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Background Patients with severe burn injury (over 20% of the total body surface area) experience profound hypermetabolism which significantly prolongs wound healing. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been proposed as an attractive solution for treating burn wounds, including the potential for autologous ASC expansion. While subcutaneous adipocytes display an altered metabolic profile post-burn, it is not known if this is the case with the stem cells associated with the adipose tissue. Methods ASCs were isolated from discarded burn skin of severely injured human subjects (BH, n = 6) and unburned subcutaneous adipose tissue of patients undergoing elective abdominoplasty (UH, n = 6) and were analyzed at passages 2, 4, and 6. Flow cytometry was used to quantify ASC cell surface markers CD90, CD105, and CD73. Mitochondrial abundance and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were determined with MitoTracker Green and MitoSOX Red, respectively, while JC-10 Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Assays were also performed. Mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis were analyzed with a high-resolution respirometer (Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer). Results There was no difference in age between BH and UH (34 ± 6 and 41 ± 4 years, respectively, P = 0.49). While passage 2 ASCs had lower ASC marker expression than subsequent passages, there were no significant differences in the expression between BH and UH ASCs. Similarly, no differences in mitochondrial abundance or membrane potential were found amongst passages or groups. Two-way ANOVA showed a significant effect (P P = 0.035) but not UH ASCs. On the contrary, basal glycolysis significantly decreased in BH ASCs (P = 0.011) with subsequent passaging, but not UH ASCs. Conclusions In conclusion, ASCs from burned individuals become increasingly oxidative and less glycolytic upon passaging when compared to ASCs from unburned patients. This increase in oxidative capacities was associated with ROS production in later passages. While the autologous expansion of ASCs holds great promise for treating burned patients with limited donor sites, the potential negative consequences of using them require further investigation.

Exciton-polaritons have shown great potential as a low-energy consumption and robust solid-state platform for photoelectronics integration and quantum information applications. Here, an all-optical method that uses the spin-sensitive optical Stark effect is proposed to manipulate exciton-polaritons for functional polaritonic operations. We use a Tamm plasmon and WS2 hybrid structure with a patterned transverse potential to form the channeled bright state of polaritons. An optical Stark pulse causes perturbation of the polaritonic potential, so as to control the tunneling of polaritons between isolated channels. Polaritonic operations such as switching, splitting and routing were proposed through properly setting of the optical Stark pulse (e.g., pulse width). In addition, spin-sensitive manipulation of the polaritons was proposed taking advantage of the valley-selective excitonic energy shifting induced by the polarized optical Stark pulse. These basic operations together with time-space programming of the optical Stark pulses would pave a way of routing and addressing of polaritons for future optoelectronic integration and networking.

Plasmonic nanowire lasers are incorporated into the hybrid graphene–insulator–metal platform that can break the Lorentz reciprocity, as demonstrated in article number 2001823 by Tien‐Chang Lu and co‐workers. By applying an external current to the graphene layer, active modulation of the laser threshold is demonstrated up to room temperature. [Image: see text]

Optical absorption is one of fundamental light-matter interactions. In most materials, optical absorption is a weak perturbation to the light. In this regime, absorption and emission are irreversible, incoherent processes due to strong damping. Excitons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, however, interact strongly with light, leading to optical absorption in the non-perturbative regime where coherent re-emission of the light has to be considered. Between the incoherent and coherent limits, we show that a robust critical coupling condition exists, leading to perfect optical absorption. Up to 99.6% absorption is measured in a sub-nanometer thick MoSe2 monolayer placed in front of a mirror. The perfect absorption is controlled by tuning the exciton-phonon, exciton-exciton, and exciton-photon interactions by temperature, pulsed laser excitation, and a movable mirror, respectively. Our work suggests unprecedented opportunities for engineering exciton-light interactions using two-dimensional atomically thin crystals, enabling novel photonic applications including ultrafast light modulators and sensitive optical sensing.

We systematically studied the characteristics of hybrid perovskite-based surface plasmon nanolasers. If one changes the anion composition of perovskites, the emission wavelength can be easily tuned. We conducted in full-spectrum modeling that featured hybrid perovskite nanowires placed on different SiO2-coated metallic (Au, Ag, and Al) plates. The proposed nanocavities that supported plasmonic gap modes exhibited distinguished properties of nanolasers, such as low-transparency threshold-gain and low lasing threshold. The corresponding experimental results for the MAPbBr3 nanolaser on Ag revealed the low-threshold operation. These superior features were attributed to enhanced light-matter interaction with strong coupling. Therefore, the proposed scheme, integrated with hybrid perovskite as gain material, provides an excellent platform for nanoscale plasmon lasing in the visible to near-infrared spectra.

China’s efforts to stimulate industrial development and economic growth through the allocation of investments are analyzed. Cheng concludes with an overall assessment of the distinctive features of the allocation pattern. Includes 41 statistical tables.

Although tourist maps are useful resources for people to visit scenic areas, they are also commonly distorted and omit details according to the purposes and functions of a map. In this paper, we present iTour, a semi-automatic system that turns tourist maps into digital maps. By involving users in matching the road network of a tourist map and the paired standard map, our system computes road network correspondence between the two maps. By doing so, users can navigate on such GPS-enabled tourist maps using mobile devices. This transformation creates the possibility of augmenting a large number of tourist maps with digital map features. To evaluate the performance of matching road networks, we compared the presented semi-automatic interface to a manual interface. The results showed that the semi-automatic interface saved participants significant effort in generating correspondence and was perceived to require significantly less time by the participants. In addition, we conducted a field study of the iTour in comparison to using a tourist map and Google Maps together. Our results showed that iTour helped participants find their way during travel. The participants provided positive feedback on the combination of tourist maps and GPS location because of its highlights of important landmarks, showing users' locations relative to those landmarks, and saving the effort of switching tourist maps and Google Maps.

The objectives of this paper are to examine the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on the morphological changes in the kidney of growing rats and to explore the mechanisms underlying the CIH-induced renal damage. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: 2 and 4 weeks CIH groups (2IH, 4IH), and in the control group 2 and 4 weeks air-stimulated groups (2C, 4C), with 10 rats in each group. Pathological changes of renal tissue were observed by HE staining, PAS staining, and Masson staining. Real-time PCR method was used to detect the mRNA expression of HIF-1α, CuZnSOD/ZnSOD, and MnSOD in renal tissue. (1) Intermittent hypoxia (IH) caused morphological damage in the kidney. Hypertrophy of epithelial cells in the kidney tubules and dilation in the glomeruli were observed under light microscope in HE and PAS stain, especially in 4IH group. Masson staining showed no significant fibrotic response in the IH groups. (2) Compared with the corresponding control groups, the levels of serum SOD were significantly lower in CIH groups, and especially in 4IH group. The mRNA expression of Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD in CIH groups decreased significantly as compared to control groups. The mRNA levels of HIF-1α in the kidney were significantly higher in CIH groups than those in the corresponding control groups. Oxidative stress played a critical role in renal damage by up-regulating HIF-1α transcription and down-regulating Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD transcription after chronic intermittent hypoxia exposure in growing rats.

Biomolecules that respond to different external stimuli enable the remote control of genetically modified cells. Chemogenetics and optogenetics, two tools that can control cellular activities via synthetic chemicals or photons, respectively, have been widely used to elucidate underlying physiological processes. These methods are, however, very invasive, have poor penetrability, or low spatiotemporal precision, attributes that hinder their use in therapeutic applications. We report herein a sonogenetic approach that can manipulate target cell activities by focused ultrasound stimulation. This system requires an ultrasound-responsive protein derived from an engineered auditory-sensing protein prestin. Heterogeneous expression of mouse prestin containing two parallel amino acid substitutions, N7T and N308S, that frequently exist in prestins from echolocating species endowed transfected mammalian cells with the ability to sense ultrasound. An ultrasound pulse of low frequency and low pressure efficiently evoked cellular calcium responses after transfecting with prestin(N7T, N308S). Moreover, pulsed ultrasound can also non-invasively stimulate target neurons expressing prestin(N7T, N308S) in deep regions of mice brains. Our study delineates how an engineered auditory-sensing protein can cause mammalian cells to sense ultrasound stimulation. Moreover, owing to the great penetration of low-frequency ultrasound (∼400 mm in depth), our sonogenetic tools will serve as new strategies for non-invasive therapy in deep tissues of large animals like primates.

A hybrid graphene–insulator–metal (GIM) platform is proposed with a supported surface plasmon polariton (SPP) wave that can be manipulated by breaking Lorentz reciprocity. The ZnO SPP nanowire lasers on the GIM platforms are demonstrated up to room temperature to be actively modulated by applying external current to graphene, which transforms the cavity mode from the standing to propagation wave pattern. With applying 100 mA external current, the laser threshold increases by ≈100% and a 1.2 nm Doppler shift is observed due to the nonreciprocal propagation characteristic. The nanolaser performance also depends on the orientation of the nanowire with respect to the current flow direction. The GIM platform can be a promising platform for integrated plasmonic system functioning laser generation, modulation, and detection., Plasmonic nanolasers are incorporated into the hybrid graphene–insulator–metal platform that can break the Lorentz reciprocity by applying external current to graphene in order to actively modulate the laser threshold. Room temperature laser modulation demonstrates that the laser threshold increases by ≈100% with applying 140 mA external current.

This study proposes similarity matching to reduce false alarm of defect classification.This study uses AUR as an index to select number of features for similarity matching.The proposed approach has robust performance based on experiments using real data. For CMOS image sensor (CIS) manufacturing, automatic optical inspection (AOI) is the critical equipment for defect reduction and yield enhancement. The capability of automated defect classification embedded in AOI equipment is the key factor to empower manufacturing intelligence. In manufacturing practice, catching rate (CR) and false alarm rate (FAR) are two indices to evaluate the performance of classification results. Rather than enhancing catching rate, reducing false alarm rate of the classification result is more concerned for the domain engineers since false alarms may cause poor decision-making and waste resource. Hence, domain users are easy to lose their confidence for the classification model even though the model had good performance on catching rate. Focusing on the realistic needs, this study aims to develop a manufacturing intelligence framework integrating defect inspection, feature extraction, support vector machine classifier, and similarity matching approach to reduce false alarm of defect classification, while the catching rate is enhanced. An empirical study was conducted in a leading CIS manufacturing company in Taiwan to estimate the validity and the results also demonstrated the practical value of the proposed approach.

Machining the aircraft skin, using CNC milling to replace the traditional chemical milling, is a trend owning to the great pollution of the chemical milling to the environment. Based on the instantaneous rigidity force hypothesis, a milling force model for mirror milling of aircraft skin was proposed, which was validated by the milling force measurement during mirror milling experiments. A FEM model was established to calculate the deformation of the aluminum plate in mirror milling. The effects of the supporting position on the deformation was analyzed.

Active Control Mounts (ACMs) are an effective solution to improve the comfort of passenger cars. This paper aims to apply neural networks to ACMs and explores the general process of neural network ACMs. A three-layer BP Neural Network Model (NNM) is established with an Oscillating Coil Actuator (OCA) as the controlled object. The actuator output force is collected as training samples when it is excited under different types of input current signals. Learning is performed, and the result shows the identified NNM based on random signals has good accuracy. Based on this well-identified NNM, two control methods - neural network direct self-tuning control and NNM reference control are discussed. The simulation results for typical low, medium and high frequencies show both control methods achieve good vibration isolation effects. This research shows the strong adaptability of neural networks, which lays a good foundation for subsequent control system development.

Candida haemulonii forms part of the non-albicans Candida species. The candidemia caused by C. haemulonii is extremely rare but fatal in neonates. We reported the first two neonates with C. haemulonii candidemia in China which were treated with fluconazole and reviewed two papers previously reported. Our report adds further awareness on C. haemulonii candidemia in critical neonates and points out the importance of an early diagnosis and treatment of this fatal infection.La Candida haemulonii forma parte de la especie Candida no albicans. La candidemia por C. haemulonii es sumamente infrecuente, pero mortal, en los recién nacidos. Se informa sobre los dos primeros recién nacidos con candidemia por C. haemulonii en China tratados con fluconazol y se revisan dos artículos informados con anterioridad. Nuestro informe incrementa la sensibilización sobre la candidemia por C. haemulonii en recién nacidos críticos y resalta la importancia de un diagnóstico y un tratamiento tempranos de esta infección mortal.

Aim: To introduce the method of stripping of early gastric signet ring cell carcinioma by two ESD procedures. Methods: A lesion of early gastric signet ring cell carcinoma in an elderly was removed by two consecutive ESD procedures. The pathology was analyzed and the patient was followed-up. Results: The lesion removed by first ESD procedure, which was 10cm in diameter, has tumor tissue on its edge, and the second lesion which was 5cm in diameter had an edge without tumor. There was no metastasis or recurrence during 24-month follow-up. Conclusion: We first described the method using two consecutive ESD procedures in man with gastric signet ring cell carcinoma, and the procedure was proved to be safe and efficient.

The effect of strategic leadership on organizational performance has been a hot topic of research for decades, and the general consensus has been reached in recent years: strategic leadership is essential in organization growth and development in the complex and increasingly competitive environment. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship between characteristics of strategic leadership and organizational effectiveness. After analyzing the theory of the nature and mechanism of strategic leadership, this study was presented that since the decision made by the leader can only be implemented on condition that team members cooperate with each other to carry out the plan, the strategic leadership cannot directly influence the team effectiveness and vitality, therefore, the intermediary variable is supposed to be included to guarantee the plausibility of the hypothesis. The research has discussed that strategic leadership is mirrored from three aspects: leaders' qualities, organizational abilities and interaction abilities; and team members also need three processes from obtaining information to implementation: perception, listening and execution as a theoretical model to study the mechanism of strategic leadership. In this study, the league of legends team competition as a research case, the game players conducted a questionnaire survey. A total of 300 valid questionnaires were collected. The statistical analysis, correlation analysis and intermediary regression analysis were used in order to verify through empirical research all of the interactions between elements.

BackgroundPure-tone screening (PTS) is considered as the gold standard for hearing screening programs in school-age children. Mobile devices, such as mobile phones, have the potential for audiometric testing. ObjectiveThis study aimed to demonstrate a new approach to rapidly screen hearing status and provide stratified test values, using a smartphone-based hearing screening app, for each screened ear of school-age children. MethodThis was a prospective cohort study design. The proposed smartphone-based screening method and a standard sound-treated booth with PTS were used to assess 85 school-age children (170 ears). Sound-treated PTS involved applying 4 test tones to each tested ear: 500 Hz at 25 dB and 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz at 20 dB. The results were classified as pass (normal hearing in the ear) or fail (possible hearing impairment). The proposed smartphone-based screening employs 20 stratified hearing scales. Thresholds were compared with those of pure-tone average (PTA). ResultsA total of 85 subjects (170 ears), including 38 males and 47 females, aged between 11 and 12 years with a mean (SD) of 11 (0.5) years, participated in the trial. Both screening methods produced comparable pass and fail results (pass in 168 ears and fail in 2 ears). The smartphone-based screening detected moderate or worse hearing loss (average PTA>25 dB) accurately. Both the sensitivity and specificity of the smartphone-based screening method were calculated at 100%. ConclusionsThe results of the proposed smartphone-based self-hearing test demonstrated high concordance with conventional PTS in a sound-treated booth. Our results suggested the potential use of the proposed smartphone-based hearing screening in a school-age population.

Accurate crankshaft torsional stiffness is important to build the lumped parameter model (LPM) for crankshaft torsional vibration analysis. For the crankshaft system of a four-cylinder in-line gasoline engine, a procedure to build the finite element model (FEM) is presented. And the applicability of two ways to set the equivalent mass or equivalent moment of inertia for piston-rod in FEM is declared. When building a lumped parameter model, the concept of rigid-rotation of the crank pin central section around the central line of the crankshaft is proposed, and a method to obtain the torsional angle of the central section is declared. What is more, three post-processing methods are presented to obtain the torsional stiffness coefficients. According to three load cases of no-load, half load and full load, the tests are carried out. The simulation results of FEM and LPM, and the test results have good agreement with each other.

There are lots of defects in the drilling process of CFRP, such as splitting, etc, which may affect the assembly quality of the composite materials. Through the analysis of the drilling mechanism of CFRP, and with the help of the correlation experiments of drilling tools, the effects of machining parameters and machining tools on hole quality are studied, the optimal selection method of the drilling tools for CFRP and the selection principle of technical parameters under different machining conditions are also discussed. And the tools geometry affects the hole-machining quality of CFRP materials directly, which should be chosen in accordance with the hole-machining method.

Aims To explore the etiology of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) abnormalities in colorectal cancer. Methods In total, 230 patients with histopathologically confirmed colorectal cancer from August 2009 to August 2011 were recruited to our study. The associations between lifestyles (smoking, alcohol and pickled food consumption) and pretreatment NLR and PLR were estimated using the Kruskal–Wallis tests and linear regression model. Results The Kruskal–Wallis test showed a significant association between pickled food intake and pretreatment NLR but not PLR (P = 0.002, 0.057, respectively). Pairwise comparisons showed that, compared with those with a moderately frequent (2–3 times/week) and an infrequent (≤ once a week) intake of pickled food, high frequency (≥ four times/week) consumption of pickled food had a higher pretreatment NLR (P = 0.01, 0.007, respectively). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed pretreatment NLR increased significantly in high frequency (≥ four times/week) consumption of pickled food (P

Multidrug resistance (MDR) limits the anticancer effects of chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). Oxaliplatin is a common component of combinational therapeutic regimens administered to patients with metastatic CRC; however, it is also used as a constituent of adjuvant therapy for patients at a risk of recurrent disease. In the present study, we investigated the role of stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) in chemoresistance. STC2 knockdown sensitized chemoresistant CRC cells to oxaliplatin. Moreover, the expression of exogenous STC2 in chemonaïve CRC cells induced oxaliplatin resistance. We confirmed that STC2 upregulated P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression in CRC cells. Furthermore, shRNA against phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) or Akt inhibited the action of STC2 on P-gp upregulation and MDR in CRC. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the induction of oxaliplatin resistance in CRC cells in response to STC2 stimulation of P-gp via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Aim To determine the risk of lingual plate perforations using 2 different implants during implant installation in the posterior mandible, so as to avoid a potentially life-threatening situation and/or a compromise of the success of the surgical procedure. Materials and methods Nine human cadaver jaws and 16 edentulous sites with missing mandibular posterior teeth were used. Upon flap reflection, 3.7 × 10.0 mm and 3.7 × 13 mm Tapered Screw Vent implants were placed in the edentulous sites parallel to the ridge over the center of the alveolar ridge. The occurrence of lingual plate perforations was assessed visually, and the distance of the fenestration from the alveolar ridge crest, if any, was measured. Results Nineteen dental implants of each were placed in the second premolar and first molar regions. No lingual concavity perforations were found in all sites, except for a lingual fenestration in 1 first molar site when placing the 3.7 × 10 mm implant (0.053%). Conclusion The risk of a lingual cortical plate fenestration or perforation, due to lingual concavity, in an edentulous posterior mandible in the region of the second premolar or first molar was found to be 0.053% if a regular 3.7-mm diameter tapered implant was used. In the presence of significant lingual concavity in the posterior mandible, a smaller regular diameter implant with a tapered design should be considered to avoid a potential fatal damage of vital structures.

Objectives To study the prevalence and the degree of lingual concavity in the edentulous first molar region from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of the mandibles. Material and methods Qualified cross-sectional images in mandibular first molar edentulous region taken from CBCT were selected. The mandible morphology 2 mm above the inferior alveolar canal (IAC) was classified into the convex (C), parallel (P) and undercut (U) type, based on the presence of lingual concavity and the shape of alveolar ridge. The prevalence of each group was determined. Subsequently, the lingual concavity characters, including the depth, the angulation and the vertical location were determined by the measurements of selected anatomic landmarks. Results One hundred and three subjects (mean age 51 with a range of 23.7-70.4 years) were studied. The U type was the most prevalent, accounting for 66% of the study population. The mean undercut depth and angulation at the level 2 mm above IAC were on average 2.4 mm and 57.7°. The mean vertical distances from the most prominent point (P) of the lingual concavity to the cemento-enamel junction of second premolar and the inferior border of the mandible were 11.7 and 14.9 mm, respectively. Conclusions The anatomic location and the degree of the lingual concavity presented in this article add more information in implant treatment planning in the mandibular first molar edentulous region.

The beam energy measurement system at BEPCII is composed of there parts: laser source and optics system, laser-electron interaction system and High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector system. The special components and construction of each part are introduced, especially about radiation background measurement in the storage ring, which is of great importance for the safe commissioning of HPGe detector.

Understanding the position of the lingual nerve is important when performing third molar extractions and periodontal and implant surgeries in the mandible. The careless management of the lingual flap can potentially cause damage to the lingual nerve. The location of the lingual nerve in the third molar region was described in the literature; however, to our knowledge, its course mesial to the third molar region was not reported. The aim of this study is to identify and measure the location of lingual nerves in relation to mandibular teeth in fresh cadaver heads.Thirty lingual nerves from 18 cadaver heads were dissected, and the vertical distance from the lingual nerve to the mid-lingual cemento-enamel junctions of mandibular molars and premolars and the position where the lingual nerve left the lingual plate and moved toward the tongue were determined. Two cadaver heads were randomly selected and exposed to cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans after the insertion of a wrought wire into the nerve. The same vertical distance as the clinical measurement was determined and compared.Seventy-five percent of lingual nerves turned toward the tongue at the first and second molar region. The vertical distance was 9.6, 13, and 14.8 mm at the second molar, first molar, and second premolar, respectively. The difference between clinical and CBCT measurements was 0.57 +/- 2.62 mm.The course of the lingual nerve in relation to posterior teeth was described. This information can help surgeons gain more understanding of the location of the lingual nerve and perform safe surgeries in the mandible.

This article describes the prototype of the read-out subsystem which will be subject to the BESIII data acquisition system. According to the purpose of the BESIII, the event rate will be about 4000 Hz and the data rate up to 50 Mbytes/sec after Level 1 trigger. The read-out subsystem consists of some read-out crates and a read-out computer whose function is to initialize the hardware, to collect the event data from the front-end electronics after Level 1 trigger, to transfer data fragments to the computer in online form through two levels of computer pre-processing and high-speed network transmission. In this model, the crate level read-out implementation is based on the commercial single board computer MVME5100 running the VxWorks operating system. The article outlines the structure of the crate level testing platform of hardware and software. It puts emphasis on the framework of the read-out test model, data process flow and test method at crate level. Especially, it enumerates the key technologies in the process of design and analyses the test results. In addition, results which summarize the performance of the single board computer from the data transferring aspects will be presented.

A low-voltage frequency synthesizer fabricated with a 0.35-/spl mu/m standard CMOS technology is presented. A 1 V dual-modulus prescaler using the dynamic back-gate forward bias method has been developed for low-voltage operation. The prescaler, including a preamplifier, measured at 1 V supply voltage has a maximum operating frequency of 170 MHz, and its power dissipation is only 0.9 mW. The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in the frequency synthesizer is an LC-tank based oscillator. When locked at the oscillation frequency of 148 MHz, the measured phase noise of the VCO is -106 dBc/Hz at -100-kHz from the carrier. The whole power consumption of the frequency synthesizer is 10.5 mW.

Apocynin (Apo) suppresses the generation of reactive oxygen species that are implicated in lipopoly- saccharide (LPS)Yinduced lung injury (LPSLI). We thus hypothesized that Apo may attenuate LPSLI. In addition, we explored the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Apo treatment in LPSLI. Lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury was induced by intratracheal instillation of 10 mg/kg LPS in isolated and perfused rat lung model. Apocynin was administered in the perfusate at 15 min before LPS was administered. Hemodynamics, lung injury indices, inflammatory responses, and activation of apoptotic pathways were assessed. There was an increase in lung vascular permeability associated with lung weight gain after LPS exposure. The levels of interleukin 1" (IL-1"), tumor necrosis factor ! (TNF-!), macrophage in- flammatory protein 2, H2O2, and albumin increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Adhesion molecule of neutrophil (CD31) was upregulated. The expression of TNF-!, IL-1", glutathione, myeloperoxidase, JNK, P38, caspase 3, p-AKT, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in lung tissue was greater in the LPS groups when compared with the control group. Upregulation and activation of nuclear factor .B occurred along with increased histopathologic lung injury score in LPSLI. The Apo attenuated these inflammatory responses including the levels of CD31, H2O2, TNF-!, IL-1", myeloperoxidase, P38, and nuclear factor .B along with downregulation of apoptosis as reflected by caspase 3 and p-AKT. In addition, Apo attenuated the increase in lung weight, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid albumin content, and the histopathologic lung injury score. In conclusion, LPSLI is associated with increased inflammatory responses, apoptosis, and coagulation. The ad- ministration of Apo attenuates LPSLI through downregulation of the inflammatory responses and apoptosis. KEYWORDS—Apocynin, LPS, ARDS, inflammation, NADPH, MAPK, NF-.B

In this paper, we propose a simple and effective way to improve the uplink resource allocation for the extended-real-time polling service (ertPS) in IEEE 802.16e broadband wireless networks. Our proposed algorithm gathers statistics on the numbers of request header of medium access control layer (MAC) among various subscriber stations, and uses the information to enable a dynamic allocation of additional uplink resources to subscriber stations with continuously increasing demand upon the base stations. The simulation results show that in comparison with the original ertPS algorithm, the proposed uplink bandwidth allocation scheme is effective to improve the data throughput as well as to decrease the data packet loss rate.

Background Leukocytes play an important role in cancer development. However, the impact of chemotherapy-associated neutropenia/lymphopenia on the prognosis of adjuvant chemotherapy is unknown. Here, we aimed to explore the impact of chemotherapy-associated neutrophil/lymphocyte counts on prognosis of adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC) and the risk factors for developing neutropenia/lymphopenia which showed impact on the prognosis of CRC receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods From February 2003 to January 2011, 243 stage II and III CRC patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in this retrospective study. The associations between neutrophil/ lymphocyte counts and disease free survival (DFS)/overall survival (OS) of CRC, and the risk factors for neutropenia/lymphopenia were investigated. Results No association of chemotherapy-associated neutrophil counts and CRC recurrence (AUC = 0.474, P = 0.534), death (AUC = 0.449, P = 0.249) was found by ROC analysis. However, the chemotherapy-associated lymphocyte counts could significantly affect CRC recurrence (AUC = 0.634, P = 0.001), or death(AUC = 0.607, P = 0.015), with a optimized cut-off of 0.66 × 109/L for recurrence, and 0.91 × 109/L for death, respectively. Kaplan–Meier method showed chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L was associated with shorter DFS (P 9/L was associated with shorter OS (P = 0.003). Cox regression model showed chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L was the independent prognostic factor for DFS (HR, 3.521; 95%CI = 1.703-7.282), and chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L was the independent prognostic factor for OS (HR, 2.083; 95% CI = 1.103-3.936). Multivariate logistic regression showed the risk of developing chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L was found in those with pretreatment CEA ≥10 ng ml-1 (OR, 3.338; 95% CI = 1.523-7.315), and the risk of developing chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L was found in those with age >60 years (OR, 2.872; 95% CI = 1.344-6.136). Conclusions Chemotherapy-associated lymphopenia 9/L /0.91 × 109/L has a significant impact on the prognosis of CRC receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Pretreatment CEA ≥10 ng ml-1 is the independent risk factor for developing lymphopenia 9/L, and age >60 years is the independent risk factor for developing lymphopenia 9/L during adjuvant chemotherapy of CRC.

The palate is a common site for harvesting subepithelial connective tissue grafts (SCTG). The size of SCTG that can be harvested is dictated by the position of the greater palatine neurovascular bundle (GPB). The aims of this cadaver study are to assess the accuracy of predicting the location of the GPB on study models and to evaluate anatomic factors that might influence the predictability.Eleven fully dentate or partially edentulous maxillary cadavers were used. Study models were fabricated after the greater palatine foramen was identified. The GPB was recognized after dissection, from which the distance to the cemento-enamel junction of the first molar and premolar was measured. Eight periodontists and twelve periodontal residents were asked to estimate the location of the GPB on the study models and the same measurements were taken. Comparisons of the estimated and true GPB position were performed. The correlation between the palatal vault height and the variability of detecting the GPB was investigated.The most frequent greater palatine foramen location was between the second and third molars (66.6%). For most cases, there was an underestimation of the location of the GPB up to 4 mm. The interexaminer variability was positively correlated with the vault height.The estimated location of the GPB was commonly closer to the cemento-enamel junction of posterior teeth. Agreement on the location of the GPB was lowered with the presence of high palatal vaults. The results of this study could assist clinicians in planning the location for harvesting SCTG on the hard palate.

In this paper, we investigate a fairness issue between uplink and downlink flows in IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). We propose a cross-layer adaptive algorithm which dynamically adjusts the minimum contention window size of Access Point (AP) according to the amount of downlink users and channel environments to achieve per-flow fairness. In case that uplink and downlink transmissions are with different bandwidth demands for various applications, our algorithm can efficiently find the optimal contention window size which provides weighted fairness based on their resource requirements. The simulation results demonstrate that our scheme can effectively provide both per-flow fairness and weighted fairness in a varying heterogeneous WLAN environment.

Lingual plate perforation at the time of implant placement in posterior mandible is a potential surgical complication, and presence of a lingual concavity is considered a risk factor. Little is known about the spatial relationship between implant and lingual plate. The role of lingual concavity in the risk of lingual perforation has not yet been fully studied. This computer-simulated study investigates the incidence of lingual plate perforation in edentulous mandibular first molar region and the risk of perforation in the area of lingual concavity.One hundred and three qualified cone-beam computed tomography scans were selected from the database. Implants of various dimensions were virtually placed into the area using computer software. The distance between implant tip and lingual plate was measured using a digital caliper. Incidence of lingual plate perforation and proximity of the implant tip to lingual plate were measured for three types of cross-sectional mandibular morphology.One hundred and three cone-beam computed tomography scans with 118 sites were available for analysis. The intraexaminer and interexaminer agreements were 0.93 and 0.89, respectively. The predicted incidence of lingual plate perforation was 1.1% to 1.2%. Most implants, which were within 1 mm from lingual plate, occurred in sites with lingual concavity (type-U ridge).This study demonstrates a novel experimental design by which the spatial relation between implant and lingual plate in mandibular first molar region is investigated. Incidence of lingual plate perforation during implant placement is predicted to be 1.1% to 1.2% and it will most likely happen in type-U ridge.

Background: Tissue biotypes have been linked to the outcomes of periodontal and implant therapy. The purpose of this study is to determine the dimensions of the gingiva and underlying alveolar bone in the maxillary anterior region and to establish their association. Methods: Tissue biotypes of 22 fresh cadaver heads were assessed clinically and radiographically with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. Maxillary anterior teeth were atraumatically extracted. The thickness of both soft tissue and bone were measured using a caliper to the nearest 0.1 mm by two calibrated examiners. Probing depths and gingival recession were measured at two points (mid-labial and mid-palatal). Clinical and CBCT measurements of both soft tissue and bone thickness were subsequently compared and correlated. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between the clinical and CBCT measurements of both soft tissue and bone thickness except the palatal soft tissue measurements. The labial gingival thickness was moderately associated with the underlying bone thickness measured with CBCT (R = 0.429; P

A 5GHz balanced fully integrated Power Amplifier (PA) on a single chip has been designed in a 0.18μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. An analysis show that the process featured by 60GHz characteristic frequency can largely improve power output performance, and the differential topology optimized linearity, power added efficiency (PAE) and large signal performance. At 5.5GHz frequency, with 3.3V voltage supply, the 3-stage PA exhibits an output 1dB compression point (OP1dB) of 18dBm, max output power of 22dBm and a PAE of 23% at 0dBm input. The results show that the PA well meets the 802.11a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards. Overall chip area is 0.9×2.2 mm2