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Tin sulfide films were deposited from an aqueous solution of tin dichloride, thiacetamide, and disodium citrate. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, and electrical measurement were used to characterize the films. The films directly deposited at 70 and 80 °C for 1 and 2 h showed thicknesses of 70–400 and 120–650 nm, respectively. But the deposition at 40 °C for 1 h (nucleation step) made the films subsequently deposited at 60–80 °C denser and thicker (∼1600–7500 nm) than directly deposited films. Average transmittances of the films in UV–visible range decrease with increase in the thickness and are only in range of 0.33–2.3% for the films deposited with the nucleation step. The band gap energies of the films estimated from the transmittance spectra are in the range of ∼1.37–1.55 eV. Moreover, the films are p-type conductive. The electrical resistance and carrier mobility are in the ranges of 0.3–1.4 × 105 Ω cm and 0.77–1.56 cm2 (V s)−1, respectively. The films...

To investigate the bowel symptoms and psychological status of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with diarrhea (IBS-D), and to verify whether sigmoid colon mucosal mast cells (MCs) and their activation have effect on the symptoms and psychological status of IBS-D patients.Patients meeting Rome Ⅲ diagnostic and subtyping criteria of IBS-D who visited the outpatient clinic of gastroenterology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital were consecutively enrolled between July 2009 and June 2012. IBS symptoms questionnaire was completed using face-to-face interview, and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA)/ Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were administrated to evaluate psychological status, both by well-trained investigators. Mast cell tryptase monoclonal antibody was used for immunohistochemical staining to detect MCs and degranulated MCs in mucosal biopsy of sigmoid colon. MCs and degranulated MCs were blindly counted by a senior pathologist, and presented as number of cells in high power field (HPF) and percentage of activated MCs. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman rank correlation analysis.Ninety-seven patients with IBS-D were enrolled in this study, with mean age of (44±11) years. 70.10%(68 cases) of the IBS-D patients had comorbid anxiety and/or depression. The median total numbers of MCs, activated MCs, and percentage of activated MCs in sigmoid mucosa were 11.60 (7.09)/HPF, 2.00 (1.40) /HPF, and 17.50% (10.90%), respectively. Patients having abdominal pain/discomfort before bowel movement "every day with intermediate to high severity" had significantly larger numbers of total MCs in sigmoid colon compared with those with pain or discomfort "not every day and mild" [13.80(4.85)vs 7.60(5.90)/HPF, P=0.019]; the patient having "frequent" urge to have a bowel movement and mushy stools showed significantly higher percentage of activated MCs in sigmoid colon mucosa compared to those having the symptoms "some of the time" [18.75%(9.12%) vs 14.50%(13.14%), P=0.031; 21.33%(7.43%)vs 11.51%(10.65%)vs 18.42%(8.61%), P=0.030]. There was a positive correlation between the bowel movement during IBS-D onset and the percentage of activated MCs (r=0.221, P=0.030). There were no statistically significant differences in the total number of MCs and percentage of activated MCs between the patients with anxiety/depression and those without anxiety/depression (P=0.255, P=0.315). Scores of HAMA and HAMD were found not correlated with either total MCs number or percentage of activated MCs in sigmoid colon mucosa(all P0.05).The majority of IBS-D patients had comorbid anxiety and/or depression. The total number and activation status of MCs in sigmoid colon mucosa might be related with some intestinal symptoms in IBS-D patients. Psychological disorders might influence the pathogenesis and regression of IBS-D through brain-gut axis other than MCs in sigmoid colon mucosa.

To compare the different expressions of CD27, CD28, IL-17A, IFN-γ and TNF-α in the peripheral blood sampled from patients with colorectal carcinoma and healthy volunteers.Vδ2 T cells were isolated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with the colorectal carcinoma (CRC, n = 30) and healthy controls (HC, n = 21). The proportion of CD27, CD28, IL-17A, IFN-γ and TNF-α of Vδ2 T cells was detected by the flow cytometry.We found that the proportion of IL-17A of Vδ2 T cells in PBMCs was higher in the CRC vs. the HC group (p0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between the expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α of Vδ2 T cells. In the CRC patients, the proportions of IL-17A of CD27- Vδ2 T cells and CD28+ Vδ2 T cells were higher than those of CD27+ Vδ2 T cells and CD28- Vδ2 T cells, whereas the expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α of CD27-Vδ2 T cells was lower than that of CD27+ Vδ2 T cells.Vδ2 T cells from PBMCs had higher expression of IL-17A in CRC patients than that in the HC group. The expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α of Vδ2 T cells from PBMCs was positively correlated. The cytokine profiles of peripheral Vδ2 T cells were likely determined by a CD27 and CD28 involving mechanism.

To analyze the metabolic profiles of the female papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the relationship between the metabolic profiles and primary tumor size and cervical lymph node metastasis using a metabolomics approach.Forty-three cases of female PTC were enrolled in this study. Gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and ultra performance liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry were employed for analyzing metabolic profiles of tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues in the female PTC. Cases were divided into Group T1 (tumor size≤2.0 cm) and Group T2 (tumor size2.0 cm) according to the tumor size, and divided into Group N- (with negative cervical lymph node) and Group N+ (with positive cervical lymph node) according to the cervical lymph node conditions. We compared the metabolomic profiles between these groups.A panel of 46 differentially expressed metabolites was identified in the PTC specimens, compared with normal tissues. Increased metabolism of amino acid, purine and pyrimidine, tryptophan acid, one carbon, glycolysis, taurine and hypotaurine, and fatty acid were found in PTC tumors tissues. Amino acids, purine and pyridine, tryptophan, and carbon metabolism increased significantly in the tumor tissues of Group T2 compared with Group T1, while glycolysis, amino acid, purine and pyridine, tryptophan, and carbon metabolism increased significantly in the specimens of Group N+ .Distinct metabolic profiles were identified in the female PTC tissues, which were related to the primary tumor size and cervical lymph node metastases.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the myocardially protective effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza injection in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and the possible mechanisms involved. METHODS: Adult male Sprague—Dawley rats were randomized into three groups ( n = 10 per group): diabetes, no treatment (Sm-); diabetes, S. miltiorrhiza injection (Sm+); control (no diabetes; saline treatment). After model induction and 4 weeks' treatment, heart function of five rats from each group was tested by Langendorff isolated in vivo heart perfusion. In the remaining rats, pathological changes of the myocardium were observed by haematoxylin and eosin staining, and protein levels of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Left ventricular systolic end pressure and left ventricular developed pressure were significantly improved in the Sm+ group compared with the Sm- group. Pathological changes were ameliorated through significantly reduced TSP-1 and TGF-β1 protein levels. CONCLUSIONS: S. miltiorrhiza injection may improve the heart function of diabetic rats and protect against cardiomyopathy by downregulating TSP-1 and TGF-β1 in myocardial tissue.

The way in which a successful response to ocean pollution is performed is very important, but the marine environment is a very complex system which directly influences the pollution situation. This paper focuses on marine environmental forecast technology. Research on the full forcing oil spill forecast model (FFOSFM) can simulate the movement of oil pollution on the sea surface more accurately than the ordinary method can. An advanced numerical simulation method has been used in this system and some different successful mathematical models (including an atmospheric module, an ocean module, and a wave module) have been coupled together to forecast the full forcing environment factors, such as the sea surface wind, the sea surface current, the wave, and the elevation. This system has also been combined with geographical information system technology and has a user-friendly interface. In this paper, the system has been applied to the Zhoushan Islands as an important part of the Zhoushan Oil Spill Simulation System and supplying the environment data for oil simulation. The real experiment proves that the FFOSFM can forecast the environment data exactly; also, the precision of oil pollution has been greatly updated. Therefore, the FFOSFM can be extended as the basis of a possible future research.

As a stress factor, salt induces the phosphorylation of light-harvesting chlorophyll (Chl) a/b proteins (LHCII) in Dunaliella salina. In this study, we found that the salt-induced phosphorylation of LHCII was not affected by phosphatase, and that salt simultaneously regulated both the phosphorylation of LHCII and the expression of genes encoding light-harvesting Chl a/b proteins of photosystem II (lhcb) and the gene encoding Chl a oxygenase (cao) in dark-adapted D. salina. The mRNA accumulation patterns of lhcb and cao were similar, which further affected the size of LHCII and the ratio of Chl a to Chl b. Therefore, we inferred this simultaneous regulation is one of the mechanisms of D. salina to adapt to the high-salinity environment.

This paper presents an adaptive sliding mode tracking controller with a proportional and integral switching surface. A novel adaptive sliding mode controller based on model reference adaptive state feedback control is proposed to deal with the tracking problem for a class of dynamic systems. First, a proportional and integral sliding surface instead of a conventional sliding surface is chosen and then a class of adaptive sliding mode controller with integral sliding term is developed. It is shown that the stability of the closed-loop system can be guaranteed with the proposed adaptive sliding mode control strategy. The numerical simulation of a triaxial gyroscope is investigated to show the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive sliding mode control scheme with proportional plus integral sliding mode action.

This paper presents a novel adaptive sliding mode control with a sliding mode observer for a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope. The proposed adaptive sliding mode controller with a sliding mode observer can estimate the unmeasured velocities, angular velocity, and damping and stiffness coefficients of the gyroscope in the presence of parameter variations and external disturbance. A novel adaptive sliding mode controller with a proportional and integral sliding surface is derived and the stability condition of the closed-loop feedback system is established. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive sliding mode controller with sliding mode observer.

This paper presents an adaptive sliding mode controller for a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) vibratory z-axis gyroscope. The proposed adaptive sliding mode controller can real-time estimate the angular velocity and the damping and stiffness coefficients. The stability of the closed-loop system can be guaranteed with the proposed adaptive sliding mode control strategy. The numerical simulation for MEMS gyroscope is investigated to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. It is shown that the proposed adaptive sliding mode control scheme offers several advantages such as real-time estimation of gyroscope parameters and large robustness to parameter variations and external disturbance.

The myostatin gene of seven important meat (Beltex (Australia), BeltexxHuyang (Fl), Meat and Multi-Prolific Chinese Merino Fine Wool, Meat Chinese Merino Fine Wool and Dorper (South Africa)) and non-meat (Huyang and Kazak) sheep breeds was analyzed to study the genetic basis of muscular hypertrophy (double muscling) phenotype in sheep. SNPs, four in regulatory regions and several in the introns in the myostatin gene, were identified, and the former four SNPs were used for further studies. Twelve haplotypes were predicted by PHASE program, of which four main haplotypes (1, 3, 7, 9) were present in 90% of the 364 sheep in the study. Haplotypes 1-4 were mainly present in meat breeds while haplotypes 7 and 9 dominated the non-meat breeds. The association between haplotypes and average daily gain (ADG) was analyzed among 116 sheep with production data, Haplo2 (CGAA) and Haplo8 (TGAA) were identified to have significant (p

Considerable attention has been devoted recently to active vibration control using intelligent materials as actuators. This paper presents results on active control schemes for vibration suppression of flexible steel cantilever beam with bonded piezoelectric actuators. The PZT patches are surface bonded near the fixed end of flexible steel cantilever beam. The dynamic model of the flexible steel cantilever beam is derived. Active vibration control methods, strain rate feedback control (SRF), positive position feedback control (PPF) are investigated and implemented using xPC Target real-time system. Experimental results demonstrate that the SRF control and PPF control achieve effective vibration suppression results of steel cantilever beam.

The feasibility of joining MoSi2 to 316L stainless steel was investigated using the spark plasma sintering technique with nine graded materials. It was demonstrated that dense uniformed joints can be achieved with such graded interlayers because the coefficient of thermal expansion of each interlayer closely matched over a wide temperature range. Furthermore, such a compatibility between the graded interlayers prevented MoSi2 with low toughness from the occurrence of microcracks resulted from the residual stresses formed during cooling of the joint. In addition, it was found that the nine layer joint with a thickness of 1·0 mm for each layer exhibited the minimum residual stress when the compositional exponent is 0·8.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a major pathogen in aquaculture penaeid shrimp, which caused catastrophic economic losses in the worldwide. No adequate treatments against WSSV are available. In order to study infection mechanism of WSSV, a phage display scFv cDNA library against WSSV was constructed and a neutralizing antibody of scFv P1D3 was selected in our lab previously. In this study, scFv P1D3 was expressed successfully in yeast. Firstly, the original expression vector of P1D3, M13 phagmid, was used as a template to design primers with restriction sites of SnaB I and EcoR I . Then the gene of P1D3 was amplified by PCR. After digested by SnaB I and EcoR I , the fragment of scFv P1D3 with E-tag was inserted into yeast and E. coli shuttle plasmid pPIC9k. The recombinant plasmid pPIC9k-scFv P1D3-Etag was linearized with Bgl II and then transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115 by electroporation. Positive clones were selected and verified by PCR and DNA sequencing. The scFv PID3 was induced to express in yeast by methanol. The results of ELISA demonstrate that scFv P1D3 expressed in yeast still has high specificity to bind on WSSV and the binding activity is higher than that expressed in E. coli TG1. After several optimizing experiments, the results show that the expression amount of scFv P1D3 can reach to 302 mg/L in yeast culture supernatant. This experiment has offered a new source of antibody for the researches on passive immunology for shrimp.

Histone acetylation modification is one key mechanism in the regulation of gene activation. In this study, we investigated the global levels of histone H4 acetylation of insulin like growth factor I (IGF1) and growth hormone (GH) genes in the lungs of two somatic cell cloned calves. Data showed the levels of histone H4 acetylation of IGF1 and GH genes vary widely within different gene regions, and, in almost all regions of the two genes, acetylation levels are lower in the aberrant clone than in the normal clone. Thus we suggest that inefficient epigenetic reprogramming in the clone may affect the balance between acetylation and deacetylation, which will affect normal growth and development. These findings will also have implications for improvement of cloning success rates.

An osmium redox polymer PVI-PAA-dmeOs is electrodeposited onto a gold electrode by using repetitive double potential step chronoamperometry. The resulting film is permeable to the substrates and products of the catalyzed reaction, and permits fast electron transfer. The frequency variation during the potential step process is recorded using electrochemical quartz-crystal microbalance (EQCM). A reaction mechanism for electrochemical deposition of the osmium redox polymer is proposed. The characteristics of the PVI-PAA-dmeOs film are investigated by EQCM and cyclic voltametry. The results show the hydrated osmium PVI-PAA-dmeOs film to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of epinephrine. At a bare gold electrode, the epinephrine oxidation current increases greatly and the oxidation peak potential negatively shifts to about 0.16 V (Ag/AgCl) at the film-modified electrode. Under optimal conditions, amperometric measurements are performed at 0.18 V and the current response of epinephrine changes linearly with its concentration from 5 × 10−7 to 1 × 10−4 mol l−1. A detection limit of 1.5 × 10−7 mol l−1 (S/N = 3) is obtained.

Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing a rat dopamine transporter (designated D8 cells) and neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells were used as two model systems to study dopamine neurotoxicity. Within 24 h, 1-10 mM dopamine induced D8 cells into apoptosis while 20-200 muM dopamine induced SK-N-SH cells into cell death. The viability of both cell types decreased in a dose-dependent manner. However, the dopamine uptake activity of D8 cells at 10 mM was not significantly higher than the uptake at 100 muM, suggesting that it was not the high concentration of intracellular dopamine that induced D8 cells into apoptosis, but rather dopamine found in the extracellular space. Furthermore, cocaine, an inhibitor of dopamine uptake, could not block cell death induced by dopamine. Forskolin, an agonist of protein kinase A (PKA), stimulated dopamine uptake in D8 cells and blocked apoptosis induced by the drug. These results suggest that the dopamine transporter mediates a dopamine-dependant apoptotic signal transduction pathway that is independent of dopamine uptake into the cell. NeuroReport 12:3293-3297 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

An interesting interface structure between diamond film and silicon substrate has been observed. That is, according to the deformation of the diamond film crystal structure, a strictly 3:2 matching of the two lattices across the interface is obtained. This result clearly indicates that misfit dislocations at the interface and "epitaxial tilting" are not the only two ways to overcome the 1.5% residual misfit.

This paper presents the fundamentals of Origami engineering and its application in nowadays as well as future industry. Several main cores of mathematical approaches such as Huzita- Hatori axioms, Maekawa and Kawasaki-s theorems are introduced briefly. Meanwhile flaps and circle packing by Robert Lang is explained to make understood the underlying principles in designing crease pattern. Rigid origami and its corrugation patterns which are potentially applicable for creating transformable or temporary spaces is discussed to show the transition of origami from paper to thick material. Moreover, some innovative applications of origami such as eyeglass, origami stent and high tech origami based on mentioned theories and principles are showcased in section III; while some updated origami technology such as Vacuumatics, self-folding of polymer sheets and programmable matter folding which could greatlyenhance origami structureare demonstrated in Section IV to offer more insight in future origami., {"references":["Kanade, Takeo. \"A Theory of Origami World.\" Artificial Intelligence,\n1980: 280-311.","Lang, Robert J. Origami Design Secrets - Mathematical Methods for an\nAncient Art. Massachusetts: A K Peters Ltd, 2003.","Lang, Robert J. \"TreeMaker User Manual.\" Langorigami. 2004.\nwww.langorigami.com (accessed Oct 15, 2009).","Huzita-Hatori Axioms. Jan 31, 2009.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huzita%27s_axioms (accessed Aug 10,\n2009).","Barile, Margherita, and Margherita Barile. \"Kawasaki's Theorem.\" From\nMathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource, created by Eric W. Weisstein.\nhttp://mathworld.wolfram.com/KawasakisTheorem.html (accessed Aug\n30, 2009).","Thomas C. Hull. Revisited and extended. Western New England College\nhttp://courses.csail.mit.edu/ (accessed 10 September 2012)","Tachi, Tomohiro. Rigid Origami Silmulation. TT's Page Research\nProject. (Online) 2009. (Cited: Nov 5, 2009.)\nhttp://www.tsg.ne.jp/TT/cg/index.html#rigid_origami","Simulation of Rigid Origami. Tachi, Tomohiro. Tokyo : 4OSME, 2009.","Kevin &Bobby, Saint Joseph's College. (Online) (Cited: Nov 5, 2009.)\nwww.saintjoe.edu/~karend/m111/Origami.ppt.\n[10] KTK Scientific Publishers. \"Map Fold a La Miura Style, Its Physical\nCharacteristics and Application to the Space Science\", in Research of\nPattern Formation, edited by R. Takaki, pp. 77-90.\n[11] Kitty Tinsley. 2003. A Giant Leap for Space Telescopes.Lawrence\nLivermore National Laboratory https://www.llnl.gov/(accessed 10\nAugust 2012)\n[12] Origami-Resource-Center.com. Origami Science.\nhttp://www.langorigami.com/science/technology/eyeglass/eyeglass.php\n(accessed 5 August 2012)\n[13] Zhong You, and Kaori Kuribayashi. 2003. A Novel Origami Stent.\nTulane University http://tulane.edu/ (accessed 10 August 2012)\n[14] K. Kuribayashi and Z. You. Innovative Origami Expandable Stents.\nUniversity of Oxford http://www-civil.eng.ox.ac.uk/ (accessed 12\nAugust 2012)\n[15] University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2009. High-tech origami:\nWater droplets direct self-assembly process in thin-film materials.\nhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123152222.htm\n(accessed 12 August 2012)\n[16] University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 2010. High-Tech Origami.\nhttp://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2010/solarcell/ (accessed 12 August\n2012)\n[17] Zeeya Merali. 2011. Paper, Plastic, or Steel?.\nhttp://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/03/paper-plastic-orsteel.\nhtml?ref=hp (accessed 15 August 2012)\n[18] Bob Yirka. 2011. Origami solution found for folding steel shopping\nbags. http://phys.org/news/2011-03-origami-solution-steel-bags.html\n(accessed 15 August 2012)\n[19] T. Tachi, M. Masubuchi and M. Iwamoto. 2012. Rigid Origami\nStructures with Vacuumatics: Geometric Considerations. (accessed 5\nAugust 2012)\n[20] Hawkes, E. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA advance online publication\ndoi:10.1073/pnas.0914069107 (2010).\n[21] Philip Ball. 2010. Origami that folds itself.\nhttp://www.nature.com/news/2010/100628/full/news.2010.317.html\n(accessed 15 August 2012)"]}

Background We analyzed outcomes of kidney transplantation (KTx) from donation after brain death (DBD) or cardiac death (DCD) in China under the current level of the health care system. Methods Among 94 KTx performed from February 2007 to March 2012 in two organ transplant centers in the south of China, 50 KTx were used DBD and 44 DCD donors. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes. Results At a mean follow-up of 25.5 months, the 1-year and 2-year graft survival rates were 96.8% and 95.2% respectively. Delayed graft function (DGF) occurred in 27.7% recipients, three of whom lost graft function. Among six observed acute rejection episodes, five were reversed. When compared to the DCD group in DBD patients were apt to recover from DGF. Serum creatinine decreased more promptly in the DBD than in DCD group. Serum creatinine in the DCD group increased after months 12, when it was significantly higher than that in the DBD group ( P Conclusions Kidney transplantation from DBD donors showed good outcomes with few complications. Although KTx from DCD donors showed a higher DGF rate and longer duration of graft recovery, we achieved favorable short-term clinical outcome using this source.

Rapamycin impairs glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Our previous study demonstrated that rapamycin significantly increases the production of gastric ghrelin, which is critical in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Here, we investigated whether ghrelin contributes to derangements of glucose metabolism induced by rapamycin.The effects of rapamycin on glucose metabolism were examined in mice receiving ghrelin receptor antagonist or with Ghsr1a gene knockout. Changes in GLUT4, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (pS6) were investigated by immunofluorescent staining or western blotting. Related hormones were detected by radioimmunoassay kits.Rapamycin impaired glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity not only in normal C57BL/6J mice but also in both obese mice induced by a high fat diet and db/db mice. This was accompanied by elevation of plasma acylated ghrelin. Rapamycin significantly increased the levels of plasma acylated ghrelin in normal C57BL/6J mice, high-fat-diet-induced obese mice and db/db mice. Elevation in plasma acylated ghrelin and derangements of glucose metabolism upon administration of rapamycin were significantly correlated. The deterioration in glucose homeostasis induced by rapamycin was blocked by D: -Lys3-GHRP-6, a ghrelin receptor antagonist, or by deletion of the Ghsr1a gene. Ghrelin receptor antagonism and Ghsr1a knockout blocked the upregulation of JNK activity and downregulation of GLUT4 levels and translocation in the gastrocnemius muscle induced by rapamycin.The current study demonstrates that ghrelin contributes to derangements of glucose metabolism induced by rapamycin via altering the content and translocation of GLUT4 in muscles.

Melt spinning is successfully used for the preparation of a rapidly solidified SiC particle reinforced AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy. The composites are prepared by introducing SiC particles in a semi-solid matrix slurry (SiC volume fractions up to 0.15, particle size 10 or 20 μm). Duralcan material (SiC volume fraction 0.20, particle size 12 μm) was also used. After stirring in the semi-solid state the composites are heated above the liquidus temperature and subsequently melt-spun. Featureless, columnar and dendritic zones can be identified in the ribbons. A finer dendritic structure is found around the SiC particles. The SiC particles tend to segregate to the air side of the ribbons and the segregation effect is influenced by particle size and volume fraction. As interface velocities are higher than the critical velocities predicted by models on interface pushing, it is concluded that fluid flow in the melt puddle is responsible for the segregation effect.

We report a Chinese pedigree with familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Direct sequencing of the entire coding sequences of Rearranged during Transfection (RET) identified a recurrent c.T1852A (p.C618S) mutation in 13 of 23 members. The polymorphisms c.A135G (p.A45A), c.A1296G (p.A432A), c.T2307G (p.L769L) and IVS19 + 15T > C were also found in 13 carriers, and c.G2073A (p.G691S) was found in 1 carrier. Of the 13 carriers, seven (mean age: 42.6 years, range: 27-64) presented MTC as the isolated clinical phenotype, with elevated basal serum calcitonin (average: 1077.9 ng/L, range: 504-2,652) and a mean diameter of thyroid nodules of 2.97 cm (range: 1.6-4.3); they underwent a total thyroidectomy with modified bilateral/unilateral neck dissection and/or level VI lymph node dissection. The other 6 carriers did not accept surgery (4 rejected, 2 awaited). These were 2 older patients (63 and 32 years) with elevated calcitonin (1359 and 41.4 ng/L) and multi-centric hypoechoic nodules (1.5 and 0.6 cm) with calcifications in both/left thyroid lobes; and Doppler ultrasound showed normal bilateral thyroids in 4 younger carriers (median age: 8.3 years, range: 4-12) but with increased calcitonin (average: 9.7 ng/L, range: 7.87-12.2) in 3 of them. The phenotype here is consistent with the clinical symptoms reported worldwide. We recommend that screening of hotspot regions of RET should be preferentially carried out, while whole-exon sequencing should be performed when clinical signs fail to reveal hotspot mutations or different phenotype discrepancies. Moreover, we strongly suggest prophylactic thyroidectomy should be performed before age 5 in carriers with p.C618S to prevent the occurrence and metastasis of MTC.

A large novel α-thalassemia-1 deletion which includes the ξ-, α2-, α1-, and θ1-globin genes is described in a Black family living in Georgia and Florida. The deletion which was characterized by restriction enzyme analysis, extends 15 to 35 kb 5′ and at least 35 kb 3′ to the Cap site of the ξ-globin gene. Mental retardation was not observed. The deletion was present in a 35-year-old male with Hb H disease and his mother; the major hemoglobin type in the propositus was Hb G-Philadelphia or α268(E12)Asn→Lyss2 because his second chromosome carried the -αG(-3.7 kb) α-thalassemia-2 deletion.

A new deletion of approximately 8.5 kb that includes the alpha 2-, alpha 1-, and theta 1-globin genes was detected in a father and newborn son of a black family from Georgia. In the newborn baby the chromosome with the deletion occurred together with a rightward (-alpha 3.7) deletion chromosome. The resulting Hb H disease was detected at birth by the high level of Hb Bart's; a moderate anemia with severe microcytosis and hypochromia was present at the age of 5 months. A review of cord blood testing results for a period of over 20 years, involving at least 200,000 black newborns, indicated that this baby was the first with a level of Hb Bart's in excess of 10-15%; this underscores the rarity of alpha-thalassemia-1 in this population.

We have identified three types of alpha-thalassemia in 28 members of an Indian family from Durban, South Africa. The rare South African (SA) type of alpha-thalassemia-1, which is characterized by an approximately 23-kb deletion involving the psi zeta, psi alpha 2, psi alpha 1, alpha 2, alpha 1, and theta 1 genes, was present in 13 members [6 simple heterozygotes, 5 with Hb H disease of the --(SA)/-alpha(-3.7 kb) type, and 2 with Hb H disease of the --(SA)/-alpha(-4.2 kb) type]. Seven others were heterozygotes for alpha-thalassemia-2 (-3.7 kb), 1 was homozygous for this deletion, and 1 was a compound heterozygote [-alpha(-3.7 kb/-alpha(-4.2 kb)]. Hematological and hemoglobin composition data indicated a moderate anemia in all 7 patients with Hb H disease with severe microcytosis and hypochromia, no elevation of gamma-chain synthesis, low levels of Hb A2 (0.3-0.7%), and low levels of Hb H. The most severe disease was present in 2 teenagers with the --(SA)/-alpha(-4.2 kb) combination.

The synthesis of in situ-formed (TiW)C/Fe composite in iron matrix was studied. The results show that the complex carbide, (TiW)C, could be synthesized in situ in an iron matrix, whose formula was determined as (Ti0.75W0.25)C. The (TiW)C assumes a spherulitic morphology and is uniformly distributed in the iron matrix. This indicates that in situ synthesis of (TiW)C/Fe composite in iron matrix is feasible.

The present study investigated the influence of the pretransplant dialysis modality, hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD), on renal transplant complications and outcomes.402 cadaveric renal transplant patients maintained on HD (N = 303) or PD (N = 99) for more than 3 months prior to transplantation were studied retrospectively, and a total of 345 patients were followed up for 30.2 +/- 15.2 months. The impact of HD or PD on acute rejection, delayed graft function (DGF), infection, chronic rejection, and the survival rate of graft and patients were analyzed.There was no significant difference between the HD and PD groups with regard to the causes of end-stage renal disease, age, gender, blood pressure, hemoglobin, HLA match, hot and cold ischemia time, and hepatitis C virus infection. The incidence rates of DGF, acute rejection, chronic rejection and cytomegalovirus and other infections were also not significantly different between the HD and PD groups. However, compared to HD, patients with PD had longer dialysis duration (p0.05), but less hepatitis B infection (p0.05) and post-transplant infection (p0.05). In contrast, in those PD patients with hepatitis B infection, graft loss was significantly increased (19.23% vs. 8.86% , p = 0.021). The incidence of acute rejection episodes was higher in HD patients who had pretransplant dialysis for more than 12 months (p0.05). The overall patient and graft survival rates within 5 years between the HD and PD groups were not significantly different (p0.05).The influence of PD and HD on complications after renal transplant at 1 year and 5 years and graft survival rates was similar, and therefore, either HD or PD can be chosen as the pretransplant dialysis modality. However, patients in the PD group had a reduced incidence of hepatitis virus infection, suggesting that PD may have certain advantages over HD as a preoperative substitution therapy for renal transplantation.

Nucleate boiling within an angular geometry, a basic geometry found in many structured boiling heat transfer surfaces, is investigated. Pool boiling tests are conducted using water at atmospheric pressure and a horizontal heated wall with an inclined wall attachment making a line contact to form an angular geometry. It is found that nucleate boiling from the horizontal heated wall is greatly enhanced by a favorable thermal environment within the angular geometry. The effects of the angle between the two walls, and roughness and length of the wall attachment are studied. The results reveal the importance of the angular geometry to the enhanced nucleate boiling heat transfer of structured surfaces, and provide information to the development of more effective surfaces.

This paper presents the adaptive control scheme with sliding mode compensator for vibration control problem in the presence of disturbance. The dynamic model of the flexible cantilever beam using finite element modeling is derived. The adaptive control with sliding mode compensator using output feedback for output tracking is developed to reject the external disturbance, and to improve the tracking performance. Satisfactory simulation results verify that the effectiveness of adaptive control scheme with sliding mode compensator.

This paper presents a new sliding mode adaptive controller for MEMS triaxial angular sensors device that is able to detect rotation in three orthogonal axes, using a single vibrating mass. An adaptive sliding mode controller with proportional and integral sliding surface is developed and the stability of the closed-loop system can be guaranteed with the proposed adaptive sliding mode control strategy. The proposed adaptive sliding mode controller updates estimates of all stiffness error, damping and input rotation parameters in real time, removing the need for any offline calibration stages. To enable all unknown parameter estimates to converge to their true values, the necessary model trajectory is shown to be a three-dimensional Lissajous pattern. The numerical simulation for MEMS gyroscope triaxial angular sensor is investigated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive sliding mode control scheme.

Nucleate boiling in a restricted geometry formed by an inclined wall attachment in line contact with a vertical heating wall is studied for different cases of attachment orientations with respect to the direction of gravity. The pool boiling experiment was conducted with an electrically heated metal foil boiling water at atmospheric pressure. The test results show that in all cases, nucleate boiling is significantly enhanced in the restricted region near the contact line where stagnant liquid provides a favorable thermal environment for formation of vapor phase. Both the local heat transfer and critical heat flux data are presented and compared for different cases. The test results can be applied to explain enhanced nucleate boiling heat transfer from structured surfaces.