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Stable compositions and structures of copper oxide cluster cations have been studied by ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS) and density functional theory calculations. Cluster ions of the series CunOm+ were predominantly observed with n:m ≈ 2:1 in the mass spectrum. Collision cross sections (CCSs) of the cluster ions with n:m ≈ 2:1, determined by IMMS, were found to increase monotonically with cluster size. In addition, the CCSs of CunOn+ and CunOn–1+ (n = 2–8) were examined, and stepwise increases were observed for CunOn–1+ series. These cluster structures were assigned by comparison of the CCSs obtained via the IMMS experiment with theoretical orientation-averaged CCSs of optimized structures.

In this paper, a high performance micro piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) fabricated on stainless substrates is presented. A PZT piezoelectric active layer with a thickness of about 10 μm was deposited on a stainless steel substrate by the aerosol deposition method. The cantilever beam-shaped PEH was then fabricated by metal-MEMS processing of the PZT/stainless steel composite structure. The size of the cantilever PEH transducer developed was about 1 cm2 and a proof mass was attached to tune its resonant frequency to around 120 Hz for harvesting mechanical vibrations from direct drive AC motors. The PEH transducer showed an output voltage and an output power of 8.9 Vp-p and 107.8 μW, respectively, when connected with optimal load and excited under 0.5 g acceleration level. In order to realize the fatigue behavior and reliability of the PEH in field applications, the PEH transducer was driven at its own resonant frequency and tested under 1.0 g acceleration level for millions of cycles and the vibration modes were measured with a laser scanning vibrometer. The PEH transducer had an operating lifetime of about 1.8 million cycles at 1.0 g cyclic loading based on the shift of its resonant frequencies and the decrease in electrical output. The experimental results show the resonant frequencies of the first, second and third modes were all shifted to lower frequencies with increasing operation cycle number due to the development of microcracks in the ceramic PZT active layer. However, the same PEH transducer could survive millions of cycles (in the high millions) at 0.5 g cyclic loading without any significant changes in the resonant frequencies and electrical output. The results confirm the operating limits of the PEH transducer and suggest further protection and reinforcement are required for the transducer to operate at high acceleration loadings.

We describe a case of Cogan syndrome in patients with clinical manifestations, related examinations and diagnosis,treatment,and review of relevant literature. Both patients had bilateral moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The collateral function test showed that there were bilateral semicircular canal paresis,and the head impulse test had a bilateral gain value between 0.09 and 0.55. It showed obvious compensatory saccade wave, the head impulse suppression test bilateral no anti-compensation saccade wave.Cogan syndrome is a rare syndrome with unspecific symptoms and early diagnosis is difficult. However, the involvement of the auditory vestibular systems are often poor prognosis and needs to be diagnosed by early diagnosis and treatment.

The Daya Bay Experiment consists of eight identically designed detectors located in three underground experimental halls named as EH1, EH2, EH3, with 250, 265 and 860 meters of water equivalent vertical overburden, respectively. Cosmic muon events have been recorded over a two-year period. The underground muon rate is observed to be positively correlated with the effective atmospheric temperature and to follow a seasonal modulation pattern. The correlation coefficient $\alpha$, describing how a variation in the muon rate relates to a variation in the effective atmospheric temperature, is found to be $\alpha_{\text{EH1}} = 0.362\pm0.031$, $\alpha_{\text{EH2}} = 0.433\pm0.038$ and $\alpha_{\text{EH3}} = 0.641\pm0.057$ for each experimental hall., Comment: Updated to be identical to the published version

Photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) based insulating layer fabrication for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) application has been systematically investigated in this work. The PSPI was spin coated on a silicon substrate as an insulating layer between two metal lines. In consideration of thermal properties, a low temperature hard bake process was carefully optimized. Finally, the polyimide insulating layer was hardened by exposure to air at 80°C for 120 min + 150°C for 60 min + 180°C for 60 min + 250°C for 60 min + 350°C for 60 min in a dry furnace. Using this optimized hardening process, the outgassing effect in post-fabrication heat treatment can be completely eliminated, which presented an excellent thermal resistance in MEMS fabrications. The reliability test was accomplished through an immersion in organic solvent and acid/base solution in order to verify the corrosion resistance of the PSPI frame for insulating application. The excellent resistance which is on the order of 108 Ω between two metal lines, shows an outstanding insulating property.

Testosterone has been found to play important roles in men's sexual function. However, the effects of testosterone can be modulated by androgen receptor (AR) CAG repeat polymorphism. It could also contribute to the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). The aim of this study is to evaluate the interaction of serum testosterone levels and AR CAG repeat polymorphism on the risk of ED in aging Taiwanese men. This cross-sectional data of Taiwanese men older than 40 years were collected from a free health screening held between August 2010 and August 2011 in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan. All participants completed a health questionnaires included five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) and the International Prostate Symptoms Score, received a detailed physical examination and provided 20 cm3 whole blood samples for biochemical and genetic evaluation. The IIEF-5 was used to evaluate ED. Serum albumin, total testosterone (TT), and sex hormone-binding globulin levels were measured. Free testosterone level was calculated. AR gene CAG repeat polymorphism was determined by direct sequencing. Finally, 478 men with the mean age of 55.7 ± 4.8 years were included. When TT levels were above 330 ng/dL, the effect of testosterone level on erectile function seemed to reach a plateau and a significantly negative correlation between AR CAG repeat length and the score of IIEF-5 was found (r = -0.119, p = 0.034). After adjusting for other covariates, the longer AR CAG repeat length was still an independent risk factor for ED in subjects with TT above 330 ng/dL (p = 0.006), but not in TT of 330 ng/dL or below. In conclusion, both serum testosterone levels and AR CAG repeat polymorphism can influence erectile function concomitantly. In subjects with normal TT concentration, those with longer AR CAG repeat lengths have a higher risk of developing ED.

Copper (Cu2+) ion was determined at micro level by diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) spectrophotometry after temperature-dependent solid–liquid separation using N-butyl pyridinium hexafluorophosphate ([BPy]PF6) as a solid solvent and DDTC as an extractant. The results showed that ions can be extracted 100% by DDTC–[BPy]PF6 at pH = 10·20. The extracted species was neutral Cu(DDTC)mCl2 (m = 1) based on slope analysis in the Cu2+–[BPy]PF6–DDTC temperature-dependent solid–liquid separation system. The recovery of Cu2+ extracted into DDTC–[BPy]PF6 can be achieved using 2 mol L−1 HNO3 as stripping agents. Back extraction method was adopted for the detection and quantification of Cu2+ ions using the DDTC spectrometry. The calibration curve was Y = 0·00328 + 0·10279X (correlation coefficient = 0·99922), the linear calibration range was 7·68 × 10−2 0·768 μg mL−1 and the limit of detection was 1·28 × 10−2 μg mL−1 for Cu2+. In this method, the contents of Cu2+ in Tieguanyin tea were determined with relative stan...

A method for removal of passivation polymer residues from deep reactive ion-etching (DRIE) has been systematically investigated in this study. The method combines dry oxygen plasma ashing and conventional photoresist wet stripping. Samples were carefully examined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and study of surface morphology. XPS and EDX analysis showed that the polymer residues consisted mainly of C-O, CF x (x = 1, 2, 3), and C-CF bonds. Optimized oxygen plasma ashing effectively removes most of the fluorocarbon content, except some nano-residues. Subsequent conventional wet stripping in organic solvents could eliminate these stubborn nanoparticles while dissolving the underlying photoresist. Excellent removal is apparent from scanning electron microscopy images. The fluorine content determined by EDX analysis showed that the residues were completely removed. The metal layers, oxide insulator layers, and the polyimide insulators function well after this critical surface treatment. The excellent results show this is an outstanding method for removal of DRIE passivation polymer residues for MEMS fabrication.

In laser dermatologic surgery, cryogen spray cooling (CSC) has been proved to be an efficient cooling technique to avoid thermal damage from skin burning due to the light energy absorption by melanin in epidermis. R134a is now the only cooling agent in commercial laser and has been proved to be effective for light pigmented skin. R407c and R404a could provide better cooling effect for darkly pigmented skin than R134a because both of them have much lower boiling point. In order to investigate the potential cold injury mechanism prior to the further clinic use, this paper presents a multi-scale model to simulate the cooling process of the skin and estimate the potential cold injury. In the model, the skin tissue is treated as multi-layered geometry and the heat transfer within this multi-layer skin is described by a macro-scale bio-heat transfer model. A general dynamic relation is introduced on the surface of skin to quantify the convective cooling of CSC with various cooling agents. Meanwhile, the micro-scale mass transfer and the ice formation in cell during the cooling are evaluated in a Krogh unit. The cold injury is recognized once the cell is dehydrated or the ice formed intracellularly. The results show that the surface cooling effect of spray cooling is well related with the boiling point of cryogen. Much lower surface and inner skin temperature will be achieved by using cryogens with lower boiling poring, e.g. R404a and R407c, which is benefit to thermal damage protection for darkly pigmented skin. Recognized as cell dehydration, the spray durations to cause cold injury are 3.3 s, 2.2 s and 1.9 s for R134a, R407c and R404a, which proved that three cooling agents are all safe for epidermis protection in CSC with spurt duration of tens of milliseconds in clinic.

Intermetal dielectric (IMD) films, as the insulation layers between two metal layers, are widely used in integrated circuit (IC) and Micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) field [1]. They are imperative to form metal-insulator-metal capacitors [2] in IC chips and multi-metal layer MEMS structures [3], and the film property determines power dissipation, cross-talk, interconnections, and breakdown performance for those applications [4]. The widely used IMD materials, such as silicon dioxide and silicon nitride, can be deposited on metal surface by using either physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The mechanisms of film deposition have been well studied, and the fabrication processes of those long established techniques are reasonably mature. However, to implement a completely defect-free IMD film is not always guaranteed. Pinhole is a common defect of an IMD film. It can cause failures of short-circuit or current leakage between the metal layers so that decrease the fabrication yield. Therefore, healing pinholes shorts is important for mass production of IMD-based applications, especially for the cases that IMD films have been deposited and pinhole defects appear. This topic has attracted a lot of research, and several groups and companies have introduced some approaches. Bell Laboratories developed a fabrication process to etch away the inter-metal sacrificial layer therefore to physically separate two metal layers [5]. However, this method requires the top metal features to be suspended by other structures so that applications are limited. Methods of using light-sensitive processes and materials to fill pinholes for repairing short defects have been reported [6][7], but the substrate has to be light-transmitting. An universal method for healing pinhole shorts is therefore more stringent.

In order to meet the requirement of high precision measurement, the resonant frequency of MEMS accelerometer becomes more and more lower. This paper presents a structural design to achieve an extremely low resonant frequency in an MEMS spring mechanism, which is based on nonlinear stiffness beam. The mechanism employs a curved beam to achieve a negative stiffness. By adding this negative stiffness behavior to the positive stiffness of a normal folded beam, a quasi-zero stiffness mechanism can be obtained. Analytic calculation and the finite element analysis (FEA) are used to describe its nonlinear mechanical behavior. The mechanism is fabricated preliminarily and tested to verify a low resonant frequency can be successfully actualized.

The Sine oculis homeobox 1 (Six1) gene is important for skeletal muscle growth and fiber specification; therefore, it is considered as a promising candidate gene that may influence porcine growth and meat quality traits. Nevertheless, the association of Six1 with these processes and the mechanisms regulating its expression remain unclear. The objectives of this study were to identify variant sites of Six1 in different pig breeds, conduct association analysis to evaluate the relationship between polymorphisms of these variants and porcine production traits in Pietrain × Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire commercial pigs, and explore the potential regulatory mechanisms of Six1 affecting production traits. A total of 12 variants were identified, including 10 single- nucleotide variations (SNVs), 1 insertion– deletion (Indel), and 1 (AC)n microsatellite. Association analysis demonstrated that the SNV, g.1595A>G, was significantly associated with meat color (redness, a*); individuals with the G allele had greater a* values (P < 0.05). Moreover, our results demonstrated that the (AC)n polymorphism in the Six1 promoter was significantly associated with weaning weight (P < 0.05), carcass weight (P < 0.05), and thoracic and lumbar back fat (P < 0.01).In addition, we found that the (AC)n variant was closely related with Six1 expression levels and demonstrated this polymorphism on promoter activity by in vitro experiments. Overall, this study provides novel evidence for elucidating the effects of Six1 on porcine production traits as promising candidate and describes two variants with these traits, which are potential reference markers for pig molecular breeding. In addition, our data on the relationship between porcine Six1 expression and the polymorphic (AC)n microsatellite in its promoter may facilitate similar studies in other species.

To evaluate the immune activity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and explore the biological characteristics and capabilities of BMSCs and the potential to be differentiated into neuronal cells in vitro.The BMSCs were isolated and proliferated in vitro to generate the xenogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction. Moreover, peripheral BMSCs (pBMSCs) were added according to different ratios, which methods were stated as follows: 1: Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) + 10% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) + 1 μmol/L all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) + 20 μg/L basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) + 20 μg/L epidermal growth factor (EGF); 2: DMEM + 2% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + 100 μmol/L butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical staining were finally used to evaluate the differentiation capabilities of human BMSCs (hBMSCs) induced in neuronal cells.hBMSCs inhibited the lymphocyte proliferation in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) system at a proportional inhibition rate with additional numbers of stem cells. At hour 2 after culture with method 1, the plasma of hBMSCs shrank to nuclei and perinuclear bodies and was visualized under the light microscope. At hours 3-5, most of the hBMSCs formed neuron-like cells with total cell number unchanged. Afterward, the hBMSCs turned into bipolar or multipolar shaped cells and interconnected into a large network at Day 3. With immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical staining, 60-70% of the hBMSCs showed neurospecific enolase (NSE) positive and 45-50% glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive while the Nestin-positive cells decreased to 3.4%. However, when cultured 2 hours with method 2, the most of the hBMSCs formed bipolar or multipolar shaped cells, then died after 48 hours. 40-50% NSE and 35-40% GFAP were positively expressed. Significantly, the rate of Nestin-positive cells decreased from 63% to 1.6% from hour 2 after culture to hour 48.hBMSCs may be effective for cell therapy and tissue engineering for the capability of differentiating into neuronal-like cells, as well as the capability of inhibiting lymphocyte proliferation in MLR system.

A new measurement of the reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum by the Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment is reported. The antineutrinos were generated by six 2.9~GW$_{\mathrm{th}}$ nuclear reactors and detected by eight antineutrino detectors deployed in two near (560~m and 600~m flux-weighted baselines) and one far (1640~m flux-weighted baseline) underground experimental halls. With 621 days of data, more than 1.2 million inverse beta decay (IBD) candidates were detected. The IBD yield in the eight detectors was measured, and the ratio of measured to predicted flux was found to be $0.946\pm0.020$ ($0.992\pm0.021$) for the Huber+Mueller (ILL+Vogel) model. A 2.9~$\sigma$ deviation was found in the measured IBD positron energy spectrum compared to the predictions. In particular, an excess of events in the region of 4-6~MeV was found in the measured spectrum, with a local significance of 4.4~$\sigma$. A reactor antineutrino spectrum weighted by the IBD cross section is extracted for model-independent predictions., Comment: version published in Chinese Physics C

As congenital vascular malformations, port wine stain (PWS) is composed of ectatic venular capillary blood vessels buried within healthy dermis. In clinic, pulsed dye laser (PDL) in visible band (e.g. 585 nm) together with cryogen spray cooling (CSC) have become the golden standard for treatment of PWS. However, due to the limited energy deposition of the PDL in blood, large blood vessels are likely to survive from the laser irradiation. As a result, complete clearance of the lesions is rarely achieved. Assuming the local thermal non-equilibrium in skin tissue during the laser surgery, a three-temperature model is proposed to treat the PWS tissue as a porous media composed of a non-absorbing dermal matrix buried with the blood as well as the large malformed blood vessels. Three energy equations are constructed and solved coupling for the temperature of the blood in average-sized PWS vessels, non-absorbing dermal tissues and large malformed blood vessels, respectively. Subsequently, the thermal responses of human skin to visible (585 nm) and near-infrared (1064 nm) laser irradiations with various pulse durations in conjunction with cryogen spray cooling are investigated by the new model, and Arrhenius integral is used to analyze the thermal damage. The simulations show that the short pulse duration of 1.5 ms results in a higher selective heating of blood over epidermis, which will lead to a desired clinic outcome than the longer pulse duration. Due to a much deeper light penetration depth, laser irradiation with 1064 nm in wavelength is superior to that with 585 nm in treating patients with cutaneous hyper-vascular malformation. Complete coagulations are predicted in large-sized and deeply extending blood vessels by 1064 nm laser.

Bladder hernias are relatively rare condition while only accounts for 1–4 % of inguinal hernias. It is not the surgery but the diagnosis that remain the major challenges of clinical practice. Herein, we report five cases of bladder hernias with different clinical presentation, and review of current literature. The definite diagnosis relies on clinical suspicion and multiple urographic imaging. Sonography is a preferred image modality for its inexpensive and noninvasive nature. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) could depict the anatomic details of the hernia lesion and its relationship with the surrounding pelvic organs. Although bladder herniation is not a malignant condition, it can be fatal due to iatrogenic surgical complications. In addition to current indications, refractory urinary tract infection should be viewed as another indication of partial cystectomy. Besides, repeated urography should be considered as the tool to ensure the result of surgery.

The use of tube feeding for elderly patients with poor nutritional intake is a ubiquitous method of feeding. This systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out to compare nutritional benefits of enteral feeding versus oral feeding in long-term care facilities. Databases including the Cochrane Library, ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO, Web of Science and Google Scholar through April 2014 using keywords including enteral feeding, tube feeding or oral feeding combined with long term care facilities or nursing home. Eight articles, with 841 participants were included in meta-analysis and 13 articles were included in systematic review. The elderly had to live in long-term care institutions and could not be on any mechanically assisted ventilation systems or be in any type of post-operative status. The three investigators extracted and appraised data using the same study design, baseline characteristics, and outcomes, independently. Following a systematic review, 13 articles out of 8218 original research articles were selected for this analysis. Meta-analysis of tube-fed patients found lower levels of hemoglobin (Weighted Mean Difference (WMD -0.21g/dl; 95% CI -0.42 to -0.01; p=0.04) and creatinine (WMD -0.08g/dl; 95% CI -0.17 to 0.00, p=0.05). Moreover, the results showed that there were no benefits regarding body mass index (BMI), albumin, dietary intake of proteins, total calories and fat. The results show that tube feeding does not increase patients’ nutrients absorption to improve nutritional status. Instead, these results indicate that oral feeding is better regarding some nutritional biochemical parameters.

Summary Aims: Increasing evidence has proposed the components of metabolic syndrome (MtS) as risk factors for the development of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH); therefore, it is thought that MtS may play a role in lower urinary tract symptoms related to BPH (BPH/LUTS) aetiology. Considering the closed relationships between MtS and BPH/LUTS, it is possible that patients with MtS might have different drug responsiveness in men with BPH/LUTS. We prospectively investigated the impact of MtS on responsiveness to α1-blocker in men with BPH/LUTS. Methods: We enrolled a total of 109 patients with a mean (SD) age of 59.8 (9.0) years, having a prostate volume of 20 cm3 or greater with moderate to severe LUTS. All patients received doxazosin GITS (gastrointestinal therapeutic system) 4 mg once daily for a 12-week period of treatment. The efficacy measurement was assessed by the changes from baseline in the total IPSS, maximum urinary flow rate and postvoid residual urine volume. The drug responders were defined as those who had a total IPSS decrease of more than 4 points from baseline after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Using multiple logistic regression analysis, our results showed that MtS was an independent factor for drug non-responder (OR = 4.26, p = 0.002). The rate of drug responder and total IPSS improvements in patients with MtS significantly decreased as the number of MtS components increased (p = 0.012 and p = 0.026). Among the MtS components, abnormal fasting blood glucose (FBG) was the most significantly independent factor for drug non-responder (OR = 3.17, p = 0.020). Conclusion: This study suggested that the presence of MtS had a significantly negative impact on the responsiveness to α1-blocker in men with BPH/LUTS. Our results are important for BPH/LUTS patients who did not initially respond to α1-blocker or who strive to reduce these metabolic risk factors

To evaluate and compare the anterior corneal asphericity after small incision lenticule extraction(SMILE)and femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis(FS-LASIK).In this case-control study, 45 subjects who underwent SMILE operation comprised the study group, and 33 subjects with FS-LASIK operation comprised the control group. The asphericity coefficient Q-value of the right eyes in both groups was measured at diameters of 6, 7, 8 and 9 mm, respectively, before surgery and at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 6 months following surgery. The correlation between the variation of Q-value and the central cutting depth was analyzed.The Q-value of anterior corneal surface was 0.85 ± 0.31, 0.80±0.28, 0.69±0.25 and 0.51±0.23 after SMILE, and 1.13±0.56, 1.01±0.47, 0.80±0.39 and 0.51±0.31 after FS-LASIK at 1 week. In both groups, the Q-value was significantly different before and after surgery(P0.05); there were interaction effects between the operation method and time; the difference between the two groups at 6-mm and 7-mm diameters was statistically significant(P0.05). The variation of the Q-value before and after operation(ΔQ)showed significant difference(P6mm=0.004, P7mm=0.014)between the two groups at 6-mm and 7-mm diameters. The cap diameter of the SMILE group was smaller than that of the FS-LASIK group, but the cutting depth was larger. There was no correlation between ΔQ and the cap/disc diameter. It showed a linear relationship(P0.05)between ΔQ and the central cutting depth at all examined diameters in the two groups, and the relation degree in the FS-LASIK group was superior to the SMILE group.Both SMILE and FS-LASIK operations can change the negative Q-value of the anterior corneal surface to the positive. The impact of SMILE on the asphericity is smaller than that of FS-LASIK. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 681-685).

This paper presents an in-plane sandwich nano-g microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer. The proof-mass fabrication is based on silicon etching through technology using inductive coupled plasma (ICP) etching. The capacitive detection system, which employs the area-changing sensing method, combines elementary capacitive pickup electrodes with periodic-sensing-array transducers. In order to achieve a large dynamic range with an ultrahigh resolution, the capacitive detection system employs two periodic-sensing-array transducers. Each of them can provide numbers for the signal period in the entire operating range. The suspended proof-mass is encapsulated between two glass caps, which results in a three dimensional structure. The measured resonant frequency and quality factor (Q) are 13.2 Hz and 47, respectively. The calibration response of a ±0.7 g input acceleration is presented, and the accelerometer system presents a sensitivity of 122 V/g and a noise floor of 30 ng/√Hz (at 1 Hz, and 1 atm). The bias stability for a period of 10 h is 30 μg. The device has endured a shock up to ±2.6 g, and the full scale output appears to be approximately ±1.4 g presently. This work presents a new opportunity for highly sensitive MEMS fabrication to enable future high-precision measurement applications, such as for gravity measurements.

To investigate changes in posterior corneal elevation after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and related factors.Retrospective case series study. Eighty-three eyes of 44 myopic patients undergoing SMILE were examined with the Pentacam preoperatively, and at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Posterior corneal elevation at the corneal apex and 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270° and 325° points of the 2 mm and 6 mm diameter (total, 17 points) was analyzed.The changes in posterior corneal elevation at 1 day, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months were(-1.72±2.59), (-0.98±2.37), (-0.45±1.81) and (-0.25±2.20) μm, respectively, at the corneal apex. The results were statistically significant (t=6.07, 3.75, 6.07; P0.05), except 6 months. The changes in posterior corneal elevation were (-1.42±2.06),(-0.69±1.86), (-0.30±1.50) and(-0.22±1.58) μm, respectively, in the 2 mm circle. The results of 1 day and 1 month were statistically significant (t=6.28, 6.28, P0.05). The changes in posterior corneal elevation were (1.48±1.47),(0.98±1.32),(0.90±1.31) and (0.90±1.16) μm, respectively, in the 6 mm circle .The results were totally statistically significant (t=6.28, 6.28, P0.05). There were statistically significant differences between 1 month and 1 day postoperatively in the corneal apex, 2 mm and 6 mm circles. The changes were (0.75±2.55),(0.73±1.97) and(-0.50±1.60) μm. There were statistically significant differences between 3 months and 1 month postoperatively in the corneal apex and 2 mm circle. The changes were (0.53±2.22) and (0.39±1.80) μm. No significant change was found in the 6 mm circle. Between postoperative 6 months and 3 months, there were no statistically significant differences. The spherical equivalent, intraocular pressure, ablation depth, residual bed thickness, corneal hysteresis, and corneal resistance factor had no obvious correlation with the changes in posterior corneal elevation.After SMILE, the surrounding cornea was slightly forward, while the central posterior cornea was slightly backwards, and returned gradually. The spherical equivalent, intraocular pressure, ablation depth, residual bed thickness, corneal hysteresis, and corneal resistance factor had no obvious correlation with the changes in posterior corneal elevation. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 494-498).

To identified differentially expressed proteins associated with platinum resistance in platinum resistance epithelial oarian cancer(EOC)patients in serum and investigate their clinical value.A total of 106 patients withoverian tumor in affiliated tumor hospital of Guangxi Medical University from August 1998 to September 2013 were enrolled in this study, which include 52 cases od platinum-sensitive(PTS), 44 cases of platinum-resistant(PTR)and 10 cases of benign ovarian cyst(BOC). Thirty-three cases of normal women proceeded physical examination in our hospital in 2008 were chosen as control group(NC). Four groups of patients serum samples of 4 groups were collected and preserved.(1)Differentially express level of serum proteins of 10 cases of every group(PTSPTR vs NC, PTSPTR vs BOC, PTS vs PTR)were identified with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitative(iTRAQ)based quantitative proteomic approach and then was subjected to bioinformatics analysis.(2)Proteins that played a important role in multidrug resistance were validated by western blot(WB)and ELISA in 44 PTR patients, 52 PRS patients and 33 NC women.(3)Pearson correlation analysis was used to explain the relationship between proteins and clinical pathological parameters of PTR individuals. Kaplan-Meier method was supposed to explore serum biomarkers associated with clinical prognosis data. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to determine the diagnostic value of the markers.(1)Based on the result of bioinformatics analysis, 56 proteins, 39 proteins and 62 proteins were identified respectively among PTSPTR vs NC, PTSPTR vs BOC, PTS vs PTR. It showed that C6 and CNTN1 have a positive seletion effect among Asians and BCHE among Europeans through searching Haplotter database. CRP, FN1, S100A9, TF, ALB, VWF, APOC2, APOE, CD44, F2, GPX3 and ACTB proein were further verified related with platinum resistance by taking intersection analysis in the COREMINE database and TCGA.(2)The expression level of SERPINA1 protein in serum of PTR group, PTS group and NC groupwere 41.7±9.2, 32.8±6.6 and 14.2±3.6 respectively using WB assay, and(816±246),(686±205)and(756 ± 244)μg/μl respectively using ELISA; the expression level of ORM1 protein in PTR, PTS and NC serum were 37.9±7.0, 27.0±22.5 and 21.7±2.6 respectively using WB assay, and(221±35),(174±23)and(157±18)μg/μl respectively using ELISA; the expression level of FN1 protein in PTR, PTS and NC serum were 30.3±11.4, 18.2±5.2, 23.7±3.9 respectively by WB assay, and(71±13),(62±13),(69±13)ng/μl respectively by ELISA; the expression level of GPX3 protein in PTR, PTS and NC serum were 1.2±0.3, 2.2± 0.3, 1.6±0.3 respectively WB assay. The expression of each protein by using western blot method and ELISA method had the same trend as that using iTRAQ technology.(3)Pearson correlation analysis showed, the expression of SERPINA1, FN1 and ORM1 had a positive correlation with recurrence and death of PTR patients(P0.01, P0.05), but was negatively correlated with progress free survival of PTR patients(P0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that clinical stage, initial treatment outcomes, the express level of SERPINA1, FN1 and ORM1 were significantly related with progression-free survival(P0.05), the initial treatment outcomes was related with overall survival(P=0.027). The overall predictive accuracy of each protein was reflected by the area under the ROC curve(AUC), FN1 ORM1 and SERPINA with ROC areas of 0.679, 0.910 and 0.666 respectively. The diagnosis value of ORM1 protein in ovarian cancer patients with platinum resistance performance is significantly higher than that of FN1 and SERPINA1 protein(P=0.000) CONCLUSIONS: The differentially express level of FN1, SERPINA1 and ORM1 between PTS and PTR play a essential role in measuring subtle changes in response to platinum-based chemotherapy and may be involved in biological processes of platinum resistance. ORM1 has higher diagnostic efficiency of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer patients. It may be a promising candidate biomarker for screening and diagnosis of ovarian cancer patients with platinum resistance.

Searches for a light sterile neutrino have been performed independently by the MINOS and the Daya Bay experiments using the muon (anti)neutrino and electron antineutrino disappearance channels, respectively. In this Letter, results from both experiments are combined with those from the Bugey-3 reactor neutrino experiment to constrain oscillations into light sterile neutrinos. The three experiments are sensitive to complementary regions of parameter space, enabling the combined analysis to probe regions allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments in a minimally extended four-neutrino flavor framework. Stringent limits on $\sin^2 2\theta_{\mu e}$ are set over 6 orders of magnitude in the sterile mass-squared splitting $\Delta m^2_{41}$. The sterile-neutrino mixing phase space allowed by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded for $\Delta m^2_{41} < 0.8$ eV$^2$ at 95% CL$_s$., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, published in Physical Review Letters. Data release found at http://www-numi.fnal.gov/PublicInfo/forscientists.html and at https://wiki.bnl.gov/dayabay/index.php?title=Daya_Bay%27s_Sterile_Neutrino_Results_in_2016

This Letter reports an improved search for light sterile neutrino mixing in the electron antineutrino disappearance channel with the full configuration of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. With an additional 404 days of data collected in eight antineutrino detectors, this search benefits from 3.6 times the statistics available to the previous publication, as well as from improvements in energy calibration and background reduction. A relative comparison of the rate and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos in the three experimental halls yields no evidence of sterile neutrino mixing in the $2\times10^{-4} \lesssim |\Delta m^{2}_{41}| \lesssim 0.3$ eV$^{2}$ mass range. The resulting limits on $\sin^{2}2\theta_{14}$ are improved by approximately a factor of 2 over previous results and constitute the most stringent constraints to date in the $|\Delta m^{2}_{41}| \lesssim 0.2$ eV$^{2}$ region., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

We present the development of a MEMS piezoelectric bimorph generator, a cantilever type bimorph which was formed by laminating two PZT piezoelectric layers. Our bimorph generator can scavenge mechanical energy from ambient vibrations and transform it into useful electrical energy. Two poling configurations of the PZT piezoelectric layers of our bimorph MEMS generator were fabricated and tested. A tip proof mass used for adjusting the resonance frequency was also demonstrated. Experimental results confirm that our device possessed a maximum open-circuit output voltage of 1.91VP-P and a 3.42VP-P for a parallel polarization device and a serial polarization device, respectively with a 2g externally applied vibration. At an optimal resistive load, the maximum output power was 1.548μ–W and 1.778μ–W for a parallel polarization device and a serial polarization device, respectively.

We investigated the design parameters of a compact pot-like ultrasonic sensor which possesses a highly anisotropic beam pattern. As the sensor size is small due to its application constraint, the parameters are thus highly coupled to one another. We analyzed the respective effects of the parameters in the case where there is a vertical beam width reduction. The parameters investigated include resonant frequency, vibrating plate width-expanded angle, and ratio of thickness discontinuity of the vibrating plate. Numerical models developed by combining finite-element analysis and spatial Fourier transforms were adopted to predict the far-field radiating beam pattern of the various design configurations. The displacement distribution of the vibrating plate was measured using a microscopic laser Doppler vibrometer and the far-field pressure beam patterns were measured using a standard microphone in a semianechoic environment. The three configurations we used to validate the simulation model resulted in an H-V ratio of 2.67, 2.68 and 3.13, respectively which all agreed well with the numerical calculations. We found that by increasing the operating resonant frequency from 40kHz to 58kHz, the vertical far-field beam width of an ultrasonic sensor can be reduced by 31.62%. We found that the vertical beam width can be significantly reduced when the ratio of the thickness discontinuity of the vibrating plate decreases from 1 to 0.4 and is incorporated with its optimal width-expanded angle of the vibrating plate. It appears that an ultrasonic sensor with this type of anisotropic beam pattern can be ideally adopted for today's automotive applications.

Rhythmic patterns in the neuronal motifs are studied. For nonequal time-delays without noises, two situations are considered, where the conditions for synchronization, winnerless competition (WLC) and “two plus one” (TPO) are studied. In the first situation, if the coupling strengths are the same, then the time-delays are set the same. WLC and synchronization are easy to occur in this situation, while TPO is hard to occur. In the second situation, if the distances between two neurons are the same, then the time-delays are set the same. The complementary phenomenon is found and discussed in detail for TPO to occur in this situation. Next, when common noise with equal time-delay [Formula: see text] is added to the motifs, noise induced synchronization is compared for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], where the motifs both exhibit WLC. When correlated noises with equal time-delay [Formula: see text] are added to the motifs, it is found that WLC is easier to be destroyed for [Formula: see text] than for [Formula: see text].

Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea, also known as Red barberry, is a small ornamental shrub in the family Berberidaceae. In recent years, a phyllody symptom has been observed frequently, spreading in the shrubs in northwestern China. A phytoplasma 16S rDNA specific fragment was amplified by PCR from Berberis plants with the phyllody symptoms. DNA sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed the phytoplasma belongs to 16SrV-B subgroup. This is the first report that Berbegis thunbergii atropurpurea is a host for 16SrV-B phytoplasma. The disease was named Berberis phyllody.

Excessive cable vibrations are detrimental to cable-stayed bridges. Increasing the system damping of cables is a key solution to resolve this severe problem. Equations representing the dynamic characteristics of an inclined cable with a Deck-Anchored Damper (DAD) or with a Clipped Tuned Mass Dampers (CTMD) are reviewed. A theoretical comparison on the performance of cable vibration reduction between the cable-DAD system and the cable-CTMD systems is thoroughly discussed. Optimal system modal damping for the free vibration and transfer functions for the forced vibration for the two cabledamper systems are addressed and compared in detail. Design examples for these two different dampers are also provided.

This work experimentally visualizes the interaction of a quasi-one-dimensional moving shock wave with a two-dimensional vortex in a soap film for the first time. A vertical soap film shock tube was used to generate a quasi-one-dimensional moving shock wave and a NACA-0012 airfoil intruded into the soap film was towed to shed the starting vortex. The interesting interaction phenomena were then visualized using a traditional high-speed flash photography. The concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) used was 0.5 CMC (critical micelle concentration) to keep the surfactant molecules behave as two-dimensional gases. A sequence of pictures shows that the shock is distorted non-symmetrically as it passes through the spiral vortex flow field and the vortex structure is compressed in the direction normal to the shock. These flow features observed in soap films are qualitatively similar to their counterparts in gases. In addition, the visualization of the interactions of a quasi-one-dimensional moving shock wave with a Karman vortex street are presented.

Although traditional mechanical dampers can help reduce cable vibrations, they are not the most effective solution due to their position restrictions. Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) were proposed to overcome this limitation and have been proven effective for cable vibration mitigation according to previous research. However, the effectiveness of TMDs is very sensitive to the vibration frequency, which implies that TMDs designed for a specific vibration frequency may not be efficient for other frequencies. A new type of mechanical damper named the TMD magnetorheological (MR) damper system is proposed in the present study to address this problem. The feature of this proposed damper is the combination of the position flexibility of TMDs and the adjustability of MR dampers. The proposed damper system is attached to a 7.16-m-long cable to investigate its vibration reduction effectiveness and the dynamic properties of the combined cable-damper system. Experimental results show good vibration reduction effects of the TMD-MR system. The present study focuses on a conceptual exploration of the TMD-MR damper system for cable vibration mitigation through an experimental approach.

Water-borne polyurethanes based on 4,4-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, poly(butylene adipate), and chain extender N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) that provided tertiary amine groups were synthesized. The polyurethane–chitosan (PU/CS) blends can be dissolved in the acetic acid and cast into films. The mechanical properties including tensile strength and elongation, as well as the water absorption and thermal properties of the PU/CS films were evaluated. The tensile strength increased with the increased amount of chitosan, but the elongation decreased accordingly. The chitosan in the blends promoted the water absorption. Chitosan was more thermally-stable than PU, as shown in the thermal gravity analysis. Chitosan also had higher crystallinity, as demonstrated by differential scanning calorimetry. The blends were partial compatible mixtures, based on the data obtained from a dynamic mechanical analysis. Biocompatibility test was conducted utilizing immortalized rat chondrocytes (IRC). After IRC were seeded onto the PU/CS films for 1.5 and 120 h, the number of cells was counted and the morphology of cells was observed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Blends containing 30% chitosan had more cells attached initially. However, the blends containing more than 70% chitosan appeared to promote the cell proliferation. IRC were round on PU/CS films with more PU, but spread when the chitosan content in blends was higher. Overall, PU/CS films with more chitosan had better mechanical properties as well as biocompatibility. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2683–2689, 2007

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet(APPJ) typically cover only a few millimeters, which limit its processing area. Grouping many individual jets together to form a jet array is a good solution for meeting large surface treatment applications. In this paper, a honeycomb two-dimensional plasma jet array consisting of 7 jet units with needle-ring electrode-plate electrode structure is generated in argon. The discharge characteristics of the array are studied by means of voltage-current waveforms, lighting emission images and optical emission spectra. The influences of applied voltage on the discharge characteristic are investigated, and the discharge power, transported charges and active species such as OH and O at different applied voltage are calculated and compared. Results show that uniform, stable plasma with area to about 7cm2 can be obtained with the array. When the applied voltage increases from 8.5kV to 9.5kV, the discharge power and the transported charges increase from 80.6W to 119.32Wand from 1492nC to 2112nC, respectively. With the increasing of applied voltage, the spectrum intensity of the main species such as Ar, OH, O, N 2 also increase.

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is one of the main ways for generating non-equilibrium plasmas, which is suitable for various industrial applications. Reactive species play a key role in DBD plasma treatment process, and adding a certain amount of O 2 to the carrier gas may promote the yielding of a high concentration of reactive species. For better control of the DBD treatment processes, it is importance to study on the influence of O 2 contents on the properties of DBD. In this paper, the influences of O 2 addition on discharge characteristics of DBD in Ar are studied by electrical and optical diagnostics. The voltage current waveforms, light-emission pictures and emission spectroscopy are measured, and then the discharge parameters such as discharge power, transported charge, electron excitation temperature as well as vibrational temperature and rotational temperature are calculated to study their changing tendencies with water vapor content. Results show that with the increase of the water vapor content, the lighting emission intensity becomes weak and the discharge filaments become more and more dense, the uniformity of discharge improves; the discharge power and transported charge decreases, but the rotational temperature and vibrational temperature increases. The intensity of the main active particles such as O and OH reaches their maximum value at O 2 content of 0.3%, and it has higher activity at this O 2 content.

Based on the theoretical derivations of the free vibration problem for a cable-TMD system in the companion paper, a parametric study is carried out in the present paper to investigate the influence on the solutions, and thus the system modal damping and frequency, of the cable geometry-elasticity parameter, cable inclination, damper position, mass ratio, frequency ratio, damper damping ratio, and tuning mode. Emphasis is put on the system modal damping, as this is an important index of the performance of the TMD. The features and mechanisms of energy transfer and damping redistribution from the TMD to each mode of the cable-TMD system are also investigated and discussed.

A linear theory for the free and forced vibration problems of a slightly sagging planar inclined cable with a Tuned mass damper (TMD) installed is proposed using an analytical approach in this paper. Parameters of the cable such as cable geometry-elasticity parameter, cable internal damping, and cable inclination, parameters of the damper such as damper position and damper damping ratio, and parameters of the cable-damper proportion such as the mass ratio and the stiffness ratio, are taken into consideration in the derived equations. Special cases are discussed and some simpler models can be obtained. Complex solutions of the derived equations and their physical meaning are discussed. This paper serves as a theoretical base for the companion paper on the applications of TMDs to stay cables through a parametric approach.

As primary members of cable-stayed bridges, cables are susceptible to vibrations because of their low intrinsic damping. Mechanical dampers have been used to improve cable damping. Magnetorheological (MR) dampers have been proven efficient for seismic applications because of their large output damping forces, stable performance, low power requirement, and quick response from both laboratory research and field practice. In this paper, experimental work was carried out to demonstrate that MR dampers are also suitable for cable vibration control. First, a MR damper was tested with various test parameters to obtain the performance curves of the MR damper under different loading conditions, including different electric currents, loading frequencies, loading wave types, and working temperatures. The MR damper was then installed on a cable to reduce the cable vibration. A 7.16 m long stay cable with a prototype-to-model scale factor of 8 was established for this study. The frequencies of the stay cable under different tension forces were measured and compared with those obtained through theoretical calculations. Then, a free vibration control test was carried out with the MR damper being installed at the 1/4 point of the cable. In the forced vibration test, a shaker was installed at 0.18 m from the lower end of the cable. The measured data show that the damper is efficient for cable vibration control within its working current range (zero to maximum) although there is a saturation effect. It was also observed that the damper could reduce cable vibration under a variety of excitation frequencies, especially for resonant vibrations.

In this paper, we introduce a method of isolating thermal conduction from silicon substrate for accommodating thermal-sensitive micro-devices. This method lies in fabrication of a low-stress photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) suspension structure which has lower thermal conductivity than silicon. First, a PSPI layer was patterned on a silicon wafer and hard baked. Then, a cavity was etched from the backside of the silicon substrate to form a membrane or a bridge-shape PSPI structure. After releasing, a slight deformation of about 20 nm was observed in the suspended structures, suggesting ultralow residual stress which is essential for accommodating micro-devices. In order to investigate the thermal isolation performance of the suspended PSPI structures, micro Pirani vacuum gauges, which are thermal-sensitive, had been fabricated on the PSPI structures. The measurement results illustrated that the Pirani gauges worked as expected in the range from 1– 470 Pa. Moreover, the results of the Pirani gauges based on the membrane and bridge structures were comparable, indicating that the commonly used bridge-shape structure for further reducing thermal conduction was unnecessary. Due to the excellent thermal isolation performance of PSPI, the suspended PSPI membrane is promising to be an outstanding candidate for thermal isolation applications.