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The Super $τ$-Charm facility (STCF) is an electron-positron collider proposed by the Chinese particle physics community. It is designed to operate in a center-of-mass energy range from 2 to 7 GeV with a peak luminosity of $0.5\times 10^{35}{\rm cm}^{-2}{\rm s}^{-1}$ or higher. The STCF will produce a data sample about a factor of 100 larger than that by the present $τ$-Charm factory -- the BEPCII, providing a unique platform for exploring the asymmetry of matter-antimatter (charge-parity violation), in-depth studies of the internal structure of hadrons and the nature of non-perturbative strong interactions, as well as searching for exotic hadrons and physics beyond the Standard Model. The STCF project in China is under development with an extensive R\&D program. This document presents the physics opportunities at the STCF, describes conceptual designs of the STCF detector system, and discusses future plans for detector R\&D and physics case studies.

Contains fulltext : 291437.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Successful treatment of infected bone defects caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDR) has become a major clinical challenge, stressing the urgent need for effective antibacterial bone graft substitutes. Mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs), a rapidly emerging class of nanoscale biomaterials, offer specific advantages for the development of biomaterials to treat bone infection due to endowed antibacterial features. Herein, we propose a facile post-modification sol-gel strategy to synthesize effective antibacterial MBGNs doped with copper ions (Cu-PMMBGNs). In this strategy, amine functional groups as chelating agents were introduced to premade mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) which further facilitate the incorporation of high content of calcium (∼17 mol%) and copper ions (∼8 mol%) without compromising nanoparticle shape, mesoporosity, and homogeneity. The resulting nanoparticles were degradable and showed rapidly induce abundant deposition of apatite crystals on their surface upon soaking in simulated body fluids (SBF) after 3 days. Cu-PMMBGNs exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which are common pathogens causing severe bone infections. Most importantly, the nanoparticles containing 5 mol% copper ions at concentrations of 500 and 1000 μg.mL(-1) showed highly effective antibacterial performance as reflected by a 99.9 % reduction of bacterial viability. Nanoparticles at a concentration of 500 μg.mL(-1) showed no significant cytotoxicity toward preosteoblast cells (∼85-89 % cell viability) compared to the control group. In addition, the nanoscale properties of synthesized Cu-PMMBGNs (∼100 nm in size) facilitated their internalization into preosteoblast cells, which highlights their potential as intracellular carriers in combating intracellular bacteria. Therefore, these copper-doped nanoparticles hold strong promise for use as an antibacterial component in antibacterial bone substitutes such as hydrogels, nanocomposites, and coatings. 01 januari 2023

Background In recent years, more and more research evidence indicates that the causes of various neurodegeneration diseases are related to neuroinflammation in the brain, Aβ1–42 may be a key factor in the development of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, it is urgent to find an effective and targeted alleviation of neuroinflammation caused by Aβ1–42. Methods Our study found that exogenous administration of Aβ1–42 has a very obvious polarizing effect on microglia in the brain compared with the PBS-treated group. After the intervention of Aβ1–42, we obtained the mesenchymal stem cells derived exosome by ultracentrifugation. Microglia were treated with MSC-Exo in vivo and in vitro. Results The MSC-Exo were found have the effect of inhibiting microglial polarization in vivo and in vitro experiments. It was further found that its target gene was TLR2 on the surface of microglial cells to inhibit the expression of the downstream protein MYD88/NF-κB and inhibit the microglia polarization and the development of neuroinflammation. Conclusion MSC-Exo can significantly inhibited the Aβ1–42 induced microglia polarization by TLR2/MYD88/NF-κb pathway.

MotivationFusarium langsethiaeis a T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins producingFusariumspecies firstly characterised in 2004. It is commonly isolated from oats in Northern Europe. T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins exhibit immunological and haemotological effects in animal health mainly through inhibition of protein, RNA and DNA synthesis. The development of a high-quality and comprehensively annotated assembly for this species is therefore essential in providing the molecular understanding and the mechanism of T-2 and HT-2 biosynthesis inF. langsethiaeto help develop effective control strategies.ResultsTheF. langsethiaeassembly was produced using PacBio long reads, which were then assembled independently using Canu, SMARTdenovo and Flye; producing a genome assembly total length of 59Mb and N50 of 3.51Mb. A total of 19,336 coding genes were identified using RNA-Seq informedab-initiogene prediction. Finally, predicting genes were annotated using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) against the NCBI non-redundant (NR) genome database and protein hits were annotated using InterProScan. Genes with blast hits were functionally annotated with Gene Ontology.Contactf.mohareb@cranfield.ac.ukData availabilityRaw sequence reads and assembled genome can be downloaded from: GenBank under the accession JAFFKB000000000

Background The molecular and genetic mechanisms by which different single nucleotide variant alleles in specific genes, or at the same genetic locus, cause distinct disease phenotypes often remain unclear. Allelic truncating mutations of FBN1 could cause either classical Marfan syndrome (MFS) or a more complicated phenotype associated with Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome (MPLS). Methods We investigated a small cohort, encompassing two classical MFS and one MPLS subjects from China, whose clinical presentation included scoliosis potentially requiring surgical intervention. Targeted next generation sequencing was performed on all the participants. We analyzed the molecular diagnosis, clinical features, and the potential molecular mechanism involved in the MPLS subject in our cohort. Results We report a novel de novo FBN1 mutation for the first Chinese subject with MPLS, a more complicated fibrillinopathy, and two subjects with more classical MFS. We further predict that the MPLS truncating mutation, and others previously reported, is prone to escape the nonsense‐mediated decay (NMD), while MFS mutations are predicted to be subjected to NMD. Also, the MPLS mutation occurs within the glucogenic hormone asprosin domain of FBN1. In vitro experiments showed that the single MPLS mutation p.Glu2759Cysfs*9 appears to perturb proper FBN1 protein aggregation as compared with the classical MFS mutation p.Tyr2596Thrfs*86. Both mutations appear to upregulate SMAD2 phosphorylation in vitro. Conclusion We provide direct evidence that a dominant‐negative interaction of FBN1 potentially explains the complex MPLS phenotypes through genetic and functional analysis. Our study expands the mutation spectrum of FBN1 and highlights the potential molecular mechanism for MPLS., In the present report, we provide genetic and functional evidence for potential dominant‐negative alleles in MPLS patients caused by truncating FBN1 variants escaping NMD. These genetic and functional investigations also include description of the first patient with MPLS of Chinese ancestry.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative corticosteroid use may reduce acute kidney injury. We sought to test whether methylprednisolone reduces the risk of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. METHODS: We conducted a prespecified substudy of a randomized controlled trial involving patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (2007-2014); patients were recruited from 79 centres in 18 countries. Eligibility criteria included a moderate-to-high risk of perioperative death based on a preoperative score of 6 or greater on the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation I. Patients (n = 7286) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive intravenous methylprednisolone (250 mg at anesthetic induction and 250 mg at initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass) or placebo. Patients, caregivers, data collectors and outcome adjudicators were unaware of the assigned intervention. The primary outcome was postoperative acute kidney injury, defined as an increase in the serum creatinine concentration (from the preoperative value) of 0.3 mg/dL or greater (≥ 26.5 μmol/L) or 50% or greater in the 14-day period after surgery, or use of dialysis within 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Acute kidney injury occurred in 1479/3647 patients (40.6%) in the methylprednisolone group and in 1426/3639 patients (39.2%) in the placebo group (adjusted relative risk 1.04, 95% confidence interval 0.96 to 1.11). Results were consistent across several definitions of acute kidney injury and in patients with preoperative chronic kidney disease. INTERPRETATION: Intraoperative corticosteroid use did not reduce the risk of acute kidney injury in patients with a moderate-to-high risk of perioperative death who had cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Our results do not support the prophylactic use of steroids during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT00427388. ispartof: CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL vol:191 issue:9 pages:E247-E256 ispartof: location:Canada status: published

Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) show promising potentials for use as building materials. Before the utilization, AAMs must satisfy the properties required from the construction sector, such as good durability and long-term service life. These properties mainly depend on the chemical and physical properties of the microstructure of AAMs. In the literature many studies have been presented about the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs, but still some aspects are not given due attention, such as the pore solution composition of AAMs and the origin of the induction period during the reaction of AAMs. Furthermore no computer-based simulation models have been developed so far for simulating the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs. It is still a big issue and challenge today to numerically obtain the microstructure of AAMs.This research adopted two routes to study the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs, i.e. the experimental study route and numerical simulation route. Ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash were used as the aluminosilicate precursors and sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used as the alkaline activators. The experimental study route provided new results for better understanding the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs. Then the new insights from the experimental study route helped to develop the GeoMicro3D model for simulating the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs.(1)Experimental study routeFirstly, the pore solutions of alkali-activated slag, alkali-activated fly ash and alkali-activated slag/fly ash pastes with different activators and reaction conditions were studied by means of ICP OES. It was found the pore solution composition of AAMs depended on the activation conditions, such as the type and concentration of alkaline activator and curing temperature. Then, the reaction kinetics of alkali activated slag, alkali activated fly ash and alkali activated slag/fly ash pastes were investigated by using isothermal calorimetry. The sodium content, silica content and curing temperature affected the reaction kinetics of AAMs. The origin of the induction period was different for alkali-activated slag systems and alkali-activated fly ash systems. For alkali activated slag systems, the presence of soluble Si in the activator slowed down the dissolution of slag and caused an induction period. In contrast, the fact that an induction period occurred in alkali-activated fly ash systems was mainly attributed to the passivation of the leached surface layer caused by the absorbed Al.Finally, the microstructure development of alkali-activated slag, alkali-activated fly ash and alkali-activated slag/fly ash pastes was studied using SEM and MIP. It was found that the type and concentration of alkaline activator affected the microstructure formation of AAMs. An increase of Na2O content led to a reduction of the total porosity and a refinement of the microstructure for alkali-activated slag systems. In contrast, an increase of Na2O content did not affect the total porosity of alkali activated fly ash systems very much. Instead, it altered the microstructure by increasing the amount of large pores and decreasing the amount of small pores. The SiO2 content seriously affected the microstructure formation of AAMs. In sodium silicate activated systems, the soluble silicate in the activator led to a relatively dense microstructure with separated small capillary pores. This was different from the relatively coarse microstructure with connected capillary pores in sodium hydroxide activated systems.(2)Numerical simulation routeFirstly, the initial particle parking structure of AAMs, as the starting point for simulating the reactions and microstructure formation, was simulated using real-shape particles of slag and fly ash. In comparison with the spherical particles, using real-shape particles increased the total surface area (up to 23 %) and bulk specific surface area (at least 12 %) of the simulated initial particle parking structures. At low liquid/binder ratios (≤ 0.47), using real shape particles led to a significant shift of the pore size distribution to small pores as compared to using the spherical particles in the simulated initial particle parking structures.Secondly, a dissolution model was developed for simulating the dissolution of aluminosilicate precursors in alkaline solution. The influences of temperature, reactivity of precursors, alkalinity of solution and inhibiting effect of aqueous Al etc. on the dissolution of precursors were taken into account in this model. The simulation results of the dissolution of slag and fly ash in alkaline solution were in agreement with the experimental data.Then, the reactions in AAMs were thermodynamically simulated. A thermodynamic model, i.e. N(C)ASH_ss, was developed to describe the N A S H gel. With this model and the C(N)ASH_ss model in the literature it is possible to perform thermodynamic modelling of the reactions in alkali-activated fly ash systems and alkali-activated slag/fly ash systems. The simulated pore solution compositions of AAMs were in line with the experimental results.Finally, the GeoMicro3D model was built up based on the numerical modules of initial particle parking structure, dissolution of aluminosilicate precursor, thermodynamic modelling and nucleation & growth of reaction products. As a case study GeoMicro3D was implemented to simulate the reaction process and microstructure formation of alkali-activated slag with three different alkaline activators. The simulated reaction kinetics (degree of reaction of slag) and pore solution chemistry (element concentration) were in agreement with the experimental results. The simulated volume evolution of solid phases by GeoMicro3D was consistent with the results calculated by GEMS with regard to the primary reaction products (C (N )A S H) and some crystalline reaction products, such as the hydrotalcite-like phase and katoite. Besides the volume evolution of solid phases, GeoMicro3D also provided the volumes of adsorbed water and gel pore water that were retained by the C (N )A S H gel.To sum up, the reaction process and microstructure formation of AAMs were studied experimentally and numerically. Based on the insights obtained from the experimental study numerical models were developed and validated. With these models it is possible to simulate the initial particle parking structure of slag/fly ash in alkaline activator, dissolution of slag/fly ash, chemical reactions and microstructure formation of AAMs with reasonable accuracy.

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of bisphosphonates treatment for spinal bone marrow oedema (BME) in patients with synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome.SAPHO syndrome patients presenting to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2015 to 2016 were recruited. Patients were administered pamidronate disodium 1 mg/kg/d intravenously, for 3 days, at baseline and 3 months later. The symptoms were evaluated using the Visual Analog Score (VAS) for pain, and other clinical measures including, spinal BME scores, β-crosslaps, osteocalcin, and inflammatory factors, were collected.A total of 30 patients (20 women and 10 men) with a median age of 47.2 (interquartile range 8.8) years were recruited. In a short time, the patients showed a significant decrease in VAS (before vs. after; first treatment: 5.70±1.62 vs. 2.30±1.29 cm, second treatment: 4.03±1.88 vs. 2.17±1.23 cm) and β-crosslaps (first treatment: 0.4441±0.1923 vs. 0.0859±0.0374 pg/ml, second treatment: 0.2891±0.1983 vs. 0.0962±0.0324 pg/ml) (all p0.05). At 12-month follow-up, compared with the baseline, we noticed a significant drop in the VAS (5.70±1.62 vs. 2.43±1.25 cm), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (28.87±25.26 vs. 18.00±18.65 mm/h), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (11.76±10.19 vs. 5.84±5.88 mg/L), osteocalcin (2.30±1.27 vs. 1.65±0.80 ng/ml), and BME (30.50±24.09 vs. 22.13±27.79) (all p0.05). No one had serious adverse events.Bisphosphonates can significantly and rapidly relieve symptoms in patients with SAPHO syndrome and have a long-term effect on inflammation and spinal BME. We suggest that bisphosphonates could be used as the first-line therapeutic drug for SAPHO syndrome, especially in patients with spinal BME.

For most passive atomic clocks, the Dick effect is one of the main limits to reach its frequency stability limitation due to quantum projection noise. In this paper, we demonstrate that the minimization of the Dick effect for the Ramsey-CPT atomic clock can be accomplished by interleaving lock. By optimizing the duty circle of laser pulses, averaging time during detection and optical intensity of laser beam, the Dick effect induced Allan deviation can be reduced to the level of 10^-14.

Contains fulltext : 53366.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HA)/chitosan (CS)/konjac glucomannan (KGM) composite was prepared by coprecipitation method and investigated by thermal gravitivity/differentiate thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. The analyses showed that the three phases of n-HA, CS, and KGM combined closely to each other. Further, in vitro tests were conducted to investigate the degradation and bioactivity of the composite. During immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), pores appeared and a new substance containing Ca and P formed on the surface of the composite. Also, the concentration of Ca and P in SBF changed and weight loss of the composite was observed during time. The composite revealed a high degradation in SBF. Evidently, the new composite has a potential to be used as a carrier of implantable drug delivery system. The biodegradation rate and route could be different from CS and KGM, which will provide an opportunity to control the degradation rate or drug releasing rate by simply adjusting the ratio of CS and KGM.

Item does not contain fulltext Polyurethane (PU) has been widely used for the biomedical applications but its potential for bone regeneration is limited due to its lack of osteoconductive properties. Strontium substituted hydroxyapatite (SrHA) particles, on the other hand, are known to exhibit a positive effect on bone formation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to (i) develop porous polyurethane scaffolds containing strontium SrHA nanoparticles (PU/SrHA) and (ii) compare their in vitro biological performance for applications in bone regeneration to PU scaffolds. SrHA and HA was synthesized using a conventional wet-chemical neutralization reaction at temperatures of 25, 50, and 80 degrees C. Chemical analysis was performed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Synthesizing temperatures at 25 and at 50 degrees C were selected for the composite preparation (abbreviated as HA-25, SrHA-25, HA-50, and SrHA-50, respectively). PU was synthesized from isophorone diisocyanate, polytetramethylene ether glycol, and 1,4-butanediol. Composite scaffolds were prepared by addition of HA or SrHA nanoparticles into PU scaffolds during polymer preparation. The results showed that the Sr content in HA nanoparticles increased with increasing synthesis temperature. The addition of nanoparticles decreased the elongation-at-break and tensile strength, but significantly increased the surface wettability of the PU scaffolds. In vitro degradation tests demonstrated that release of cations was significantly higher from PU/SrHA-50 composite scaffolds. Cell culture tests indicated that PU composites containing either HA or SrHA nanoparticles increased proliferation of bone marrow stem cells as compared to plain PU scaffolds, whereas osteogenic differentiation was not affected by the incorporation of HA nanoparticles irrespective of the incorporation of Sr. 01 juni 2015

Item does not contain fulltext Biomaterial scaffolds meant to function as supporting structures to osteogenic cells play a pivotal role in bone tissue engineering. Recently, we synthesized an aliphatic polyurethane (PU) scaffold via a foaming method using non-toxic components. Through this procedure a uniform interconnected porous structure was created. Furthermore, hydroxyapatite (HA) particles were introduced into this process to increase the bioactivity of the PU matrix. To evaluate the biological performances of these PU-based scaffolds, their influence on in vitro cellular behavior and in vivo bone forming capacity of the engineered cell-scaffold constructs was investigated in this study. A simulated body fluid test demonstrated that the incorporation of 40 wt % HA particles significantly promoted the biomineralization ability of the PU scaffolds. Enhanced in vitro proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of the seeded mesenchymal stem cells were also observed on the PU/HA composite. Next, the cell-scaffold constructs were implanted subcutaneously in a nude mice model. After 8 weeks, a considerable amount of vascularized bone tissue with initial marrow stroma development was generated in both PU and PU/HA40 scaffold. In conclusion, the PU/HA composite is a potential scaffold for bone regeneration applications. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103: 2251-2259, 2015. 01 juli 2015

International audience; Agaricus is a genus of saprobic basidiomycetes with more than 400 species recognized worldwide, with about 50 species known in China. Our objective was to investigate three new species of section Arvenses in highland subtropical Southwest China. Agaricus guizhouensis is a new species characterized by a white pileus with yellowish squamules, small ellipsoid spores and cheilocystidia with yellowish-brown pigments; another new species, Agaricus longistipes is recognized by its slender stipe, and its elongate-ellipsoid basidiospores; the third new one, Agaricus megalocarpus is remarkable by its large size and its pileus surface covered with fine brown squamules. It is firstly reported for Guizhou Province that Agaricus abruptibulbus, Agaricus flocculosipes, and Agaricus subrufescens are illustrated. Two probable new species require further studying. A phylogenetic analyses of rDNA-ITS sequence data belonging to section Arvenses showed that the section Arvenses is monophyletic and can be subdivided in five branches, the branch of A. subrufescens and four clades (A-D). The eight species from highland subtropical Southwest China were distributed in all five branches, indicating that this highland is at the climatic crossroads. The white pileus trait and the potential interest are discussed. These data suggest a potential species richness that remains to be discovered.

Aim. To examine the effects of music intervention on the physiological stress response and the anxiety level among mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care unit. Background. Despite the fact that previous studies have found music interventions to be effective in stress and anxiety reduction, effects of music on the Chinese population are inconclusive and warranted systematic study to evaluate its effect fully for a different Asian culture. Design. A randomised placebo-controlled trial. Methods. A total of 137 patients receiving mechanical ventilation were randomly assigned to either music listening group, headphone group or control group. Outcome measures included the Chinese version of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale and physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, saturation of oxygen and blood pressure). Results. Comparison of mean differences (pretest score-posttest score) showed significant differences in heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure as well as the Chinese version of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale, but not in SaO(2) among the three groups (ranging from p < 0 center dot 001 to p = 0 center dot 007), of which greater mean differences were found in music listening group. A significant reduction in physiological stress response (heart rate and respiratory rate) over time was found in music listening group (p < 0 center dot 001 for both variables) and a significant increase in heart rate and respiratory rate over time in control group (p < 0 center dot 001 and p = 0 center dot 032), with no significant change over time in headphone group. Within group pretest-posttest comparison of the Chinese version of Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale demonstrated a significant reduction in anxiety for the music listening group (p < 0 center dot 001) and headphone group (p < 0 center dot 001) but not the control group. Conclusions. Our findings confirm that short-term therapeutic effects of music listening results in substantial reduction in physiological stress responses arising from anxiety in mechanically ventilated patients. Relevance to clinical practice. Music as a non-pharmacological nursing intervention can be used as complementary adjunct in the care of patients with low-energy states who tire easily, such as those requiring mechanical ventilator support.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) was used in this study to obtain protein fingerprints of seven different lentil varieties, to characterize their differences and similarities. Two different matrices have been tested in order to obtain reproducible and significant mass spectra. Extraction with water containing 0.1% of trifluoroacetic acid has been used as preparative step to obtain hydrophilic protein samples of lentil seeds. The obtained MALDI protein profiles identified clear differences between the seven studied lentil varieties. Moreover, considering the high complexity of the obtained MALDI spectra, multivariate techniques of data analysis were employed to find further classification details. These multivariate analyses confirmed the possibility of a clear classification of the seven lentil varieties, indicating that the proposed procedure can be a valid taxonomic tool, and a method to certify the origin of lentils, useful for high added value lentils (Italian lentils).

Contains fulltext : 69800.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) A novel porous composite material composed of hydroxyapatite, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and gelatin (Gel) was fabricated by emulsification. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the material had a well-interconnected porous structure including many macropores (100-500 microm) and micropores (less than 20 microm) on their walls. The composite had a porosity of 78% and showed high water absorption up to 312.7% indicating a good water-swellable behavior that is a characteristic of hydrogel materials. When immersed in water, the scaffold's weight continuously decreased. After immersion in simulated body fluid, the weight continuously increased because Ca(2+) and PO(3-) (4) ions deposited on the surface and the internal surfaces of the material pores. The deposit was proved to be carbonated hydroxyapatite by thin-film X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The composite was detected to be non-cytotoxicity by MTT assay. The HA/PVA/Gel material was also implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal region of adult female rats. After 12 weeks of implantation, the porous material adhered tightly with the surrounding tissue, and the ingrowth of fibrous tissue as well as the material's partial degradation was observed, which partly indicated that the composite was biocompatible in vivo. In conclusion, the porous HA/PVA/Gel composite is a promising scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering with more studies.

This study develops a formal grammar that captures the modern speaker’s scansion of classical Chinese verse and accounts for his intuitive judgment of the metrical harmony. The central proposal is that the grammar is represented by the coexistence of the five minimally different sub-grammars in which the cognitively oriented reading experience can be grounded. The grammar is couched in the Optimality Theory framework and the empirical basis is constituted by a corpus of 3933 lines randomly selected from five major genres of classical Chinese verse spanning more than 2000 years. The corpus obviously offers a fertile ground for exploration from various angles, and the present study focuses on only one aspect, namely, the development of the above-stated grammar. Other related topics such as the historical dimension of the verse grammar are also briefly addressed.

Company profiling is an analytical process to build an in-depth understanding of company's fundamental characteristics. It serves as an effective way to gain vital information of the target company and acquire business intelligence. Traditional approaches for company profiling rely heavily on the availability of rich finance information about the company, such as finance reports and SEC filings, which may not be readily available for many private companies. However, the rapid prevalence of online employment services enables a new paradigm — to obtain the variety of company's information from their employees' online ratings and comments. This, in turn, raises the challenge to develop company profiles from an employee's perspective. To this end, in this paper, we propose a method named Company Profiling based Collaborative Topic Regression (CPCTR), for learning the latent structural patterns of companies. By formulating a joint optimization framework, CPCTR has the ability in collaboratively modeling both textual (e.g., reviews) and numerical information (e.g., salaries and ratings). Indeed, with the identified patterns, including the positive/negative opinions and the latent variable that influences salary, we can effectively carry out opinion analysis and salary prediction. Extensive experiments were conducted on a real-world data set to validate the effectiveness of CPCTR. The results show that our method provides a comprehensive understanding of company characteristics and delivers a more effective prediction of salaries than other baselines.

To examine the effects of different Pap screening patterns in preventing invasive cervical cancer among women in New South Wales, Australia.A total of 877 women aged 20-69 years diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer during 2000-2003 were matched with 2,614 controls by month and year of birth. Screening behavior patterns in 4 years preceding the time of cancer diagnosis in the cases were classified into none (no Pap test in the 4 years), 'irregular' (1 of the 4 years with Pap test(s)), and 'regular' (2 or more of the 4 years with a Pap test), and compared with those in the matched non-cases over the same period. Conditional logistic regression modeling was used to estimate the relative risk, approximated by the odds ratio, of invasive cervical cancer for regular and irregular cervical screening compared with no screening in the previous 4 years, before and after controlling for potential confounders including the first recorded Pap test result in the preceding 6-year reference period.Compared with no screening, irregular Pap screening in the 4 years preceding the cancer diagnosis is estimated to reduce the risk of invasive cervical cancer by about 85% (RR = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.120-0.19); regular Pap screening reduces the risk by about 96% (RR = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.03-0.05). After adjusting for the index Pap test result, the relative risks for invasive cervical cancer were 0.19 (95% CI: 0.13-0.27) for irregular screening and 0.07 (95% CI: 0.04-0.10) for regular Pap screening.Regular and irregular Pap tests among women aged 20-69 years were highly effective in preventing invasive cancer. At-risk women with no Pap test history should be encouraged to undergo a Pap test every 2 years, but any Pap screening over a 4-year period remains highly protective against future invasive cervical cancer.