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Objective: To investigate the effects of visual feedback training on knee function and balance ability in postoperative patients with knee fracture.Methods: A clinical randomized controlled trial with 104 participants, randomly assigned (1:1) to a visual feedback training group or a control group. Eligible participants were evaluated using Lysholm scores, the Tinetti scale, and the evaluation module of TecnoBody® to demonstrate dynamic balance function in a standing position before treatment and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment.Results: Both visual feedback training and control groups improved significantly in the Lysholm and Tinetti scores after 8 weeks. Compared with the control group, the TecnoBody® tests included centre of pressure path length, and the area over centre of pressure movement, both of which significantly improved in the visual feedback training group at 8 weeks after treatment. There was no difference between the 2 groups in terms of their Lysholm scores and Tinetti gait before the intervention and 4 weeks after treatment.Conclusion: Applying visual feedback training in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation strategies may improve knee function and motor control in postoperative patients with knee fracture. Although visual feedback training does not have a short-term effect on knee function and gait, this method could be a useful addition for rehabilitation of knee fracture patients. LAY ABSTRACTThis study used the TecnoBody® (PK-254P, Bergamo, Italy) to evaluate balance in the standing position of all participants. This equipment provides data on the centre of pressure path length and the area over which the centre of pressure moves. The Lysholm score was used to assess knee function, and the Tinetti scale to assess motor control. Applying visual feedback training in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation strategies could decrease postural sway and increase motor control in postoperative patients with knee fracture, as well as subsequently improve knee function and balance ability. There were no adverse effects due to the combined rehabilitation programme.

This paper presents an ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) low-frequency radio astronomical cryogenic receiver for the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). It covers 6.6:1 bandwidth from 0.5 to 3.3 GHz. The receiver consists of a Quad-Ridged Flared Horn (QRFH), a cryogenic microwave unit, an optical transceiver and a warm microwave and frequency mixing unit. A QRFH with a concentric-loaded dielectric spear is developed: the average return losses are larger than 20 dB; the average ports polarization isolation is 43.87 dB; the average dish efficiency is higher than 65%. Many UWB cryogenic low loss components are developed for the fabrication of a cryogenic microwave unit. The average noise temperature lower than 14.2 K and 22.5 K are achieved as referred to the input ports of cryogenic Dewar and the output of horn, respectively. Compared to other similar advanced UWB receivers, such as Parkes 0.7–4.2 GHz (6:1 bandwidth) receiver and FAST 0.27–1.62 GHz (6:1 bandwidth) receiver, wider relative bandwidth of the proposed receiver is achieved and it is a new attempt to expand the bandwidth of UWB low-frequency receiver.

In CD4+ T helper (Th) cells, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is indispensable for the induction of both regulatory T (Treg) and interleukin-17-producing effector T helper (Th17) cells. Although BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI) is part of a rheostat-like mechanism for the regulation of TGF-β signalling and autoimmune arthritis in mouse models, the underlying activity of BAMBI on the human Th17/Treg cell axis, particularly during exposure to cigarette smoke, remains to be elucidated. The present study aimed to further characterize BAMBI expression in human CD4+ cells, as well as immune imbalance during activation and cigarette smoke exposure. Results from the present study indicated that exposure to cigarette smoke extract partially suppressed Treg differentiation and promoted Th17 cell generation under stimulation by anti-CD3/28 antibodies and TGF-β1. Additionally, exposure to cigarette smoke induced an inhibition of phosphorylated-Smad2/Smad3, which may have arisen from a concomitant enhancement of BAMBI expression. In conclusion, human BAMBI may function as a molecular switch to control TGF-β signalling strength and the Th17/Treg cell balance, which may be used not only as a biomarker but also as a target of new treatment strategies for maintaining immune tolerance and for the treatment of smoking-induced immune disorders.

BMP and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI) is postulated to inhibit or modulate transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling. Furthermore, strong upregulation of BAMBI expression following in vitro infection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lung tissue has been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated whether TGF-β/BAMBI pathway is associated with COPD. Blood samples were obtained from 27 healthy controls (HC), 24 healthy smokers (HS) and 29 COPD patients. Elevated Th17/Treg ratios and increased levels of BAMBI protein and mRNA (in plasma and CD4+ T cells respectively), were observed in COPD compared with HC and HS. BAMBI expression was first observed on human CD4+ T cells, with a typical membrane-bound pattern. The enhanced plasma BAMBI levels in COPD positively correlated with the increased plasma TGF-β1 levels and Th17/Treg ratio. Together, an impaired TGF-β/BAMBI pathway may promote the inflammation leading to Th17/Treg imbalance, which is a new mechanism in smokers who develop COPD.

Background.CD8+T lymphocytes are known to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, systematic analyses of CD8+T cell (Cytotoxic T cells, Tc) subsets in COPD patients have yet to be well conducted.Methods.The whole Tc subsets, including Tc1/2/10/17, CD8+regulatory T cells (Tregs) and CD8+α7+T cells, were quantified by flow cytometry in peripheral blood from 24 stable COPD subjects (SCOPD), 14 patients during acute exacerbations (AECOPD), and 14 healthy nonsmokers (HN).Results.Acute exacerbations of COPD were accompanied by elevated levels of circulating CD8+T cells. Tc1 cells were increased in both SCOPD and AECOPD patients, whereas the percentage of Tc2 cells was decreased in SCOPD patients but remained normal in AECOPD patients. Tc17 cells were increased only in AECOPD patients, and the percentage of Tc10 cells was reduced in both SCOPD and AECOPD patients. The imbalances of pro/anti-inflammatory Tc subsets observed in COPD may be caused by the lack of Tc10 cells and the impaired anti-inflammatory capacity of CD8+Tregs.Conclusions.The imbalances between subsets of CD8+peripheral blood T cells contribute to the immune response dysfunction in COPD pathogenesis.

Background CD8+ T cells (Cytotoxic T cells, Tc) are known to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of smoking related airway inflammation including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, how cigarette smoke directly impacts systematic CD8+ T cell and regulatory T cell (Treg) subsets, especially by modulating muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (MRs), has yet to be well elucidated. Methods Circulating CD8+ Tc/Tregs in healthy nonsmokers (n = 15), healthy smokers (n = 15) and COPD patients (n = 18) were evaluated by flow cytometry after incubating with anti-CD3, anti-CD8, anti-CD25, anti-Foxp3 antibodies. Peripheral blood T cells (PBT cells) from healthy nonsmokers were cultured in the presence of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) alone or combined with MRs agonist/antagonist for 5 days. Proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry using Ki-67/Annexin-V antibodies to measure the effects of CSE on the survival of CD8+ Tc/Tregs. Results While COPD patients have elevated circulating percentage of CD8+ T cells, healthy smokers have higher frequency of CD8+ Tregs. Elevated percentages of CD8+ T cells correlated inversely with declined FEV1 in COPD. CSE promoted the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of CD8+ T cells, while facilitated both the proliferation and apoptosis of CD8+ Tregs. Notably, the effects of CSE on CD8+ Tc/Tregs can be mostly simulated or attenuated by muscarine and atropine, the MR agonist and antagonist, respectively. However, neither muscarine nor atropine influenced the apoptosis of CD8+ Tregs. Conclusion The results imply that cigarette smoking likely facilitates a proinflammatory state in smokers, which is partially mediated by MR dysfunction. The MR antagonist may be a beneficial drug candidate for cigarette smoke-induced chronic airway inflammation.

this paper starts the research with comparison and analysis for correlative conceptions in the field of architecture landscape. For the most important and active sight element –- non-level sight element, the author reasoningly clarifies them according to the conceptions of architecture interface. This paper analyses and diagrammatizes the sight characteristic of vertical interface of architecture landscape and people’s activity characteristic in the architecture landscape space defined by vertical interface, and regards them as formal language between people and environment. Then the paper begins a discussion for the issues of vertical interface of architecture. This analysis based on the theory of building typology, and starts from investigating for instances.

In order to investigate the immunity of unloaded dendritic cells (DCs) derived from murine bone marrow to preexisting lung melanoma metastases of mice, MO5 were intravenously injected to induce lung metastases in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice. Unloaded GM-CSF DCs, PBS and DCs+SIINFEKEL were subcutaneously injected into the mice, which were divided as experimental group, negative control group and positive control group respectively. Monoclonal antibody was used to deplete NK or T cells separately. The immunity-inhibitory effects on the lung melanoma were observed and the corresponding effector cells were examined. It was found that in the experimental and positive groups, the regression was induced in metastatic nodules in the lungs of tumor-bearing mice, but abrogated by treatment with anti-asialo-GM1 but not anti-CD8. It was concluded that the unloaded DCs could suppress the lung melanoma metastases to some extent, which was mediated by NK cells, and could be used as a potent therapeutic agents for lung tumor.

To investigate the complications of spastic cerebral palsy with selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR).In the study, 2 593 patients who had undergone SPR from January 2000 to September 2012 were followed-up for at least one year. The complications were classified.Peri-operative complications: pulmonary system complications including bronchial spasm (5 cases, 0.19%) and aspiration pneumonia (4 cases, 0.15%); digestive system complications including abdominal bloating (145 cases, 5.6%) and colic (80 cases, 3.1%); urinary system complications including temporary bladder dysfunction (54 cases, 2.1%) and urinary tract infection (6 cases, 0.23%); peripheral nervous system complications including lower extremity weakness (327 cases, 12.6%) and lower extremity sensory disturbances (140 cases, 5.4%); central nervous system complications including headache (112 cases, 4.3%) and epileptic seizures (4 cases, 0.15%). None spinal or intracranial infection, intraspinal hematoma or intracranial hemorrhage were identified. General surgery complications including back pain (1 382 cases, 53.3%), delay wound healing caused by infection (5 cases, 0.19%) and cerebrospinal fluid leakage (8 cases, 0.31%). Long-term follow-up complications including lower limb decreased exercise capacity (incidence: 7.33%) and lower extremity sensory disturbance (incidence: 5.59%). Urination occurred in only one case and defecation function disturbance with no sexual dysfunction was identified. The incidences of scoliosis, thoracic kyphosis, spondylolisthesis and long-term back pain were 7.23% (31/429), 4.2% (18/429), 10.49% (45/429) and 9.72% respectively.SPR is one of the effective and safe surgical treatments for spastic cerebral palsy. Valid methods should be applied to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications, such as choosing the appropriate patients, meticulously operating in the surgery, assistance of electrophysiological guidance, reinforcing perioperative management and regular rehabilitation training after operation.

To explore the relationship between contractile characteristics and fiber type conversion in hind-limb unloading mice soleus.After 28-day hind-limb unloading and muscle atrophy, we used the method of isolated muscle perfusion with different stimulated protocols to determine the changes in contractile characteristics including the isometric twitch force and tetanus force and fatigue index of slow twitch muscle in mice. The muscle myofibrillar composition and fiber type conversion were detected by immunofluorescence staining and real-time PCR.The isometric twitch force and the tetanus force and fatigue index were decreased progressively in 28-day unloaded mice soleus, with the increase in fast twitch fiber subtype and the decrease in slow twitch fiber subtype.The alteration of contractile characteristics is relevant to the slow-to-fast fiber conversion in mice soleus after 28-day hind-limb unloading.

To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease by Pulsatilla Decoction.Forty Wistar male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups( n = 8)control group, model group, model + positive control group (mesalazine), Pulsatilla Decoction treatment group, in addition, the Pulsatilla Decoction treatment group was divided into middle and high dose group. Intragastric administration was used in the positive control group and Pulsatilla Decoction treatment group. The expression of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were detected by real time PCR after extraction of RNA from colons.Compared with the model group, positive medicine and Pulsatilla Decoction group, especially high-dose group, could effectively inhibit the expression of IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha.Pulsatilla Decoction could exert its effect in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines.

In order to provide basis for evaluating the effects of air pollutant such as O3 on crops yield and food security, the effects of O3 fumigation (ambient air, CK; 100 nL x L(-1), T1; 150 nL x L(-1), T2) on chlorophyll a fluorescence and gas exchange of a field-grown winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Yang Mai 13) in different growing period were conducted via open-top chamber technique in conjunction with Diving-PAM fluorometer and LC pro + photosynthesis system. Results indicated that Fv/Fm caused by T1 was higher than 0.8, while the Pm, qP, (1-qP)/NPQ and Y(NO) were similar to those of CK, the NPQ and Y(NPQ) were increased by 13.5%-29.0% and 13.3%-22.7% respectively due to O3 stress. Under nature light (rapid light curve, RLC) and after dark adaptation (induction curve in steady-state, IC) the Yield of T1 was decreased by 4.6%-7.6% and 11.3%-19.3% respectively, with 8.0%-9.8% and 11.0%-23.1% reductions in Pn, and Gs compared to CK, respectively. In heading stage and blooming stage, the Ls of T, was greater than CK, but in filling stage and mature stage, it became lower compared to CK. The Fv/Fm was slightly lower than 0.8 under T2 treatment, with the Y(NO), (1-qP)/NPQ and c(i) were increased by 37.9%-75.6%, 157.1%-325.8% and 3.4%-18.1% relative to CK. Under RLC and IC condition, the Yield of T2 was respectively decreased by 10.2%-13.6% and 21.4%-29.1%, and the Pn, Ls, qP, Pm, NPQ and Y(NPQ) were decreased by 28.1%-39.9%, 5.2%-21.3%, 15.8%-30.4%, 27.6%-45.6%, 3.3%-52.9% and 5.7%-17.9% in comparison, respectively. Obviously the enhanced O3 causes a significant decrease in the capacity of photosynthesis of winter wheat, and the influence mechanism presents a series of dynamic changes according to growing seasons. The reduction of Fv/Fm under T1 treatment is a response of PS II reaction center to the increase of NPQ, and the decrease in Pn and Yield is a consequence of protective adjustment, by this approach, the antioxidant system and energy dissipation mechanism can thus prevent light damage to the PS II reaction center of winter wheat. Under T2 treatment, the CO2 assimilation and Q(A) re-oxidizing during actinic illumination are restricted, the energy dissipation mechanism was destroyed, and the reduction of photosynthesis was mainly due to damage in photosystem caused by O3 and excess light. The critical loads for O3 of PS II reaction center is between 100 nL x L(-1) and 150 nL x L(-1) close to 100 nL x L(-1). While the Fv/Fm value is not an effective index for assessing O3 influence on winter-wheat. Although the winter-wheat can have certain adapted ability to O3 stress, the growing enhancement of surface O3 is still a great threat to agricultural production in China.

To explore the anti-tumor immune responses of dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with intact wild-type p53 to mice challenged with tumor cells expressing p53 genes with mutations at different sites.Ad-p53-DC immunization function was assessed by the expression of surface molecules and allogeneic MLR. DCs derived from bone marrow were transduced with adenovirus or a human wild-type p53 containing recombinant adenovirus (Ad-DC and Ad-p53-DC) and immunized C57BL/6 mice. Splenocytes were separated and cell cytotoxicity was measured against tumor cells expressing mutant p53 (MethA, D459 and P815) in a standard 6-h(51)Cr-release assay. Effector and target cells were incubated in the presence of anti-CD(4) or anti-CD(8) antibody. Ad-p53-DC was immunized in control Ad-DC before or after mice were challenged with either D459 tumor or with MethA sarcoma cells to observe whether immune response would provide tumor protection.Immunization with Ad-p53-DC developed significantly higher substantial CTL responses against Ad-p53-P815, D459 and MethA cells (effectors: target cells = 50:1), (27.8 +/- 3.4)%, (23.5 +/- 2.7)%, (58.3 +/- 9.2)% than with Ad-DC (9.3 +/- 1.8)%, (4.6 +/- 1.0)%, (23.5 +/- 3.7)% (t(d) = 5.79, 3.68, 5.02, all P0.05). In Ad-p53-DC immunized mice, anti-CD(8) antibody blocked the cytotoxicity against Ad-p53-P815 (26.7 +/- 2.8)% or D459 (6.1 +/- 1.2)%, but not anti-CD(4) antibody [(59.8 +/- 4.6)%, (18.9 +/- 2.4)%, t(d) = 8.79 or 9.18, all P0.05]. Ad-p53-DC immunization provided complete tumor protection in 80% of mice challenged with D459 and in 70% of mice challenged with MethA, while none protected in Ad-DC immunization group (chi(2) = 6.72, 5.86, all P0.05). Treated with Ad-p53-DC after D459 inoculation subcutaneously, mice were killed due to the bulky tumor more than 2 weeks later than the mice in the Ad-DC treatment group during 7 week observation (chi(2) = 9.48, P0.05).DCs transfected with 100 MOI Ad-p53 induced intense CTL responses against P815, D459 and MethA. This CTL response is mediated by CD(8)(+) T cells. Treatment with Ad-p53-DC significantly developed tumor immunology and slowed the growth of established tumors.

To compare the difference in tumor immunity and autoimmunity elicited by adenovirus (Ad) encoding human or murine tyrosinase-related protein 2 (AdhTRP2 or AdmTRP2), and to find the most effective way to induce immunity by AdhTRP2 or AdmTRP2, C57BL/6 mice were immunized with AdhTRP2 or AdmTRP2 intramuscularly at different doses of 10(5), 10(6), 10(7) and 10(8) separately (10 mice for each dose). Two weeks after the immunization, in vivo CTL assay and intracellular staining (ICS) of IFN-gamma were carried out to analyze the dose-effect relationship. Tumor growth and vitiligo (as an sign of autoimmunity) were observed until 3 months after challenge with 10(5) B16F10 tumor cells. The results showed that Ad encoding AdmTrp2 induced weak tumor immune response. Similar immunization with AdhTrp-2 elicited stronger protective immunity. CTL activity and IFN-gamma-produced CD8+T cells were directly proportional to dose of AdhTrp2 or AdmTrp2. Moreover, AdhTrp2 group showed tumor rejection in 100% of challenged mice till the end of 3rd month while 60% of mice immunized with AdmTrp2 were protected against tumor. In the whole process of this experiment, no vitiligo was observed in mice immunized either with AdhTrp2 or AdmTrp2. It is concluded that anti-melanoma responses induced by genetic vaccination expressing xenoantigens breaks immune tolerance effectively and is able to elicit strong antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell response without vitiligo.

To study on visible display of Meridian on the dummy human body.Tube model-building method and computer technique were used, and data came from Voxel-Man dummy human body development platform.The visual effect of re-building Meridian is very good and it can display the different layers of anatomic structures on the Meridian lines.The visible display of Meridian on the dummy human body is preliminary realized, which provides data carriers for establishing the platform of Meridian study.

On the basis of the analysis of chemical components of the natural limestones from different deposits in China, the pore structures of the typical limestones, with the different CaCO3 content, were examined. The reactivity of the limestones was investigated by sulfuric acid titration and gas-liquid absorption methods. The research results showed that the specific surface area of the natural limestones studied in this work was about 1.8 m2/g. It was seen that the pH of the limestone slurry rapidly decreased and then back up when the sulfuric acid was added. The higher the CaCO3 content was, or the smaller the particle size was, the larger the pH back-up rate was, and similarly the faster the SO2 concentration of the reactor outlet increased. The Reactivity of the limestone obtained by the sulfuric acid titration had the same features as that obtained by the gas liquid absorption. Compared with the specific surface area, the CaCO3 content had more effect on the reactivity of the limestones. The particle size of the limestones had a significant effect on the reactivity when the particle size was relatively large, that is less than 300-360 mesh, vice versa.

To study the difference in the pharmacokinetics of emodin in Zhiganning capsules and Rhizoma Polygontum Cuspidatum by nonaqueous RP-HPLC.The rats were orally administered with the extraction of Rhizoma Polygontum Cuspidatum and Zhiganning capsules. After hydrolysis and extraction, the content of emodin in the plasma is determined by Nonaqueous RP-HPLC.The concentration-time profiles of emodin fit two-compartment model. The pharmacokinetics parameters including, t1/2alpha, AUC(0-infinity), CL(s) and C(max) of emodin in the group of Rhizoma Polygontum Cuspidatum were significantly different from these in the group of its compounds.There is a significant difference in pharmacokinetics of emodin between zhiganning capsules and the extraction of Rhizoma Polygontum Cuspidatum.

Based on the dataset of the male Visible Human and the VOXEL-MAN software, original work for 3D representation of acupoints and acupuncture treatment has been reported. To get a realistic model, segmentation is one of the most important procedures in the whole process. The interactive segmentation of objects on the basis of ellipsoidal regions in RGB-space greatly enhances the realism of 3D reconstructions of the Visible Human datasets. Furthermore, this article describes a double-ellipsoids method in RGB-space for the specific segmentation of muscles originally from our mass of work. The whole process can be interactively controlled by an operator via the tools developed by VOXEL-MAN. Some ideal results have been achieved in a short time.

This paper describes a new design consideration for connectors of integrated optical strip wave—guides tosingle-mode fiber arrays in silicon V-grooves and some formulas for determining position of fibers and dimen-sions of silicon V-grooves are derived. The relationship between the coupling efficiency and geometrical pa- rameters of fibers and waveguides in this way also are discussed. We can realize permanent connecting be-tweenfibers and waveguides, and simplify the coupling processes of the fibers and the waveguides and in- crease the coupling efficiency of SM fibers to waveguides. As an example , the coupling efficiency of SM fiber (D1Oim) to SM waveguide (1O.imX5im) is up to 55%. The coupling efficiency of SM waveguide to SMfiber is up to 86%. Key words : Optical fiber connector , integrated optics , optical waveguide , coupling efficiency. I INTRODUCTION Optoelectronic integrated waveguide devices are potentially important components for single-mode fibercommunication and signal processing systems. The permanent effective conneting for SM fibers to integratedoptical devices is one of the key technologies. The major difficulty is to keep the submicrorneter alignment tol-erances for single-mode devices. In this paper, we present a design for connecting single-mode fiber arrays toSM strip waveguides. According to geometrical sizes of fiber diameters and strip waveguides

The coupling efficiency of light from a GaAs laser into an optical fiber with two-layer spherical end. In this paper, the formulas of calculating the half-acceptance angle of the fiber with two-layer spherical end is derived first. The relationship between the angle (theta) and the refractive angle (gamma) ((theta) ) is derived by ray-tracing techniques. A more complete analysis is done for the restriction by which a ray may not be accepted into the fiber core, namely, waveguide, grazing incidence, and core-aperture restriction. We also calculate the maximum acceptance angle of our fibers and the efficiency of coupling a semiconductor laser beam into an optical fiber with two-layer spherical lens on fiber end. The highly coupling efficiency of up to 80% is arrived.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.