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Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an endogenously generated gaseous transmitter, which has recently been suggested to regulate cardiovascular functions. The present study aims to clarify the mechanisms underlying the cardioprotective effects of H2S. Signaling elements were examined in cardiomyocytes cultured under hypoxia/reoxygenation conditions and in a rat model of ischemia-reperfusion. In cultured cardiomyocytes, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS; 10, 30, and 50 μmol/l) showed concentration-dependent inhibitory effects on cardiomyocyte apoptosis induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation. These effects were associated with an increase in phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) (Ser9) and a decrease in Bax translocation, caspase-3 activation, and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening. Transfection of a phosphorylation-resistant mutant of GSK-3β at Ser9 attenuated the effects of NaHS in reducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis, Bax translocation, caspase-3 activation, and mPTP opening. In a rat model of ischemia-reperfusion, NaHS administration reduced myocardial infarct size and increased the phosphorylation of GSK-3β (Ser9) at a dose of 30 μmol/kg. In conclusion, the H2S donor prevents cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inducing phosphorylation of GSK-3β (Ser9) and subsequent inhibition of mPTP opening.

Nowadays it has become increasingly common for family members to be distributed in different time zones. These time differences pose specific challenges for communication within the family and result in different communication practices to cope with them. To gain an understanding of current challenges and practices, we interviewed people who regularly communicate with immediate family members living in other time zones. We report primary findings from the interviews, and identify design opportunities for improving the experience of cross time zone family communication.

Video-mediated communication (VMC) technologies are becoming rapidly adopted by home users. Little research has previously been conducted into why home users would choose to use VMC or their practices surrounding its use. We present the results of an interview and diary-based study of 17 people about their uses of, and attitudes towards, VMC. We highlight the artful ways in which users appropriate VMC to reconcile a desire for closeness with those with whom they communicate, and we explore the rich ways in which VMC supports different expressions of this desire. We conclude with discussions of how next-generation VMC technologies might be designed to take advantage of this understanding of human values in communicative practice.

This work describes the design process and installation of three speculative, rudimentary machines, or rudiments. Through careful iterations in their design, the rudiments are intended to provoke curiosity and discussion around the possibility of autonomy in interactive systems. The design of the rudiments is described in detail, alongside the design decisions that were made to suggest a machine autonomy and to provoke discussion. Some preliminary reflections from installing the rudiments in two separate households are also reported. Widely divergent opinions of the rudiments from the two households are used to discuss a number of themes for thinking about autonomy and interactive systems design. Overall, the presented work adopts a perspective strongly oriented towards guiding future research, but, importantly, aims to do so by opening up and exposing the design possibilities rather than constraining them.

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has been a longstanding focus of study in the fields of HCI and CSCW dating back to the first incarnations of the media space in the early 1980s [4]. Since then, this research sphere has explored many different forms of technology ranging from teleconferencing to email and instant messaging. The early focus of this work was largely workplace-oriented where researchers focused on improving and understanding workplace communication practices. However, over the last decade, there has been an increasing focus on studying computer-mediated communication in the home. In the domestic realm, the goal of computer-mediated communication research is to understand the communication practices of families both within and extending outside of the home as family members seek to communicate, coordinate, and connect with their loved ones and friends. Our focus is on technologies that allow family members to directly connect with one another either synchronously (e.g., video conferencing) or asynchronously (e.g., instant messaging), as opposed to technologies where one broadcasts or shares information with many (e.g., social networking sites). Here research typically aims to support communication between parents, children, grandparents, and close friends. As examples, research in this space has spanned many areas of study including the role of locations within the home [3], distributed-family communication [2,5], organizing systems [16], family awareness [13], video conferencing practices [1,7,9], and mobile media [12]. Similarly, it has seen the design of many new technologies to support family routines, such as Digital Family Portraits [11], the Remote Presence Lamp [17], VideoProbe [6], Home Note [14], and the Family Window [8]. Computer-mediated communication for the home has also now moved out of the research lab and into actual everyday practice. Computing technologies are rapidly changing the way families can communicate, coordinate, and connect with others through readily-available (and often free) applications, such as Google Talk, Skype, or iChat. The accessibility and proliferation of these applications means that family members are increasingly faced with new mechanisms to reach out and connect with their family and friends. For this reason, technology is now rapidly reconfiguring the way we think about and design for domestic spaces. As it does so, researchers now must directly confront issues of family relations and the subtle negotiations that are part of that realm. “Connection” can be emotionally expressive or merely informational. Analytic frameworks as well as technologies developed to support work may not be appropriate for understanding this setting.

A CMOS RF receiver for digital radio broadcasting DRM and DAB applications is presented that contains an RF front-end, an analog baseband, a frequency synthesizer, and a controlling logic unit. In the RF front-end, the noise figure (NF) is minimized by a noise-canceling technology, and the IP 3 is improved by using differential multiple gate transistors (DMGTR). The analog baseband consists of an image-rejection mixer, a 5th-order OTA-C bandpass filter (BPF), two IF VGAs, and a received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The frequency synthesizer is an integer-N PLL based on multi-modulus dividers (MMD), which achieves a wide frequency covering. The circuit is fabricated in a 0.18-µm CMOS technology. The DSB-NF of the RF front-end is 3.1∼6.1 dB while the IIP 3 is −4.7∼0.2 dB, and the gain dynamic range is ≫85 dB. The image-rejection radio (IRR) of the image-rejection mixer is ≫40 dB for DAB and ≫45 dB for DRM. The LO phase noise is −69.81 dBc/Hz@10kHz and −108.30 dBc/Hz@1MHz. The chip area is 2.66mm×2.22mm, while drawing a current of 52 mA from a 1.8 V voltage supply.

This paper describes the design of a tabletop storytelling application for children, called TellTable. The goal of the system was to stimulate creativity and collaboration by allowing children to develop their own story characters and scenery through photography and drawing, and record stories through direct manipulation and narration. Here we present the initial interface design and its iteration following the results of a preliminary trial. We also describe key findings from TellTable's deployment in a primary school that relate to its design, before concluding with a discussion of design implications from the process.

In this paper we present novel input devices that combine the standard capabilities of a computer mouse with multi-touch sensing. Our goal is to enrich traditional pointer-based desktop interactions with touch and gestures. To chart the design space, we present five different multi-touch mouse implementations. Each explores a different touch sensing strategy, which leads to differing form-factors and hence interactive possibilities. In addition to the detailed description of hardware and software implementations of our prototypes, we discuss the relative strengths, limitations and affordances of these novel input devices as informed by the results of a preliminary user study.

Current interactions on direct-touch interactive surfaces are often modeled based on properties of the input channel that are common in traditional graphical user interfaces (GUI) such as x-y coordinate information. Leveraging additional information available on the surfaces could potentially result in richer and novel interactions. In this paper we specifically explore the role of finger orientation. This property is typically ignored in touch-based interactions partly because of the ambiguity in determining it solely from the contact shape. We present a simple algorithm that unambiguously detects the directed finger orientation vector in real-time from contact information only, by considering the dynamics of the finger landing process. Results of an experimental evaluation show that our algorithm is stable and accurate. We then demonstrate how finger orientation can be leveraged to enable novel interactions and to infer higher-level information such as hand occlusion or user position. We present a set of orientation-aware interaction techniques and widgets for direct-touch surfaces.

Microbial components of the microbial fuel cells (MFCs), including species constitution and metabolic mechanism of the anodic microorganisms, are critical to the optimization of electricity generation. An electrogenesis baterium strain (designated as RE7) was isolated from an MFC that had been running in a fed batch mode for over one year. The isolate was identified as a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on its physiological, morphological characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Direct electron transfer from RE7 to an electrode was examined using cyclic voltammetry and MFC. Results of both methods showed the electrochemical activity of the bacterium without any electrochemical mediator. The P. aeruginosa strain RE7 was inoculated into the anode chamber of a packing-type MFC and the maximal voltage output was 352 mV with 1 500 mg/L glucose as the fuel. Correspondingly, the maximal area and volumetric power densities were 69.2 mW/m2 and 6.2 W/m3, respectively. Bacteria-producing soluble redox mediators, such as phenazine derivatives, are possible mechanism to facilitate the direct electron transfer to the electrode from the bacterial cells.

In this study, we used techniques of in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, electric stimulation of the dorsal periaquaductal gray of the midbrain (dPAG) and microinjection to investigate the changes of preproadrenomedullin (ppADM) gene expression encoding adrenomedullin (ADM) and ADM-like immunoreactivity (ADM-IR) in the medulla oblongata, especially in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM) of the rats receiving foot-shock and noise stress for 5 d, and the potential role of ADM in cardiovascular component of defense response in the rVLM. The results showed that ppADM mRNA and ADM-IR were widely distributed throughout the medulla oblongata. Highly labeled neurons were found in the ventrolateral reticular nucleus and hypoglossal nucleus. Moderately labeled neurons were seen in the facial, ambiguus, lateral reticular, paragigantocellular reticular, and inferior olivary nuclei. Weak signal was present over neurons of nucleus of the solitary tract. The expression of ppADM mRNA and ADM-IR increased significantly after foot shock and noise stress for 5 d as compared with that in control group (P0.01). On the other hand, stimulation of the right dPAG raised the artery pressure (AP) rapidly from (116.4+/-8.9) mmHg to (140.0+/-9.8) mmHg, and heart rate (HR) from (378.0+/-7.5) beats/min to (413.0+/-8.2) beats/min, respectively, in the normotensive rats. After unilaterally microinjection of hADM(22-52) (a specific antagonist of ADM receptor, 1 pmol) into the right rVLM of the normotensive rats for 10 min, the rats received the stimulation of the dPAG again. Then we found that the DeltaAP and DeltaHR were lowered significantly within 60 min compared with those without hADM(22-52) application (P0.05). After unilaterally microinjection of 0.1 pmol rat ADM (rADM) into the rVLM, dPAG stimulation caused no significant changes in DeltaAP and DeltaHR. Our results that foot-shock and noise stress induced significant increases of ppADM mRNA and ADM-IR in the rVLM, and microinjection of ADM receptor antagonist hADM(22-52) into the rVLM partly blocked the cardiovascular component of stress-defensive response induced by stimulation of the dPAG, suggest that ADM in the rVLM might be an important neurotransmitter or neuroregulator in the regulation of cardiovascular function in the stress-related defensive response.

By the method of sample trees stem analysis, this paper studied the growth process and diameter structure of 21-year-old Larix principis-rupprechtii plantations with the densities of 1200, 1500, and 2000 stems x hm(-2) in the head-water area on the southern slope of Liupan Mountain in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the growth status of L. principis-rupprechtii stands among the three densities when the stand age was less than 10 years. However, obvious differences were observed in the diameter and timber volume of individual trees and in the stand volume when the stand age was more than 10 years. The tree growth status in low-density stand was apparently better than that in medium- and high-density stands, but the height growth had no significant difference among the three densities. There was a significant difference in the skewness coefficient (Sk) of diameter distribution among the stands with different density, being higher (Sk = 0.338) in high-density stand than in medium-density stand (Sk = 0.072) and low-density stand (Sk = 0.015). The diameter distribution in high-density stand deviated from normal distribution, with a zenith tending to left, while that in medium- and low-density stands approached a normal distribution, with a more reasonable density structure. The kurtosis coefficient (K = 1.691) of medium-density stand was higher than that of high-density stand (K = 1.532) and low-density stand (K = 0.665), indicating a lower degree of polarization of tree growth in medium-density stand than in other two stands. The reasonable remaining density of 21-year-old L. principis-rupprechtii plantations was suggested to be 1200 stems x hm(-2).

Urocortin3 (Ucn3) is an endogenous ligand for corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtype 2 (CRF2R). In this study, we examined its potential cardiovascular effects by microinjection of Ucn3 and anti-sauvagine 30 (ASV30), a selective antagonist of CRF2R, into the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. After Ucn3 (10 pmol/100 nl) was microinjected into the PVN of anesthetized rats, significant increases of systolic blood pressure, heart rate and renal sympathetic nerve activity were observed. Furthermore, all these cardiovascular and autonomic effects induced by Ucn3 could be blocked totally by administration of ASV30 into the PVN. These results are consistent with the idea that Ucn3 might be involved in the central nervous control of cardiovascular function by acting centrally to increase sympathetic outflow via the activation of CRF2R within the PVN.

Karyotyping is a fundamental step in chromosome analysis. Since G-banding patterns of any chromosomes in the metaphase spread are changeable, it is difficult and time consuming for students to master the technique of karyotyping. Current methods for leaning karyotyping are ineffective, and therefore it is necessary to develop a software program to help students learn the skill efficiently. Virtual reality is suitable for this purpose because of its inherent simulating ability. By building dynamic chromosome models capable changing shapes, G-band resolutions, and structure, along with creating variable metaphase spreads, a versatile software program was developed to provide students with a virtual learning environment for self practicing and testing, thus transforming the traditionally dry and tedious approach into an exciting and efficient learning process.

To evaluate if 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin V may be used to detect the early chemotherapeutic effect and to determine the best timing for detecting apoptosis in vivo.Annexin V was labeled with 99mTc using HYNIC as a bifunctional agent. Normal Kunming mice received inoculation of Ehrlich ascites cells into the right upper limb. After the tumor reached 1 cm in diameter, the mice were randomly divided into saline treatment group as control and cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg injected intraperitoneally) treatment group. 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin V was injected intravenously at 1 h and 24 h after treatment. Region of interest technique (ROI) from the SPECT images taken at different time was used to get the ratio of tumor/limb in each group. TUNEL staining was used to detect apoptotic cells and the rates of positive stained cells were calculated.After treatment with saline, only little amount of the radiolabeled tracer could be seen in the tumor and showed weak image of the tumor. But after 24 h of treatment with cyclophosphamide, clear image on the tumor could be seen. 24 h after the treatment of cyclophosphamide, the ratio of tumor/limb was (6.27 +/- 0.24) which was much higher than that at 24 h after treatment with saline (2.36 +/- 0.18) and that at 1 h after cyclophosphamide treatment (4.00 +/- 0.38). At 24 h after cyclophosphamide treatment, TUNEL staining showed a significantly higher rate of apoptotic cells in the mice.99mTc-HYNIC-annexin V can be used as an apoptosis-imaging agent to detect and evaluate the early curative effect after chemotherapy. The effective detection of apoptotic response in tumor with 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin V requires a 24 h interval after chemotherapy. SPECT images can be obtained at 60 min after injection of the imaging agent. It suggests that 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin V may become a promising agent for apoptosis-imaging in clinical application.

Speed-accuracy tradeoff is a common phenomenon in many types of human motor tasks. In general, the more accurately the task is to be accomplished, the more time it takes, and vice versa. In particular, when users attempt to complete the task with a specified amount of time, the accuracy of the task can be considered as a dependent variable to measure user performance. In this paper we investigate speed-accuracy tradeoff in trajectory-based tasks with temporal constraint, through a controlled experiment that manipulates the movement time (MT ) in addition to the tunnel amplitude (A ) and width (W ). A quantitative model is proposed and validated to predict the task accuracy in terms of lateral standard deviation (SD ) of the trajectory.

By use of wavelet transform, a high frequency fluctuation is identified in the presence of low frequency disturbance through the zoned wavelet energy spectrum. The high frequency fluctuation of the plasma density may be stimulated by an ion-acoustic instability. These results can help to study the mechanism of the perturbation of plasma density in hypersonic wake.

To discuss the influence of the rhizome of Cibotium barametz on the heamorheology index in mice with adjuvant arthritis and to compare the effect of raw medicinals with that of the processed ones.Mice was injected with Freund's complete adjuvant on the rihgt behind foot to make model of adjuvant arthritis (AA). Hydroxyacrbamide tablets were orally administrated by mice with AA to make model of AA due to deficiency in the kidney (DK-AA). And then we determined the heamorheology index of the normal group, positive control group, AA group, DK-AA group and medicinals-treated groups.In the groups of AA, and DK-AA, the heamorheology index, such as high shearing, middle shearing, low shearing, plasma viscosity, whole blood reduction viscosity, erythrocyte aggregation exponent, erythrocyte degeneration exponent, sedimentation, sedimentation equation K value, erythrocyte rigidity exponent, erythrocyte electrophoresis time, casson viscosity, casson yield stress, increased significantly. After treated with Cibotium barametz, the heamorheology index except red blood count, packed cell volume, fibrinogen decreased obviously to get normal.Rhizome of Cibotium barametz could promote heamorheology in mice with AA and DK-AA to exhibit effect of promoting blood circulation and remove blood stasis. The medicinal rhizomes processed with sand have the effect enhanced.

The down-regulation of constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) and up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) are associated with the allergen-provocated airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). This study aimed to determine whether their alteration also plays an important role in the AHR induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Hartley male guinea pigs, weighing between 250 g and 350 g, were injected with LPS at a dose of 1 mg/kg every 24 hours for three days. A non-selective NOS inhibitor, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), or a selective inducible NOS inhibitor, aminoguanidine (AG), were used thirty minutes before each injection of LPS. Airway reactions, nitric oxide (NO) production and inflammatory changes were detected 24 hours after the last dose of LPS.AG significantly decreased the NO production in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and sharply reduced the intensity of bronchoconstriction to histamine challenge. L-NAME also significantly decreased the NO production in the BALF, but had no effect on airway reactions or, perhaps, a tendency to enhance the intensity of AHR.The data suggest that inducible NOS contributes to the AHR induced by repetitive intraperitoneal LPS, and constitutive NOS was also involved.

As large displays become prevalent in public spaces, they could be employed to create novel game experiences for the public. We present an exploratory study of an ad-hoc multi-player game played on such public displays. The game, Flashlight Jigsaw, was deployed in a shared lab space and a public atrium for two weeks in total. Through interviews supported by observations and system logs we explored the experiences and behaviors of players and spectators. We also investigated the interrelationship between public display games and the spaces they are deployed in. The research resulted in findings regarding game play, communication, social interaction, spectatorship, and space and location around such a game. We use our findings to develop design implications for future public display games.

Many interactive surfaces have the ability to detect the shape of hands or objects placed on them. However, shape information is typically either condensed to individual contact points or categorized as discrete gestures. This does not leverage the full expressiveness of touch input, thus limits the actions users can perform in interactive applications. We present ShapeTouch, an exploration of interactions that directly utilize the contact shape on interactive surfaces to manipulations of objects and interactors. ShapeTouch infers virtual contact forces from contact regions and motion to enable interaction with virtual objects in ways that draw upon userspsila everyday experiences of interacting with real physical objects.

Increasing lines of evidence has been accumulated that nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) distribute plentifully in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and contribute to cardiovascular regulation. In the present study, the expressions of neuronal and inducible isoform of NOS (nNOS and iNOS) were observed in the RVLM of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) Wistar rats experienced electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, thereby the cardiovascular effects of NO in the RVLM were investigated and the mechanism of acupuncture effect on AMI was inferred. The results indicated that in the AMI rats, cardiac functions were markedly attenuated with high serum level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and norepinephine (NE), the number of nNOS-immunoreactive cells and nNOS mRNA exprossion in the RVLM area were increased, while those of iNOS were lowered. EA at "Neiguan" acupoints (Pe 6) 30 min daily for successive 5 d resulted in an improvement of the cardiac functions, decreases in NE and BNP levels; it also increased the expression of iNOS and decreased the expression of nNOS in the RVLM. These results suggest that the curative effect of acupuncture on AMI is possibly attributable to the differential regulation of NOS/NO in the RVLM, leading to decreased sympathetic outflow and improvement of cardiac functions.

Melatonin, acting through its receptors, is involved in numerous physiological processes, including blood pressure (BP) regulation. In present study, the effect of melatonin inhibition on stress-induced hypertension was investigated. The hypertensive model consisted of male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to electrical foot-shock combined with noise. Microinjection of melatonin (0.1 and 1.0 mmol/L) into the anterior hypothalamic area (AHA) produced a fall in BP in nomortensive rats and stress-induced hypertensive rats (SIHR). Luzindole (10 mmol/L), a competitive antagonist of melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors, almost completely abolished the depressor effect of melatonin, the MT2 receptor-specific antagonist 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin (10 mmol/L) partially blocked (by approximately 60%) the depressor effect of melatonin, whereas the MT3 receptor-selective antagonist prazosin (10 mmol/L) failed to antagonize the effects of melatonin. Brain microdialysis was performed in the AHA and the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). Melatonin and amino acids in the dialysate samples collected were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with fluorescence detection. The results indicated that melatonin concentrations in the AHA were reduced in SIHR. Microinjection of melatonin into the AHA decreased glutamate release and increased GABA and taurine release in the RVLM, which were paralleled by a decrease in arterial pressure. The mRNA expression of MT2 in the AHA of SIHR was higher than that in normotensive control rats, whereas there was no significant difference in MT1 mRNA expressin between the two groups. The results of the present study suggest that both a decrease of melatonin and an increase in the MT2 receptor in the AHA are involved in the manifestation of stress-induced hypertension. Both MT1 and MT2 receptors participated in the antihypertensive effect of melatonin in the AHA. The antihypertensive effect of melatonin was related to the decreases in the excitatory amino acid glutamate and increases in the inhibitory amino acids taurine and GABA in the RVLM.

In contrast to existing work on the connected coverage problem in wireless sensor networks which assumes omnidirectional sensors with disk-like sensing range, this paper investigates a suite of novel problems related to connected coverage in directional sensor networks where sensors only sense directionally and have a sector-like sensing range. We first consider the problems of deploying a minimum number of directional sensors to form a connected network to cover either a set of point- locations (connected point-coverage deployment (CPD)) or the entire target sensing area (connected region-coverage deployment (CRD)). CPD is NP-hard as its subproblem of geometric sector cover (GSC) is NP-hard. We present two approximation algorithms for GSC as subroutines, and develop a general solution framework for CPD with approximation ratio sigma + O(1), where sigma is the approximation ratio of the selected GSC subroutine. We also describe two efficient deployment patterns with guaranteed covering density for CRD, and analyze their performance bounds with respect to arbitrary non-crossing deployment patterns. Extensive simulation results validate the correctness and merits of the presented algorithms and analysis.

Peephole interaction occurs when a spatially aware display is moved and acts as a viewport to reveal different parts of the virtual space that cannot all fit within the display at once. We investigate pointing within this peephole metaphor, where the targets may not be initially visible on the display, but are dynamically revealed by moving the display. We develop and experimentally validate a quantitative model for peephole pointing. Our results indicate that the model accurately accounts for peephole pointing for a variety of display sizes, both with and without users' having prior knowledge of the target location.

To study the effect of the over expression of GFP-E2, GFP-TAD(N-extremity domain of HPV18 E2) and GFP-DBD (C-extremity domain of HPV18 E2) on the apoptosis and secretion of macrophages and to further explore the contribution of E2 gene to the uterine cervix cancer.TAD or DBD gene was amplified from pEGFP-C1/HPV18 E2 by PCR respectively and then cloned into pEGFP-C1 vector. After the transfection of recombinant plasmids or pEGFP-C1 into the macrophages, their expression was examined by fluorescent microscopy and Western blot. The cytokine content of TNF-alpha or IL-1alpha in the culture medium was tested quantitatively with ELISA kit respectively. The stained macrophages were observed and their apoptosis rate was tested by flow cytometry.After transfected into macrophages, GFP-E2 fusion protein was mainly located in cytoplasma while GFP-DBD fusion protein was completely located in nuclei and GFP-TAD fusion protein was completely located in cytoplasma. The overexpression of GFP-E2 or GFP-TAD increased the level of TNF-alpha and IL-1alpha and upregulate the apoptosis rate of macrophages. Furthermore, the effect of GFP-TAD was obvious except on IL-1beta level but the overexpression of GFP-DBD did not show the same effect.The overexpression of GFP-E2 or GFP-TAD fusion protein can induce the apoptosis macrophages and upregulate TNF-alpha or IL-1beta secretion of macrophages.

In this paper a dual laser acousto‐optical diffraction technique is described that provides an absolute calibration of a CO2 laser coherent scattering apparatus and other heterodyne receivers. Rather than directly detecting the sound pressure of the acoustic field or the power diffracted from the CO2 laser beam, the sound pressure is measured with the heterodyne detection of acousto‐optical diffraction from a He‐Ne laser beam. Noise equivalent power (NEP) measurement of the heterodyne receiver for the CO2 laser scattering apparatus and the studies of the detector bias and local oscillator power dependence of NEP values are performed by this technique. The measured minimum NEP value (6.8×10−20 W/Hz) is very close to the quantum noise limit.

In this paper, analyzing the experiment data of multiple scanning probes in the arc wind-driven hypersonic plasma flows with the chaos dynamics method, we have obtained the power spectrum, the frequency wavenumber spectral density, the correlation dimension and Kolmogorov entropy of the flows, respectively. The distribution of correlation dimension and Kolmogorov entropy of the blunt cone wakes along the axis and the radius of the flows are presented successfully in the flows. The distributions clearly show the structure of turbulence and lamination in blunt cone wakes. Using the method of minimum Kolmogorov entropy, we observed the structure of the bow shock at far wake region in the blunt cone wakes.

A total of 1293 seafood samples from fishing farm, retail markets, restaurants and cooking rooms of hotels in Jiangsu province and Shanghai city of China were collected and analyzed for the prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus during July to October in 2007. Two hundred and fifty one isolates of V. parahaemolyticus were identified, of which 8 isolates were positive for tdh and 2 were positive for trh gene. Three tdh positive isolates were identified from low-temperature preserved seafood samples and 5 isolates from fresh seafood samples, of these tdh positive isolates, 3 were positive in ORF8-PCR test. The genetic diversity among V. parahaemolyticus isolates was assessed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR and the results showed that there were 33 different genetic patterns that were clustered into nine groups (groups A to I) at 82% similarity level. About 31.9% of the isolates belong to type III9d that were widely distributed in fresh, iced, frozen, dried and salted seafood samples. Seven tdh positive isolates belonged to group A and one belonged to group C, 2 trh positive isolates were type I10d belonging to group F, which was identical to that of reference strains isolated from patients. This study demonstrated genetic variability within V. parahaemolyticus isolates from seafood in Chinese markets and confirmed the presence of toxigenic V. parahaemolyticus not only in fresh but also in iced and frozen seafood products indicating that low-temperature preserved seafood might be also a vehicle for transmitting pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus.

A publish/subscribe system consists of publishers, subscribers, and a delivery infrastructure, where publishers produce events, subscribers declare their interests in receiving events via subscriptions, and the delivery infrastructure forwards subscribed events from publishers to corresponding subscribers. The paper describes a distributed, subscription-aware publish/subscribe tree (PST) construction protocol, termed DSAPST, for MANET. DSAPST specifically takes subscribers' subscriptions into account so that subscribers sharing common subscriptions that are closer in terms of hop count would be connected together in the constructed PSTs, resulting in lower event delivery overhead in terms of the number of wireless transmissions. In addition, DSAPST adapts to mobility of nodes, allows existing nodes to join and leave as subscribers, and accommodates brand new nodes joining a MANET as subscribers. Simulation results show that DSAPST outperforms a MAODV-based PST construction protocol which is not subscription-aware.

Recent research on handheld projector interaction has expanded the display and interaction space of handheld devices by projecting information onto the physical environment around the user, but has mainly focused on single-user scenarios. We extend this prior single-user research to co-located multi-user interaction using multiple handheld projectors. We present a set of interaction techniques for supporting co-located collaboration with multiple handheld projectors, and discuss application scenarios enabled by them.

This paper presents a quantitative human performance model of making single-stroke pen gestures within certain error constraints in terms of production time. Computed from the properties of Curves, Line segments, and Corners (CLC) in a gesture stroke, the model may serve as a foundation for the design and evaluation of existing and future gesture-based user interfaces at the basic motor control efficiency level, similar to the role of previous "laws of action" played to pointing, crossing or steering-based user interfaces. We report and discuss our experimental results on establishing and validating the CLC model, together with other basic empirical findings in stroke gesture production.

Existing work on placing additional relay nodes in wireless sensor networks to improve network connectivity typically assumes homogeneous wireless sensor nodes with an identical transmission radius. In contrast, this paper addresses the problem of deploying relay nodes to provide fault-tolerance with higher network connectivity in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, where sensor nodes possess different transmission radii. Depending on the level of desired fault-tolerance, such problems can be categorized as: (1) full fault-tolerance relay node placement, which aims to deploy a minimum number of relay nodes to establish k (k ges 1) vertex-disjoint paths between every pair of sensor and/or relay nodes; (2) partial fault-tolerance relay node placement, which aims to deploy a minimum number of relay nodes to establish k (k ges 1) vertex-disjoint paths only between every pair of sensor nodes. Due to the different transmission radii of sensor nodes, these problems are further complicated by the existence of two different kinds of communication paths in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, namely two-way paths, along which wireless communications exist in both directions; and one-way paths, along which wireless communications exist in only one direction. Assuming that sensor nodes have different transmission radii, while relay nodes use the same transmission radius, this paper comprehensively analyzes the range of problems introduced by the different levels of fault-tolerance (full or partial) coupled with the different types of path (one-way or two-way). Since each of these problems is NP-hard, we develop O(sigmak2)-approximation algorithms for both one-way and two-way partial fault-tolerance relay node placement, as well as O(sigmak3)-approximation algorithms for both one-way and two-way full fault-tolerance relay node placement (sigma is the best performance ratio of existing approximation algorithms for finding a minimum k-vertex connected spanning graph). To facilitate the applications in higher dimensions, we also extend these algorithms and derive their performance ratios in d-dimensional heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (d ges 3). Finally, heuristic implementations of these algorithms are evaluated via simulations.

This paper reports the investigation of E ↔ H mode transition points and the width of the hysteresis in a re-entrant configuration of inductively coupled plasma. The E → H and H → E transition density and transition power were measured at various plasma pressures, and the E → H transition density is found to have little change at low pressures (ν/ω ≪ 1), but to clearly increase when the argon pressure exceeds a certain value. The E → H transition power versus the pressure shows a minimum transition power at 4 Pa (ν/ω = 1) for argon, and in addition, the reverse H → E transition density exhibits the same trend seen for the E → H transition density, though the H → E transition power shows a decrease with the pressure. In this paper, the width of the hysteresis loop is defined as the difference between the H → E transition power and the E → H transition power, so the hysteresis loop tends to be wider as the pressure increases. This work is useful to understand the E ↔ H mode transition and to control the transition points in real plasma processing.

The recent trend towards miniaturization of projection technology indicates that handheld devices will soon have the ability to project information onto any surface, thus enabling interfaces that are not possible with current handhelds. We explore the design space of dynamically defining and interacting with multiple virtual information spaces embedded in a physical environment using a handheld projector and a passive pen tracked in 3D. We develop techniques for defining and interacting with these spaces, and explore usage scenarios.

The energy transformation from electromagnetic wave (EMW) to surface plasmons which achieve total absorption of EMW in overdense plasma is investigated by using the theory of hydrodynamics in the thin cylinder limit and surface wave resonator (SWR). The experiment scheme of Bliokh [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 165003 (2005)] is improved. Through analyzing the frequency domain spectrum of the reflected wave, the time series of reflection, transmission and plasma density are diagnosed when the electromagnetic wave is transferring into the surface wave (SW).

To investigate the eletrophysiological effect of rat adrenomedullin (rADM) on barosensitive neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM) and its potential mechanisms, the extracellular recording and multi-barrel iontophoresis methods were used. Of the 29 barosensitive neurons in the rVLM, 20 neurons demonstrated excitatory response to iontophoretically applied rADM and increased the firing rate from (10.8 +/- 2.7) spikes/s to (14.6 +/- 3.6), (19.8 +/- 4.7) and (31.9 +/- 6.4) spikes/s (P0.05, n=20) at the current of 30, 60 and 90 nA, respectively. Application of human adrenomedullin (22-52) [hADM (22-52)], a specific antagonist of rADM receptor, distinctly attenuated the augmentation of firing rate induced by rADMjthe firing rate was increased by 15.4% [(11.4 +/- 2.5) spikes/s, P0.05, n=10]. Another antagonist, human calcitonin gene-related peptide (8-37) [hCGRP (8-37)] had no significant effect on rADM-induced excitation. Other 23 barosensitive neurons were recorded to test the influence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors on the excitatory effect of rADM. In 10 neurons, 7-NiNa (neuronal NOS inhibitor) decreased the firing rate from (10.1 +/- 3.5) spikes/s to (7.5 +/- 2.5), (5.3 +/- 2.1) and (3.1 +/- 1.4) spikes/s (P0.05, n=10) at the current of 10, 20 and 40 nA, respectively. The excitatory effect of rADM (60 nA, 30 s) during 7-NiNa application was nearly eliminated and the magnitude of firing rate was increased only by 17% of the basal level (6.2 +/- 1.9) spikes/s (P0.05, n=7). While aminoguanidine (AG, iNOS inhibitor) increased the firing rate at the resting level from (11.5 +/- 5.1) spikes/s to (17.8 +/- 5.6), (22.5 +/- 6.3) and (29.1 +/- 6.4) spikes/s (P0.05, n=8) at the current of 10, 20 and 40 nA in 8 barosensitive neurons, respectively. When rADM (60 nA, 30 s) was delivered during AG iontophoresis period, the firing rate significantly increased by 60% of the basal level [(22.5 +/- 6.3) spikes/s, n=5]. These results indicate that rADM activates the barosensitive neurons in the rVLM directly and acts as a cardiovascular regulator, and that this function might be mediated by its specific receptor. NO, mainly neuronal NOS-originated might be involved in the excitatory effect of rADM in the rVLM.

To analyze the spatial distribution of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and to explore environmental factors associated with HPAI using geographic information system (GIS) techniques in Mainland China.Databases were set up using the information of HPAI during epidemics in 2004, and linked to digital maps at provincial and county administrative layers in the country through the ArcGIS 8.3 software. Spatial cluster analyses, spatial statistics analyses and tracking analyses on epidemic situation of HPAI were implemented. Environmental factors associated with HPAI were also analyzed on data related to weather, vegetation and migratory birds etc.Findings from spatial cluster analyses showed that high incidence area was centralized in 113.261 degrees ordm; east longitude and 23. 119 degrees ordm; north latitude with a radius of 1090.52 kilometers (relative risk= 2.646, P value= 0.001). Spatial statistical analyses showed that HPAI took place mainly in capital cities of provinces and surrounding areas as well as in the circumference areas of arterial rivers, lakes and seacoasts. Results also showed that HPAI occurrences were associated with low air temperature, high relative humidity and high air pressure as well as with eastcentral migration routes of migratory birds. The average normalized difference vegetation index was 0.36 +/- 0.11 in epidemic areas of HPAI.HPAI was unrandomly distributed and geographically clustered in China.

This study was to observe the changes of the neuronal and inducible nitric oxide synthase (nNOS & iNOS) as well as their mRNAs in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) of stress-induced hypertensive rats before and after acupuncture, and thereby to infer the curative mechanism of acupuncture on hypertension. The result indicated that the systolic blood pressure (SBP) of stress group rats was increased significantly (P < 0.01), it was accompanied that the expression of nNOS in the RVLM, including the immunoreactive neuron number (P < 0.05), the optical density (OD) (P < 0.01), and the mRNA (P < 0.01) were obviously elevated, while those of iNOS (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.01) were evidently lowered in the stress-induced hypertensive rats. Electroacupuncture (EA) points at "Zusanli" (St. 36) and "Lanwei" (Extra 37) on the same hindlimb were stimulated by an EA apparatus (Type G6805-2) with dense sparse wave (4-20Hz) and 4mA intensity. EA application could return the SBP (P < 0.05), and the changes on the expression of both nNOS and iNOS (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.01). These results suggest that the curative mechanism of acupuncture on stress-induced hypertension is related to the changes of nNOS and iNOS in the RVLM of rats.

The usability of access control mechanisms in modern distributed systems has been widely criticized but little studied. In this paper, we carefully examine one such widely deployed access control mechanism, the one embedded in the WebDAV standard, from the point-of-view of an end-user trying to decide how to grant or deny access to some resource to a third party. This analysis points to problems with the conceptual usability of the system. Significant effort is required on the part of the user to determine how to implement the desired access rules; the user, however, has low interest and expertise in this task, given that such access management actions are almost always secondary to the collaborative task at hand. The analysis does however indicate a possible solution: to recast the access control puzzle as a decision support problem in which user intentions (i.e. the descriptions of desired system outputs) are interpreted by an access mediator that either automatically or semi-automatically decides how to achieve the designated goals and provides enough feedback to the user. We call such systems intentional access management (IAM) systems and describe them in both specific and general terms. To demonstrate the feasibility and usability of the proposed IAM models, we develop an intentional access management prototype for WebDAV. The results of a user study conducted on the system show its superior usability compared to traditional access management tools like the access control list editor.

This paper describes a cross-layer approach to designing robust P2P system over mobile ad hoc networks. The design is based on simple functional primitives that allow routing at both P2P and network layers to be integrated to reduce overhead. With these primitives, the paper addresses various load balancing techniques. Preliminary simulation results are also presented.

Although slideshow presentation applications, such as PowerPoint™ have been popular for years, the techniques commercially available to control them rely on mouse and keyboard, which can be restrictive for the presenters. We evaluated two representative alternative designs of presentation control techniques - Bare Hand and Laser Pointer, through a Wizard-of-Oz user study. The result showed that Bare Hand was better than Laser Pointer and Standard (mouse/keyboard) control in terms of acceptance and preference from both presenters and audience. We also proposed design directions based on user feedback.

In this study, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the changes in mRNAs levels of preproadrenomedullin (ppADM) gene encoding adrenomedullin (ADM) and the essential receptor components of ADM, calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), and the receptor activity modifying protein 2 and 3 (RAMP2 and RAMP3) in the medulla oblongata, hypothalamus, midbrain, pituitary gland and adrenal gland of the stress-induced hypertensive rats. It was shown that chronic foot-shock and noise stress for 15 consecutive days induced a significant increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and unique changes in ppADM and its receptor components mRNAs in all areas studied. As compared with the control group, the level of ppADM mRNA, normalized against a glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) control, was up-regulated in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but down-regulated in the medulla oblongata and midbrain (P0.01 and P0.05, respectively). The relative amount of CRLR mRNA was higher in the hypothalamus than that in other areas. The level of CRLR mRNA expression was significantly increased in the medulla oblongata of the stress group (P0.01), but decreased in the midbrain (P0.01) as well as hypothalamus(P0.05), as compared with that of the control group. Chronic stress for 15 consecutive days produced an increase in the level of RAMP2 mRNA expression in the medulla oblongata (P0.01) and a decrease in the adrenal gland (P0.01), as compared with the control. No significant stress-related changes in RAMP2 mRNA were observed in the midbrain, hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The amount of RAMP3 mRNA was relatively higher in the midbrain and hypothalamus than that in the medulla oblongata, adrenal gland and adrenal gland. Stress-induced hypertensive rats exhibited an increased RAMP3 mRNA expression in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland (P0.01 and P0.05, respectively) and a decrease in the adrenal gland and midbrain (P0.05). No significant stress-related change in RAMP3 mRAN was observed in the medulla oblongata. Taken together, our results indicate that the significant changes in ppADM and its receptor components mRNAs expression in the HPA axis and autonomic centers may be related to the development of the stress-induced hypertension. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological significance of brain-derived ADM and its receptors in stress and blood pressure regulation and their roles in stress-induced hypertension still await further investigation.