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This study aimed to establish a collaborative approach to quantify local HIV transmission, which is an issue of great concern to public health.We linked HIV-1 pol gene sequences to demographic information and epidemiological investigations in Hangzhou (a central city in East China). We estimated local acquisition rates from collaboration of molecular network analysis (with a distance-based approach) and epidemiological investigations.Among 1064 newly diagnosed HIV patients, 857 pol sequences were acquired and subsequently analysed. Multiple subtypes were identified, with CRF07_BC (42.5%) and CRF01_AE (39.2%) predominating, followed by 13 other subtypes and 26 unique recombinant forms (URFs). By integrating the molecular network analysis and epidemiological investigations, we estimated that the proportion of local infection was 63.2%. Multivariable analyses revealed that individuals in clusters were more likely to be local residents, 50 years old or older, farmers, and to have a higher first CD4 count level (P0.05). Proportions of local acquisitions over 70% were observed in local residents (79.9%, 242/303), individuals 50 years old or older (73.6%, 181/246) and farmers (75.6%, 99/131).Molecular network analysis can augment traditional HIV epidemic surveillance. This study establishes a paradigm for quantifying local HIV transmission for generalization in other areas.

Information is a key factor that influences the performance of decision makers. With the explosive proliferation of Web 2.0, the volume of online textual reviews has been sharply increasing. However, how to use this type of unstructured data and utilize the valuable information hidden behind are still problems to be solved. This study aims to provide a multi-attributes decision analysis (MADA) framework based on incomplete online textual reviews to aid in decision making. First, online textual reviews are obtained by data crawling. Attributes information is determined by textual analysis and the attitudes of assessors toward each attribute is discriminated by the sentiment analysis. Then, some new rules are developed in encoding incomplete online textual reviews into interval-valued linguistic distribution assessment (ILDA) to better characterize the evaluators’ attitudes. Next, evidential reasoning (ER) algorithm is extended to the ILDA environment to combine the information with multiple attributes, and the utility interval of each alternative is constructed by solving a pair of nonlinear optimization models. Given that the interval data cannot be directly compared, an enhanced minimax regret approach is proposed to compare and rank them. Finally, a real case study about online commodity evaluation is examined to show the implementation process of the proposed framework, and a discussion is also conducted to systematically analyze its superiority.

Selecting the right renewable energy resources (RESs) is emerging as a solution to alleviate energy crisis and environmental pollution. Due to the limitation of human knowledge and the complexity of reality, the selection process usually involves multiple uncertainties. In this paper, an interval type-2 fuzzy evidential reasoning approach is proposed to solve the RESs evaluation problem with uncertain information. First, the linguistic terms involved in the RESs evaluation process are encoded into the interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs). Second, a new interval type-2 fuzzy distance model is developed to measure the distance between the IT2FSs. After obtaining the distance, two new information transformation techniques are respectively defined to transform the IT2FSs and the crisp numbers into the interval belief structures. Then, an interval type-2 fuzzy entropy measure is proposed to determine the weights of attributes and the corresponding axioms are proved mathematically. Finally, the interval expected utility of each alternative is generated by a pair of nonlinear optimization models and then ranked by an enhanced minimax regret approach. A case study about the RESs evaluation is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, comparisons and discussions are also conducted to show the superiority.

As an effective tool to describe the fuzziness of qualitative information, the shadowed sets have received increasing attention. By establishing reasonable compromise between qualitative information and quantitative membership grades, the shadowed sets provide a new way to model linguistic variables. In this paper, we propose an extended TODIM method based on shadowed sets to solve large-scale group decision making problems with linguistic information. First, considering the linguistic terms cannot be directly computed, a codebook used to model linguistic terms is constructed with shadowed sets by the data-driven and the percentile method. Next, to improve the decision efficiency, a shadowed set-based clustering model is proposed to cluster the decision makers on the basis of new similarity measure and the Louvain algorithm. Then, we propose a new decision-making method by taking into account the decision makers’ psychological behavior which has a vital influence on the decision results. Finally, we utilize a case study about assembly factory site selection to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, meanwhile comparison, parameter discussion and sensitivity analysis are also conducted to verify the superiority and the efficiency.

Sclerotium rolfsii (teleomorph Athelia rolfsii) is one of the plant pathogenic basidiomycetes, which causes severe stem-rot disease in hundreds of plants and produces important metabolites, such as scleroglucan and TF-specific lectin. However, further molecular biological research on this filamentous fungus is severely plateaued out due to the lack of genetic methods. In this study, the A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector containing the basta resistance gene fused with three reporters (DsRed, tdTomato, and GUSPlus) respectively, driven by the SrGPD promoter, was used for genetic transformation of S. rolfsii. The results showed that the three reporter genes were all effectively expressed in S. rolfsii. This study also showed that the intron of the SrGPD promoter is not necessary for transgene expression in this fungus. Besides, we showed that these reporters’ signals could be observed easily but in a short time window. The efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system and the three reporter gene plasmids for S. rolfsii developed in this study are of significance in overcoming current limitations of no available transformation and genetic manipulation techniques in S. rolfsii, facilitating further genetic manipulations and gene function exploration.

Interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs) can provide more flexibility than type-1 fuzzy sets (T1FSs) for depicting uncertain information, and multi-attribute decision making (MADM) problems with interval type-2 fuzzy information have received increasing attention. A new projection-based regret theory method is proposed to solve MADM problems under IT2FSs environments. First, a projection model of IT2FSs is defined that takes both the distance and angle information into consideration. Second, integrating the proposed projection model with regret theory, new utility and regret-rejoice functions are developed, respectively. Finally, a case study is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Sensitivity analysis shows the stability of the proposed method, and the ranking order does not change with different parameters. Comparisons are made with existing approaches to illustrate the advantage of the proposed method in reflecting decision makers’ psychological factors.

Epilepsy is accompanied by angiogenesis and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/phosphorylated small mothers against decapentaplegic 2 and 3 (pSmad2/3)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, activated by thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), which is further regulated by Y type P2 purinergic receptor activity, may participate in angiogenesis. We sought to investigate the relationship between the P2R/TSP-1/TGF-β1/pSmad2/3/VEGF pathway, angiogenesis, and BBB damage in a kainic acid (KA) model of acute generalized seizure. Our results demonstrated that KA-induced seizures were accompanied by angiogenesis and BBB damage. In addition, expression of TSP-1, TGF-β1, and pSmad2/3 was increased. Rats treated with pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2′, 4′-disulfonic acid, a broad P2 receptor antagonist, or Reactive Blue 2, a potent P2Y4 receptor antagonist, showed significant attenuation of TSP-1 expression and Smad2/3 phosphorylation levels. Furthermore, angiogenesis, BBB damage, and acute seizure severity were also reduced. The inhibition of TSP-1 expression by siRNA or TGF-β1 activation by Leu-Ser-Lys-Leu (LSKL) treatment prevented KA-induced phosphorylation of Smad2/3, angiogenesis, BBB damage, and acute seizures. Our results strongly indicate that the P2Y4/TSP-1/TGF-β1/pSmad2/3/VEGF pathway plays an essential role in seizure pathophysiology and angiogenesis. Therapeutic interventions targeting this pathway may offer new treatment options for acute seizures.

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) hydrochloride as a broad–spectrum antibacterial agent has been widely used against Gram–negative aerobic bacteria. It has been found the antibacterial activity and bioavailability of nano–sized ciprofloxacin hydrochloride can be largely improved. In this study, we demonstrated the bacteriostasis rate of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride was nearly doubled through the formation of nanomedicines. To this end, a facile solvent–assisted mechanochemical synthetic pathway was proposed to fabricate diprofloxacin hydrochloride nanomedicines (nano–CIP), which were further evaluated for the antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli). Results showed that the bacteriostasis rate of nano–CIP reached ca. 86.4% which was nearly 2–fold that of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride powder (44.2%). At the same time, antibacterial plate experiments revealed significantly superior antibacterial effect of nano–CIP than the CIP precursors, which was largely due to the increased contact areas at surfaces of nanomedicines. Overall, this work presented a facile and effective means to prepared nanomedicines with enhanced bacteriostasis effects and bioavailability, which were key for their practical applications in medicinal areas.

In this study, a facile synthetic pathway was proposed to fabricate silver nanoparticles by using tea extract as reducing agent and stabilizer to reduce silver nitrate, which was further evaluated for the antimicrobial activity against bacterium (Escherichia coli) and pathogenic fungus of tea (Pseudopestalotiopsis theae). The average particle size of silver nanoparticles is 15.41 nm by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scherrer equation, the morphology is relatively regular and well dispersed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), the zeta potential is −13.91 ± 0.89 mV and the aggregate particle size distribution in water is around 773.49 nm. In addition, the synthesized nano silver had good antimicrobial effect on Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (P. theae) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), and the inhibition ratio was 96.05% and 61.87%, respectively. And the reaction of silver nanoparticles with bacteria and fungi could not be driven by the electrostatic interactions, but might by intermolecular forces. This study provides a facile and effective method for the preparation of nano silver, and broadens the application of nano silver in antimicrobial agent.

As one of the most effective ways to alleviate energy crisis and environmental pollution, the renewable energy sources (RESs) have received increasing attention. Different RESs enjoy different characteristics and are suitable for different scenarios, thus it is essential to evaluate them before installation. Due to the increasing complexity of reality, the RESs evaluation usually involves various risks and large-scale group decision makers. To manage these risks and decision makers, this paper proposes an interval type-2 fuzzy large-scale group risk evaluation method. First, the interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs) are employed to encode the qualitative information provided by the decision makers. Then, a new clustering approach integrating consensus reaching model and risk measurement model is developed to manage the decision makers and enhance the evaluation efficiency. After the clustering process, the selection procedure is activated and an interval type-2 fuzzy centroid-based ranking method is presented to rank the candidate RESs. Finally, a case study in China is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and comparisons are also made to verify the advantages.

The waste to energy (WTE) project provides a promising solution for managing the rapidly generated municipal solid waste (MSW). To achieve the sustainable MSW management, it is essential to select an appropriate WTE plant site. Thus, this paper proposes a large-scale group decision-making method to select the optimal site. First, a sustainable evaluation index system is constructed based on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis from the perspectives of economic, environment, and society. Second, considering the linguistic terms provided by the decision makers cannot be directly computed, an interval data driven-based computing with word model is presented to transform the linguistic terms into the Gaussian interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs). Then, a Gaussian interval type-2 fuzzy clustering approach is provided to conquer the inefficiency caused by the increase of the number of decision makers. Finally, the TODIM method is extended to compare and rank the alternative sites in the context of Gaussian IT2FSs. A case study is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, meanwhile, some discussions are conducted to illustrate the superiority and flexibility of the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method can successfully select the optimal plant site and has the potential to provide practical reference for the policymakers.

Due to the rapid development of society and economy, the large-scale group decision making (LSGDM) problems are increasingly common in the real life. In this paper, a dynamic programming algorithm-based picture fuzzy clustering approach is proposed to solve the LSGDM problems. First, aimed at the limitations of the existing operation laws of picture fuzzy sets, we define some new picture fuzzy operation laws. Based on these operation laws, a new picture fuzzy weighted geometric operator is developed to aggregate the preference information provided by the decision makers. Second, a new picture fuzzy Dice similarity measure is proposed to detect the different correlations between the decision makers. Then, inspired by the dynamic programming algorithm, a new clustering approach is proposed to improve the efficiency and quality of the decision-making. After the clustering process, the picture fuzzy score function is employed to compare and rank the alternatives. Finally, an illustrative example and a comparative analysis are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

Biosorption features of europium on Bacillus thuringiensis biomass have been studied to explore the potential of biomass for extracting Eu 3 + from aquatic systems. The adsorption isotherm has been fitted with Langmuir model, the adsorption capacity of Eu 3 + achieves as high as 160 mg/g and adsorption kinetics follows pseudo-second order rate model. Additionally, the bacteria exhibit relatively low Eu 3 + adsorption characteristics at pH 3 + biosorption. The SEM-EDS analysis indicates Eu 3 + has been adsorbed on bacterial surfaces. Desorption and recycle experiments demonstrate that Eu 3 + could be well desorbed by HCl or EDTA solution, and the bacteria exhibit good regeneration and reusability. These results confirm that the bacteria could be excellent biosorbents for Eu 3 + .

Background: While an unhalted upsurge of HIV/AIDS epidemic among older adults has recently been witnessed in China, the HIV transmission pattern and characteristics among older adults have not been elucidated clearly. This study aims to identify determinants and linkages along the HIV transmission pathway among older adults, and to have a better insight of HIV dynamics in China. Methods: In this epidemiological field survey, we recruited HIV-positive individuals and their close HIV-positive contacts diagnosed in one county with skyrocket-increase HIV epidemic in eastern China, Zhejiang province. We used phylogenetic analysis to verify a potential transmission network in the region. Findings: A total of 200 HIV-infected individuals in SY County, Zhejiang province were enrolled. Most of them were males (142, 71·0%), aged ≥50 years at HIV diagnosis (129, 64·5%), and with household registration in SY County (179, 89·5%). A molecular cluster of 71 participants with CRF 08_BC was identified, including three commercial sex workers (CSWs), 48 male clients (41 of them aged ≥50 years at HIV diagnosis). Each CSWs in this cluster had 23-66 virus linkages with other participants. Among participants aged ≥50 years at HIV diagnosis, 65·9% (85/129) were infected through commercial sex, among them, 97·4% (75/77) were clustered and 75·3% (58/77) were infected with circulating recombinant form virus (CRF) subtype CRF 08_BC. While, the corresponding percentages for participants aged

Selenol is a key metabolite of Na2SeO3 and plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes. The real-time monitoring of selenol is of scientific interest for understanding the anti-cancer mechanism of Na2SeO3. Based on selenol's ability to specifically break AuS bonds and form more stable AuSe bonds on the surfaces of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), we developed a novel near-infrared fluorescent nanosensor (Cy5.5-peptide-AuNPs) for detecting selenol. The nanosensor exhibited rapid response to selenol with high selectivity and sensitivity, and it was successfully used to image changes in the selenol level in HepG2 cells during Na2SeO3-induced apoptosis. Moreover, in vivo fluorescence imaging of selenol was obtained from H22 tumor-bearing mice injected with both the nanosensor and sodium selenite. The results showed that the tumor cell apoptosis induced by Na2SeO3 is correlated with high-level of selenol under hypoxic conditions. We believe that this nanosensor could serve as a powerful tool for monitoring selenol and exploring the physiological function of selenol in a variety of physiological and pathological contexts and that the probe-designed strategy will provide a new platform for research on relevant selenium chemistry.

A time delay circular array transducer (TDCAT) is proposed to selectively excite a dominant flexural guided wave mode in an elastic hollow cylinder. The classical Normal Mode Expansion method (NME) is adopted to disseminate the forced response and perturbation analysis of a hollow cylinder with respect to a time delay circular array loading. A single dominant flexural mode is effectively excited in a hollow cylinder by a TDCAT with appropriate time delay parameters. The expression for calculation of time delay parameters to excite a specific flexural mode is given. Numerical evaluations that demonstrate the generation of dominant flexural modes in elastic hollow cylinders are carried out for both torsional and longitudinal flexural modes. A TDCAT with eight elements is recommended for practical flexural guided wave utilizations after studying the influence of element number on flexural wave excitation.

Kangfuxin liquid (KFX) is a Chinese medicine extracted from Periplaneta americana dried worms, which presented the bioactive functions of anti-inflammation and promoting the gastrointestinal mucosal barriers repair. But the low availability of KFX exposed to the distal colon affects its therapeutic effect on ulcerative colitis. Herein, an in situ hydrogel containing KFX was designed by using temperature-sensitive poloxamer 407 (P-407) as material for rectal administration. Three KFX-P formulations with different P407 concentrations (17%, 20% and 25%) were designed and screened by detecting the gelation time, gelation temperature and mechanical strength of hydrogel. P407 in these formulations was able to be completely dissolved in KFX at 4 ℃ and then was in situ gelled at 37 ℃ to form a semisolid hydrogel. Moreover, the gelation time, the gelation temperature and the mechanical strength of KFX-P hydrogel are highly dependent on P407 concentration. With P407 concentration increasing, both the gelation time and gelation temperature of KFX-P accordingly decreased and the gelation temperature range becomes narrowed; while the mechanical strength increased. KFX-P-20% displayed the moderate gelation temperature (28–30 ℃), the short gelation time (26 s) and the moderate mechanical strength (G′ = 4.2 × 103 Pa), which was chosen for animal study. Thereafter, ulcerative colitis mice model (UC) was established by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and the therapeutic effect of KFX-P on UC was evaluated by inflammation symptoms relief, colon length, colonic MPO level and colonography. After rectal administration of KFX or KFX-P, the symptoms including diarrhea and hematochezia (DAI scores), weight loss and spleen swelling were significantly hindered. Meanwhile, the colonic MPO level in these groups was significantly decreased in comparison with PBS treatment. But the therapeutic effect of KFX-P was better than KFX. Besides, the morphology and mucosal barrier of colon were evaluated by HE staining, ZO-1 and claudin-5 staining. The mucosa epithelium layer, crypt, muscle layer mucosa and submucosa were also well repaired after KFX-P treatment. The strong fluorescence of ZO-1 and claudin-5 were uniformly distributed along the whole epithelial mucosa after KFX-P treatment, indicating the effective repairing of the colonic mucosal barrier. Collectively, the temperature-sensitive KFX-P for rectal delivery could effectively promote the repair of the colon mucosal barrier and inhibit the colonic inflammation in DSS-induced mice, which may be a potential strategy for UC treatment.

Though succinate accumulation is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and neuronal injury, which play critical roles in epilepsy, it is unclear whether succinate accumulation contributes to the onset of epilepsy or seizures. We sought to investigate changes in succinate, oxidative stress, and mito-SOX levels, as well as mitophagy and neuronal change, in different status epilepticus (SE) rat models. Our results demonstrate that KA-induced SE was accompanied by increased levels of succinate, oxidative stress, and mito-SOX, as well as mitophagy and neuronal degeneration. The similarly increased levels of succinate, oxidative stress, and mito-SOX were also found in pilocarpine-induced SE. Moreover, the reduction of succinate accumulation by the inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), malate/aspartate shuttle (MAS), or purine nucleotide cycle (PNC) served to reduce succinate, oxidative stress, and mito-SOX levels, thereby preventing oxidative stress-related neuronal damage and lessening seizure severity. Interestingly, simulating succinate accumulation with succinic acid dimethyl ester may induce succinate accumulation and increased oxidative stress and mito-SOX levels, as well as behavior and seizures in electroencephalograms similar to those observed in rats exposed to KA. Our results indicate that succinate accumulation may contribute to the increased oxidative stress/mitochondrial ROS levels, neuronal degeneration, and SE induced by KA administration. Furthermore, we found that succinate accumulation was mainly due to the inverse catalysis of SDH from fumarate, which was supplemented by the MAS and PNC pathways. These results reveal new insights into the mechanisms underlying SE and that reducing succinate accumulation may be a clinically useful therapeutic target in SE., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • KA- or pilocarpine-induced SE was accompanied by succinate accumulation. • Succinate accumulation caused elevated ROS/mito-ROS levels and neuronal injury. • Inverse catalysis of SDH from fumarate mainly caused succinate accumulation. • Inhibiting succinate accumulation relieved oxidative stress level, neuronal injury, and seizure. • Simulating succinate accumulation induced elevated oxidative stress level and seizure.

The mechanism of uranium transformation from U(VI) into nano-uramphite by two indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis strains was investigated in the present work. Our data showed that the bacteria isolated from uranium mine possessed highly accumulation ability to U(VI), and the maximum accumulation capacity was around 400 mg U/g biomass (dry weight). X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyzes indicated that the U(VI) was adsorbed on the bacterial surface firstly through coordinating with phosphate, CH2 and amide groups, and then needle-like amorphous uranium compounds were formed. With the extension of time, the extracellular crystalline substances were disappeared, but some particles were appeared in the intracellular region, and these particles were characterized as tetragonal-uramphite. Moreover, the disrupted experiment indicated that the cell-free extracts had better uranium-immobilization ability than cell debris. Our findings provided the understanding of the uranium transformation process from amorphous uranium to crystalline uramphite, which would be useful in the regulation of uranium immobilization process.

In this study, we investigated the Cr(VI) uptake mechanism of planktonic cells and biofilms of Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) ATCC-6633. Data showed that the effect of planktonic cells on the Cr(VI) uptake was quite different from that of biofilms. Planktonic cells had strong ability of Cr(VI) reduction, while biofilms possessed a great potential of Cr(III) immobilization. For planktonic cells, 100 mg/L Cr(VI) could be completely reduced. Both exopolymeric substances and cytoplasmic extracts contributed to high capacity of Cr(VI) reduction. After the reduction, noticeable Cr(III) precipitates were accumulated on bacterial surfaces, but 37.5% Cr(III) still remained in the supernatant. For biofilms, the biofilm debris became the main active ingredient of the Cr(VI) reduction. However, only 20 mg/L Cr(VI) could be reduced probably because of unavailability of reducing active sites during the biofilm formation. Further studies showed that biofilms had a better Cr(III) immobilization capacity than planktonic cells with 100% Cr(III) immobilized. Moreover, for the first time, we proposed a strategy combining the advantages of both planktonic cells and biofilms, and a successful Cr(VI) removal from typical Cr(VI)-containing plating wastewater was achieved through a 10-L pilot-scale experiment.

In this paper, the different photo-catalytic bactericidal activity of three types ZnO materials (m plane (100) [1] , [2] , of ZnO single crystal (ZnO SC), Al-doped ZnO thin films on m plane of ZnO single crystal (AZO-SC) and Al-doped ZnO thin films on glass (AZO-G)) were investigated. XRD and AFM analysis showed that the AZO thin films grown on ZnO (100) plane still followed the (100) growth direction of the ZnO SC substrate, and the ultimate morphology appeared as an island structure. When deposited on glass, the AZO thin films appeared (002) diffraction peak. The counting of the re-grown bacterial colonies of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis after photo-catalytic action showed the photo-catalytic bactericidal activity followed by the order of AZO-SC > ZnO SC > AZO-G. Further confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and AFM images indicated that free radicals are likely to attack the bacterial cell wall firstly, then the cell membrane, eventually leading to the death of bacteria during the photo-catalytic process. The interfacial electric field (IEF) formed between the AZO thin films and ZnO SC was believed to be responsible for the significant improvement of photo-catalytic activity of the ZnO single crystal.

A rapidly aging population in the United States has brought significant challenges to transportation planners and service operators. One of the most important challenges is to figure out aging Americans' travel needs in a timely manner, in order to promptly provide them with better transportation access as they age. The present research investigates how and where to collect such information. In particular, it constructs a comprehensive survey questionnaire specifically targeting aging Americans' transportation options and implements the survey using an innovative crowdsourcing platform – Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). This study has dual aims. First, it shows the design of an all-inclusive survey that gathers meaningful insights on senior transportation options from different categories of respondents, including 1) older adults, 2) young, caregiving adults, and 3) young, non-caregiving adults. It is important to include all of these respondents, because they represent either current or future customers of senior transportation services. Second, the study demonstrates the resourceful survey implementation tool – MTurk, which provides a valuable platform to investigate timely issues such as aging Americans' travel needs. MTurk platform is able to capture all three categories of respondents; and survey respondents share a similar distribution pattern like those seen in generally accepted, representative surveys (e.g., Census and National Household Travel Survey).

Seizures may influence epileptogenesis, but it is not yet clearly established whether subthreshold stimulations that are not sufficient to induce visible behavioral seizures change epileptic susceptibility, and the possible underlying mechanisms have not been completely understood. We assessed the susceptibility to epilepsy after subthreshold dose of pilocarpine, as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression using immunohistochemistry. An increase in the susceptibility to pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures was observed in rats previously subjected to subthreshold dose of pilocarpine. The immunoreactivity of GFAP was also increased, indicating that astrocytes became reactive in some brain subfields. The increased epileptic susceptibility was significantly reduced by L-alpha-aminoadipic acid (L-AAA), an inhibitor of astrocytic function. Our results suggest that subthreshold stimulation may increase the susceptibility to subsequent development of epilepsy, and reactive astrocytes might be an important contributor to this process. Adequate inhibition of astrocytic function may be a potential preventive approach against epileptogenesis.

Based on the theory of gas–solid two-phase flow and the characteristics of cavern stope a model of dust migration was established. The dust concentration changing of cavern stope by ventilation in 20 min after blasting and the dust trajectory in different wind speed were simulated by Fluent Software. The results show that distribution of dust concentration is significantly affected by flow field of airway in cavern, and the dust concentration of inlet is higher than that of outlet and the highest one on the corner of inlet’s side. In the stope, the smaller the wind speed of inlet is, the shorter of dust can be captured, settled and discharged, the more obviously affected by the trajectory of gas flow field. It goes into the stage of clean cycle emissions after 60 s, the speed of dust concentration dropped is the biggest between 0 s and 70 s, the main dust in stope is respirable dust after 70 s, it needs much time to settlement. According to the measured data of metal mining, approximately 87% of dust was generated during the drilling and blasting in the mine ( Wang, 1979 ). A lot of dust with high concentrations was produced during the cavern stope blasting and it was difficult to be discharged. It can help choose the right speed to rule out the dust quickly which produced during cavern blasting, if the dust concentration distribution and the dust migration law of different inlet velocity in the cavern can be verified, what’s more, the labor productivity can be increased. It has great significance for choosing reasonable ventilation parameters, reducing dust hazards of stope to researching the dust concentration distribution regularity in the stope.

In this study, we investigated the Cr(VI) uptake mechanism in an indigenous Cr(VI)-tolerant bacterial strain - Bacillus cereus through batch and microscopic experiments. We found that both the cells and the supernatant collected from B. cereus cultivation could reduce Cr(VI). The valence state analysis revealed the complete transformation from Cr(VI) into Cr(III) by living B. cereus. Further X-ray absorption fine structure and Fourier transform infrared analyses showed that the reduced Cr(111) was coordinated with carboxyl and amido functional groups from either the cells or supernatant. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy observation showed that noticeable Cr(III) precipitates were accumulated on bacterial surfaces. However, Cr(111) could also be detected in bacterial inner portions by using transmission electron microscopy thin section analysis coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Through quantitative analysis of chromium distribution, we determined the binding ratio of Cr(111) in supernatant, cell debris and cytoplasm as 22%, 54% and 24%, respectively. Finally, we further discussed the role of bacterium-origin soluble organic molecules to the remediation of Cr(Vi) pollutants. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent research in adults has determined that late positive potential (LPP) is modulated by affective pictures. Here we investigated whether affective modulation of LPP reflects developmental changes during adolescence. Event-related potentials were recorded from 50 adolescents (11–17 years old) while they viewed 90 pictures of middle arousal level from the Chinese affective picture system. Consistent with previous studies in adults, affective pictures elicited larger LPP activities than neutral pictures over bilateral centroparietal sensors. Moreover, the LPP amplitudes varied as a function of age, increasing with age regardless of picture valence. These observations imply that adolescents exhibit affective modulation of LPP similar to adults, and undergo developmental changes in automatic attention to affective or non-affective pictures.

Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture have demonstrated extensive signal attenuations in the core regions of a "default mode" network as well as signal potentiations in the regions of a "central-executive" network. We proposed that this acupuncture-related dichotomy may represent the anticorrelation in these intrinsic brain networks showing spontaneous fluctuations during rest. According to a plentiful clinical report, acupuncture can provide pain relief beyond the time it is being administrated; therefore, imaging its sustained effect (rather than acute effect) on the brain networks may further help elucidate the mechanisms by which acupuncture achieves its therapeutic effects. As an interface, the anterior insula (AI) has recently been shown to be a network hub, which initiates dynamic switching between these intrinsic networks. Here, we attempt to explore how acupuncture can modulate spontaneous coherences of these resting networks anchored by the AI. Using a spontaneous activity detection approach, we identified an AI-related dichotomy showing spontaneous activations in the CEN along with wide spontaneous deactivations located exclusively in the DMN. Following verum acupuncture, but not sham control, there was a prominently enhanced dichotomy in the CEN and DMN networks. More importantly, a long-lasting effect of acupuncture could further modulate intrinsic coherences of the wide interoceptive-autonomic areas, including the paralimbic regions and brainstem nuclei. These findings suggested that acupuncture may not only enhance the dichotomy of the anticorrelated resting networks, but also modulate a larger spatio-temporal extent of spontaneous activities in the salient interoceptive-autonomic network, contributing to potential actions in the endogenous pain-modulation circuits and homeostatic control mechanisms.

Background The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of unintended pregnancy, induced abortion and contraceptive use, and factors associated with unintended pregnancy among Chinese university students. Study Design A self-administered questionnaire survey with cross-sectional design was administered among students in two universities in Ningbo, China, in November–December 2003. Sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with unintended pregnancy were identified in both genders using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results Of sexually active students, 10.6% of male and 11.6% of female students reported their partner or they had a history of pregnancy; 10.0% of male and 11.3% of female students reported their partner or they had a history of induced abortion. The risk factors for unintended pregnancy identified among males by multivariate analysis were older age [odds ratio (OR), 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.15–3.88], initiation of sexual activity before high school (OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.36–4.44), reported lack of condom use in first sexual activity (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.10–2.64), multiple sexual partners (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.06–2.23), and often used condoms during their lifetime (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.01–3.81). The identified risk factors among females were initiation of sexual activity before high school (OR, 5.12; 95% CI, 1.49–17.68), non-consensual sexual intercourse as first sex (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.08–2.90), multiple partners (OR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.61–4.71), and sometimes/never (OR, 3.02; 95% CI, 1.16–7.87) or often (OR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.43–10.73) used condoms during their lifetime. Conclusion The high prevalence of unintended pregnancies and induced abortions in this population indicates a need for better and targeted sex education and family planning services.

Incident response measures are continuously being developed to deal with each incident in an effective and timely manner. One critical component in incident response actions is to deploy appropriate response units to the incident scene and clear the incidence as quickly as possible. This paper presents a novel approach for dispatching response units, which incorporates an optimization process for multiple incident response management. An incident response management tool (IRMT) has been developed by integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) with traffic simulation and optimization engines. GIS is employed to provide the primary user interface, process network data, derive the shortest-time path, and visualize the results. The traffic simulation engine is used to simulate incidents in a network, gather link travel times at regular intervals and transmit this time dependent information to GIS. Finally, the optimization engine is used to derive an optimal dispatching strategy by minimizing the total travel time of all the response units. Upon comparison with conventional strategies based on location proximity, the IRMT is found to considerably reduce response time and facilitate resource optimization.

In a clinical trial aiming to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drug-eluting stents in comparison with bare-metal stents (BMS) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the description of the end points should be clear and identical. As an important composite clinical end point, major adverse