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Additional file 2. Supplementary figures and tables.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects 7% of pregnant women worldwide. How to effectively treat GDM has always been a concern of people.Research methods: In this study, a diabetes model was established by drug-induced mice. Subsequently, the blood glucose levels and serum insulin changes of the mice after N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) treatment were observed. At the same time, the effect of NAC on reproduction of GDM mice was recorded.Results of the study: Mice fed NAC showed significantly improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity compared to Diabetic/Control. Total serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, and serum low-density lipoprotein were significantly reduced, and atherosclerosis index was much lower than in control mice. In addition, Diabetic/Control mice had lower litter sizes and higher birth weights. NAC treatment significantly restored litter size and reduced birth weight in Diabetic/Control mice. It was found in WB assay that the NAC-fed group significantly increased nuclear Nrf2 and HO-1 expression levels.Conclusion: NAC can improve blood glucose tolerance in GDM mice; NAC effectively relieves the symptoms of hyperlipidemia caused by GDM; NAC enhances the expression of Nrf2/HO-1 in the liver, thereby restoring redox homeostasis. NAC can reduce gestational diabetes-related disease indicators by oral administration, and has a beneficial effect on the offspring of pregnant mice (reduces its diabetes disease indicators).

The emergence of multiple drug delivery systems can solve the disadvantages of single-drug therapy, such as high dose and easy generation of drug resistance. Here, we designed a sialic acid–targeted dextran-mercaptopurine prodrug linked by carbonyl vinyl sulfide for coordinate ZnO quantum dots to achieve multiple drug delivery (doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, 6-mercaptopurine), which can be released under the trigger of pH and glutathione. To enhance the antitumor effect, we used inorganic photosensitizer CdSe quantum dots to achieve photodynamic therapy, which can produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (hydroxyl radicals) under light conditions. Notably, we found that glutathione is consumed by the delivery of 6-mercaptopurine. It is able to efficiently amplify intracellular oxidative stress via increasing •OH generation. After chelating 99mTc4+ radioisotopes by diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid, the drug delivery system could be tracked under in vivo single-photon emission computed tomography imaging. The results showed that the phenylboronic acid targeting substance can specifically recognize sialic acid, so that the drug system has a good accumulation in the tumor site, which can better increase the therapeutic effect. Compared to free doxorubicin, the drug system can reduce the IC50 value of cells 4.4-fold under light conditions and significantly inhibit tumor growth in vivo. These data indicate that the sialic acid–targeted nanomedicine system has achieved ideal antitumor effects and apparent photodynamic therapy effects and has broad application prospects.

Additional file 2: Fig. S1. The comparison of specificity, AUC and sensitivity values of the four machine learning models, including random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), ADABOOST classifier and neural network (NNET). Fig. S2. Comparison of performance of the random forest model and 5-gene risk score in the prediction of overall survival in the OHSU dataset. Fig. S3. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by the median patient age, gender and CEBPA mutation (A���F) of the TCGA cohort. Fig. S4. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by ELN classification, TP53 and IDH1 mutation (A���F) of the TCGA cohort. Fig. S5. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by DNMT3A, FLT3 and NP1 mutations (A���F) of the TCGA cohort. Fig. S6. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by bone marrow transplant and targeted therapy (A-F) of the TCGA cohort. Fig. S7. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by the median patient���s age, gender and CEBPA mutation (A���F) of the OHSU cohort. Fig. S8. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� OS with the risk score in the subgroups of LGG patients stratified by ELN classification, FLT3-ITD and NP1 mutation (A���F) of the OHSU cohort. Fig. S9. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� RFS with the risk score in three subgroups of LGG patients stratified by RUNX1, TP53 and ASXL1 mutation (A���F) of the OHSU cohort. Fig. S10. Kaplan���Meier survival analysis of patients��� RFS with the risk score in three subgroups of LGG patients stratified by bone marrow transplant and targeted therapy (A���D) of the OHSU cohort.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Association between the clinical features and patients��� mortality in 403 AML patients of the OHSU dataset. Table S2. Feature importance in the random forest model. Table S3. The significantly up-regulated signalling pathways in the high or low risk score group of the TCGA cohort. Table S4. The significantly up-regulated signalling pathways in the high risk score group of the OHSU cohort. Table S5. The comparison of clinical characteristics among the three subgroups of AML patients in the TCGA dataset. Table S6. The comparison of clinical characteristics among the three subgroups of AML patients in the OHSU dataset.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with lung adenocarcinoma (LAC) representing the most common subtype. Trophinin-associated protein (TROAP) is a cytoplasmic protein first identified to mediate the process of embryo transplantation, which has been recently found to be involved in microtubule regulation. However, limited information about the role of TROAP in LAC is available. METHODS: We evaluated the relationship of TROAP expression in LAC tissues with clinical pathologic parameters and the survival time in LAC patients based on a statistical analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) lung cancer data (N=528). Differences in survival between high and low expression groups (median expression cutoff) from the Cox univariate/multivariate regression analysis were then compared. RESULTS: According to the Chi-square tests, we found high TROAP expression correlated with younger age (≤60) (P=0.047), male sex (P30 pack-year) (P

A weighted subspace-constrained minimum variance distortion-less response (WS-MVDR) beamformer is proposed for robustly controlling the peak sidelobe level (PSL) as well as the sidelobe shape of adaptive array pattern with stable mainlobe. The adaptive weight vector is projected onto the subspace constructed from the weighted sidelobe steering vectors. The norm of the projection is constrained below the derived constant value determined by the desired PSL. The only inequality constraint is introduced to the conventional MVDR beamformer, resulting in a second-order cone programming problem. The numerical results demonstrate that WS-MVDR outperforms existing ones in terms of beampattern control capability and computational complexity.

Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-1-tct-10.1177_15330338211004933 for A Novel 85-Gene Expression Signature Predicts Unfavorable Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Yanli Lai, Lixia Sheng, Jiaping Wang, Miao Zhou and Guifang OuYang in Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment

Additional file 2: The supplementary tables which support the findings of this study.

Additional file 1: The supplementary figures which support the findings of this study.

Herein, we construct a charge - switchable polymer nano micelles poly (2-(hexamethyl eneimino) ethyl methacrylate) - b - poly (ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylate) - b - poly (diethyl en...

Background: Studies have illustrated the association of malaria cases with environmental factors in Cameroon but limited in addressing how these factors vary in space for timely public health interventions. Thus, we want to find the spatial variability between malaria hotspot cases and environmental predictors using Geographically weighted regression (GWR) spatial modelling technique.Methods: The global Ordinary least squares (OLS) in the modelling spatial relationships tool in ArcGIS 10.3. was used to select candidate explanatory environmental variables for a properly specified GWR model. The local GWR model used the global OLS candidate variables to examine, predict and explore the spatial variability between environmental factors and malaria hotspot cases generated from Getis-Ord Gi* statistical analysis. Results: The OLS candidate environmental variable coefficients were statistically significant (adjusted R2 = 22.3% and p < 0.01) for a properly specified GWR model. The GWR model identified a strong spatial association between malaria cases and rainfall, vegetation index, population density, and drought episodes in most hotspot areas and a weak correlation with aridity and proximity to water with an overall model performance of 0.243 (adjusted R2= 24.3%).Conclusion: The generated GWR maps suggest that for policymakers to eliminate malaria in Cameroon, there should be the creation of malaria outreach programs and further investigations in areas where the environmental variables showed strong spatial associations with malaria hotspot cases.

Supplemental material, Support_information for Sialic acid–targeted drug delivery and imaging system for pH- and glutathione-triggered multiple anticancer drug release and enhanced oxidative stress by Licong Peng, Xianwu Zeng, Qianqian Qi, Hailiang Zhang, Jinping Fu, Miao Zhou and Jianchao Yuan in Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers

S_Tables for The Solute Carrier Family 2 Genes Are Potential Prognostic Biomarkers in Acute Myeloid Leukemia by Binbin Lai, Yanli Lai, Yanli Zhang, Miao Zhou, Lixia Sheng and Guifang OuYang in Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment

The parallel hybrid excitation machine (PHEM) consists of axial parallel permanent magnet machine part and doubly salient electromagnetic machine part. The three-phase armature windings of two parts are connected in series. Based on the waveforms of back electromotive force, both sinusoidal and rectangular current excitations can be adopted in PHEM. The torque characteristics of PHEM drives with ideal sinusoidal and ideal rectangular current excitations are analyzed. The average torque versus armature current in brushless ac (BLAC) and brushless dc drives are comparatively analyzed. Furthermore, the torque and torque ripple versus current angle in some typical armature currents are investigated. Moreover, the speed and torque waveforms are given under the vector control and the current pulsewidth modulation control scheme. Finally, the experimental data of the target PHEM agree well with the simulation results. It is shown that in BLAC drives, the PHEM exhibits higher torque density with lower torque ripple.

This paper describes a novel promising film based on the flowerlike CuWO4 structure, and applied to photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting as a photoanode first. The growth mechanism and microstructure of CuWO4 are discussed in detail. The PEC measurements indicate that flowerlike CuWO4 exhibited a photocurrent density of 0.58 mA/cm2 at 0.8 V versus RHE. When coupled with CdS and FeOOH layers, the triple CuWO4/CdS/FeOOH photoanode exhibited further improved PEC performance with a higher photocurrent density of about 2.05 mA/cm2 at 0.8 V versus RHE and excellent operation stability. The remarkable PEC performance stems from several crucial factors: (i) ideal band gap; (ii) improved light absorption; (iii) efficient charge–hole pair separation and collection.

Nanometer-sized exosomes are being widely studied as cell-to-cell communicators and versatile drug vehicles. Characterizations of the biodistribution of these exosomes are essential for the evaluation of their biological functions and drug delivery efficacy. However, current technologies for exosome tracking rely on fluorescence and have the disadvantages of being low throughput due to the limited number of available channels and spectral spillover. Here, we reported the development of an engineering approach that involves loading of metal isotope-containing intercalators into exosomes to quantify exosome uptake at the single-cell level. We demonstrate that mass cytometry in conjunction with highly multivariate cellular phenotyping enables high-throughput identification of the in vivo fate of exosomes. Inspired by these insights into cellular distribution, we optimized the administration methods for exosome-based drug delivery, verifying the anticancer efficacy of these exosomes in a mouse model of breast cancer. The evaluation of exosome's fate in vivo at the single-cell level provides valuable insights into the functions of exosomes in vivo and facilitates the improvement of exosome-based therapy.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. NK cells were defined as CD3-CD56 + CD16+, Treg cells were defined as CD4 + CD25 +.

Figure S1. TRPM7 is an independent indicator of poor prognosis in lung cancer. (A) Kaplan-Meier analysis of TRPM7 gene expression in GSE37745 lung cancer dataset show patients with low TRPM7 expression had better overall survival than those with high TRPM7 expression. (B) Kaplan-Meier analysis of TRPM7 gene expression in GSE30219 lung cancer dataset show patients with low TRPM7 expression had longer relapse-free survival than those with high TRPM7 expression. (DOCX 184 kb)

This paper presents experiments on the retraction/deployment of an active–passive composited driving deployable boom for space probes. To satisfy the requirements of accurate position tracking and unrumpled retraction/deployment of the boom, it is essential to maintain energy equilibrium in the retracting/deploying process and simultaneously compensate the model for uncertainties when controlling the deployable boom. To this end, parameter matching among the drive motor, reaction spring and lenticular boom is deduced from the energy equilibrium constraints of the system, and an adaptive controller augmented with a robust controller is investigated to compensate for or reject the effect of model uncertainties. Particularly, a terrestrial experimental setup is established to validate the efficiency of the parameter matching and the composited controller for the deployable boom. The experimental results demonstrate that the designed deployable boom can track the desired trajectory accurately with unrumpled retraction/deployment.

Background: Cephamycins prophylactic used in colorectal surgery have been widely evaluated, but the uncertainty remains about the comparative effects of different antibiotics. The meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of cephamycins compared with other agents used as prophylaxis in colorectal surgery.Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) meeting the criteria was performed using Review Manager.Results: Thirty-nine trials involving 4,755 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The cephamycins were not as effective as other antibiotics for the prevention of postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) (Risk Ratio [RR] 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04, 1.34; P=0.008) and had no advantages in reduction of systemic infection and distal infection. For each antibiotic belonging to cephamycins, there was no statistical difference when cefoxitin and cefotetan were compared with penicillins and cephalosporins on prevention of SSI, while cefmetazole had advantages over cephalosporins on prevention of SSI (RR 0.46; 95% CI 0.22, 0.96; P=0.04).Conclusions: The prophylactic use of cefoxitin and cefotetan in colorectal operations has no significant advantages over other antibiotics. However, cefmetazole may be effective in the prevention of postoperative infections and its efficacy should be researched further and considered by perioperative medical staff. Therefore, it is of great importance to optimize the prophylactic use of antibiotics in colorectal operations. Citation: Yu Ding, Feng-Ying Xu, Miao Zhou, Yu- Xin Li, Hua He, Xue- Peng Zhang, et al. Assessing prophylacticcephamycins used in colorectal surgery: a meta- analysis. J Anesth Perioper Med 2015; 2: 75-86. doi: 10.24015/JAPM.2015.0012This is an open-access article, published by Evidence Based Communications (EBC). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format for any lawful purpose. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) held its Second Sub-forum on International Marxism in Beijing on November 16–17, 2013, with left-wing scholars in the areas of economics, philosophy, political science and international relations in attendance. The theme for the forum was “Socialism and the World Today,” and in this relation participants discussed the development of Marxism and socialism in the twenty-first century. The gathering was an impressive success, and this review takes up the following aspects of the research presented during the proceedings. In first place is the need to meet the challenges of the time, promoting continual innovation and development in the areas of Marxist theory and world socialism. A second aspect is the need for theoretical research into, and thorough understanding of, the capitalist economic crisis. A third aspect is represented by criticism and analysis of contemporary capitalist society, and a fourth by theory and discussion on socialism and on socialism with C...

The newly observed ($\sqrt3$$\times$$\sqrt3$) surface reconstruction in heteroepitaxial Si(111) thin films on metal substrates is widely considered as a promising platform to realize 2D Dirac and topological states, yet its formation mechanism and structural stability are poorly understood, leading to the controversial terminology of "multilayer silicene". Based on valence bond and conjugation theory, we propose a ��-conjugation plus charge-transfer model to elucidate such a unique "bamboo hat" surface geometry. The formation of planar ring-shaped ��-conjugation and charge transfer from the rings to upper buckled Si atoms greatly lower the surface dangling bond energy. We justify this unconventional Si structural model by analyzing from first-principles surface energies and surface stress tensors as a function of strain. Within the same formalism, additional metastable surface reconstructions with the similar "bamboo hat" features are predicted which opens possibilities to other exotic electronic states in silicon.

This review traces the translation and introduction of Fernando Pessoa's work for Chinese readers over the last several decades.

An integrated production-inventory-delivery lean supply chain model is discussed. The model is integrated with production, supply and distribution through cost. And the delivery of purchasing and distribution is consolidated. A non-linear programming model with multivariable is proposed. The length of path and the frequency of delivery are regarded as decision-making variables. The optimal delivery path and the length of path are first solved by using improved ant colony optimization algorithm. And the optimal frequency of delivery and the batch of delivery are achieved. Last, the model is validated through an example and the result indicates the model is simple and practical. Moreover it is meaningful for practice.

Using hybrid density functional theory, we investigate the structural, electronic and optical properties of pristine GaN and Fe-doped GaN with a Fe concentration of 12.5%. Specifically, we first analyze the crystal lattice constant, band structure, and density of states, respectively. Then we predict the dielectric function, absorption coefficient, refractive index, reflectivity, energy-loss spectrum and extinction coefficient. Finally, we analyze the influences of the doping of Fe element on the photoelectric property of Fe doped systems. The calculated lattice constants for perfect GaN are a=b=3.19 Å, c=5.18 Å, which are in good agreement with the experimental values. Furthermore, we find that the doping of Fe element has little effect on the structural properties of GaN. The Band gap of pristine GaN is predicted to be 3.41 eV, very close to the experimental value of 3.39 eV. The band gap of Fe doped GaN (12.5%) significantly decreases to 3.06 eV. By comparing the densities of states of the systems with and without Fe doping, it is found that Fe-3 d state is mainly responsible for the decrease of band gap. The calculated static dielectric constant of perfect GaN is 5.74, and it increases to 6.20 after incorporating the Fe element. The results about the imaginary part of dielectric function show that two equal-strength perfect GaN peaks are observed to be at 6.81 eV and 10.85 eV. The first peak is closely related to the direction transition from the valence band top to the conduction band bottom. Furthermore, it is also observed that a peak is located at 4.04 eV in the low energy, which can be understood as resulting from the electron transition inside the valence band. The optical absorption edge of the intrinsic GaN is 3.25 eV, corresponding to the transition energy. The reason why this energy is smaller than the bandgap is because the electronic band gap equals the sum of optical bandgap and exciton energy. However, the maximum absorption coefficients of these two systems both occur at 13.80 eV in energy. The refractive index for intrinsic system is 2.39, and it increases to 2.48 after doping the Fe element. It is found from the energy-loss spectrum that the maximum energy-loss is at 20.02 eV for a perfect system, while it is at 18.96 eV for a doped system. Additionally, we obtain the reliable reflectivity and excitation coefficient. In conclusion, our calculated results provide a well theoretical basis for the theoretical research on the co-doping of Fe element and other elements. The analyses on the Fe-doped GaN high-voltage photoconductive switch materials and devices also provide a powerful theoretical basis and experimental support in the future research.

A new type of piezoelectric electro-hydraulic servo valve system was proposed. And then multilayer piezoelectric actuator based on new piezoelectric ceramic material was used as the electricity-machine converter of the proposed piezoelectric electro-hydraulic servo valve. The proposed piezoelectric electro-hydraulic servo valve has ascendant performance compared with conventional ones. But the system is of high nonlinearity and uncertainty, it cannot achieve favorable control performance by conventional control method. To develop an efficient way to control piezoelectric electro-hydraulic servo valve system, a high-precise fuzzy control method with hysteresis nonlinear model in feedforward loop was proposed. The control method is separated into two parts: a feedforward loop with Preisach hysteresis nonlinear model and a feedback loop with high-precise fuzzy control. Experimental results show that the hysteresis loop and the maximum output hysteresis by the PID control method are 4.22% and 2.11 μm, respectively; the hysteresis loop and the maximum output hysteresis by the proposed control method respectively are 0.74% and 0.37 μm, respectively; the maximum tracking error by the PID control method for sine wave reference signal is about 5.02%, the maximum tracking error by the proposed control method for sine wave reference signal is about 0.85%.

The PM parts and electrical excitation part synchronously contribute to the output torque for the parallel hybrid excitation machine (PHEM), which consists of the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) and the doubly salient electro-magnet machine (DSEM). In this paper, the torque-angle characteristic of the presented machine is analyzed by finite element analysis (FEA). The field current has an important effect on the output torque coupling of the two sections. The maximum torque with different field currents are found out and the simulation results provide important basis for the control of the PHEM.

El crecimiento de la población china de ultramar es un fenómeno planetario que caracteriza la actual globalización. Sin embargo, la bibliografía es escasa y no existen informes ni estadísticas oficiales de su gobierno. Atraída por esa importancia y ese vacío, deseo profundizar en las razones de dichas migraciones hacia Europa y, en concreto, España. Aplicaré conocimientos del Grado relativos a Teoría de Juegos, enfoques microeconómicos sobre las familias y las migraciones, así como cuestiones de Economía Regional y Local. Con ellos describiré los retos de la comunidad china inmigrante: su capacidad emprendedora; el impacto en los lugares de origen, ese mundo rural chino profundo conectado a occidente por sus oriundos; la organización familiar como estructura productiva y afectiva, con el difícil papel de la mujer y descendientes; la importancia del capital social y la reputación entre los paisanos para sacar adelante sus negocios; el cambio de valores a lo largo del proceso migratorio, desde una mentalidad patriarcal procedente de un Estado marxista autoritario a la de una sociedad abierta. Finalmente, se deduce que el proceso del retorno a China no es estable en el largo plazo, y que queda mucho margen para mejorar la legislación migratoria en la materia.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy (VATSL) has developed rapidly. As per the requirements of tumor staging and oncotherapy, the technique of VATS mediastinal lymph node dissection plays an important role. With our experience, lymph node dissection can be performed very well on the condition that surgical process and skills be optimized.

Shivering is a frequent complication in the postoperative period. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of dexmedetomidine on postoperative shivering. Two researchers independently searched PubMed, EMBASE™ and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for controlled clinical trials. The meta-analysis was performed by Review Manager. Thirty-nine trials with 2,478 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Dexmedetomidine reduced postoperative shivering compared with placebo (risk ratio [RR] = 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20 to 0.34), with a minimum effective dose of 0.5 µg·kg−1 (RR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.60). The anti-shivering effect can be achieved both intravenously and epidurally when administered within two hours prior to the end of surgery. The efficacy of dexmedetomidine was similar to widely used anti-shivering agents, such as fentanyl, meperidine, tramadol, clonidine and so on; however, dexmedetomidine may increase the incidence of sedation, hypotension, bradycardia and dry mouth. The present meta-analysis indicates that dexmedetomidine shows superiority over placebo, but not over other anti-shivering agents. Therefore, considering its high price and potential adverse events, dexmedetomidine may not be appropriate solely for the purpose of the prevention of postoperative shivering.

This study is designed to investigate the treatment approach and prognosis of pulmonary ground-glass-like shadow, especially solitary nodular ground-glass opacity (SNGGO).Forty-nine cases of SNGGO that persisted after anti-inflammatory treatment in our hospital were retrospectively studied. These patients received thoracoscopic surgery due to indefinitive diagnosis and a tendency of canceration (some cases were followed up for 1-24 months before surgery). Intraoperative rapid frozen section was performed for pathological diagnosis, and surgery method was chosen according to pathological results and the health status of the patients.Forty-three cases showed malignancy, among which 36 cases received thoracoscopic total resection of the lung cancer and seven received simple wedge resection or pulmonary segment resection due to poor lung function; two cases were atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) and received wedge resection; and four cases were benign and received lesion resection only. Intraoperative frozen section results were in line with postoperative pathological analysis. No lymph node metastasis was detected in any malignant cases as indicated by lymph node dissection or sampling. All malignant cases were staged Ia by postoperative pathological analysis. Neither recurrence nor metastasis occurred during the 1-30 months' follow-up.SNGGO that persists after anti-inflammatory treatment tend to be adenocarcinoma, which can hardly be diagnosed in the early stage through non-invasive examination. If there's no contraindication for surgery, video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS)-guided resection of the lesion plus intraoperative rapid frozen section should be performed to synchronize diagnosis and treatment, which could achieve satisfactory prognosis.

To explore the characteristics and distribution of GATA-4 in the testis of male mice.Paraffin sections were obtained from the testes of 24 male B6SJLF1/J mice, aged 0 day (n = 6), 2 weeks (n = 6), 4 weeks (n = 6) and 6 weeks (n = 6), and the expressions of GATA-4 in the testis were observed by the immunohistochemical ABC method and DAB visualization at different times.Positive expressions of GATA4 were found in the Sertoli cells and Leydig cells of all the mice, but significantly higher in the 4- and 6-week-old than in the 0-day and 2-week-old groups (P0.01). And they were also observed in the germ cells of the 4- and 6-week-old mice, significantly higher in the latter than in the former (P0.01).GATA-4 exists in the testis of male mice, which has provided a morphological base for sex determination and differentiation and hormone regulation in the testis.

A major challenge of spintronics is in generating, controlling and detecting spin-polarized current. Manipulation of spin-polarized current, in particular, is difficult. We demonstrate here, based on calculated transport properties of graphene nanoribbons, that nearly +-100% spin-polarized current can be generated in zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) and tuned by a source-drain voltage in the bipolar spin diode, in addition to magnetic configurations of the electrodes. This unusual transport property is attributed to the intrinsic transmission selection rule of the spin subbands near the Fermi level in ZGNRs. The simultaneous control of spin current by the bias voltage and the magnetic configurations of the electrodes provides an opportunity to implement a whole range of spintronics devices. We propose theoretical designs for a complete set of basic spintronic devices, including bipolar spin diode, transistor and logic gates, based on ZGNRs., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

After entering the information technology era, the product displaying the animation technology has already been in a period of leap-forward development. The rapid development of this techonlogy arises from the diverse scientific and cultural system. The clarification of the relationship between the digital technology and cultural aesthetics involved in the video animation was done in this paper in terms of the product displaying the animation technology, with the exploration on obtaining the aesthetic approaches to the product displaying the animation technology through the three-dimensional technology and post-editing technology. The importance of the aesthetic cultural awareness in the development of the product displaying the animation technology is illustrated, with the proposals of the new thinking, new perspectives and new approaches for the transcendence and integration from the field of digital virtual technology to the field of aesthetic culture in the product displaying the animation.

To investigate the effects of experimental left varicocele (ELV) on the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (Flt-1) proteins in the testis and epididymis of adolescent rats, and to find out the correlation of the two proteins with varicocele-induced male infertility.We established the ELV model in adolescent male SD rats, and detected the expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 proteins in the testis and epididymis by immunohistochemistry at 2 and 4 weeks after surgery.Cell- and region-specific expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 were observed in the testis and epididymis of the ELV and control groups. Statistical analysis showed that, in comparison with the corresponding control groups, the 2- and 4-week ELV groups exhibited a notable increase in the VEGF protein expression in the hibateral testis and epididymis (P0.01, P0.05); the Flt-1 expression was obviously upregulated in the hibateral testis and epididymis of the 2-week ELV group (P0.01, P0.01), but remarkably reduced in the hibateral testis and left epididymis of the 4-week ELV group (P0.01, P0.05), with no statistic difference in the right epididymis (P0.05).ELV can cause changes in the expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 proteins in the testis and epididymis of adolescent rats, and consequently affect spermatogenesis and spermiotelcosis, which may be one of the causes of varicocele-induced male infertility or subfertility.

To study the expressions of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (Flt-1) in the testis, epididymis and epididymal sperm of adolescent rats and explore the functions of both the proteins in the male reproductive system.The expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 were detected in 20 adolescent SD rats, immunohistochemical staining used for both the testis and the epididymis and immunofluorescent staining for sperm.VEGF and Flt-1 proteins were specifically present in the testis, epididymis and sperm. In the testis, VEGF immunoreactive particles were localized in the cytoplasm of spermatogenic cells, the developing acrosome of spermatids, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells, while Flt-1 expressed mainly in the developing acrosome of spermatids and Leydig cells. In the epididymis, the cell-specific and region-specific expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 proteins were observed in the principal cells of epididymal epithelia, VEGF in the whole epididymis, while Flt-1 only in the caput and cauda segments. Both VEGF and Flt-1 were localized in the acrosome of the sperm head as well as in the neck, middle and principal segments of the sperm tail.The specific expression patterns of VEGF and Flt-1 in the rat testis, epididymis and sperm indicate that they may independently or collectively affect spermatogenesis and spermiotelcosis in either an autocrinological or a

This paper introduces an improved model considering handling cost and handling time for multi-rows facility layout problem(FLP).A hybrid algorithm which is the superposition of genetic algorithm(GA) and tabu search(TS) is proposed to solve the model. A recombination operator called TSR is designed through introducing the memory function of TS into simple Garand a mutation operator called TSM is also designed to improve climbing ability of the simple GA through utilizing TS algorithm. Last, this algorithm is proved that it has better global search capacity and faster convergence rate by case study. It is a better algorithm for solving facility layout problem.

This paper introduces a new hybrid control policy called BCK policy(the superposition of Base Stock, CONWIP, and Kanban). According to BCK policy, the wheel trim production line with four stages in series is modeled by petri net. And the model is simulated by Arena simulation software package version 7.0. The performance of BCK policy against other policies is compared through simulation experiments. The simulation results show that BCK policy has better performance comparing to other policies. When circumstance varies, BCK policy shows better stability and robustness. It is particularly suited to the current volatile environment and deserves our full attention.

To review the clinical experience of muscle-sparing thoracotomy in intrathoracic surgery.Thoracotomy was performed in 386 patients from 1998 to 2002, during the procedure lateral-transverse incision, free dissection of muscular flap and entering to the thoracic cavity through certain intercostal space were applied. Two sets of rib retractors were used to ensure the excellent field exposure.Intrathoracic surgery was carried out by this method with the advantage of excellent surgical field exposure, less pain and relative quick recovery.Muscle-sparing thoracotomy has the merits of less injury and the same good exposure as routine thoracotomy and it can be carried out in majority of chest surgery.

Summary form only given, as follows. Diamond films and carbon nanotubes can both be synthesized by microwave-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MECVD) technology. When a mixture of methane, nitrogen and hydrogen is used to generate the discharge, either diamond or graphite phases, or both, can be formed on the substrate. Using optical emission spectra (OES), we have found a strong correlation between the type of active species (CN and CH) and the phase of growth on the substrate. In particular, in the case of carbon nanotube growth, intensity ratio of CN and C/sub 2/ radicals was found to be closely related with morphology, microstructure and graphitization degree of the samples prepared at different CH/sub 4//N/sub 2/ ratio. Carbon nanotubes show well aligned from SEM picture at about 20% CH/sub 4/ ratio, longer in length and denser in distribution indicate high growth rate. "Nanobell" structure from TEM results is polymerized when nitrogen dominates in the mixing gas and the length and thickness of the nanobells varied with the CH/sub 4/ ratio. Raman spectra show better graphitization of sample at low CH/sub 4/ ratio and more amorphous structures form when CH/sub 4/ ratio increase. Relative concentration of CN to C/sub 2/ radicals benefits to the alignment of nanotubes and is disadvantageous to the graphitization of samples. However, in the case of diamond growth, as indicated by optical emission spectra, CH radicals play key role in the diamond phase formation process. The effect of these radicals in plasma to the formation of diamond and graphite phase is briefly discussed.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the clinical virological characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in chronic HBV infection patients of different ages, especially in relapse patients and patients with immune clearance. METHODS The HBV clinical virological characteristics of chronic HBV infection were investigated in 1572 Chinese patients of different age groups ( 40 years old). RESULTS Of the patients in the below 20 age group, those with evidence of immune tolerance accounted for 86.05% (P

The rectangular waveguide grating slow-wave structure (SWS) is a new type of RF system of millimeter traveling wave tube (TWT). However, it has narrow pass band. For the purpose of broadening the bandwidth of this circuit, it is necessary to study the influence of groove shapes on the characteristics. In this paper, the dispersion equation of a rectangular waveguide grating SWS with arbitrary grooves is derived by means of an approximate field-theory analysis, in which the continuous profile of the groove is approximately replaced by a series of steps, and the field continuity at the interface of two neighboring steps and the matching conditions at the interface between the groove region and the interaction region are ensured. The cold test on dispersion characteristics of a rectangular groove SWS shows that the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental results. We have calculated the dispersion characteristics and the coupling impedance of the slow-wave structures with some special groove shapes. It shows that the dispersion characteristics of the triangle-groove structure is the weakest and the coupling impedance of it is the lowest, while the dispersion characteristics of the inverted-trapezoid-groove structure is the strongest and the coupling impedance of it is the highest.