strengthen the impact of the lectures, relevant information was published on a website: http://www.parkinsonism.cn/. Following the group lecture, individualized and tailored rehabilitation made up of 24 half-hour sessions over eight weeks were provided for the intervention group.Results:The program ran smoothly and IPD patients were satisfied with this program. After only eight weeks, the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in the intervention group improved significantly (pConclusion:Group education combined with personal rehabilitation program appears to be a beneficial and practical intervention, not only complementing the medical treatment for IPD patients but also meeting the growing demand for long-term care.

Solid tumor has become one of the most serious diseases that threaten mankind’s health and life all over the world. It is well recognized that structural and functional abnormalities of tumor vascularity and the subsequent microenvironment and cellular adaptive consequences creates a great barrier for drug delivery in solid tumors, contributing to treatment resistance. Hence, the investigation of microcirculatory dynamics in solid tumors has important significance for improving the effectiveness of many anticancer therapies.Copyright © 2007 by ASME

In this paper, a numerical method is developed to investigate the microcirculation in solid tumors based on the mathematical models of tumor angiogenesis and tumor microcirculation. The 2D9P (2-dimensional 9-point) model of tumor angiogenesis used in this paper is an improvement on the 2D5P (2-dimensional 5-point) one of Anderson and Chaplain. The model of tumor microcirculation provides the link between the microvasculature and interstitial space perfusion through a matrix describing the local vascular density, and accordingly couples the intravascular and interstitial flow by vascular leaky terms. The intravascular, transvascular and interstitial flow are governed by the flux conservation equation, Starling's law and Darcy's law, respectively; compliance of tumor vessels is specified by the empirical equation from Netti et al., and blood rheology follows the formula proposed by Pries et al. with an extension of distribution rules of haematocrit at branches on the basis of Fung's conclusions. We simulate the flows numerically. The results not only present the basic features and characteristics of tumor microcirculation, consisting with the corresponding experimental observations reported, but also predict an intimate relationship between the tumor intravascular and interstitial flow, among which the vascular leakiness is one key factor to govern the systemic flowing pattern, influence the tumor internal environment and contribute to the metastasis of tumor cells.

Intracranial pressure fluctuates due to heart beat, respiration, neuro-regulation, etc. Traditional intracranial pressure study focuses on the static pressure and related factors, putting emphasis on mean intracranial pressure, while paying little attention to the pulse components. This study was composed of two parts: animal experiment and theoretical analysis. The animal experiment was performed on 14 mongrel dogs, studying the variation of intracranial pressure wave form under different intracranial pressure level. The dogs were installed epidurally with latex sacculus to establish models of increased intracranial pressure. The degree of intracranial pressure and volume could be altered by changing the volume of fluid in the sacculus. During the process, pressure transducers were arranged to monitor and record the variations of the pressure of intracranial ventricle and lumbar subarachnoid cavity. The result demonstrated that, with the continual increase of intracranial pressure, intracranial pulse pressure increased correspondingly, showing a linear relationship with the change of intracranial pressure. After the sacculus was emptied and reinfused, the slope of the linear relationship was determined to be greater than the former slope. The same result was obtained in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Therefore, the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid pressure is consistent with the intracranial pressure. Intracranial pulse pressure is in linear relationship with mean pressure, and the slope of their linear relationship predicts the perform of intracranial autoregulation.