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AIM: To investigate the diffusion changes in both the optic nerve and optic tract in orbital space-occupying lesion patients with decreased visual acuity, and its clinical significance using probabilistic diffusion tractography (PDT). METHODS: Twenty patients with orbital space-occupying lesions and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy persons were included. All patients and controls underwent routine orbital magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), using a 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner (Trio Tim Siemens). After the image data were preprocessed, each DTI parameters of the optic nerve and optic tract was obtained by PDT, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD). The asymmetry index (AI) of each parameter was calculated. Compared the parameters of the affected side optic nerve and ipsilateral optic tract with the contralateral side by paired sample t-test; compared AI of parameters of optic nerve and optic tract between the patient group and the control group by independent sample t-test. Patients were divided into three subgroups according to the low vision grade standard of WHO, compared the FA and AI of FA between the three subgroups by single factor variance analysis. RESULTS: The affected side optic nerve presented significantly decreased FA, increased MD, AD, and RD values compared to the unaffected side (P0.05). The AIs of the FA value of the optic nerve in the eyesight

High-solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) of sludge has several advantages like smaller reactor, lower energy consumption and less digestate. However, the understanding about the mechanism especially the microbial mechanism is still limited. In this study, microbial communities of a pilot-scale sludge HSAD system at steady state were investigated with 16S rRNA clone library technology. The system employed an enhanced two-phase anaerobic digestion process, i. e. 'hyperthermophilic acidogenesis (70℃, 3 d)-thermophilic methanogenesis (55℃, 12.5 d)' to treat waste activated sludge with a solid content of about 9%. The volatile solid (VS) removal rate was 35.7% and methane yield (CH

Objective To describe the preliminary experience with endoscopic optic nerve decompression (EOND) for nontraumatic compressive optic neuropathies (NCONs). Methods The clinical data of 10 patients, male 5 and female 5, with a mean age of 44.3±5.1 years, who underwent EOND for visual loss (n=5) or visual deterioration (n=5) due to tumor compression in General Hospital of Armed Police Forces of China in the period from April 2013 to April 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Preoperative and 6-month-postoperative clinical and imaging data of these patients were reviewed and analyzed. Results Among 5 patients who lost light perception (including 2 patients with bilateral optic nerve compression) before operation, 4 of them showed visual improvement to different degrees on the 7th day after operation (with improvement of bilateral visual acuity). The other 5 patients with visual impairment before operation recovered their visual acuity to different extent after the operation. All of the patients had no obvious post-operative complications. Conclusion EOND is a safe, effective, and minimally invasive surgical technique affording recovery of visual function to NCON patients. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2015.11.12

// Yong-Qiang Liu 1, * , Xiao-Lu Wang 1, * , Xin Cheng 1, * , Yong-Zhi Lu 2, * , Gui-Zhen Wang 1, * , Xin-Chun Li 1 , Jian Zhang 3 , Zhe-Sheng Wen 4 , Zhi-Liang Huang 4 , Qin-Lei Gao 5 , Li-Na Yang 6 , Yong-Xian Cheng 5 , Sheng-Ce Tao 6 , Jinsong Liu 2 , Guang-Biao Zhou 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences & University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China 3 School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230039, China 4 Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Cancer Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China 5 State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China 6 Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Guang-Biao Zhou, e-mail: gbzhou@ioz.ac.cn Jinsong Liu, e-mail: liu_jinsong@gibh.ac.cn Yong-Xian Cheng, e-mail: yxcheng@mail.kib.ac.cn Keywords: Skp1, lung cancer, structure-based high-throughput virtual screening, inhibitors, 6-O-angeloylplenolin Received: July 17, 2015 Accepted: September 10, 2015 Published: October 12, 2015 ABSTRACT Skp1 is an essential adaptor protein of the Skp1-Cul1-F-box protein complex and is able to stabilize the conformation of some ubiquitin E3 ligases. However, the role Skp1 plays during tumorigenesis remains unclear and Skp1-targeting agent is lacking. Here we showed that Skp1 was overexpressed in 36/64 (56.3%) of non-small cell lung cancers, and elevated Skp1 was associated with poor prognosis. By structure-based high-throughput virtual screening, we found some Skp1-targeting molecules including a natural compound 6- O -angeloylplenolin (6-OAP). 6-OAP bound Skp1 at sites critical to Skp1-Skp2 interaction, leading to dissociation and proteolysis of oncogenic E3 ligases NIPA, Skp2, and β-TRCP, and accumulation of their substrates Cyclin B1, P27 and E-Cadherin. 6-OAP induced prometaphase arrest and exerted potent anti-lung cancer activity in two murine models and showed low adverse effect. These results indicate that Skp1 is critical to lung cancer pathogenesis, and Skp1 inhibitor inactivates crucial oncogenic E3 ligases and exhibits significant therapeutic potentials.

Air pollution has been classified as Group 1 carcinogenic to humans, but the underlying tumorigenesis remains unclear. In Xuanwei City of Yunnan Province, the lung cancer incidence is among the highest in China attributed to severe air pollution generated by combustion of smoky coal, providing a unique opportunity to dissect lung carcinogenesis of air pollution. Here we analyzed the somatic mutations of 164 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) from Xuanwei and control regions (CR) where smoky coal was not used. Whole genome sequencing revealed a mean of 289 somatic exonic mutations per tumor and the frequent C:G → A:T nucleotide substitutions in Xuanwei NSCLCs. Exome sequencing of 2010 genes showed that Xuanwei and CR NSCLCs had a mean of 68 and 22 mutated genes per tumor, respectively (p, Highlights • Somatic genomic mutations of air pollution-related lung cancer were characterized. • Mutations in air pollution-related lung cancers were 3 times as high as lung cancers from control regions. • 167 of the 2010 genes had higher mutation rates in patients from highly polluted region than those from control regions. • The mutation rates of 70 genes were associated with patients' lifetime benzo(a)pyrene exposure.

Background.The invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a kind of high incidence of disease with difficulties in treatment, poor prognosis, and high mortality.Objectives.The study aimed to reveal the effect of cinnamaldehyde on the fungal cell wall and verify its efficacy on invasive pulmonary aspergillosis on immunosuppressed Institute of Cancer Research mice (ICR mice).Methods.ICR mice were given cyclophosphamide 200 mg.kg−1. d−1by intraperitoneal injection for 2 days. On the 4th day, the mice were given 50μLofAspergillosis fumigatusspore (107colony form unit CFU/mL) by intranasal injection to establish immunosuppressive animal models with invasiveAspergillosis fumigatusinfection. Then the mice in treatment group orally administered cinnamaldehyde for 14 consecutive days, while voriconazole was given to the mice in the positive control group.Results.The clearance rate of pulmonary fungi, cure rate, and reduction of 1,3-β-D-glucans in treatment group were 80.00%, 80.00%, and 81.00%, respectively while in positive control group they were 67.00%, 60.00%, and 62.00%, respectively. There were significant differences in the results between two groups as mentioned above (PAspergillus fumigatuswas dissolved and detached and the cell surface was incomplete. There were edema, degeneration, and necrosis in nucleus and organelle, which lead to cellular necrocytosis. The cytomembrane ofAspergillus fumigatuswas intact, clear, and complete, whereas the cytomembrane in the positive control group disappeared. The hyphal morphology ofAspergillus fumigatuswas deformed, but the cell wall was intact.Conclusion.Cinnamaldehyde has a good curative effect in the treatment of invasive pulmonary aspergillus infection in immunodeficient mice. It mainly affects the synthesis of 1,3-β-D-glucans from the cytoderm ofAspergillus fumigatusbut does not affect cell wall. It would potentially be an effective and novel drug for targeted treatment ofAspergillus fumigatusdeep infection.

The reactions of the diacylhydrazine ligands N,N′-bisalicyl-2,6-pyridine dicarbohydrazide (H6sphz) and N,N′-bis(3-methoxysalicyl)-2,6-pyridine dicarbohydrazide (H6msphz) with various 3d metal salts, afforded a series of coordination clusters, namely, [MnIII2MnII(sphz)(acac)2(CH3OH)4] (1, acac− = acetylacetone anions), [NiII3(msphz)(Py)4] (2, Py = pyridine), [CuII6(sphz)2(Py)4] (3) and [CuII6(msphz)2(Py)4]·2DMF·2H2O (4). Cluster 1 and 2 are single ligand assembled quasi-linear trinuclear structures. Both 3 and 4 consist a pair of quasi-linear {Cu3} cores, which are linked together by two crossed ligands. The adjacent 3d metal ions in all trinuclear cores of 1–4 are bridged by N–N single bonds of ligands, which convey ferromagnetic (FM) interactions between 3d metal centers of 1, and antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions between those of 2–4. In particular, the FM interactions and linear arrangement of mixed-valence Mn centers in 1 result in a large spin ground states value (ST) of 13/2, as well as single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior of slow relaxation and hysteresis of magnetization.

In this paper, condensation mechanism of the Freon refrigerants outside spiral grooved tube is discussed. The heat transfer coefficient of Freon refrigerants condensation outside spiral grooved tube is obtained. A calculation example of heat transfer coefficient on the tube bundle of condenser with baffle bars is presented. It shows the excellent thermal performance of the spiral groove tubes compared to smooth tubes.

End-of-life care workers and volunteers are particularly prone to burnout given the intense emotional and existential nature of their work. Supervision is one important way to provide adequate support that focuses on both professional and personal competencies. The inclusion of art therapy principles and practices within supervision further creates a dynamic platform for sustained self-reflection. A 6-week art therapy-based supervision group provided opportunities for developing emotional awareness, recognizing professional strengths, securing collegial relationships, and reflecting on death-related memories. The structure, rationale, and feedback are discussed.

The paper provides a simple, fast and practical method which follows the rule of maximizing minimum transmission angle to design crank-rocker mechanism. The method which uses the optimal design method is based on the research of papers[1]~[3] . Through the analysis and calculation, the paper gives the conclusion and drawing of k-φ-d-(γmin) max and k-d-a-b.

This paper investigates the “Vehicle-charging mode” and the “Battery-changing mode” of the electric vehicles. Firstly, it analyzes the vehicle-charging time, the battery-changing time and the charging power under two modes. Secondly, this paper searches into different sorts of charging and sets up three scenarios based on the differences: scenario1, disorderly; scenario2, continuous; scenario 3, off-peak. Thirdly, this paper considers the combination of generator sets that reaches the requirements of electric vehicle charging based on the characteristics of different sorts of charging, concerns the increased fuel costs, O&M costs and start cost generated along, and draws conclusions with the comparison of the elements.

In this paper, the change of fossil energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2) and pollutant emissions are calculated when petroleum based vehicles (PBVs) are taken place by EVs based upon the full-cycle energy efficiency theory with the energy efficiency measured from well to wheel.. Calculation results show that the fossil energy consumption, CO2, monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions can be reduced with the substitution of EVs for vehicles that burn gasoline (GVs), but nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions increase. When vehicles that burn diesel (DVs) are replaced by EVs, the emissions of pollutants except SO2 will be reduced, but the emissions of CO2 and SO2 will increase. Considering the proportion of coal-fired power generation to the total power generation in China, the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction cannot be perfectly achieved by the substitution of PBVs by EVs. Therefore, the proportion of clean energy generation should be increased in China and technological updating of coal-fired power plants for reducing CO2 and pollutant emissions are necessary as well. Besides, GVs, other than DVs, should be replaced by EVs from the perspective of energy conservation and CO2 emission.

Hospice and palliative care workers can reduce the potential for burnout by nurturing self-competence and self-awareness in order to manage challenging and painful emotions that arise from the nature of working with dying individuals and bereaved families. An art therapy supervision programme for end-of-life care workers in JAAH_4.3_Potash_363-377.indd 363 1/4/14 1:34:53 PM Jordan S. Potash | Heidi Bardot | Xiao Lu Wang ... 364 Hong Kong utilized mandala-making as a tool for cultivating self-awareness. A total of 60 mandalas were collected, rated according to J. Kellogg’s The Archetypal Stages of the Great Round of Mandalas and compared to burnout scores as assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey. The findings demonstrate associations between mandala stages and burnout and offer implications for mandala-making as an indicator of burnout and coping strategies.

Sebei NO.2 gas field I-1 layer group is shallow-buried with comparatively lower formation energy. In the process of developing, the formation pressure drops and the total energy consumption of the gas-liquid two phase pipe flowing increases gradually, which leads wellbore to produce accumulated fluid that greatly reduces gas well productivity. This paper is based on the mastery of gas field reservoir characteristics and production dynamics, analyzing the changes of gas well production performance before and after gas wells with accumulated fluid. A wellbore liquid loading identification model of Sebei NO.2 gas field is established in terms of the liquid removing capacity calculations, wellhead characteristic observation method, the pressure gradient method. In the aspect of liquid loading volume, the study based on the theory of wellbore gas-liquid two phase flow, using four classical pressure distribution models to construct a combined model that is more suitable for single wells, analyzed the features of fluid gas well distribution with structural characteristics and other aspects. Practical application shows that the analysis results are reliable and highly practical, and deepening the understanding of the phenomenon of gas liquid loading.

Sebei gas field is featured with the characteristics of the shallow-buried gas reservoir, long gas containing well section, multilayer gas reservoirs beds, the complicated gas/water contact distribution, the water produced obviously, sands produced frequently from the gas wells and the multi-layers gas reservoir extracted unbalancedly in the developing process. For these reasons, the paper proposed the method that interlayer interference coefficients are defined with statistical function. Combined with the data of the sand-layers profile test, the effects of the numbers of different sand-lays, the perforated thickness, the perforated interval length and permeability contrast on the interlayer interference are evaluated and these permeability parameters are optimized.

Objective To investigate the value of pterygopalatine fossa angiography in fresh cadaveric heads, so as to provide a useful guidance and an individualized operative procedure for endoscopic sinus surgery. Methods Three fresh cadaveric heads were used in the present study. After injection with 10%, 5% iodine fluorine into carotid artery, 3D vascular structure of the pterygopalatine fossa was constructed. The posterior wall of the maxillary sinus was dissected by gently removing the fat tissue with sinus forceps. All anatomical structures, such as vascular, nerve and muscle structures were then exposed. The anatomical characteristics of vasculature in the pterygopalatine fossa and the imaging data were compared. Results The pterygopalatine segment at the third portion of the MA was well shown in the imaging system. According to Morton and Khan morphologic classification of the third portion of the internal maxillary artery, the proportion of Y type, M type, and intermediate type was 33.3%, 16.7% and 50.0%, respectively. Using an endoscopic endonasal approach, the PPF was exposed through its anteromedial surface. The first visible structures would be the branches of the MA. It appeared that the anatomical land-markers of the pterygopalatine fossa area was well shown by both intranasal endoscopic view and imaging data. Conclusion CTA is a useful technique for pterygopalatine fossa imaging before surgical dissection. The terminal segment of MA provides direct anatomical topography features of the PPF. This technique provides useful information for the individual surgery in this area. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2013.11.013

The modern power systems are typically characterized with renewable energies and smart grids. Their development should be in a coordinated manner. According to the structuring parts of power industry, such as generation, transmission, distribution, consumption and dispatching, this paper constructs a comprehensive evaluation system for renewable energy and smart grid coordinate development in "3 levels, 4 parts, 15 targets; put forward a quantitative evaluation method for coordination level between renewable energies and smart grids in China, using analytic hierarchy process, calculate the coordination level in total and for each part. The paper also presents the key fields and priorities for coordinated development.

A sensitive and reproducible liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of amlodipine in human plasma, with gliclazide as an internal standard (IS). The analyte was extracted with ethyl acetate and analyzed on a Diamond C18 (150 mm× 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column. The mobile phase was composed of methanol ?10 mM ammonium acetate with gradient flow rates and gradient conditions. Amlodipine and IS were ionized by positive ion pneumatically assisted electrospray and detected in the multi-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using precursor→productions of m/z 409.2→238.1, 294.1 and m/z 324.2→127.3, respectively. The specificity, matrix effect, recovery, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and stabilities were all validated over the concentration range of 0.05 - 12 ng/mL. The 90% confidence interval (CI) for AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and Cmax ratios (test: reference) were all within 80% - 125% interval proposed by FDA. It is concluded that the validated method can successfully fulfill the requirement of clinical bioequivalence study of amlodipine in healthy Chinese subjects after administration of amlodipine/losartan combination tablets and amlodipine tablets, and the test and reference tablets were bioequivalent.

Through the appropriate assumptions, a mathematical model was derived on circumferential fin of rectangular profile coated with frost layer, and a new analytical solution is presented and compared to alternative approaches for calculating the fin temperature and efficiency. The analytical solution enhances the accuracy ,and have a simpler form of expression. It can be easily used in engineering practice. The solution is useful for other cases of a low-thermal-conductivity coating on a high-thermal-conductivity substrate .

Nozzle-flapper type electro-hydraulic servo valve operated by torque motor has been widely used in industrial applications. As their bandwidths are limited, they are not suitable for high-speed applications. This paper presents a novel nozzle flapper valve driven by the giant magnetostrictive actuator, which has been designed and integrated into the four-nozzle flapper valve to replace the torque motor. And the influence of involved structural parameters on the dynamics of the actuator and the nozzle flapper valve is analyzed by AMESim. The simulation results can provide an important reference and basis for the optimization and design of the four-nozzle flapper valve.

Axial compression experiments of eighteen concrete-filled GFRP tube (CFFT) and concrete-filled GFRP reinforced steel tube (CFFST) specimens in total have been carried out to study their mechanical behaviors. Experimental results show that, GFRP tubes with different filament-wound angles could enhance the strength and ductility of core concrete at different levels. Fibers with hoop directions provide the best confinement and enhance the ultimate strength up to 266% comparing with unconfined concrete columns. Fibers with ±45° winding angles have minor effects on bearing capacity, but greatly improve the ductility of concrete columns. Compared with CFST columns, GFRP reinforced CFST columns with hoop direction fibers increase the bearing capacity of 35.0%, and the fibers along 45° winding angles could enhance by 17.5%. The mechanical behavior and the failure modes of the six experimental group specimens are also discussed in this paper.

Acta Derm Venereol 96 © 2016 The Authors. doi: 10.2340/00015555-2275 Journal Compilation © 2016 Acta Dermato-Venereologica. ISSN 0001-5555 A 68-year-old Chinese male presented to our department with a large (20 × 40 cm), rapidly expanding, painful, necrotic skin ulcer that had developed on his lower abdomen 2 months previously (Fig. 1).The ulcer had started as pain and redness 3 days after a retro-pubic prostatectomy for benign prostatic hyperplasia at a local hospital. The patient was moderately feverish (38.5°C) and culture of the discharge revealed Staphylococcus aureus. However, there was no improvement in the patient’s condition after 2 weeks of treatment with Cefazolin 0.5 g twice daily. Laboratory tests revealed a white cell count of 11.23 × 109/l (normal range 3.5 × 109–9.5 × 109/l), haemoglobin 80 g/l (normal range 115–150 g/l), C-reactive protein 48 mg/l (normal range 0–10 mg/l) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate 45 mm/h (normal range 0–20 mm/h). All other tests were normal, including antinuclear antibodies, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, HIV, and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test (VDRL) for syphilis. Giant Ulcer on Abdominal Wall: A Quiz

In order to control the non-point source pollution from road runoff in Wuxi City effectively, a multilayer biofiltration system was designed to remove a variety of pollutants according to the characteristics of road runoff in Wuxi, and the experimental research was carried out to study the effect on rainwater pollution purification. The results show that the system has a good performance on removing suspended solids (SS), organic pollutant (COD), nitrogen and phosphorus: all types of multilayer biofiltration systems have a high removal rate for SS, which can reach 90%. The system with activated carbon (GAC) has higher removal rates for COD and phosphorus. The system with zeolite (ZFM) has a relatively better removal efficiency for nitrogen. The addition of wood chips in the system can significantly improve the system efficiency for nitrogen removal. Between the two configurations of layered and distributed wood chips, configurations of distributed wood chips reach higher COD, phosphorus and nitrogen pollutants removal efficiencies since they can reduce the release of wood chips dissolution.

This study presents a general method for analyzing pressure buildup data from a well located in a multiwell reservoir, especially in a special case of pressure buildup test which the testing well and adjoining wells are all shutting in at the same time. On this basis, the effect of multiwell interference on pressure buildup curve is analyzed. The method is obtained with the superposition principle, and is general in dealing with any combination of producing, injecting or shutting in conditions of testing well and adjoining wells. Pressure and the pressure derivative log-log new type curves are drawn up. Sensitivities of the type curves affected by different conditions of testing well and adjoining wells(producing, injecting or shutting in) and different parameters are analyzed, including the well spacing, ratio of the multiwell production and production/injection time, which are the main parameters that can reflect the interference of wells. It is shown that the multiwell interference exercises a significant influence on pressure derivative log-log curves of pressure buildup test. It can be summarized in following aspects: firstly, when the adjoining wells are producing, pressure derivative curves are in decline. Secondly, when the adjoining wells are shutting in, pressure derivative curves start to upward. Thirdly, well spacing has an influence on the time of interference on curves, and the ratio of the multiwell production affects the variability of the curves. Fourthly, the way to reducing multiwell interference impact on curves is made adjoining unchanged. Fieldcase buildup analyses in Sebei Gas Field which has a special case of pressure buildup test which the testing well and adjoining wells are all shutting in at the same time show the applicability of the new method, and the type curves had been validated by example. It is indicated that if the multiwell interference is not considered for well test analysis, it will lead to erroneous analyses especially in boundary identification. The novelty of the new method is in the ability to analyze pressure buildup test by different kinds of multiwell interference, and can obtain formation parameter more precisely.

It is well known that conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy can result in toxicity to both normal cells and tumor cells, which causes limitations in the application of these therapeutic strategies for cancer control. Novel and effective therapeutic strategies for cancers with no or low toxicity for normal cells are a high priority. Therefore, natural products with anticancer activity have gained more and more attention due to their favorable safety and efficacy profiles. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that several representative natural compounds such as resveratrol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, curcumin, allicin and ginsenosides have obvious anticancer potential. In this article, we summarize autophagy-associated targeting pathways of such natural products for inducing the death of cancer cells, and discuss the core autophagic pathways involved in cancer treatments. Recent advances in the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of natural compounds as therapeutic agents for cancers will provide references and support in pre-clinical and clinical application of novel natural drugs for the treatment of primary and metastatic tumors in the future.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes an unparalleled proportion of the global burden of disease and will remain the main cause of mortality for the near future. Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathophysiology of cardiac disorders. Several studies have highlighted the cardinal role played by the overproduction of reactive oxygen or nitrogen species in the pathogenesis of ischemic myocardial damage and consequent cardiac dysfunction. Isothiocyanates (ITC) are sulfur-containing compounds that are broadly distributed among cruciferous vegetables. Sulforaphane (SFN) is an ITC shown to possess anticancer activities by bothin vivoand epidemiological studies. Recent data have indicated that the beneficial effects of SFN in CVD are due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. SFN activates NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a basic leucine zipper transcription factor that serves as a defense mechanism against oxidative stress and electrophilic toxicants by inducing more than a hundred cytoprotective proteins, including antioxidants and phase II detoxifying enzymes. This review will summarize the evidence from clinical studies and animal experiments relating to the potential mechanisms by which SFN modulates Nrf2 activation and protects against CVD.

High solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) is a rapidly developed anaerobic digestion technique for treating municipal sludge, and has been widely used in Europe and Asia. Recently, the enhanced HSAD process with thermal treatment showed its advantages in both methane production and VS reduction. However, the understanding of the microbial community is still poor. This study investigated microbial communities in a pilot enhanced two-stage HSAD system that degraded waste activated sludge at 9% solid content. The system employed process “thermal pre-treatment (TPT) at 70 °C, thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD), and mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MAD)”. Hydrogenotrophic methanogens Methanothermobacter spp. dominated the system with relative abundance up to about 100% in both TAD and MAD. Syntrophic acetate oxidation (SAO) bacteria were discovered in TAD, and they converted acetate into H2 and CO2 to support hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. The microbial composition and conversion route of this system are derived from the high solid content and protein content in raw sludge, as well as the operational conditions. This study could facilitate the understanding of the enhanced HSAD process, and is of academic and industrial importance.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline anti-tumor drug. However, its clinical use is limited by dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, and even progresses to chronic heart failure (CHF). Objective This study aims to investigate whether the Nrf2 activator, sulforaphane (SFN), can prevent DOX-induced CHF. Methods Male Sprague Dawley rats who received treatment for six weeks were divided into four groups (n=30 per group): control, SFN, DOX, and DOX plus SFN group. Results Results revealed that DOX induced progressive cardiac damage as indicated by increased cardiac injury markers, cardiac inflammation, fibrosis and oxidative stress. SFN significantly prevented DOX-induced progressive cardiac dysfunction between 2-6 weeks and prevented DOX-induced cardiac function deterioration. Furthermore, it significantly decreased ejection fraction and increased the expression of brain natriuretic peptide. SFN also almost completely prevented DOX-induced cardiac oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis. SFN upregulated NFE2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression and transcription activity, which was reflected by the increased mRNA expression of Nrf2 and its downstream genes. Furthermore, in cultured H9c2 cardiomyocytes, the protective effect of SFN against DOX-induced fibrotic and inflammatory responses was abolished by Nrf2 silencing. Conclusion We arrived at the conclusion that DOX-induced CHF can be prevented by SFN through the upregulation of Nrf2 expression and transcriptional function. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background The need for empathy and the difficulties of coping with mortality when caring for the dying and the bereaved can cause psychological, emotional, and spiritual strain. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of art-therapy-based supervision in reducing burnout and death anxiety among end-of-life care workers in Hong Kong. Methods Through a quasi-experimental design, 69 par ticipants enrolled in a 6-week, 18-hour art-therapy-based supervision group, and another 63 enrolled in a 3-day, 18-hour standard skills-based supervision group (n=132). Pre- and post-intervention assessments were carried out with three outcome measures: the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Death Attitude Profile—Revised. The data was analysed using paired sample t-tests. Results Significant reductions in exhaustion and death anxiety and significant increases in emotional awareness were observed for participants in the art-therapy-based supervision group. Conclusion This study provides preliminary evidence that art-therapy-based supervision for end-of-life care workers can reduce burnout by enhancing emotional awareness and regulation, fostering meaning-making, and promoting reflection on death.

To explore the expression and clinical significance of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in placenta syntrophoblast from patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP).Placenta were collected from women with ICP who delivered from April 2009 to March 2010 in First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. According to the severity of ICP, patients were classified into mild ICP group (n = 10) and severe ICP group (n = 10). Ten healthy pregnant women who delivered in the same period were chosen as control group. The location of CAR protein in placenta was studied by immunohistochemical streptavidin-biotin complex (SABC) method. CAR mRNA level was determined by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR technique and CAR protein expression level was determined by western blot.(1) CAR was located in the placenta syncytiotrophoblastic cells in control group and mild ICP group, showed light tan when stained, and was mainly in the cytoplasm. In severe ICP group, CAR was also located in placenta syncytiotrophoblastic cells but mainly in the nucleolus, showed dark tan when stained. (2) The mRNA expressions of CAR in control group, mild ICP group, severe ICP group were 0.06 ± 0.03, 0.07 ± 0.03 and 0.56 ± 0.03, respectively. CAR in severe ICP group was significantly higher than those in control group and mild ICP group (P0.05). The difference of mRNA between control group and mild ICP group was not statistically significant (P0.05). (3) The CAR protein levels in control group, mild ICP group, severe ICP group were 0.74 ± 0.03, 0.79 ± 0.03 and 1.02 ± 0.04, respectively. CAR protein expression in the severe ICP group was significantly higher than the other two groups (P0.05). And there was no statistical significance between mild group and control group (P0.05).In ICP women, especially severe ICP patients, the CAR expression in placenta syncytiotrophoblastic cells increased appreciably, which may be involved in the maintenance of placenta barrier function and protection in ICP pathogenesis.

Fractal data mining technology is based on the fractal characteristic of data set, the real data set usually exists approximate fractal characteristic in the fractal non-scaling interval. Fractal dimension can describe the fractal characteristic of data sets, but the most popular fractal dimension calculation algorithm gets the minimal cover set using Box-Counting method is inaccurate. Mobile Box-Counting Method which finds the minimal cover set more accurately by moving and merging multi-dimensional grid can calculate fractal dimension more accurately.

Anticancer effect of tephrosin (1) has been documented; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of tephrosin in cancer cells remain unclear. In the present paper, the proliferation inhibition rate of several cancer cells was tested using the MTT assay; cell cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were determined by flow cytometry; poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) expression were evaluated by Western blotting; autophagy was examined by confocal microscopy and light chain 3 (LC3) conversion assay. The results showed that exposure of the cells to tephrosin induced significant proliferation inhibition in a dose-dependent manner, especially on A549 with G(2)/M being arrested. Tephrosin was not found to induce cell apoptosis as PARP cleavage was not detected after 24 h treatment, but the formation of acidic vesicular organelle of autophagy character was found, and autophagy was further confirmed by the increase in the ratio of LC3-II to LC3-I. It was observed that tephrosin induced ROS generation and Hsp90 expression inhibition. These results indicate that tephrosin induces A549 cancer cell death via the autophagy pathway, and the roles of ROS generation and Hsp90 expression inhibition in this process need further study in the future.

Numerous studies have shown that changes in the glycan structures of cells correlate with tumorigenesis, however, a casual link between the altered glycan structures and the abnormal GJIC in cancer cells is rarely studied. In this paper, we investigated the effects of sialic acid on the Cx43 gap junction functions, and clarified its potential mechanisms thereby. Sialidase significantly increased Cx43 gap junction functions in constructed Cx43-Hela cells along with down-regulation of cell surface sialic acid, which is dramatically reversed by sialidase inhibitor NeuAc2en. Further study indicated that sialidase failed to affect Cx43 at either protein or phosphorylation level, instead, it induced a considerable fraction of Triton X-100 insoluble, as compared with the untreated cells. We also found that sialidase treatment reduced the N-cadherin glycosylation and enhanced both Cx43-ZO-1 interaction and N-cadherin-ZO-1 association. Moreover, sialidase promoted the cell-cell adhesion with elevating N-cadherin binding to β-catenin, accompanied by increasing colocalization of Cx43 with microtubules at the cell periphery. Based on live cell microscopy, with the FARP technology in the Cx43-EGFP-Hela cells, we found that Cx43 in the plague recovered more quickly in sialidase treatment group, indicating that sialidase could promote the Cx43 traffic to the plague. Overall, these studies indicate cell surface sialic acid on cancer cells may suppress Cx43 gap junction functions via inhibiting Cx43 traffic to the plague involving in sialylated N-cadherin, a process that likely underlies the intimate association between abnormal GJIC and glycosylation on cancer development.

To analyze the images from the segmenting CT in the space of nasal endoscope and to observe the benefits in applying the method in endoscopic sinus surgery.Five patients with inverted papilloma and ten patients with chronic rhinosinusitis were enrolled. The images from the coronal CT were put in the ideal model of the nasal cavity, which had been designed by SketchUp software package, and the space of the model in the 0 degree rod-lens telescope was simulated and observed according to definite elevation angle between the endoscope and bottom of nasal cavity and the distance of the endoscope entering the nasal cavity. The surgical plan was designed and compared with the models of the intraoperative corresponding vision.The anatomical form of the images from the coronal CT and the directions of the space in the visual field of the endoscope were correlative with the elevation angle between the endoscope and bottom of nasal cavity and the distance of the endoscope entering the nasal cavity. Based on the elevation angle and the entering distance of the endoscope, the images from the CT scan in the space of nasal endoscope were analysed according to the order, which were consistent with the findings in the intraoperative corresponding vision, providing the accurate directions of the space for the endoscopic sinus surgery.The changes of the images of the CT scan in the space of the endoscope were consistent with the perspective law. To know the perspective law could grasp the directions of the space in the visual field of the endoscope and ensure the safety of the endoscopic surgery. The method was simple and feasible. The benefits of this technique were confirmed by clinician.

To accurately predict the non-stationary time series, an approach based on integration of wavelet transform, PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and SVM (Support Vector Machine) is proposed. Wavelet decomposition is used to reduce the complexity of time series. Different components are predicted by their corresponding SVM forecasters, respectively, after wavelet transform. The final forecasting result is obtained by combining all predicted results. Taking prediction residual as the fitness value, the parameters of SVM are optimized by a PSO based process. The proposed approach is applied into a coal working face gas concentration forecasting. The results show that simply implanted ANN or SVM based prediction method is not effective when sudden change occurs. The prediction method based on wavelet transform and SVM has better tracking ability and dynamic behavior for suddenly changed data. The performance of the forecaster is remarkably improved to obtain the averaged biases within 3% using the best parameter determined by PSO, which indicates that the suggested approach is feasible and effective.

To investigate the application of tunica vaginalis flap in repairing the deformity of urethra and urethral fistulas.Tunica vaginalis flap from the scrotum were used to wrap the reconstructed urethra in the 38 cases of hypospadias urethroplasty and urethral fistulas repair from 2002.All of cases were followed up for six months to one year. There was a fistula reoccurred after epispadias fistula repair, the repair was successful in other patients. There was no recurrent fistulas or urethral strictures. Penile cosmesis was excellent and erected well.The application of tunica vaginalis flap in urethral repair can raise achievement ratio and reduce the incidence of urethral fistulas. The flap is ease to mobilize with no harmful effects on the testicles.

To discuss the diagnosis of pediatric concealed penis and evaluate the results after the correction of the pediatric concealed penis.Twenty patients with pediatric concealed penis were treated by using a modified Devine's technique.The appearance with a straightening penile was achieved in all of the patients. All of the patients recovered well after the operation without any complications.The modified Devine' s technique could be a safe and effective method for the correction of the pediatric concealed penis with satisfactory outcome.