Search

A halophilic archaeon named strain LR21T was isolated from a salt mine in Yunnan Province, PR China. Cells were spherical, Gram-stain-negative and motile. Strain LR21T grew at 20–50 °C (optimum, 42 °C), with 8–30 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 23 %) and at pH 5.5–9.5 (optimum, pH 7.5–8.5). Mg2+ was not required for growth. The major polar lipid profile comprised phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester and phosphatidylglycerol sulfate. Strain LR21T had two dissimilar 16S rRNA genes (rrnA and rrnB) and they were closely related to Halomicroarcula limicola YGHS32T, Hma. pellucida BNERC31T and Hma. salina YGHS18T with sequence similarities of 95.3–99.0, 93.0–96.2 and 93.2–95.9 %, respectively, and much lower values to other members. The rpoB′ gene sequence similarities between strain LR21T and Hma. limicola YGHS32T, Hma. pellucida BNERC31T and Hma. salina YGHS18T were 95.2, 91.2 and 91.2 % respectively. The values of average nucleotide identity (ANI) and average amino-acid identity (AAI) between strain LR21T and Hma. limicola YGHS32T, were 89.0 and 90.1 %, respectively. DNA relatedness between strains LR21T and Hma. limicola YGHS32T determined by in silico DNA–DNA hybridization was 36.8 %. Values of ANI and AAI between strain LR21T and other members in the genus Halomicroarcula were far below 95 % and the DNA–DNA relatedness values between strain LR21T and its close relatives were much lower than 70 %, which is far below the boundary for delineation of a new species prokaryote. The DNA G+C content of strain LR21T was 62.0 mol% (genome). The results suggested that strain LR21T represents a novel species of the genus Halomicroarcula , for which the name Halomicroarcula amylolytica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LR21T (=CGMCC 1.13611T=NBRC 113588T).

IntroductionThe present study aimed to compare the efficacy of vindesine with that of leurocristine for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and their effects on the quality of life.Material and methodsWe included 94 patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia admitted to our hospital for treatment and categorized them into two groups: treatment with vindesine (group A, n = 48) and treatment with leurocristine (group B; n = 48). The effective rate, adverse reactions (thrombocytopenia, anemia, peripheral neurotoxic reaction, infection, nausea, and vomiting) and basic clinical conditions (medical expenses and length of hospital stay) of the patients were observed. In addition, IL-6 and TNF-α expressions were determined by ELISA before and after treatment, posttreatment quality of life score was determined by the Karnofsky performance scale (KPS), and the 5-year overall survival was determined in both groups.ResultsGroup A showed no statistical difference in the total efficacy rate and 5-year overall survival after treatment (P > 0.05) and had lower medical expenses, length of hospital stay, IL-6 and TNF-α expressions, and total incidence of adverse reactions and higher KPS scores than group B (P < 0.05).ConclusionsAlthough no statistical difference was observed between vindesine and leurocristine in treating pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, patients administered vindesine had fewer adverse reactions, shorter length of hospital stay, lower medical expenses, and higher quality of life than those administered leurocristine, indicating a potential association with decreased serum IL-6 and TNF-α expressions.

Background: Previous infectious or inflammatory events may be involved in the pathogenesis of neuromyelitis optica (NMO), potentially by triggering an autoimmune response. Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-related NMO (CMV-NMO) is rarely reported. Acute hemorrhagic rectal ulcer (AHRU) is a rare disease with a largely unknown pathogenesis. Herein, we reported a co-NMO and AHRU case associated with CMV infection. In addition, we review previously reported cases of CMV-NMO and CMV-AHRU. Case presentation: A 40-year-old female diagnosed with aquaporin4 (AQP4)-IgG+ NMO and a poor response to high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone and immunoglobulin, followed by three rounds of plasma exchange was transferred to Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. She developed repeated acute lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage from the third day of admission. Abdominal computed tomography angiography (CTA) and interventional angiography did not detect any bleeding vessel. Bedside colonoscopy revealed a large ulcer-like lesion at 10 cm above the anus. Rectal biopsy pathology confirmed a CMV infection on day 23 post-admission, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathogen gene sequencing detected CMV gene copies on day 25 post-admission. After 2 weeks of treatment with ganciclovir and sodium phosphinate, the patient's lower gastrointestinal bleeding stopped, and her limb muscle strength and visual acuity gradually improved. After 4 weeks of antiviral therapy, colonoscopy showed that the intestinal wall of the original lesion was smooth. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of a biopsy specimen was negative for CMV, her right eye vision was normal, and limb muscle strength had recovered. Serum AQP4-IgG was negative, and lesions on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) manifested shrinkage. Conclusions: The benefits of antiviral therapy remain unclear; however, clinicians should be aware of the possibility of CMV-related NMO, if NMO was refractory to high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone, immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange. Moreover, clinicians should consider the possibility of CMV-related AHRU when recurrent acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding occurs in a patient.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of pre-pregnancy parental body mass index (BMI), maternal weight gain during pregnancy, and their interaction on neonatal birth weight. METHODS: A total of 1 127 pregnant women who underwent regular prenatal examinations and full-term singleton delivery in the First Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2017 to October 2018 were enrolled. The data on their pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal weight gain during pregnancy, pre-pregnancy BMI of the husband, and neonatal birth weight were collected. The interaction between pre-pregnancy parental BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy was analyzed, and their correlation with neonatal birth weight was analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 1 127 full-term neonates, the detection rates of low birth weight neonates and macrosomia were 2.22% (25/1 127) and 3.82% (43/1 127) respectively. There were significant differences in pre-pregnancy parental BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy among the low birth weight, normal birth weight, and macrosomia groups (P < 0.05). Neonatal birth weight was positively correlated with pre-pregnancy parental BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy (r=0.097-0.322, P < 0.05). Low maternal weight before pregnancy increased the risk of low birth weight (RR=4.17, 95%CI:1.86-9.38), and maternal overweight/obesity before pregnancy (RR=3.59, 95%CI:1.93-6.67) and excessive weight gain during pregnancy (RR=3.21, 95%CI:1.39-7.37) increased the risk of macrosomia. No interaction between pre-pregnancy maternal BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-pregnancy parental BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy are related to neonatal birth weight, and there is no interaction between pre-pregnancy maternal BMI and maternal weight gain during pregnancy.

Purpose To identify bioactive equivalent combinatorial components (BECCs) in herbal medicines. The exact composition of effective components in herbal medicines is often elusive due to the lack of adequate screening methodology. Herein, we propose a hypothesis that BECCs accounting for the whole efficacy of original herbal medicines could be discovered from a complex mixture of constituents. Methods We developed a bioactive equivalence oriented feedback screening method and applied it to discover the BECCs from an herbal preparation Cardiotonic Pill (CP). The operations include chemical profiling of CP, followed by an iterative loop of determining, collecting and evaluating candidate BECCs. Results A combination of 18 compounds was identified as BECCs from CP, which accounts for 15.0% (w/w) of original CP. We have demonstrated that the BECCs were as effective as CP in cell models and in a rat model of myocardial infarction. Conclusions This work answers the key question of which are real bioactive components for CP that have been used in clinic for many years, and provides a promising approach for discovering BECCs from herbal medicines. More importantly, the BECCs could be extended to improve quality control of herbal products and inspire an herbal medicines based discovery of combinatorial therapeutics. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11095-013-1283-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This paper presents a compact tunable bandpass filter that is based on open split ring resonator to achieve high out-of-band rejection. Exact equations and design procedures are given based on strict theoretical analysis. By loading the varactor diodes, the center frequency and bandwidth of the bandpass filter could realize reconfigurable. Then defected ground structure was adopted in the input and output ports for the sake of high out-of-band rejection. In order to verify the result of theoretical analysis, a compact tunable bandpass filter with defected ground structure, whose range of frequency was 1.61 GHz ∼ 1.82 GHz and range of relative bandwidth was 8.3% ∼ 24.8%, had been simulated and fabricated. Good agreement between the measured data and the anticipated results is achieved.

A pattern synthesis approach based on a modifled alternating projection method in an a-ne coordinate system is proposed in this paper. The approach is suitable for large planar arrays with skewed element layout. According to the a-ne transformation theory, the radiation pattern of the array with a periodic parallelogram element layout could be written down immediately from that of a conventional one with rectangle cells when a pattern invariant group is deflned. Just as known, the conventional alternating projection method is sensitive to the starting point and easy to fall into local optimum; in this paper we introduce a modifled alternating projection method with a variable projection operator. To verify the rationality of the proposed method, several examples have been performed on our personal computer. Results show that the method could quickly synthesize the array patterns to the required with high accuracy. In addition, if the array has a triangle or parallelogram element layout, the required antennas to flll up the aperture is reduced when compared with the conventional one with antennas arranged along a rectangle grid. In our examples, the maximum reduction is about 18.09%, which is quite beneflcial to reduce the weight and cost of the array.

A pattern synthesis approach based on a modifled alternating projection method for large planar arrays is presented in this paper. In the alternating projection method, pattern synthesis problem is considered as flnding the intersection between two sets: the speciflcation set and the feasible set. The former contains all the patterns that want to be obtained, while the latter contains all the patterns that can be realized. An element belongs to both sets is a solution to the problem. In this paper, a modifled projection operator which varies with the iteration number is introduced because the conventional alternating projection method is known to sufier from low convergence rate and/or trapping on local optimum depending on the starting point. When the planar array has a nonuniform element layout, the unequally spaced elements are interpolated into virtual uniform elements with an interpolation of the least square sense. Then the synthesis problem is converted to the problem of a uniform array. Finally, several examples are presented to validate the advantages of the proposed method. Results show that the modifled method is fast and obtains better results than the conventional one.

In this paper, a new approach using quasi-self-complementary antenna (QSCA) to reduce the wideband mutual coupling is proposed and discussed. QSCA element proposed in this paper is composed of a semi-circular radiation patch and a complementary-cut ground plane, which is easy to achieve ultra-wideband operation because its impedance is frequency independent. The proposed compact four-element ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) array consists of four QSCA elements, and by arranging them anticlockwise, a good impedance matching and high port-to-port isolation (|S11| covers 2.95-12.1 GHz with |S21| = |S31 |≤− 15 dB, |S41 |≤− 17. 8d B) can be achieved. Notably, the isolation is obtained without using any other decoupling methods and totally benefits from the asymmetrical radiation property of QSCA. As an example, the proposed four-element UWB MIMO array is fabricated and tested. And the measured radiation pattern, gains and total efficiencies are displayed and show good performances which make it a nice candidate for future UWB diversity applications.

A case-control study was conducted to investigate associations between organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure, aggression, impulsivity, and attempted suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore whether genomic polymorphisms in the alpha 1(XI) collagen gene (COL11A1) were associated with the risk and severity of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Twenty-two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in COL11A1 were genotyped in 274 KBD cases and 249 healthy controls using the Sequenom MassARRAY system. The expression of type XI collagen (COL11A) in the knee articular cartilage of 22 KBD patients and 21 controls was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Our results showed that the frequency distribution of genotypes of the rs2229783 polymorphism in COL11A1 was significantly different between the KBD and control groups (P = 0.0003). Moreover, the expression level of COL11A in cartilage was significantly lower in the KBD group than in the controls (t = 2.637, P = 0.02). However, no association was found between the rs2229783 and the severity of KBD, suggesting a role of COL11A1 in the susceptibility to but not the severity of KBD.

A reconflgurable half-mode substrate integrated waveg- uide (HMSIW) bandpass fllter (BPF) loaded by complementary split- ring resonator (CSRR) is investigated. The proposed HMSIW-CSRR structure allows the implementation of a forward-wave passband prop- agating below the characteristic cutofi frequency of the waveguide. By changing the efiective capacitance to ground of the CSRR, frequency tuning of the resonator is observed without other external circuit. The proposed fllter exhibits improved selectivity due to the employment of the pseudo-S defected structure to generate transmission zero at the low stopband. To verify the presented design method, the predicted compact reconflgurable fllter, tuned between 3.6GHz and 4.5GHz with insertion loss less than 3.6dB and return loss better than 17dB, is fabricated based on the standard printed circuit board process. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulation.

A new frequency reconflgurable unequal U-slot antenna is presented in this paper. The U-slot antenna loaded with two lumped variable varactors is capable of 6 difierent frequencies switching between 2.3GHz and 3.6GHz. The small slots in the ground plane are employed for the biasing circuit to minimize the parasitic efiects towards the performance of the antenna. It is found that the unequal U-slot fed by an L-shaped feed line can reduce 30% of the size of the conventional U-slot antenna. Moreover, the proposed antenna ofiers stable radiation characteristics for each operating frequency in the tunable range. The antenna ofiers a gain of 4.5dB in average. The designs are verifled through both numerical simulations and measurements of an experimental prototype. Details of the antenna designs and measured results are presented and discussed.

The dispersion relation of piecewise linear recursive convolution flnite difierence time domain (PLRC-FDTD) method for space-varying plasma is analyzed using a novel equivalent method. The equivalent dispersion and dissipation errors have been taken into account. The e-ciency of the novel equivalent method is substantiated by computing the test and reference transmitted electric fleld. The comparison of the test and reference solutions validates that the equivalent method is an e-cient method to analyze the dispersion relation of PLRC-FDTD method used for space-varying plasma.

In flnite element analysis, methods for the solution of sparse linear systems of equations usually start out with reordering the coe-cient matrix to reduce its bandwidth or proflle. The location of pseudo-peripheral nodes is an important factor in the bandwidth and proflle reduction algorithm. This paper presents a heuristic parameter, called the \width-depth ratio" and denoted by •. With such a parameter, suitable pseudo-peripheral nodes would be found; the distance between which could be much close to or even to be the diameter of a graph compared with Gibbs-Poole-Stockmeyer (GPS) algorithm. As the new parameter was implemented in GPS algorithm, an improved bandwidth and proflle reduction algorithm is proposed. Simulation results show that with the proposed algorithm, sometimes bandwidth and proflle could be reduced by as great as 33.33% and 11.65%, respectively, compared with the outcomes in GPS algorithm, while the execution time of both algorithms is close. Empirical results show that the proposed algorithm is superior to GPS algorithm in reducing bandwidth or proflle.

This paper presents microstrip transmission lines for designing a microstrip open loop resonator bandpass filter and a novel dual band transmitter. Microstrip open loop resonator bandpass filter with the dumbbell DGS under feed lines enhances the harmonic suppressed at the center frequency of 2.44 GHz. An asymmetric dumbbell DGS-integrated microstrip line is applied to the dual band transmitter which performs as a frequency doubler at 6.8 GHz or a power amplifier at 2.4 GHz. For the proposed bandpass filter, it has a wide stopband characteristic with attenuation −25 dB up to 8 GHz and has an −1.25 dB insertion loss by using two dumbbell DGS. Measurements of the dual band transmitter show that in frequency double mode, fundamental suppression and maximum output are −41 dBc and 7.8 dBm. And in amplifier mode, second harmonic suppression, P1 dB and gain achieve −52.6 dBc, 13.7 dBm and 16.5 dB, respectively.

In this paper an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IPSO) for electromagnetic applications is proposed. In order to overcome the drawbacks of standard PSO, some improved mechanisms for velocity updating, the exceeding boundary control, global best perturbation and the simplified quadratic interpolation (SQI) operator are adopted. To show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, a selected set of numerical examples, concerned with linear as well as planar array, is presented. Simulation results show that the refined pinpointing search ability and the global search ability of the proposed algorithm are significantly improved when compared to the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA).

In this paper, a set of formulas to analyze the scattering from open-ended rectangular cavity is presented on the basis of Shooting and Bouncing Ray (SBR) method. By analyzing the ray paths inside the cavity, the Physical-Optics (PO) integration on the aperture is carried out in a close form. Using closed-form solution, the Radar Cross Section (RCS) of cavity in high frequency can be studied sententiously and accurately. All the peaks and nulls in the RCS plot of cavity are predicted successfully with the formulas deduced in the paper, and a 3-D scattering pattern of rectangular cavity is simulated by the proposed method.

In this paper, the edge-facet model is transformed to the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) model. The parameters of the knot vectors and the control points of NURBS are computed based on the data points on the surface of a target, and the NURBS model is constructed with the parameters. The degrees of the two parametric directions of a NURBS surface and the B-spline basis function are also analyzed. The relative errors between the NURBS models and the real models prove that the modeling method proposed in this paper is exact. Finally, the results of the Radar Cross Section (RCS) computed by the Physical Optics (PO) method with NURBS models are illustrated, and the results prove that the modeling method is of high precision and can be widely used in computational electromagnetics techniques.

Impedance-Matching technique is in common use for antennas to broaden their bandwidth. Its application in hightemperature superconducting microstrip antennas is studied theoretically in this paper. It is found that employing an impedance-matching network directly to HTS microstrip antennas to broaden their bandwidth is of little significance.

A method is presented to calculate the monostatic Radar Cross Section (RCS) of an electrically large perfect conducting cylinder vertically located over a dielectric half-space using Physical Optics (PO) technique. The four-path modal method is used to approximate the influence of the half-space to the scattering mechanism. The comparison between the results calculated by this expression and that by Moment Method (MOM) show that the expression is effective and efficient.

To understand how differentially methylated genes (DMGs) might affect the pathogenesis of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Genome-wide methylation profiling of whole blood from 12 matched KBD and controls pairs was performed using a high-resolution Infinium 450 K methylation array. In total, 97 CpG sites were differentially methylated in KBD compared to the normal controls; of these sites, 36 sites were significantly hypermethylated (covering 22 genes) and 61 sites were significantly hypomethylated (covering 34 genes). Of these genes, 14 significant pathways were identified, the most significant P value pathway was type I diabetes mellitus pathway and pathways associated with autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases were included in this study. Subsequently, 4 CpG sites in HLA-DRB1 were validated using bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP) in articular cartilage, and the results showed significant differences in the methylation status between KBD and controls, consistent with the results of the high-resolution array. These results suggested that differences in genome-wide DNA methylation exist between KBD and the controls, and the biological pathways support the autoimmune disease and inflammatory disease hypothesis of KBD.

In this paper, a single-wound toroidal helix antenna (SWTHA) and a contra-wound toroidal helix antenna (CWTHA) are analyzed in an analytical way. In this connection, the total winding length of a SHTA is estimated and a fairly accurate and closed-form expression of the length is obtained. Meanwhile, a closed form solution of the electromagnetic fields in far zone or their alternative vector potential components is obtained. The formulation is analytical, based on the assumption of uniform SWTHA and CWTHA currents and the large ratio a/b of the toroidal antenna radius a over the turn radius b. The solution is general enough for any number N of wound turns. The results are finally reduced to those existing results available elsewhere in literature by letting the radius b be zero (for infinitely thin wire and circular loop antennas) and the winding number N be zero (for the normal circular loop antennas). The reduced results of the potential components are the same as those in the textbooks. The analytical results are obtained for the first time, useful for antenna designers and also antenna engineering education.

The variational closed-forms of the capacitance formulae of a type of conformal coaxial lines are presented in this paper with the assumption that the equipotential lines are conformal to the contour of the coaxial line. The variational extreme formula of the functional of continuous functions is first obtained. Then the variational stable and analytical expression of the capacitance is deduced. Considering the actual applications, we give the variational stable formulae of the capacitances of the conformal coaxial transmission lines whose contours are homogeneous curves of the 1st, 2nd and n-th order. Examples are given including the conformal regular polygonal, elliptical and high- order elliptical coaxial lines.