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These findings demonstrate GRIT sensor could detect and quantify intracellular tryptophan decay and highlight the role of IDO1 in tryptophan catabolism. We found that plasma tryptophan enters the brain during inflammation and reduced plasma tryptophan levels could serve as a biochemical marker of inflammation in zebrafish, similar with a previous report in glioblastoma[15]. Tryptophan binding elicits a fourfold increase and a 3.3-fold decrease in GRIT fluorescence with excitation at 485 nm and 420 nm, respectively, and a 1300% ratiometric fluorescence change with an apparent tryptophan dissociation constant ( I K i SB d sb ) ~ 430 M (Fig. These authors contributed equally: Rongkun Tao, Kui Wang, Tian-lun Chen Dear Editor, L-tryptophan is the rarest essential amino acid found in food and cellular uptake of tryptophan is vital for protein synthesis in vertebrate animals[1]. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: Lung cancer is a malignant tumor with obvious genetic predisposition. Association studies have proposed that rs2853677, a SNP localizing at intron region of TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), is significantly associated with TERT expression, telomere length and eventually lung cancer risk. However, functional genomics work indicates that rs2853677 is not with the ability to alter gene expression. All these facts make us hypothesize that some other genetic variation(s) are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs2853677 and influence TERT expression. Methods: LD pattern in rs2853677 nearby region was analyzed based on 1000 genomes data for three representative populations in the world and functional genomics research was performed for this locus. Results: Only one SNP, rs2736099, is in strong LD with rs2853677 in East Asian. Dual-luciferase reporter assay verifies that rs2736099 can regulate gene expression and should be the causal SNP for this disease. Through chromosome conformation capture assay, it is disclosed that the enhancer surrounding rs2736099 can interact with TERT promoter. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation, the transcription factor SP1 (Sp1 transcription factor) is recognized for the chromatin segment spanning rs2736099. Conclusions: Our results provide the missing piece between genetic variation at this locus and lung cancer risk, which is also applied to tumorigenesis in other tissues and cell proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dieulafoy's disease is a rare and important cause of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding, which can cause fatal gastrointestinal bleeding. We reported a patient with Dieulafoy's disease in both of the stomach and duodenum for the first time. The patient achieved no effective hemostasis after two endoscopic treatments and two arterial angiography embolizations. Finally, successful hemostasis was achieved through surgery. There are many endoscopic treatment methods, but there is no consensus on the best treatment for hemorrhagic Dieulafoy's disease. Surgery is only a last resort after the failure of endoscopic treatment and angiography embolization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been demonstrated to have comparable effectiveness or better to ATRA and chemotherapy (CHT) in non-high-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, the efficacy of ATRA-ATO compared to ATRA-ATO plus CHT in high-risk APL remains unknown. Here we performed a randomized multi-center non-inferiority phase III study to compare the efficacy of ATRA-ATO and ATRA-ATO plus CHT in newly diagnosed all-risk APL to address this question. Patients were assigned to receive ATRA-ATO for induction, consolidation, and maintenance or ATRA-ATO plus CHT for induction followed by three cycles of consolidation therapy, and maintenance therapy with ATRA-ATO. In the non-CHT group, hydroxyurea was used to control leukocytosis. A total of 128 patients were treated. The complete remission rate was 97% in both groups. The 2-year disease-free, event-free survival rates in the non-CHT group and CHT group in all-risk patients were 98% vs 97%, and 95% vs 92%, respectively (P = 0.62 and P = 0.39, respectively). And they were 94% vs 87%, and 85% vs 78% in the high-risk patients (P = 0.52 and P = 0.44, respectively). This study demonstrated that ATRA-ATO had the same efficacy as the ATRA-ATO plus CHT in the treatment of patients with all-risk APL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is extremely rare, but cases of cerebral infarction [[2]], subarachnoid hemorrhage [[3]], allergic encephalitis [[4]], and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis [[5]], following stings have been reported. Dear Sirs, Bee and wasp stings are common in China and other countries; individuals who get stung develop adverse reactions with different degrees of severity. HBOT has been recommended as a treatment option for acute posterior circulation toxic encephalopathy following wasp sting. [Extracted from the article]

The recent development of flexible display technology raised additional requirements for optical and electric properties of polyimides, accelerating the structure and property tunning of transparent polyimides. The unique electronic effect and steric hindrance effect of fluorine substitutions make fluorine-containing polyimides occupy an important position in the transparent polyimide family. In this work, a series of transparent aromatic polyimides were prepared from a fixed 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) and biphenyl diamines with different substitute groups at the 2,2′,6,6′-positions. We systematically studied the effects of pendant groups on the thermal, mechanical, optical and dielectric properties of these 6FDA-based polyimides with the aid of density function theory (DFT) calculation. In particular, we paid special attention to the simple but compact fluoro group substitution. The simple fluoro substitution brought the advantages of maintaining the linearity of the backbone and dense polymer chain packing, which would minimize the weakening of polyimides' inherent thermal, dimensional and mechanical properties. Comparing with trifluoromethyl substituted polyimides with the best optical transparency, polyimides containing fluoro substitutes exhibited slightly decreased optical transparency, but increased thermal and dimensional stability and higher mechanical strength. These results could shed light on the ultimate transparent polyimide film development toward the application in extreme working condition, e.g., the colorless polyimide substrate film for the flexible display technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of AgNPs on pollutant removals in constructed wetlands (CWs) with different flow patterns and spatial distributions of silver. Before exposure to AgNPs, upward flow constructed wetland (UCW) had better nitrogen removal than down-flow CW (DCW). And 0.5 mg/L AgNPs evidently inhibited nitrogen and phosphorus removal, including ammonia, nitrate, and TP (total phosphorus), with average effluent concentrations increasing by 70.83% of NH4+-N in UCW, 18.75% of TP in UCW, and 28.33% and 25.06% of NO3--N in DCW and UCW, respectively, while COD (chemical oxygen demand) was not affected. Moreover, presence of 2 mg/L AgNPs slightly inhibited organic compounds and NH4+-N removal in two systems during stage 4 (dosing 2 mg/L AgNPs). However, the response of NO3--N and TN removal to 2 mg/L AgNPs in two systems were different, and nitrogen concentrations in effluent at the end of stage 4 significantly increased in DCW. Addition of 2 mg/L AgNPs significantly affected TP removal in two systems. Two wetlands showed high removal efficiencies of about 98% on AgNPs, indicating that CWs could provide a feasible approach for ecological restoration of nanoparticles pollution. This study also found that AgNPs mainly accumulated in the upper layer with the Ag content of 17.55–20.26 mg/kg dry weight in sand layer and 7.25–10.85 mg/kg dry weight in gravel layer. Plant roots absorbed AgNPs, with Ag content at 50.80–101.40 mg/kg and bioconcentration factors 2.80–5.00. The obtained results showed that up-flow CWs had better performance and higher resistance to the exposure of AgNPs pollution, compared with down-flow CWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correction notice is for an article titled "A genetically encoded ratiometric indicator for tryptophan" published in Cell Discovery. The correction addresses the omission of funding from the Acknowledgements section and provides the correct funding code. The HTML and PDF versions of the article have been updated to reflect these corrections. The authors acknowledge the support they received from various grants and organizations, including the National Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission. The correction notice is authored by Rongkun Tao, Kui Wang, Tian-lun Chen, Xin-xin Zhang, Jian-bin Cao, Wen-quan Zhao, Jiu-lin Du, and Yu Mu. [Extracted from the article]

The spin-orbit-coupled (SOC) ultracold atomic gases provide unique opportunities for exploring exotic quantum phases and introduce new capabilities into the quantum simulation. In this paper, we study the coherent control of spin states in SOC Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) by exploiting and implementing the general concept of Landau–Zener–Stüeckelberg–Majorana (LZSM) interference. For a SOC BEC, the Landau–Zener (LZ) transition between the dressed eigenlevels occurs as the BEC is accelerated through the SOC-avoided crossing, which corresponds to a breakdown of the spin momentum locking. In our scheme, two LZ pulses are separated by an intermediate holding period of variable duration. The nice LZSM interference patterns can be generated and controlled by controlling several parameters, corresponding to coherent control of the spin state of the SOC BEC. In particular, the destructive and constructive patterns of LZSM interference are observed and well explained through analytical analysis. Our results suggest a potential application of the LZSM interferometry in calibrating the spin states of a SOC BEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the hydrologic cycle, sandy soils play the role of a connecting reservoir of surface water and groundwater, particularly in arid areas. Therefore, to provide water conservation and ecological environment protection, it is important to study the soil water behavior in the unsaturated zone. At present, the CT-scan method is commonly used to study the soil hydraulic properties. In the field of materials science, the industrial CT high-resolution instruments are applied for quantitative research on the porous microstructure and fluid filtration law in sandy soils. In this study, we have studied five samples of sand scans of the quartz sand and CUGB coarse sand types. The industrial-type CT instrument XTH225ST was used for the sample microstructure scanning. In order to identify water: air, and solid particle distribution of the sample cross section, and to analyze the particle size distribution and moisture content, the scanned images were processed using the VG-Studio and ImageJ software. Comparing the CT-scan results of the four quartz sand samples, it can be concluded that the optimal particle size, ranges from 1 to 2 mm. According to the porosity quantitative analysis, with decrease in the particle size, the total porosity grate soil sample increases. After applying the image recognition and VG- Studio software, we can see that for different particle sizes of the sand sample, the average pore size increases with increase in the particle size. To study the moisture absorption and desorption phenomenon, two samples of the CUGB coarse sand are experimentally studied. The particle size of the samples range: from 1 to 2 mm. The CT scanning analysis is used to obtain the unsaturated characteristic curve of the soil when the moisture content reaches stability. Due to the lag phenomenon, the characteristic curve of the soil moisture has an obvious "loop," or hysteresis, shape. As shown by a 3D modeling, the distribution of capillary water in the sand column is complex, and the water flow forms multiple winding paths, like "worms" creeping in the soil. The CT-scan method is used to overcome the limitations of the traditional experimental methods and to evaluate the relationship between the moisture content and the matrix suction. The obtained characteristic curve of soil moisture can be used to improve the efficiency of technological operations. The CT-scan method provides a new way of evaluating the water distribution characteristics of unsaturated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallurgical dusts can be recycled through direct reduction in rotary hearth furnaces (RHFs) via addition into carbon-based composite pellets. While iron in the dust is recycled, several heavy and alkali metal elements harmful for blast furnace operation, including Zn, Pb, K, and Na, can also be separated and then recycled. However, there is a lack of understanding on thermochemical behavior related to direct reduction in an industrial-scale RHF, especially removal behavior of Zn, Pb, K, and Na, leading to technical issues in industrial practice. In this work, an integrated model of the direct reduction process in an industrial-scale RHF is described. The integrated model includes three mathematical submodels and one physical model, specifically, a three-dimensional (3-D) CFD model of gas flow and heat transfer in an RHF chamber, a one-dimensional (1-D) CFD model of direct reduction inside a pellet, an energy/mass equilibrium model, and a reduction physical experiment using a Si-Mo furnace. The model is validated by comparing the simulation results with measurements in terms of furnace temperature, furnace pressure, and pellet indexes. The model is then used for describing in-furnace phenomena and pellet behavior in terms of heat transfer, direct reduction, and removal of a range of heavy and alkali metal elements under industrial-scale RHF conditions. The results show that the furnace temperature in the preheating section should be kept at a higher level in an industrial-scale RHF compared with that in a pilot-scale RHF. The removal rates of heavy and alkali metal elements inside the composite pellet are all faster than iron metallization, specifically in the order of Pb, Zn, K, and Na. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hot-wire method is applied in this paper to probe the thermal conductivity (TC) of Cu and Ni nanoparticle packed beds (NPBs). A different decrease tendency of TC versus porosity than that currently known is discovered. The relationship between the porosity and nanostructure is investigated to explain this unusual phenomenon. It is found that the porosity dominates the TC of the NPB in large porosities, while the TC depends on the contact area between nanoparticles in small porosities. Meanwhile, the Vickers hardness (HV) of NPBs is also measured. It turns out that the enlarged contact area between nanoparticles is responsible for the rapid increase of HV in large porosity, and the saturated nanoparticle deformation is responsible for the small increase of HV in low porosity. With both TC and HV considered, it can be pointed out that a structure of NPB with a porosity of 0.25 is preferable as a thermoelectric material because of the low TC and the higher hardness. Although Cu and Ni are not good thermoelectric materials, this study is supposed to provide an effective way to optimize thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) and HV of nanoporous materials prepared by the cold-pressing method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of nanopore shapes on the electronic thermal conductivity (ETC) was studied in this paper. It turns out that with same porosity, the ETC will be quite different for different nanopore shapes, caused by the different channel width for different nanopore shapes. With same channel width, the influence of different nanopore shapes can be approximately omitted if the nanopore is small enough (smaller than 0.5 times EMFP in this paper). The ETC anisotropy was discovered for triangle nanopores at a large porosity with a large nanopore size, while there is a similar ETC for small pore size. It confirmed that the structure difference for small pore size may not be seen by electrons in their moving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CpG islands in hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome are potential targets for methylation mediated gene silencing, and may be involved in the pathogenesis of HBV infection. To date, their characteristics in HBV quasispecies (QS) remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of CpG islands in HBV QS. Methods: Forty patients diagnosed as acute hepatitis B (AHB, n = 10), immune-tolerant HBV carriers (IT, n = 9), chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n = 11), or acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF, n = 10), were enrolled in this case-control study. A total of 599 clones were isolated, and full-length HBV genomes were sequenced. Results: CpG island II (CGII) in AHB group was shorter in length and its QS heterogeneity was lower than that in the chronic infection group. Among the chronic infection subgroups, CGII and CpG island III (CGIII) in IT group were longer and their heterogeneity was lower compared to CHB and ACLF groups. Length of CGII correlated with HBV DNA levels positively while the complexity and diversity of CGII correlated with HBV DNA levels negatively. Moreover, CGII and CGIII were shorter in genotype B than those in genotype C, while QS complexity and diversity of either CGII or CGIII had no significant difference between genotype B and C. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest that the distribution, length and QS heterogeneity of CpG islands in full-length HBV genome differ across clinical phases of infection, of which the mechanism warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Au/[NiCo/Bi]/Au ( x = 2, 3) films were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition method. In order to induce the in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (IPUMA) of the multifilms, multiple layers and different oblique angles ranging from 0° to 30° for the substrate are applied during the deposition. The microstructures of the nanofilms were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electronic microscope (TEM). And their magnetic properties were measured by an alternating gradient magnetometer. For the multicycle systems, using the method that with more periodic structures of NiCo/Bi film is easier for inducing IPUMA than the less or the samples located with various angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow on a moving surface with the power-law velocity and special injection/blowing is investigated. A scaling group transformation is used to reduce the governing equations to a system of ordinary differential equations. The skin friction coefficients of the MHD boundary layer flow are derived, and the approximate solutions of the flow characteristics are obtained with the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The approximate solutions are easily computed by use of a high order iterative procedure, and the effects of the power-law index, the magnetic parameter, and the special suction/blowing parameter on the dynamics are analyzed. The obtained results are compared with the numerical results published in the literature, verifying the reliability of the approximate solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In papers in areas such as engineering and the physical sciences, figures, tables and formulae are the basic elements to communicate the authors' core ideas, workings and results. As a computational text-matching tool, CrossCheck cannot work on these non-textual elements to detect plagiarism. Consequently, when comparing engineering or physical sciences papers, CrossCheck may return a low similarity index even when plagiarism has in fact taken place. A case of demonstrated plagiarism involving engineering papers with a low similarity index is discussed, and editor's experiences and suggestions are given on how to tackle this problem. The case shows a lack of understanding of plagiarism by some authors or editors, and illustrates the difficulty of getting some editors and publishers to take appropriate action. Consequently, authors, journal editors, and reviewers, as well as research institutions all are duty-bound not only to recognize the differences between ethical and unethical behavior in order to protect a healthy research environment, and also to maintain consistent ethical publishing standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the unsteady coupled heat and mass transfer of two-dimensional MHD fluid over a moving oscillatory stretching surface with Soret and Dufour effects. Viscous dissipation effects are adopted in the energy equation. A uniform magnetic field is applied vertically to the flow direction. The governing equations are reduced to non-linear coupled partial differential equations and solved by means of homotopy analysis method (HAM). The effects of some physical parameters such as magnetic parameter, Dufour number, Soret number, the Prandtl number and the ratio of the oscillation frequency of the sheet to its stretching rate on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are illustrated and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mathematical model was established to describe the direct reduction of pellets in a rotary hearth furnace (RHF). In the model, heat transfer, mass transfer, and gas-solid chemical reactions were taken into account. The behaviors of iron metallization and dezincification were analyzed by the numerical method, which was validated by experimental data of the direct reduction of pellets in a Si-Mo furnace. The simulation results show that if the production targets of iron metallization and dezincification are up to 80% and 90%, respectively, the furnace temperature for high-temperature sections must be set higher than 1300°C. Moreover, an undersupply of secondary air by 20% will lead to a decline in iron metallization rate of discharged pellets by 10% and a decrease in dezincing rate by 13%. In addition, if the residence time of pellets in the furnace is over 20 min, its further extension will hardly lead to an obvious increase in production indexes under the same furnace temperature curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CdS modified TiO/FeO photocatalysts were prepared by sol-gel and immersion methods. The morphological, structural and optical properties of as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis absorption spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM observation showed that the surface of magnetite particles (FeO) were coated by CdS-TiO layer as loose clusters, and average diameter of composites particles was about 250 nm. UV-Vis absorption spectra indicated that CdS-TiO/FeO composites had pronounced red-shift compared with that of TiO/FeO. The CdS-TiO/FeO composites exhibit higher photocatalytic activity than pure TiO and TiO/FeO for the degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red X-3B dye (X-3B) aqueous solution under simulated sunlight, and the optimum content of CdS is 1.0 % (mol ratio of CdS to TiO). In addition, a gradual loss of photocatalytic activity can be observed in reusability test of CdS-TiO/FeO composites, and degradation of X-3B reached still to 78.9 % after five runs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow over a shrinking permeable sheet embedded in a moving viscous electrically conducting fluid is investigated both analytically and numerically. The velocity slip at the solid surface is taken into account in the boundary conditions. A novel analytical method named DTMBF is proposed and used to get the approximate analytical solutions to the nonlinear governing equation along with the boundary conditions at infinity. All analytical results are compared with those obtained by a numerical method. The comparison shows good agreement, which validates the accuracy of the DTM-BF method. Moreover, the existence ranges of the dual solutions and the unique solution for various parameters are obtained. The effects of the velocity slip parameter, the unsteadiness parameter, the magnetic parameter, the suction/injection parameter, and the velocity ratio parameter on the skin friction, the unique velocity, and the dual velocity profiles are explored, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unsteady, laminar, incompressible, and two-dimensional flow of a micropolar fluid between two orthogonally moving porous coaxial disks is considered. The extension of von Karman's similarity transformations is used to reduce the governing partial differential equations (PDEs) to a set of non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in the dimensionless form. The analytical solutions are obtained by employing the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The effects of various physical parameters such as the expansion ratio and the permeability Reynolds number on the velocity fields are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:To develop a novel gastroretentive drug delivery system based on a self-microemulsifying (SME) lipid mixture for improving the oral absorption of the immunosuppressant tacrolimus.Methods:Liquid SME mixture, composed of Cremophor RH40 and monocaprylin glycerate, was blended with polyethylene oxide, chitosan, polyvinylpyrrolidone and mannitol, and then transformed into tablets via granulation, with ethanol as the wetting agent. The tablets were characterized in respect of swelling, bioadhesive and SME properties. In vitro dissolution was conducted using an HCl buffer at pH 1.2. Oral bioavailability of the tablets was examined in fasted beagle dogs.Results:The tablet could expand to 13.5 mm in diameter and 15 mm in thickness during the initial 20 min of contact with the HCl buffer at pH 1.2. The bioadhesive strength was as high as 0.98±0.06 N/cm2. The SME gastroretentive sustained-release tablets preserved the SME capability of the liquid SME formations under transmission electron microscope. The drug-release curve was fit to the zero-order release model, which was helpful in reducing fluctuations in blood concentration. Compared with the commercially available capsules of tacrolimus, the relative bioavailability of the SME gastroretentive sustained-release tablets was 553.4%±353.8%.Conclusion:SME gastroretentive sustained-release tablets can enhance the oral bioavailability of tacrolimus with poor solubility and a narrow absorption window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asymptotic behavior of solutions of a similarity equation for the laminar flow in a porous channel with suction at both expanding and contracting walls has been obtained by using a singular perturbation method. However, in the matching process, this solution neglects exponentially small terms. To take into account these exponentially small terms, a method involving the inclusion of exponentially small terms in a perturbation series was used to find two of the solutions analytically. The series involving the exponentially small terms and expansion ratio predicts dual solutions. Furthermore, the result indicates that the expansion ratio has much important influence on the solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow of a micropolar fluid through a porous channel with expanding or contracting walls of different permeabilities is investigated. Two cases are considered, in which opposing walls undergo either uniform or non-uniform motion. In the first case, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) is used to obtain the expressions for the velocity and micro-rotation fields. Graphs are sketched for some parameters. The results show that the expansion ratio and the different permeabilities have important effects on the dynamic characteristics of the fluid. Following Xu's model, in the second case which is more general, the wall expansion ratio varies with time. Under this assumption, the governing equations are transformed into nonlinear partial differential equations that can also be solved analytically by the HAM. In the process, both algebraic and exponential models are considered to describe the evolution of α( t) from the initial state α to the final state α. As a result, the time-dependent solutions are found to approach the steady state very rapidly. The results show that the time-dependent variation of the wall expansion ratio can be ignored because of its limited effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) demands highly sensitive and specific immunoassays with the ability to detect clinically relevant surface gene mutants—the presence of which is an increasing concern and can compromise test results. The objective of the study was to compare the clinical and technical performance of the fully automated Elecsys HBsAg II assay with other widely used HBsAg immunoassays in China. This was a multicentre study in which eight Chinese laboratories compared the Elecsys HBsAg II assay with the Architect HBsAg assay, AxSYM HBsAg assay, or generic microtitre plate (MTP) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (manufactured in China) against preselected samples, including recombinant surface gene mutants, and routine clinical samples. Elecsys HBsAg II was the most sensitive assay for detecting positive results in seroconversion samples: up to 14, 11, and 22 days earlier than the Architect, AxSYM, and MTP HBsAg assays, respectively. It also detected all 211 preselected HBsAg-positive specimens and all 13 recombinant HBsAg mutants; the AxSYM and MTP HBsAg assays failed to detect 3 and 10 mutant samples, respectively. Sensitivity was 100% for Elecsys HBsAg II with routine samples, compared with 99.1, 98.9, and 95.2% for the Architect, AxSYM, and MTP HBsAg assays, respectively. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that the Elecsys HBsAg II assay is suitable for routine HBsAg screening in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hear transfer mechanism and the constitutive models for energy boundary layer in power law fluids were investigated. Two energy transfer constitutive equations models were proposed based on the assumption of similarity of velocity field momentum diffusion and temperature field heat transfer. The governing systems of partial different equations were transformed into ordinary differential equations respectively by using the similarity transformation group. One model was assumed that Prandtl number is a constant, and the other model was assumed that viscosity diffusion is analogous to thermal diffusion. The solutions were presented analytically and numerically by using the Runge-Kutta formulas and shooting technique and the associated transfer characteristics were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of boundary layer separation flow in power law pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids was made. Bifurcation solutions for skin friction were numerically represented for parameters of velocity ratio and power law exponent. The results indicate that both superior and inferior solutions are noticeable and the solutions not only depend on the velocity ratio of the plate to the velocity of the free stream, but also on the power law parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most initially perfect flowers of Toona ciliata Roem subsequently develop into functionally unisexual flowers and their relative positions in the same inflorescence could enhance the outcrossing system in this species. Here we investigated the mating system of this species. We used eight nuclear microsatellite markers and investigated the progeny of 125 mother trees from six populations naturally distributed in South China, with sample sizes ranging from 64 to 300 seeds. The multilocus outcrossing rate was 0.970 ± 0.063, and the single locus outcrossing rate was 0.859 ± 0.106, indicating the pattern of predominant outcrossing. Selfing was present in one population, but biparental inbreeding occurred in five populations. Inbreeding was absent in maternal parents, and correlations of selfing among families or among loci were generally insignificant. Positive correlation of paternity at multiple loci was significant in four populations, but was not consistent with the results at single loci. Population substructure occurred in male similarity between outcrosses only in one population. Population genetic differentaitaion was significant (Fst = 34.5%) and the effects of isolation-by-distance at the eight loci were significant among the six populations. These results provide evidence that self-comptability and inbreeding naturally occur in T. ciliata and indicate that inbreeding avoidance is necessary during genetic improvement and breeding of this endangered tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the repair of bone defects with prefabricated vascularized bone grafts and double-labeled bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a rat model. BMSCs were separated from rat bone marrow. LTR-CMVpro-RFP and LTR-CMVpro-GFP were transfected into the BMSCs for in vitro and in vivo tracking. BMSCs-RFP and BMSCs-GFP were induced into endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and osteoblasts (OBs). Rats were divided into five groups: Group A: in vitro prefabrication with EPCs-RFP + in vivo prefabrication with arteriovenous vascular bundle + secondary OBs-GFP implantation; Group B: in vitro prefabrication with EPCs-RFP + secondary OBs-GFP implantation; Group C: in vivo prefabrication with arteriovenous vascular bundle + secondary OBs-GFP implantation; Group D: implantation of EPCs-RFP + implantation of with arteriovenous vascular bundle + simultaneous OBs-GFP implantation; Group E: demineralized bone matrix (DBM) grafts (blank control). Among five groups, Group A had the fastest bone regeneration and repair, and the regenerated bone highly resembled normal bone tissues; Group D also had fast bone repair, but the repair was slightly slower than Group A. Therefore, in vitro prefabrication with EPCs-RFP plus in vivo prefabrication with arteriovenous vascular bundle and secondary OBs-GFP implantation could be the best treatment for bone defect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional MRI (fMRI) parameters analysis has been proven to be a promising tool of predicting therapeutic response to induction chemotherapy (IC) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study was designed to identify and compare the value of fMRI parameters in predicting early response to IC in patients with NPC., Methods: This prospective study enrolled fifty-six consecutively NPC patients treated with IC from January 2021 to May 2021. Conventional diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) protocols were performed before and after IC. Parameters maps (ADC, MD, MK, D slow , D fast , PF, K trans , V e and K ep ) of the primary tumor were calculated by the Functool post-processing software. The participants were classified as responding group (RG) and non-responding group (NRG) according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1. The fMRI parameters were compared before and after IC and between RG with NRG. Logistic regression analysis and ROC were performed to further identify and compare the efficacy of the parameters., Results: After IC, the mean values of ADC(p < 0.001), MD(p < 0.001), D slow (p = 0.001), PF(p = 0.030) and V e (p = 0.003) significantly increased, while MK(p < 0.001), D fast (p = 0.009) and K ep (p = 0.003) values decreased dramatically, while no significant difference was detected in K trans (p = 0.130). Compared with NRG, ADC-pre(p < 0.001), MD-pre(p < 0.001) and D slow -pre(p = 0.002) values in RG were lower, while MK-pre(p = 0.017) values were higher. The areas under the ROC curves for the ADC-pre, MD-pre, MK-pre, D slow -pre and PRE were 0.885, 0.855, 0.809, 0.742 and 0.912, with the optimal cutoff value of 1210 × 10 - 6  mm 2 /s, 1010 × 10 - 6  mm 2 /s, 832 × 10 - 6 , 835 × 10 - 6  mm 2 /s and 0.799 respectively., Conclusions: The pretreatment conventional DWI (ADC), DKI (MD and MK), and IVIM (D slow ) values derived from fMRI showed a promising potential in predicting the response of the primary tumor to IC in NPC patients., Trial Registration: This study was approved by ethics board of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, and registered on January 30, 2021, in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR2100042863 )., (© 2021. The Author(s).)