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We aimed at analyzing the efficacy of low molecular heparin in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after resection of primary liver cancer and at exploring the correlation of VTE with P-selectin (CD62P), lysosomal granule glycoprotein (CD63), platelet activating factor (PAF) and plasma D-dimer (D-D).A total of 233 patients treated with primary liver cancer resection in our hospital from February 2014 to October 2016 were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into the observation group (n=117) and the control group (n=116). The observation group received a subcutaneous injection of low molecular weight heparin at 2-7 days after surgery, and the control group was not treated with anticoagulation. The prevalence of VTE and the changes of CD62P, CD63, PAF, and D-D before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. The VTE prevalence after surgery, the changes of CD62P, CD63, PAF, D-D before and after surgery and the correlation of the above indexes with VTE were analyzed.The prevalence of VTE in the observation group was 0.85% (1/117), which was lower than that of the control group (13.79%) (16/116); the difference was statistically significant (p0.05). There was no significant difference in blood coagulation function between the two groups before and after operation (p0.05). The CD62P, CD63, PAF, and D-D of the two groups were continuously decreased after the operation, and the serum CD62P, CD63 and plasma D-D of the observation group 6 d and 10 d after operation were lower than that of the control group; the difference was statistically significant (p0.05). The serum CD62P, CD63 and plasma D-D in the VTE group 6 d and 10 d after operation were lower than those in the non-VTE group; the differences were statistically significant (p0.05).Low molecular weight heparin can effectively prevent VTE after primary liver cancer resection. Regularly monitoring CD62P, CD63, PAF, and D-D in patients after the operation is pivotal for early diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of VTE.

Background The association of metabolic status with disease characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain controversial. Body composition (BC) instead of body mass index (BMI) has been more and more recommended to assess metabolic status. Objectives To investigate the characteristics of BC in RA patients and their association with RA disease characteristics. Methods BC was assessed in RA patients and control subjects by bioelectric impedance analysis. Overfat was defined by body fat percentage (BF%) as ≥25% for men and ≥35% for women. Sarcopenia was defined by skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI)≤8.87 kg/m2 in men and ≤6.42 kg/m2 in women. Clinical data including disease activity, function and radiographic assessment were collected. Results There were 457 RA patients and 1,860 control subjects recruited. In RA patients, there were 17.7%, 58.0%, 20.1% and 4.2% with underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obesity respectively, and 32.4% were overfat, 11.4% with sarcopenia. Comparisons to control subjects in age and gender stratification showed that male RA patients had significantly lower BMI and SMMI with higher percentage of underweight and sarcopenia in almost all age subgroups; female patients had lower SMMI in all age subgroups and lower BMI with higher prevalence of sarcopenia but higher BF% at age ≤30 and 51–60 years (all P Conclusions This study showed lower SMMI and higher prevalence of sarcopenia in RA patients which were positively associated with joint damage. Disclosure of Interest None declared

We isolated the Arabidopsis drought-resistant mutant csm1-1 and cloned the CSM1 gene (previously called RCI3) which encodes a kind of peroxidase. In this study, we showed that the mutant csm1-1 was more tolerant to selenium (Se) stress than the wild-type, and that the mutant csm1-1 accumulated similar Se content compared with the wild-type when subjected to Se stress. Further analysis revealed that the Se resistance of mutant csm1-1 was associated, at least in part, with the enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes GSH-POD (glutathione peroxidase) and POD (peroxidase). In addition, enhanced Se resistance of the mutant csm1-1 was partially GSH dependent, which was related to the higher expression level of GSH1 gene involved in GSH synthesis and consequently increased GSH content.

Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Malaysia: Castanediella eucalypti from Eucalyptus pellita, Codinaea acacia from Acacia mangium, Emarcea eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana, Myrtapenidiella eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus pellita, Pilidiella eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana and Strelitziana malaysiana from Acacia mangium. Furthermore, Stachybotrys sansevieriicola is described from Sansevieria ehrenbergii (Tanzania), Phacidium grevilleae from Grevillea robusta (Uganda), Graphium jumulu from Adansonia gregorii and Ophiostoma eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus marginata (Australia), Pleurophoma ossicola from bone and Plectosphaerella populi from Populus nigra (Germany), Colletotrichum neosansevieriae from Sansevieria trifasciata, Elsinoë othonnae from Othonna quinquedentata and Zeloasperisporium cliviae (Zeloasperisporiaceae fam. nov.) from Clivia sp. (South Africa), Neodevriesia pakbiae, Phaeophleospora hymenocallidis and Phaeophleospora hymenocallidicola on leaves of a fern (Thailand), Melanconium elaeidicola from Elaeis guineensis (Indonesia), Hormonema viticola from Vitis vinifera (Canary Islands), Chlorophyllum pseudoglobossum from a grassland (India), Triadelphia disseminata from an immunocompromised patient (Saudi Arabia), Colletotrichum abscissum from Citrus (Brazil), Polyschema sclerotigenum and Phialemonium limoniforme from human patients (USA), Cadophora vitícola from Vitis vinifera (Spain), Entoloma flavovelutinum and Bolbitius aurantiorugosus from soil (Vietnam), Rhizopogon granuloflavus from soil (Cape Verde Islands), Tulasnella eremophila from Euphorbia officinarum subsp. echinus (Morocco), Verrucostoma martinicensis from Danaea elliptica (French West Indies), Metschnikowia colchici from Colchicum autumnale (Bulgaria), Thelebolus microcarpus from soil (Argentina) and Ceratocystis adelpha from Theobroma cacao (Ecuador). Myrmecridium iridis (Myrmecridiales ord. nov., Myrmecridiaceae fam. nov.) is also described from Iris sp. (The Netherlands). Novel genera include (Ascomycetes): Budhanggurabania from Cynodon dactylon (Australia), Soloacrosporiella, Xenocamarosporium, Neostrelitziana and Castanediella from Acacia mangium and Sabahriopsis from Eucalyptus brassiana (Malaysia), Readerielliopsis from basidiomata of Fuscoporia wahlbergii (French Guyana), Neoplatysporoides from Aloe ferox (Tanzania), Wojnowiciella, Chrysofolia and Neoeriomycopsis from Eucalyptus (Colombia), Neophaeomoniella from Eucalyptus globulus (USA), Pseudophaeomoniella from Olea europaea (Italy), Paraphaeomoniella from Encephalartos altensteinii, Aequabiliella, Celerioriella and Minutiella from Prunus (South Africa). Tephrocybella (Basidiomycetes) represents a novel genus from wood (Italy). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa., Christian Lechat gratefully acknowledges Cesar Delnatte (DEAL, Martinique) fro the identification of the horst of Verrucostoma martinicensis. Alfredo Vizzini thanks Edmondo Grilli (Pescara, Italy), for comments on the text of Tephrocybella griseonigrescens. Dilnora Gouliamova was supported by a grant (D002-TK-176) from the Bulgarian Science Fund, EU F6 Synthesis program. She is grateful to K. Metodiev for permission to use the picture of Colchicum autumnale (http://www.bgflora. net/). Olga V. Morozova, Eugene S. Popov and Xiao-Lan He are grateful to V. Trunov, T.H. Li, C.Y. Deng, H. Huang and Y.W. Xia for valuable Entoloma collections. Alina V. Alexandrova was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project N 14-50-00029). Ekaterina F. Malysheva, Olga V. Morozova, Alexander E. Kovalenko and Eugene S. Popov acknowledge financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 13-04-00838a and 15-04-04645a). Margarita Dueñas, María P. Martín and M. Teresa Telleria acknowledge financial support from the Plan Nacional I+D+I projects No. CGL2009-07231 and CGL2012-3559. They are also thankful to Marian Gleen (Seton Hall University, USA) for commenting on the text. Cony Decock gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the FNRS / FRFC (convention FRFC 2.4544.10), the CNRS-French Guiana and the Nouragues staff, which enabled fieldwork in French Guiana, and the Belgian State – Belgian Federal Science Policy through the BCCMTM research programme. We also thank the CBS technical staff, A. van Iperen (cultures), M. Vermaas (photographic plates) and M. Starink-Willemse (DNA isolation, amplification and sequencing) for their invaluable assistance.

The CNTs/Al2009 composite powders were prepared by cryogenic milling method and then the CNTs/Al2009 matrix composites were fabricated by hot extrusion process or hot isostatic pressing (HIP)/hot extrusion process. The effects of HIP process on microstructure and interface structure of CNTs/Al2009 composites were studied by X-ray diffraction, raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope. Finally, the effects of HIP process on the CNTs/2009Al composites were characterized by tensile strength at room temperature. The results showed that the cryogenic milling process could disperse 1.0 wt. % of CNTs into the aluminum matrix, and the composites prepared by HIP and hot extrusion process had uniform microstructure and excellent tensile properties at room temperature. The tensile strength, yield strength and elongation of the 1.0 wt.% CNTs/Al2009 composites prepared by HIP and hot extrusion process were 560 MPa, 443.3 MPa and 10.2%, respectively. Hot isostatic pressing process had an important influence on the interfacial bonding strength of CNTs/Al2009 composites. The strength of the composite prepared by HIP and hot extrusion process was 20 MPa higher than that of direct hot extrusion process, and the elongation was basically the same. The main reason was that the high temperature and high pressure conditions of hot isostatic pressing process could promote the reaction of carbon and aluminum at the interface between CNTs and aluminum matrix, so that a few CNTs with severe damage and defects in some CNTs formed Al4C3 phase with aluminum, thereby improving two compatibility, and enhanced interface bonding.

Increasing rooting depth via subsoiling is suggested to increase nitrogen (N) uptake and reduce nitrate leaching in maize. In a two-year field experiment, this hypothesis was evaluated with two levels of N supply (120 and 240 kg N ha−1) in two soils with different leaching potential (infertile sandy soil and fertile clay soil). Maize rooting depth was limited to either the 0–20 cm (D20) or 20–40 cm (D40) soil layer using a nylon net (30 μm), or was not limited (control). There was no water stress during the growing seasons for both soils. Compared to the control, root length with the D20 and D40 treatments was longer in the 0–20 and 20–40 cm soil layers, respectively. However, total root length per plant differed less among the treatments. In clay soil, the D20 treatment did not affect N uptake, shoot biomass, or maize yield, but increased nitrate leaching. In sandy soil, the D20 treatment greatly reduced plant N accumulation, shoot biomass, and grain yield, while nitrate leaching was similar across the three treatments. It is concluded that deeper roots in maize contribute to increase N uptake and grain yield in sandy soil, but only help to reduce nitrate leaching in clay soil.

The effect of wall normal velocity on velocity distribution in unsteady flow has been investigated. We established a modified log-law model by adding the wake-term by Coles and deviation term together to depict the velocity deviation caused from classic log-low model. An empirical formula for deviation-correction factor α has been determined based on the present experimental data, and it yields a good agreement with other published experimental data. Experimental measurements of velocity distributions in unsteady open channel flows have been performed to prove this model.The cause of this addition was discussed and explained, and the theoretical velocity images from the improved model have been compared with the present data, they are well correlated.

In this paper, surface-conduction field emission (SCFE) device based on planar-gate triode with in-situ grown ZnO nanorods as the emitter has been fabricated. The ZnO nanorods are controlled to orientable grow by thermal evaporation on a substrate, and their microstructures are analyzed through XRD and SEM. The results show that the one-dimensional ZnO nanorods were rod-shaped, up to 200 nm in diameter and approximately 15 μm in length. They are of oriental growth, uniform in size and perpendicular to the substrate. With the screen-printing, a planar-gate surface conduction device is fabricated, and its field emission characteristics are tested. The test results indicate that the threshold voltage of the planar-gate ZnO-SCFE device decreases with the increase of the anode voltage. When the gate voltage is 62 V, the electron emission efficiency of the device is 36.1%, higher than the reported surface emission display (SED) emission efficiency. Besides, the proposed device has good modulated effect and stability, indicating that it is of good field emission characteristics.

Tungsten trioxide nanoparticles were obtained by a simple thermal oxidation approach. The structural and morphological properties of these nanoparticles are investigated using XRD, SEM and TEM. A WO3 thick film was deposited on the four Au electrodes to be a WO3 Hall effect sensor. The sensor was tested between magnetic field in a plastic test chamber. Room-temperature nitrogen dioxide sensing characteristics of Hall effect sensor were studied for various concentration levels of nitrogen dioxide at dry air and humidity conditions. A typical room-temperature response of 3.27 was achieved at 40 ppm of NO2 with a response and recovery times of 36 and 45 s, respectively. NO2 gas sensing mechanism of Hall effect sensor was also studied. The room-temperature operation, with the low deposition cost of the sensor, suggests suitability for developing a low-power cost-effective nitrogen dioxide sensor.

Target leaf spot is a sorghum leaf disease caused by Bipolaris sorghicola, a species of fungus with a global distribution. In this study, we investigated the process by which B. sorghicola invades cells of barley, onion, Arabidopsis thaliana species, and sorghum. The results showed that within 8 h of coming into contact with host cells, the hyphal ends of B. sorghicola expand and form a uniform infective penetration pegbolt-like structure; a primary infection mycelium can be formed inside host cells within 24 h after contact, which can infect closed cells after 48 h. A mycelium can grow within the gap between cells and form infective hyphae. The pathogen infection process was the same in different host cells. B. sorghicola can affect root cells through soil infection, indicating that it may also have characteristics of soil-borne pathogens.

It is shown that the traditional classical wave picture of light beam propagation in paraxial approximation may be conveniently equivalent to phase representative points picture of ray’s-ensemble in geometric-optical phase space. In this description, the Kogelnik’s abcd law for light beam propagation in configuration space domain is replaced by the transformation equation of the beam ellipse in phase space domain, where the beam ellipse’s area plays the role of wavelength of light beam.

Sluice gates are commonly used in canals for control and measurement of the flow. The discharge under sluice gates can be determined through different discharge methods. The present study proposed a new equation to accurately predict the discharge through floating type sluice gate by reading the depth of water at upstream of the gate and it reveals relationship between the gate opening and water depth. It also derived a theoretical equation for variations of sluice gate discharge coefficient under free flow condition. Effects of factors on discharge coefficient were investigated. This new model can be used to predict the performance of sluice gates with different sizes under free-flow situations.

In the case of irrigation, to implement the water distribution plan, the flow needs to be changed through the gate which leads to the occurrence of unavoidable unsteady flow. In order to improve the level of irrigation management, it is necessary to understand the changes taking place in the canal water flow during the process of water distribution. The de Saint-Venant equations were solved based on the method of characteristics and a model was built to simulate the unsteady flow in the channel of the Yintang irrigation district. Then, the obtained results were validated by the employed model. On the basis of simulation results, a model for the variations in the gate opening was established based on the theory of under-gate discharge. In this study, the simulation results, as established from the model, are very consistent with the simulation results of existing commercial software and a simple design for the operation was conducted from the adjustment of gate openings and multi-stage gate operation modes. Overall, the established gate control model built in this study is reliable, which provides a basis for the decision-making process for the relevant staff.

The dynamic mechanical properties were obtained over a wide range of temperatures and strains on vulcanisates filled with carbon black (N330) and a modified carbon black respectively. The modified carbon black (GCB) was prepared by adding special resorcinol formaldehyde latex (RFL) into N330. The main chain of RFL has good compatibility with the rubber matrix, whereas the side chain with pyridine function can reacts with the acidic functional groups on the surface of carbon black. From SEM images, it was found that GCB filled natural rubber showed better filler dispersion. The role of modified carbon black was studied in the rubber matrix for better understanding of the mechanism of reinforcement. From the stress–strain behaviour of filled vulcanisates, it can be concluded that GCB show improved mechanical properties due to the stronger filler–rubber interaction.

As one of the basic acoustic parameters, the speed of sound is of great importance when considering acoustic effect. This paper explores the equivalent speed of sound, when the structure is modelled as a homogeneous fluid, for a periodic arrangement of a waveguide with alternating channel height similar to a honeycomb structure with open cells. Numerical simulation shows that the equivalent speed of sound is lower than that of pure air and the most important parameter is the height ratio of the waveguide. The lower speed of sound is caused by the increased inertial effect. This inertial effect can be precisely interpreted by the classic concept of tortuosity, which depicts the effect of tortuous fluid path.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell renal cell carcinoma is a rare, recently described variant of renal cell carcinoma characterized by an admixture of cuboidal cells in tubules and sheets of spindle cells, and variable amounts of mucinous stroma. It has been recognized as a distinct entity in the 2004 World Health Organization tumor classification. Since then, several dozen of these tumor have been reported with additional complementary morphologic characteristics, immunohistochemical profile, and molecular genetic features that have further clarified its clinicopathologic aspects. Although originally considered as a low grade renal cell carcinoma on the basis of its bland appearing nuclear features and indolent clinical course, mucinous tubular and spindle cell renal cell carcinoma has currently been proven to be a tumor that has a histological spectrum ranging from low to high grade that includes sarcomatoid differentiation. In this review, we present a detailed summary of the current knowledge regarding the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, molecular genetic, and prognostic characteristics, as well as differential diagnoses of mucinous tubular and spindle cell renal cell carcinoma.

Some polymorphisms of the human CETP gene are causally and significantly associated with serum lipids levels; however, the information regarding this gene in pigs is sparse. To evaluate the effects of CETP on blood lipid traits and fat deposition in pig, porcine CETP tissue expression patterns were observed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) first. High expression was detected in liver, spleen, gluteus medius (GM) muscle and backfat. A de novo polymorphism (AF333037:g.795C>T) in the intron 1 region of porcine CETP was identified. This polymorphism was further genotyped by direct sequencing of the PCR products of 390 Wannan Black pigs, a Chinese native breed population. Association analyses at 45 and 300 days of age revealed highly significant associations between CETP genotypes and serum lipid traits. Furthermore, this polymorphism was proved to be associated with differences in liver CETP mRNA levels: pigs at 300 days of age with the TT genotype had higher levels than did those with other genotypes (P = 0.021). Additionally, analysis at 300 days of age showed that GM CETP mRNA expression correlated positively with serum lipids levels as well as with carcass backfat thickness and intramuscular fat content in GM. These results indicate that CETP is involved in serum, adipose and muscle lipid metabolism in pigs. The mechanisms underlying such relationships and their functional implications are worthy of further research.

Objectives: To compare blood counts between arterial and venous blood to and from visceral organs and indirectly look into the function of the organs. Methods: Splenic, renal and superior mesenteric arterial and venous blood samples were obtained from the arteries and veins in 38 post-pubertal rabbits and blood profile, including complete and differential blood counts, haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit, were measured with an automatic haematology analyser. Results and conclusions: The rabbit spleen released a large amount of leucocytes (both lymphocytes and granulocytes) into the splenic venous blood (a venous increase of 33% in total leucocyte count), and also received more leucocytes (36–58% more in terms of concentration) from the artery than the kidney or intestine. Significantly fewer red blood cells were present in the renal venous blood than in the arterial blood (a venous reduction of 5% in erythrocyte count), but it remains to be clarified why and how the reduction was induced. More than 3–4% of water might be taken into the mesenteric venous blood during microcirculation (a venous reduction of 3–4% in erythrocyte-related parameters) and a significant number of leucocytes (mainly large leucocytes) in the mesenteric blood capillaries might migrate into the surrounding intestinal tissue (a venous reduction of 13% in leucocyte count).

Mechanical stimulation and hormones act via interconnected signaling pathways to influence the function of bone cells. Estrogen receptor (ER) and β-catenin play important role in bone formation and have implicated in mechanotransduction in bone cells. To investigate the interaction between mechanotransduction and estrogenic signaling in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), this study examined the effect of mechanical strain and estrogen on activation of β-catenin in MSCs, and the role of ER in response to mechanical strain and estrogen in MSCs.MSCs were exposed to mechanical strain (2%, 1 Hz) and estrogen (100 nM). The ER inhibitor, ICI182,780 was used to assess the role of ER in activation of β-catenin stimulated by mechanical strain and estrogen. Changes of activated β-catenin in the nuclei were determined by immunoflourescent test. The expression of β-catenin was detected by western blotting.Mechanical strain and estrogen augment, respectively, activation of β-catenin and accumulation of activated β-catenin in the nuclei of MSCs. Combined treatment with estrogen and mechanical strain had higher levels of activated β-catenin than the cells exposed to mechanical strain or estrogen. After MSCs were pre-treated by ICI182,780, the level of activated β-catenin expression induced by mechanical strain or estrogen was depressed. Meanwhile, ICI182,780 blocked effect of combined stimulation on activation of β-catenin in MSCs.Our study demonstrates that mechanical strain and estrogen both promote the levels of activated β-catenin in MSCs. Estrogen receptor implicates in activation of β-catenin stimulation by mechanical strain and estrogen in MSCs.

Clinical endometritis is an important disease of dairy cattle and results in decreased reproductive performance. This disease is caused by contamination of the uterus with a broad spectrum of microorganisms after calving. In this study, staphylococcal isolates from the uterus of dairy cows with clinical endometritis were tested for their distribution of superantigen (SAg) genes and antimicrobial resistance. Between the 127 staphylococcal isolates collected in this study, 10 species were identified. The predominant strain identified was Staphylococcus aureus (n=53), followed by Staphylococcus saprophyticus (n=38) and Staphylococcus chromogenes (n=22). PCR analysis demonstrated that most isolates (63.0 per cent) harboured at least one SAg gene. The most commonly observed SAg gene and genotype was selj (38.6 per cent) and sec-selj-seln (24.0 per cent), respectively. Most isolates were resistant to penicillin (79.5 per cent), ampicillin (71.7 per cent), erythromycin (56.7 per cent), and tetracycline (52.0 per cent). PCR analysis demonstrated that the antimicrobial resistance determinants ermA, ermB, ermC, tetK, tetM and blaZ were detected in 0 per cent, 44.4 per cent, 51.4 per cent, 68.2 per cent, 13.6 per cent and 86.1 per cent of the erythromycin, tetracycline and β-lactam resistant isolates, respectively. There were 22 (17.3 per cent of all isolates) coagulase-negative staphylococci shown to be methicillin resistant. In the methicillin-resistant isolates, significant resistances to ampicillin, erythromycin and penicillin were observed (P

Different quantity and configurations of crystal defects were obtained in an austenite of Fe-30%Ni alloy and an ultra low carbon bainitic steel by different deformations and annealing times at high temperature. The boron segregation at grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries during air cooling were revealed by means of particle tracking autoradiography technique. It was found that the non-equilibrium segregation was resisted in the deformed grains after recovery and polygonization, the boron depletion was more in the recrystallized grains than in the deformed original grains during the cooling. The subgrain boundaries and polygonized dislocation cells had a significant effect on the boron non-equilibrium segregation during the air cooling, but the quantity of dispersed dislocations had not. The result indicated that during segregation process the interaction of boron atoms with dislocations was sensitive to the dislocations configuration rather than the total number of defects in grain.

In an attempt to address the complex and clinically challenging question of the causes of muscle wasting in patients with cachexia, we have developed a primary adult human skeletal muscle cell model. The cultured cells were characterised by immunocytochemistry using antibodies to the myofibrillar protein constituents desmin and titin. Myotube formation was confirmed biochemically by a fourfold increase in the activity of the muscle-specific enzyme creatinine kinase, and myoblast withdrawal from the cell cycle, which is essential for terminal differentiation, was associated with progressive retinoblastoma protein dephosphorylation. Having successfully confirmed the phenotype of these adult human muscle cells, we assessed their interaction with the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system. IGF-I is known to stimulate myoblast survival, proliferation and differentiation in cell lines, and, like insulin, is a potent anabolic agent in the regulation of protein metabolism. We have shown that IGF-I stimulated both replication and differentiation of myoblasts, whilst fibroblast growth factor-2 stimulated replication but inhibited differentiation. Examining the IGF system during the process of terminal differentiation, we found that both myoblasts and myotubes expressed insulin, IGF-I and insulin-IGF-I hybrid receptors, with the levels of all three receptor types increasing on differentiation. The cells also produced a wide range of IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) including IGFBP-2, IGFBP-4 and abundant IGFBP-3, which has not been shown to be produced by any other skeletal muscle cell line examined to date. Both insulin and IGF-I had anabolic effects on myotube protein metabolism at physiological concentrations. Insulin was more potent than IGF-I: use of the IGF analogue long R(3)IGF-I demonstrated that the effects of exogenous IGF-I on protein metabolism were not affected by the high levels of endogenous IGFBP production. In summary, we have developed and characterised a clinically relevant in vitro model with which to address the aetiology of muscle wasting associated with chronic catabolic conditions, and we anticipate that future work will enable the development of novel, effective therapeutic interventions.

Bone's adaptability to loading depends upon the process of bone remodeling. This adaptive mechanism is restricted in postmenopausal osteoporosis. Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is crucial to bone remodeling and regeneration. It is well accepted that mechanical loading influences the fate of MSC differentiation. The aim of this study was to explore the possible restricted mechanism in osteoporotic condition, through investigating response of MSCs from both sham-operated and ovariectomized rats. MSCs were exposed to estrogen and mechanical strain (2%, 1Hz, 6h/day) for 3 days. Osteogenic differentiation and β-catenin protein in MSCs were examined. Exposure to estrogen and mechanical strain alone enhanced expression of Runx2 (Cbfα1), type I collagen (ColI) and activated β-catenin protein in MSCs from both sham-operated and OVX rats. MSCs from both sham-operated and OVX rats stimulated with both mechanical strain and estrogen had higher expression of osteogenic genes and activated β-catenin protein than these cells exposed to estrogen and mechanical strain alone. Osteoporotic MSCs had lower expression of osteogenic genes and protein in the absence and presence of stimulation than did MSCs from sham-operated rats. Cumulatively, our results indicate that mechanical strain and estrogen in vitro enhance osteogenic potential and activation of β-catenin in MSCs from both sham-operated and OVX rats. Estrogen augments strain-induced osteogenic potential and activity of β-catenin in MSCs.

Submicro-sized anatase TiO2 powder was used to prepare light scattering layers by vacuum cold spraying at room temperature. The microstructure of the TiO2 coatings was characterized to be correlated with optical property and adhesion/cohesion of the coatings. Results show that the light-reflecting ability of the coatings decreased with the increase of accelerating gas flow rate from 3.5 to 7.5 L/min and increased with the increase of coating thickness from 2 to 10 µm. Both the cohesion and adhesion of the coatings increased with the increase of the accelerating gas flow rate, due to the improvement of the particle-particle contact and the particle-substrate contact by the high velocity impact resulting from the increased powder particle velocity.

Salicornia spp is one of the most salt-tolerant vascular plants and is native to salt marshes and estuaries. We developed expressed sequence tag derived-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers for estimating genetic diversity and marker-assisted Salicornia breeding. Six polymorphic EST-SSRs of 40 detected 27 alleles, ranging from three to five alleles per locus. The average number of alleles per locus was 4.33 and 4.17, and the major allele frequency at locus DY529765 was high, being 0.859 and 0.857 in S. bigelovii and S. europea, respectively. Gene diversity, heterozygosity and polymorphism information content were highest at locus DY529950 and similar in these two species. Gene diversity increased with increase in the number of alleles that had a low major allele frequency at a locus. Six polymorphic loci effectively discriminated 46 taxa into three clusters via different analyses. Significant deviation of F(ST) from zero in three suggested populations for six loci indicated population differentiation and limited gene flow among them. A reduced median network established that taxon SB65 is primitive. SMART (simple modular architecture research tool) analysis of peptide sequences of six EST-SSRs showed that loci DY529765, DY529950 and EC906203 contained transmembrane, TLC, AgrB and NTR domains and might be involved in salinity stress tolerance. These EST-SSRs are a valuable resource for marker development and may be useful in marker-assisted Salicornia breeding.

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are two families of small water-soluble proteins, abundant in the aqueous fluid surrounding olfactory receptor neurons in insect antennae. OBPs are involved in the first step of olfactory signal transduction, carrying airborne semiochemicals to the odorant receptors and can be classified into three groups: Classic OBPs, Plus-C OBPs and Atypical OBPs. Here, we identified and annotated genes encoding putative OBPs and CSPs in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum using bioinformatics. This identified genes encoding 13 Classic and two Plus-C OBPs and 13 CSPs. Homologous OBP sequences were also identified in nine other aphid species, allowing us to compare OBPs across several aphid and non-aphid species. We show that, although OBP sequences are divergent within a species and between different orders, there is a high similarity between orthologs within a range of aphid species. Furthermore, the phylogenetic relationships between OBP orthologs reflect the divergence of aphid evolution lineages. Our results support the 'birth-and-death' model as the major mechanism explaining aphid OBP sequence evolution, with the main force acting on the evolution being purifying selection.

The influence of boron addition, amount of deformation, and solution heat-treatment temperature on the precipitation and recrystallization behaviors of a family of high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels was studied. A stress relaxation technique was employed to detect the occurrence of austenite recrystallization and to determine the precipitation start(P s) and finish(P f) times. After preheating to 1100 °C or 1200 °C for 30 minutes, the specimens were cooled to test temperatures between 800 °C and 1000 °C. They were subsequently deformed to true strains of 5 or 25 pct and subjected to stress relaxation. The advent of recrystallization produced a sharp increase in relaxation rate, while the occurrence of carbonitride precipitation led to the appear- ance of a stress plateau. The results indicate that the presence of boron (1) accelerates carbo- nitride precipitation and (2) retards austenite recrystallization when present in combination with Nb. The precipitation-time-temperature (PTT) diagrams determined in this investigation are C-shaped for both the B-free as well as the B-modified Nb steels. These data were analyzed in terms of the classical theory of nucleation, on the basis of which it is demonstrated that the acceleration of the nucleation kinetics of precipitation can be attributed to the segregation of boron and of boron-vacancy complexes to dislocations and grain boundaries, as well as to the faster diffusion of Nb in the presence of boron.