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Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor for the substantia nigra (SN) dopamine (DA) neurons. The transmembrane signaling of GDNF is mediated by a unique receptor system, including the ligand binding receptor GDNF family receptor α (GFRα) and the transmembrane signaling receptor Ret or neural cell adhesion molecule-140 (NCAM-140). Here, we found that another transmembrane cell adhesion molecule, integrin, a heterodimer consisting of α and β subunits, also mediates the transmembrane signaling of GDNF. The results showed that the level of phosphorylated Src homology 2 domain containing (Shc), which was associated with the cytoplasmic domain of integrin β1, increased after GDNF administration. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that integrin β1 could form a complex with GFRαl. The simulation of molecular modeling showed that four H-bonds were formed between integrin β1 and GFRα. These data indicate that integrin β1 is involved in the transmembrane signaling of GDNF and suggest that integrin β1 may be an alternative signaling receptor for GDNF. J. Comp. Neurol. 509:203–210, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Silibinin, which had been used as a hepatoprotectant, was shown to have anticancer activity. In this study we investigated the mechanisms of silibinin-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Expressions of Fas ligand (FasL), Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD), and Bax were significantly up-regulated in silibinin-treated cells, whilst silibinin induced a conspicuous translocation of Bax to mitochondria and release of cytochrome c to the cytosol. Therefore, both the extrinsic Fas death receptor and intrinsic mitochondrial death pathways played essential roles in silibinin-induced apoptosis. It was also found that silibinin markedly decreased protein expression of SIRT1, a mammalian homologue of yeast Sir2, which was proved to have a role in sequestering Bax away from mitochondria. Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), a receptor tyrosine kinase with a crucial role in malignancy development, is expressed in most human primary breast carcinomas. Our results showed that silibinin-induced apoptosis was significantly reinforced by blocking IGF-1R signaling with tyrphostin AG1024, a specific inhibitor of IGF-1R autophosphorylation. Up-regulation of FADD, downregulation of SIRT1 expression, and activation of the mitochondrial death pathway were apparently enhanced by AG1024 in the silibinin-treated MCF-7 cells. Keywords:: silibinin, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), MCF-7 cell, apoptosis

A highly efficient one-pot, two-step microwave procedure has been developed for the synthesis of 4-substituted 1-heteroarylpiperazines. Microwave heating of heteroaryl chlorides with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) at 160 °C for 15 min yielded 1-heteroaryl-4-(2-chloroethyl)piperazines, which could be further reacted with various nucleophiles, again under microwave irradiation conditions, to give an array of 4-substituted 1-heteroarylpiperazines in good to excellent yields.

To solve the problem of jamming program optimum selection of naval fleet in antimissile operation, a method of fleet jamming program decisionmaking based on synergy has been provided. The synergy degree among programs is defined and calculated according to the theory of synergy. In combination with dynamic programming methodology, a noval method for solving the multistage multitarget optimization based on synergy to obtain the optimum balanced tactic is given. This method is applied to solve the synergic decision making optimization problem of synthetic antimissile by shipboard jamming system. In a given operation plan, the overall range jamming effective factor can be obtained. The result is clear and reasonable.

A variety of aryl nitriles were prepared in excellent yield from the palladium(II) acetate–catalyzed cross‐coupling of aryl triflates and zinc cyanide under microwave irradiation conditions. To facilitate purification, polymer‐supported triphenylphosphine was used as the palladium ligand. Comparison to the corresponding thermal conditions revealed much shorter reaction times with comparable yields.

Aim: To explore the intracellular mechanisms underlying the survival/differentiation effect of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on dopamine (DA) cells. Methods: Midbrain slice culture and primary cell culture were established, and the cultures were divided into 3 groups: control group, GDNF group, and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt (PI3-K/Akt) pathway-inhibited group. Then the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was detected by immunostaining as well as Western blotting. Results: GDNF treatment induced an increase in the number of TH-immunoreactive (ir) cells and the neurite number of TH-ir cells, as well as in the level of TH expression in cultures (Number of TH-ir cells in the slice culture: control group, 8.76±0.75; GDNF group, 18.63±0.95. Number of TH-ir cells and neurite number of TH-ir cells in cell culture: control group, 3.65±0.88 and 2.49±0.42; GDNF group, 6.01±0.43 and 4.89±0.46). Meanwhile, the stimulation of cultured cells with GDNF increased the phosphorylation of Akt, which is a downstream effector of PI3-K/Akt. The effects of GDNF were specifically blocked by the inhibitor of the PI3-K/Akt pathway, wortmannin (Number of TH-ir cells in slice culture: PI3-K/Akt pathway-inhibited group, 6.98±0.58. Number of TH-ir cells and neurite number of TH-ir cells in cell culture: PI3-K/Akt pathway-inhibited group, 3.79±0.62 and 2.50±0.25, respectively). Conclusion: The PI3-K/Akt pathway mediates the survival/differentiation effect of GDNF on DA cells.

To explore the apoptotic pathway mediated by endoplasmic reticulum stress in the mouse myocardium with heart failure induced by acute viral myocarditis caused by B-3 Coxsackie virus.Forty BALB/c male mice were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 20): the control group and the virus infection group. The BALB/c mouse myocarditis was induced by B-3 Coxsackie virus and the mouse behavior was observed conventionally. All the mice were sacrificed on day 7 and the changes of left ventricular pressure (LVP) and the rate of change of left ventricular pressure (LV dp/dt) were measured. The cardiomyocytic apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL method and the mRNA expression level of endoplasmic reticulum haperones glucose-regulated protein (GRP)78 and GRP94 was detected by RT-PCR.(1) Compared with those of control group, the parameters of cardiac hemodynamics in the virus infection group were significantly decreased (P0.01); (2) Compared with that of control group, myocardial apoptosis was significantly increased in the myocardial cells from mice with heart failure induced by acute viral myocarditis (P0.01); (3) The mRNA expression level of GRP78 and GRP94 were increased significantly in the virus infection group compared with the control group.These findings suggest the endoplasmic reticulum stress may mediate the apoptosis of myocardial cells in the mice myocardium of heart failure induced by acute viral myocarditis caused by B-3 Coxsackie virus.

A two-dimensional electromechanical analysis is performed on a transversely isotropic piezoelectric material containing a crack based on the impermeable electric boundary condition. By introducing stress function, a general solution is provided in terms of triangle series. It is shown that the stress and electric displacement are all of 1/2 order singularity in front of the crack tip. In addition, the electromechanical fields in the vicinity of the crack when subjected to uniform tensile mechanical load are obtained using boundary collocation method.

3-Chloro-1-phenyl-2-pyrazoline and 3-chloro-1-phenyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridazine were coupled with aryl boronic acids in good yields under microwave heating conditions (140 °C, 5 min).

Facile intramolecular N-arylation catalyzed by CuI/ l -proline has been developed to prepare 6,12b-diaza-dibenzo[a,h]azulen-7-ones and benzo[f]pyrrolo[1,2-a][1,4]diazepin-4-ones in good to excellent yields.

Ki-67 expression is an important tool for distinguishing between malignant and benign tumors. It usually shows the nuclear staining. However, the cell membrane staining of MIB-1, which is one of the clones of Ki-67, in the hyalinizing trabecular adenoma of the thyroid gland and other tumors had also been reported. In our practice, we found that the 7B11 antibody could be immunoreactived with the adipose tissues inside or around tumors in the membrane. Thus, in this study, we determined if Ki-67 expression would be useful in recognizing the lipoblasts and adipocytes. The five clones of the Ki-67 antibody, namely, 7B11, K-2, SP5, MIB-1, and SP6 were selected. The adipocytes showed strong 7B11 staining in the cell membrane. The brown fat cells were strongly immunoreactive with 7B11 in the arachnoid layer of the cytoplasm. The adipocytes and brown fat cells showed positive, albeit weaker K-2 staining in the cell membrane and cytoplasm, respectively, compared to 7B11. The adipose tissues and brown fat cells were non-reactive to clones SP5, MIB-1, and SP6. All adipocytes in the lipomas, angiolipomas, uterine lipoleiomyomas, and angioleiomyolipomas showed diffusedly positive 7B11 and K-2 staining in the cell membrane, with stronger immunoreactivity to 7B11 compared with K-2. All hibernomas showed diffusedly cytoplasmic arachnoid staining of 7B11, but only focal to K-2. The lipoblasts in adipocytic tumors also showed positive 7B11 and K-2 staining; however, nearly all of the vacuolated lipoblasts showed strong 7B11 staining, only focal vacuolated lipoblasts in the adipocytic tumors were immunoreactive to K-2 positivity. All other components of the adipocytic tumors were non-reactive to 7B11, K-2, SP5, MIB-1, and SP6 in the cell membrane and cytoplasm. Our results showed that the 7B11 could well help to identify the lipoblasts, which would be useful to diagnose the malignant adipocytic tumors.

Treating neuropathic pain is a major clinical challenge, and several key molecules associated with nociception have been suggested as potential targets for novel analgesics. Many studies have reported the anti-nociceptive effects of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. The present study was performed to assess the effects of GDNF in a mouse model of chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain. We also determined the potential role of E-cadherin/p120 catenin (p120ctn) signaling in these effects. Mice received an intrathecal acute injection of PBS, GDNF, and DECMA-1 (an E-cadherin functional blocking antibody) or a combination of DECMA-1 with GDNF on the testing days. Our results demonstrated that CCI caused a rapid decrease in E-cadherin and membrane-associated p120ctn in the spinal dorsal horn. Together, these data demonstrated that E-cadherin-associated p120ctn was upregulated by GDNF and that this upregulation was inhibited by pre-treatment with DECMA-1. Moreover, DECMA-1 significantly inhibited the effect of GDNF on thermal hyperalgesia. These data suggest that GDNF might have a therapeutic potential for the treatment of CCI-induced neuropathic pain and that the E-cadherin/p120ctn might play a role in GDNF-induced attenuation of thermal hyperalgesia.

A novel synthesis of 6-methyl-4-phenyl-5-substituted-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1 H )-ones from 6-methyl-4-phenyl-5-halo-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1 H )-ones via the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction is reported. These previously unknown heterocyclic halides are easily prepared using the Biginelli multicomponent reaction followed by halodecarboxylation. The effect of varied substitution at the C-4 position on the cross-coupling reaction is also examined.

Fiber Bragg gratings in pure-silica polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber were photowritten by use of two-photon ultraviolet excitation and characterized for their responses to temperature, axial strain, and hydrostatic pressure. The two resonance wavelengths corresponding to the two polarization axes show the same response to temperature and axial strain but different response to hydrostatic pressure. The differential pressure sensitivity is independent of temperature.

Objective : The aim of study was to investigate the distribution of the integrons in Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates, and analyze the possible relationship between the antimicrobial resistance profiles and the integrons. Methods : The antimicrobial profiles of 376 E. coli strains were analysed by disk diffusion test. The integron genes and variable regions were detected by PCR. Some amplicons were sequenced to determine the gene cassettes style. Results : Of 376 isolates, 223 isolates (59.3%) were confirmed as ESBL-EC. Comparison to ESBL-negative E. coli, the high rates of resistance to the third and fourth generation of cephalosporins, penicillins and amikacin were found in ESBL-EC. Only class 1 was integron detected in the isolates, and the prevalence of it was 66.5%. It was commonly found in ESBL-EC (77.6%, 173/223), which was higher than that of ESBL-negative E. coli (50.3%, 77/153) (p

Glial-cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been shown to protect dopaminergic (DA) neurons against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) toxicity. The mechanism underlying the antiapoptosis role of GDNF still needs further studies. We previously observed that nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling pathway, i.e. p65/p52, mediated the antiapoptosis role of GDNF in MN9D cells. Here, the DA cell line MN9D was used to explore the mechanisms underlying NF-κB p65/p52-mediated protection role of GDNF in DA neurons. The results showed that GDNF pretreatment blocked the apoptotic effects induced by 6-OHDA, with the upregulation of the antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-2 and Bcl-w, as well as the downregulation of the proapoptotic proteins, Bax and Bad. Furthermore, when sip100 plasmids were transfected into MN9D cells to inhibit the expression of p100, which was the precursor of p52, the effects of GDNF on upregulating Bcl-2 and Bcl-w were attenuated. These results indicated that GDNF could protect MN9D cells from apoptosis induced by 6-OHDA via upregulating Bcl-2 and Bcl-w expressions and downregulating Bax and Bad expressions. Moreover, NF-κB p65/p52 signaling mediated the effects of GDNF on Bcl-2 and Bcl-w expressions.

This work presents an ICA-based UHF RFID multi-tag hybrid data blind separation algorithm. After analysis, we find that UHF RFID multi-tag hybrid data is consistent with the requirements of ICA algorithm. Simulated experimental results show that excellent results can be obtained by using ICA techniques in blind separating of tags data. For evaluating the separation performance objectively, a new indicator- the Similarity of Sources and Results (SSR) is defined. The anti- noise performance of this algorithm is analyzed quantitatively too. A good theoretical and experimental basis for applying blind separation technology to UHF RFID tags anti-collision algorithm has been established in this paper.

Flowering time (i.e., heading date in crops) is an important ecological trait that determines growing seasons and regional adaptability of plants to specific natural environments. Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is a short-day plant that originated in the tropics. Increasing evidence suggests that the northward expansion of cultivated rice was accompanied by human selection of the heading date under noninductive long-day (LD) conditions. We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of DTH2 (for Days to heading on chromosome 2 ), a minor-effect quantitative trait locus that promotes heading under LD conditions. We show that DTH2 encodes a CONSTANS-like protein that promotes heading by inducing the florigen genes Heading date 3a and RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T 1 , and it acts independently of the known floral integrators Heading date 1 and Early heading date 1 . Moreover, association analysis and transgenic experiments identified two functional nucleotide polymorphisms in DTH2 that correlated with early heading and increased reproductive fitness under natural LD conditions in northern Asia. Our combined population genetics and network analyses suggest that DTH2 likely represents a target of human selection for adaptation to LD conditions during rice domestication and/or improvement, demonstrating an important role of minor-effect quantitative trait loci in crop adaptation and breeding.

The measures and proposals of teaching reform in the MCU course based on PROTEUS platform are introduced in this paper. The reform of theoretical teaching and practical teaching is presented. At present, many colleges teach theoretical knowledge and practical experiment separately in the MCU course. In order to solve these common problems, a new teaching method combined theory and practice based on PROTEUS platform is proposed. This new teaching method is constructed by online teaching resource, experimental box, simulation platform and circuit emulator, it is mainly implemented through a specific program. It has proved that this new teaching method not only let students understand the MCU principles well, but also improve their capability to develop a systematic design.

Hash function is found in many applications for security authentication. With the pervasiveness of Internet of Things, the security of passive or battery powered devices like RFID tag and wireless sensors have attracted more and more attention. Hash functions based on LFSR are hardware efficient security component that suitable for passive devices with limited power and computing resources. A new hash function based on multiple input signature analysis registers (MISR), a parallel structure of LFSR, is proposed. It is proved to be more secure, more hardware efficient, much higher speed than other hash functions based on LFSR. We adopt hardware reusing technology in realizing the hash function in EPC C1G2 RFID with little hardware consumption.

To study the chemical constituents from the fruits of Kadsura marmorata.The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 column and HPLC.9 compounds were isolated and identified as 4,5-dihydroxy-3-methoxybiphenyl (I), eriobofuran (II), 3beta, 16beta-dihydroxy urs-2-ene (III), 2alpha, 3beta, 6beta, 23-tetrahydroxy urs-12,18-dien-28-oic acid (IV), 2alpha,3beta,23-trihydroxy urs-12-en-28-oic acid (V), rutin (VI), 2-ethylhexanoic acid (VII), 2-monolaurin (VIII), glyceryl monoricinoleate (IX) on the basis of NMR and EI-MS spectroscopic analysis.All these compounds are isolated from this genus for the first time.

Chinese medicines (CMs) are increasingly being used for the treatment of tumors because of their unique advantages. The induction of tumor cell apoptosis is an important method of tumor treatment. Caspase-3 is a member of the caspase (cysteine aspartic proteinases) family of enzymes, which are the major inducers of apoptosis. Caspase-3 activity is often measured in the context of research into anti-tumor drugs that target apoptosis. Many studies have shown that CMs upregulate the expression of caspase-3 in tumor cells via extrinsic and/or intrinsic pathways, removing endogenous suppression of apoptosis and promoting tumor cell death. Therefore, several CMs fulfill the criteria for anti-tumor drugs. In this paper, we review the efficacy of 14 Chinese herbal medicines, across a wide range applications, and discuss their effects on caspase-3 activity in tumor cells.

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent protective factor for dopaminergic (DA) neurons, but the signaling mechanisms underlying the effect of GDNF on these neurons remain obscure. Here, both our in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that the majority of DA neurons express the NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), which is the essential kinase for mediating activation of the new alternative NF-κB signaling pathway. Additionally, we also show that GDNF induced the time/dose-dependent phosphorylation of IκB kinase α (IKKα) and p100, facilitated the processing of p100 to p52 and accelerated the translocation of NF-κB dimmers into the nuclei of DA neurons. We furtherly found that the dimmer which translocate into the nucleus was RelA/p52 not RelB/p52. Meanwhile, the attenuation of 6-OHDA-induced DA neuronal apoptosis due to GDNF was reversed subsequent to the inhibition of p100 expression by RNAi while the neuroprotective effect of GDNF on injured DA neurons was strengthened by the overexpression of p100. Our data, therefore, indicate that a new alternative NF-κB signaling pathway, which was not the classic pathway but different from the non-canonical pathway, exists in DA neurons and mediates the neuroprotective effect of GDNF on these neurons.

The noise always affects the accuracy result of the abrupt breakout signal, during the analysis of mould friction signal of continuous slab casting. The traditional signal de-noising method makes the signal's edges information ambiguous as reduce the noise, and which leads to signal's partly distortion. In this paper, based on wavelet threshold de-noising, proposed by Dohono, using an adaptive wavelet threshold to the separation of signal and noise, experiments show that the adaptive wavelet threshold method can well remove the noise, the new method can improve signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, the integrity of the detail information still well guaranteed at the same time.

To obtain a better understanding of the responses of soil ciliate communities to ecological restoration, a quarterly survey of the soil ciliate community and seasonal dynamics across five sampling sites of artificial spruce forest was undertaken. A contrast sampling site of wild grassland was used and live observation ciliates and the three level ten-fold dilution method was used in Huajialing, Dingxi, Gansu. A total of 127 species were identified, belonging to three classes, nine orders, 34 families and 50 genera. Results show that the species distribution had obvious differences across the sampling sites, the community structure of soil tended to be complicated and species comparability decreased gradually with the number of restoration years, and abundance, species richness and species diversity index showed an upward trend. The dominant groups of soil ciliates changed during ecological restoration. Colpodida was the dominant group in sampling site I and site II, whereas Hypotrichida was the dominant group in the late recovery sampling sites. This study shows that the dynamics of the soil ciliate community better respond to soil condition changes in the ecological restoration process. Although the soil ciliate community can be used to evaluate the effect of ecological restoration of terrestrial ecosystems, plenty of further systematic research to establish an effective and feasible evaluation index system is required.

The heterocycles are prepared in excellent yield via PyBOP-promoted reaction of o-halobenzylamines with carboxylic acids followed by intramolecular N-arylation of the amide products (I), (III) and (V).

Silibinin, from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), is a flavonolignan with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been therapeutically used for the treatment of hepatic diseases in China, Germany and Japan. Recently, increasing evidences prove that silibinin is also a potent antitumor agent, and the major anti-tumor mechanism for silibinin is the prominent inhibition of the activities of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and their downstream signal molecules in a variety of tumor cell lines, such as epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR) and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling pathways. Meanwhile, the evidences that silibinin selectively scavenges hydroxyl free radical (*OH) and specifically inhibits the action of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) provide more complicated explanations for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Some new findings such as that silibinin attenuating the cognitive deficits induced by amyloid beta protein (Abeta) peptide through its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties is valuable to broad the medical prospect of silibinin. In this review, we discuss the molecular pharmacological mechanisms of silibinin, focusing on its inhibition of tyrosine kinases, actions of antioxidation, free radical scavenging, immunoregulation and anti-inflammation.

Silibinin was reported to have high cyto-toxicity in many malignant cell lines, however, it showed low cyto-toxicity in treatment of human melanoma A375-S2 cells and even protected these cells against certain stress insults. Reactive oxygen species was reported to have controversial effects on cancer chemotherapy. In this study we investigated the mechanism of reactive oxygen species generation and the role of reactive oxygen species in protecting cells against silibinin induced cyto-toxicity in A375-S2 cells. We found that silibinin induced the generation of large amount of superoxide anion (O(2)(∙-)) and small amount of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) through down-regulating the activity of mitochondrial complex IV and the protein level of cytochrome c. We also discovered that O(2)(∙-) generation activated insulin like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and its down-stream phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases-Akt (PI3K-Akt) and phospholipase C γ-protein kinase C (PLC γ-PKC) signaling pathways, which were augmented by H(2)O(2) scavenger catalase. Scavenging O(2)(∙-) by superoxide dismutase (SOD) or inhibition of IGF-1R-PI3K-Akt and IGF-1R-PLC γ-PKC signaling pathways increased cell apoptosis. Therefore, O(2)(∙-) mediated cell resistance to silibinin via activating IGF-1R-PI3K-Akt and IGF-1R-PLC γ-PKC pathways in silibinin treated A375-S2 cells.

The status monitoring and failure detection for equipment operation have always been important means to protect equipment for its safe and reliable operation. Therefore, establishing of a self-adaptive selection and decision optimizing model based on trend prediction method can self-adaptively select trend prediction method according to actual operating status so as to improve failure prediction accuracy and expand application range of failure prediction. The failure prediction experimental device was established to verify the practical application of optimal objective function in the fault prediction. The self-adaptive selection and decision optimizing method, which realizes the failure prediction for large size rotating equipments base on vibration signal, not only can adapt failure predictions of different rotating equipments, but also can realize the real-time online prediction for rotating equipment status; moreover, it has self-adaptive judgment method for multiple vibrating trend prediction models so that the optimal prediction results has high judgment success rate. Meanwhile, it provides trend prediction method adopting multiple prediction models and provides prediction results conducted by multiple prediction models. Compared with historical actual value, it has higher judgment value of failure early warning.

Halo derivatives of type (VI) and (XI) are prepared via the corresponding carboxylic acids following a treatment with NaI or NaBr under conditions A).

In this paper, a strategy for self-organizing fuzzy power system stabilizer (PSS) is formulated and evaluated. Unlike other methods that have a learning algorithm to update look-up table, the proposed PSS consists of output look-up table that is made by fuzzy rule base, and learning algorithm based on the principle of sliding mode. The results of this proposed PSS reduces computation time, steady state error, efficient response achieved for damping electromechanical modes of oscillations, and enhance power system synchronous stability.

A fuzzy-neuro controller has been designed to stabilize the frequency and voltage output of a synchronous generator. The structure of the proposed control system consists of two PI –like fuzzy controllers and two neural networks. With this control scheme, difficulty for tuning scale factors of the fuzzy controller is reduced. Simulation results show that the system is robust to drastic changes on the load.

To evaluate the Immunogenicity of Group A and Group C Meningococcal conjugate Vaccine with coupling Group B Meningococcal Outer Membrane Protein (Men B-OMP).458 healthy children aged 3-5 months, 6-23 months, 2-6 years and 7-24 years were given the Groups A and C conjugate Vaccine with MenB-OMP or other vaccine as control group to measure the pre-and post-vaccination Men A and C and B by Serum Bactericidal Assay (SBA) in the double-blind randomized controlled trial.97.65%-100% were 4 times or greater increase in SBA titer for the healthy children given the Groups A and C conjugate Vaccine with MenB-OMP, The geometric mean titer of SBA were 1:194-1:420, which significantly higber than controls.The Group A and C conjugate Vaccine with MenB-OMP was safe and well immunogenic.

In this paper, a novel linear subspace leaning algorithm called orthogonal discriminant local tangent space alignment (O-DLTSA) is proposed. Derived from local tangent space alignment (LTSA), O-DLTSA not only inherits the advantages of LTSA which uses local tangent space as a representation of the local geometry so as to preserve the local structure, but also makes full use of class information and orthogonal subspace to improve discriminant power. The experimental results of applying O-DLTSA to standard face databases demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A series of α,α-disubstituted amines have been prepared in a simple and efficient one-pot procedure by the addition of Grignard reagents to a series of aliphatic, aromatic, and heteroaromatic nitriles. Key to this reported procedure is the unprecedented addition of the Grignard reagent to the nitrile under heating by microwave irradiation which both significantly improves reaction yields and reduces reaction times. In general, the Grignard addition reaction is complete within 5–10 min at 100 °C followed by rapid reduction with sodium borohydride to give the target amines.

We present a high-temperature-resistant distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser photowritten in Er/Yb codoped phosphosilicate fiber that is capable of long-term operation at 500 °C. Highly saturated Bragg gratings are directly inscribed into the Er/Yb fiber without hydrogen loading by using 193 nm excimer laser. After subjected to a significant decay at elevated temperature, the stabilized gratings are strong enough for laser oscillation. The laser operates in robust single longitude mode with output power more than 1 dBm and signal-to-noise ratio better than 70 dB over the entire temperature range from room temperature to 500 °C.

A highly efficient procedure was developed for the microwave-assisted synthesis of N-heteroaryl-4-(2-chloroethyl)piperazines and N-heteroaryl-4-(2-chloroethyl)piperidines. Microwave irradiation of electron deficient heteroaryl chlorides with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) at 160 °C for 15 min led to N-heteroaryl-4-(2-chloroethyl)piperazines in good to excellent yields. In a similar manner, microwave irradiation of electron deficient heteroaryl chlorides with quinuclidine at 180 °C for 15 min provided N-heteroaryl-4-(2-chloroethyl)piperidines in good to excellent yields. Extension of the method was demonstrated by the development of a one-pot, two-step microwave-assisted protocol for the synthesis of 4-(2-acetoxyethyl)-substituted N-heteroarylpiperazines and N-heteroarylpiperidines to demonstrate the production of a small library in a parallel fashion.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) anti-collision algorithm is an important technique in RFID field. In this paper, we first mathematically investigate the relationship among the number of tags, the number of slots and the probability of success to read a tag, and then present a precise and reasonable method to evaluate the efficiency of a RFID anti-collision system. In the proposed method, we introduce slot time parameter into the anti-collision process. After introducing the parameter and making it optimal, we find the number of tags no longer equals the number of the frame slots, but fluctuates with the slot time. After the simulation, results show a much better performance.

In this paper, a novel anti-collision algorithm based on cyclic redundancy check is proposed to improve the performance of the RFID system. Compared with the previous algorithm, two new techniques can be found in our algorithm. First, noting transmitting the RN16 in the process of reading costs too much time in ISO18000–6C protocol, we use 16-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC16) to take the place of 16-bit Random number (RN16) as the tag's handle. Second, we suggest slot time should be introduced into a RFID anti-collision system to form a standard to evaluate the efficiency of any kinds of anti-collision algorithms. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve much better performance.

To study the infection rate, epidemiological features of Far-East tick-borne spotted fever in the Northeastern area of China and to provide evidence for prevention and control.Nine cities from the three Northeastern provinces were chosen. Human serum, rat, serum, free tick sample as well as blood from suspected patients were determined by indirect immuno-fluorescence assay. Rickettsiae was identified by guinea pigs plant method.The overall rate of infection among human beings was 17.46%, with R. heilongjiangensis antibody the major one among the nine cities. The annual infection rate was 9.4%. In a two year period, the rates of being bitten by ticks among forestry workers was 92.8%, and 33.5% among soldiers. The antibody positive rate and tick-bite rate were positively correlated. The serum positive rate in rats was 27.3%. 20 strains were isolated from blood which confirmed that 16 cases were related to R. heilongjiangensis and another 16 cases were Far East tick-borne spotted fever. Clinical features of the patients were also analyzed.Nine cities from the east part of the Northeastern areas of China were confirmed of having R. heilongjiangensis infection (3.4% - 27.4%). Our results also demonstrated that in those above-mentioned areas, there had been an existing natural foci of Far East tick-borne spotted fever.

This paper presents the results from investigations of thermal sensitivity, thermal response time and long-term stability of a newly miniaturized design of thermal sensitive quartz tuning fork resonator working at flexural mode with ZY-cut at fundamental frequency of 32 kHz. Special attention is given to the methodology and equipment for calibration of quartz tuning fork temperature sensor. To obtain accuracy better than 0.05degC, quartz tuning temperature sensors require calibration. We have figured out that the single point calibration methodology of quartz tuning fork temperature sensor for some applications, where low cost calibrated sensors are necessary. By applying the smart sensor concept, the calibration curve can be stored in the Transducer Electronics Datasheet. After temperature calibration, the quartz tuning fork temperature sensor measurement accuracy can reach 0.05degC with a resolution of 0.01degC over an operating range of -40degC to 140 degC.

We present a high-temperature-resistant distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser photowritten in Er/Yb codoped fiber that is capable of long-term operating at 500°C. Highly saturated Bragg gratings are directly inscribed into the active fiber by use of the two-photon absorption at 193 nm. After annealing at elevated temperature, the stabilized gratings are strong enough for laser oscillation. The laser operates in robust single mode with output power more than 1 dBm and signal-tonoise ratio better than 70 dB over the entire temperature range from room temperature to 500°C.

To investigate the apoptotic mechanism of pseudolaric acid B (PAB) in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide analysis and morphological changes were applied to detect apoptosis. The percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells were calculated by the lactate dehydrogenase activity-based cytotoxicity assay, and the protein expression was examined by Western blot analysis.PAB and/or the mitogen-activated protein kinases, including p38, c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), did not participate in necrosis. P38 had no obvious function on apoptosis after 4 micromol/L PAB treatment for 36 h, but PAB induced JNK phosphorylation and inhibited ERK phosphorylation in the apoptotic process. In this study the inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) genistein inverted the inhibitory effect of PAB, instead promoting the survival of MCF-7 cells. Like genistein, another PTK inhibitor AG1024 had a similar effect on PAB-treated MCF-7 cells, indicating that PAB activated PTK to induce apoptosis. Together with PAB, genistein increased the expression of p-ERK, and decreased the expressions of JNK and p-JNK in PAB-treated MCF-7 cells at 36 h. And it is considered that the p-ERK and p-JNK were active patterns of ERK and JNK, respectively.PTK were upstream of ERK and JNK, and PTK induced apoptosis through activating JNK and inactivating ERK in PAB-treated MCF-7 cells.

We present a high-temperature-resistant distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser photowritten in Er/Yb codoped phosphosilicate fiber that is capable of long-term operation at 500 degrees C. Highly saturated Bragg gratings are directly inscribed into the Er/Yb fiber without hydrogen loading by using a 193 nm excimer laser and phase mask method. After annealing at elevated temperature, the remained gratings are strong enough for laser oscillation. The laser operates in robust single mode with output power more than 1 dBm and signal-to-noise ratio better than 70 dB over the entire temperature range from room temperature to 500 degrees C.