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The objective of this research was to establish a simple, practical and efficient method for routine quantitative analysis of Erigeron breviscapus and its extract injection to control their qualities. The reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was adopted to determine simultaneously the contents of two major classes of constituents namely phenolic acids and flavonoids, which were usually ignored in previous studies of E. breviscapus. Under the optimum conditions, three flavonoids including scutellarin, scutellarein and apigenin and four phenolic acids including caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, 3,4-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid were successfully separated on a Zorbax SB-C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm I.D., 5.0 μm particle size) at 25 °C. Of the three flavonoids, scutellatin is a flavone glucuronide. The mobile phase was a mixture of acetonitrile and 1.0% (v/v) aqueous acetic acid employing gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min−1 and the detection wavelength was set at 330 nm. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the peak areas of the analytes and their concentrations (r 2 > 0.9990). The relative standard deviations of retention time and peak area were less than 0.33 and 1.45%. The intra- and inter-day precisions as determined from sample solutions were below 1.66 and 2.35%. And the recoveries ranged from 96.5 to 101.8%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous quantification of two major classes of constituents in E. breviscapus and its extract injection for the first time.

The use of bismuth oxyhalides as photocatalysts has received extensive interest because of their high photocatalytic activity and stability. However, available methods for the synthesis of bismuth oxyhalides with tailored morphologies, well-defined facets, and tunable band gaps are still lacking. In this work, two-dimensional BiOClx Br1-x solid solution with exposed {001} facets and tunable band gaps were synthesized by using solvothermal methods. The BiOClx Br1-x solid solution nanoplates crystallized in a homogeneous crystal structure but possessed continuously tuned band gaps from 3.39 to 2.78 eV by decreasing the ratio of Cl/Br. Among the synthesized nanoplates, the BiOCl0.5 Br0.5 sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for degrading Rhodamine B (RhB), a typical organic pollutant, under visible light. The highest photoactivity of the BiOCl0.5 Br0.5 sample was attributed to a synergetic effect of higher surface area, facets exposed, and optimized band structure. The results are of profound significance for the design of novel photocatalyst materials.

BACKGROUND Patient education has been shown to be more effective when delivered using multimedia than written materials. However, the effects of using multimedia to assist patients in cardiac rehabilitation have not been investigated. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of an inpatient multimedia exercise training program on distance walked in the 6-minute walking test (6MWT), heart rate recovery, and walking self-efficacy of patients who had undergone heart surgery. METHODS For this longitudinal quasi-experimental study, 60 consecutive patients were assigned to an experimental (n = 20; inpatient multimedia exercise training program) or control (n = 40; routine care) group. Data were collected at 3 times (before surgery, 1 to 2 days before hospital discharge, and 1 month after hospital discharge) and analyzed with the generalized estimating equation approach. RESULTS Most subjects were men (66.7%), had a mean age of 61.32 ± 13.4 years and left ventricular ejection fraction of 56.96% ± 13.28%, and underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (n = 34, 56.7%). Subjects receiving the exercise training program showed significantly greater improvement than those in the control group in the 6MWT walking distance (P < .001), heart rate recovery (P = .04), and self-efficacy (P = .002) at hospital discharge. Furthermore, the intervention effects on 6MWT distance (P < .001) and self-efficacy (P < .001) were sustained at 1 month after hospital discharge. CONCLUSION Our inpatient multimedia exercise training program safely improved distance walked in the 6MWT, heart rate recovery, and self-efficacy at hospital discharge in patients after heart surgery and maintained their improvement in 6MWT and self-efficacy 1 month later.

Pathogenic mycobacteria transport virulence factors across their complex cell wall via a type VII secretion system (T7SS)/early secreted antigenic target-6 of kDa secretion system (ESX). ESX conserved component (Ecc) B, a core component of the T7SS architecture, is predicted to be a membrane bound protein, but little is known about its structure and function. Here, we characterize EccB1, showing that it is an ATPase with no sequence or structural homology to other ATPases located in the cell envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. We obtained the crystal structure of an EccB1-ΔN72 truncated transmembrane helix and performed modeling and ATP docking studies, showing that EccB1 likely exists as a hexamer. Sequence alignment and ATPase activity determination of EccB1 homologues indicated the presence of 3 conserved motifs in the N- and C-terminals of EccB1-ΔN72 that assemble together between 2 membrane proximal domains of the EccB1-ΔN72 monomer. Models of the EccB1 hexamer show that 2 of the conserved motifs are involved in ATPase activity and form an ATP binding pocket located on the surface of 2 adjacent molecules. Our results suggest that EccB may act as the energy provider in the transport of T7SS virulence factors and may be involved in the formation of a channel across the mycomembrane.

Lysine acetylation is an important post-translational modification and is known to regulate many eukaryotic cellular processes. Little, however, is known about acetylated proteins in prokaryotes. Here, using immunoblotting, mass spectrometry and mutagenesis studies, we investigate the acetylation dynamics of the DNA repair protein Ku and its relationship with the deacetylase protein Sir2 and the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway in Mycobacterium smegmatis. We report that acetylation of Ku increases with growth, while NHEJ activity decreases, providing support for the hypothesis that acetylation of Ku may be involved in the DNA damage response in bacteria. Ku has multiple lysine sites. Our results indicate that K29 is an important acetylation site and that deficiency of Sir2 or mutation of K29 affects the quantity of Ku and its acetylation dynamics. Our findings expand knowledge of acetylation targets in prokaryotes and indicate a new direction for further research on bacterial DNA repair mechanisms.

The gene encoding the Nin one binding (NOB1) protein which plays an essential role in protein degradation has been investigated for possible tumor promoting functions. The present study was focused on NOB1 as a possible therapeutic target for breast cancer treatment. Lentivirus mediated NOB1 siRNA transfection was used to silence the NOB1 gene in two established breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, successful transfection being confirmed by fluorescence imaging. NOB1 deletion caused significant decline in cell proliferation was observed in both cell lines as investigated by MTT assay. Furthermore the number and size of the colonies formed were also significantly reduced in the absence of NOB1. Moreover NOB1 gene knockdown arrested the cell cycle and inhibited cell cycle related protein expression. Collectively these results indicate that NOB1 plays an essential role in breast cancer cell proliferation and its gene expression could be a therapeutic target.

The transport properties of GaN and its alloys are attracting increasing interest due to the potential application of these materials for solar blind photodetectors and high mobility transistors. Because of the large band gap, the applications of Al x Ga 1−x N are extensive, such as for visible-blind ultraviolet detectors, laser diodes, and short-wave light emitting diodes (LEDs). However, the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) of GaN based photoconductive devices affects its applications. In order to study the origin of PPC, we designed solar blind ultraviolet photoconductive detector, which consists of n - Al 0.65 Ga 0.35 N top contact layer (100nm), n-Al 0.42 Ga 0.58 N/i-Al 0.65 Ga 0.35 N superlattice layers (200nm), i- Al 0.65 Ga 0.35 N layer (600nm), AlN buffer layer and double polished sapphire substrate. Moreover, there are photoconductive devices with different photosensitive areas. Investigations of electric-field effects and thermal effects on PPC in n-Al 0.42 Ga 0.58 N/i-Al 0.65 Ga 0.35 N superlattice are presented. We have observed that, by applying a high-voltage pulse, the course of PPC was effectively accelerated: With the same pulse width and different voltage, in the appropriate range, the higher of the voltage, the course of PPC was more effectively accelerated; with the same voltage and different pulse width, in the appropriate range, the wider of the pulse width, the course of PPC was more effectively accelerated. And PPC effect strongly depends on the temperature. The decay time of the PPC depend on the temperature and become longer with a decreasing temperature.

CdZnTe is the most suitable epitaxial substrate material of HgCdTe infrared detectors, because its lattice constant is able to achieve full match with HgCdTe’s lattice constant. It is always needed to etch CdZnTe substrate during the process of device separation or when we want to fabricate micro optical device on CdZnTe substrate. This paper adopts the more advanced method, Inductive Coupled Plasma-Reactive Ion Etching(ICP-RIE). The etching conditions of ICP-RIE on CdZnTe substrate are explored and researched. First of all, a set of comparative experiments is designed. All of CdZnTe samples with the same component are polished by chemical mechanical polishing before etching. Then all samples are etched by different types of etching gases(CH 4 /H 2 /N 2 /Ar) and different ratios of gases as we designed. The etching time is all set to 30 minutes. After that, the surface roughness, etching rate, etching damage and the profile of etched mesas are tested and characterized by optical microscope, step profiler and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), respectively. It is found that, Ar gas plays the role of physical etching, but the etching rate will decline when the concentration of Ar gas is too high. The results also show that, the introduction of N 2 causes more etching damage. Finally, combination of CH 4 /H 2 /Ar is used to etch CdZnTe substrate. The ratio of these gases is 2sccm/2sccm/10sccm. The testing results of optimized etching show that, the maximum etching rate reaches up to 20μm/h and the etched CdZnTe surface is smooth with very low etching damage. At last, aimed at the shortcoming of photoresist’s degeneration after long-time etching, the ICP etching process of CdZnTe deep mesa is studied. Double-layer or triple-layer photoresist are spin-coated on CdZnTe substrate during the process of lithography. Then ICP etching is carried out with the optimized condition. It is seen that there is no more phenomena of degeneration.

To quantitatively evaluate the intervention effect of schistosomiasis health education on the knowledge, attitude and behavior (KAP) among the primary school students.A questionnaire was designed to collect baseline data. Questionnairing was conducted among students of grades 3 and 4 from the Central Primary School, Liyuzhou Primary School, and Meichi Primary School in Wuxing Farm of Nanchang City in June 2010. Eighty-four students from Central Primary School were selected as experiment group, and 62 students in the other two schools served as control group. Health education intervention (knowledge lectures, information dissemination, intensive education and so on) was conducted for the students in experiment group from September 2010 to October 2011. Final KAP questionnaire survey was carried out after intervention. A KAP hierarchical evaluation method was used to calculate the KAP scores in the two groups before and after intervention.After health education, the total KAP score in experiment group increased from 8.40 before education to 9.36 (t = 2.994 4, P0.01), higher than that of the control (8.53, t = 5.335 5, P0.01). The scores of knowledge, attitude and behavior of schistosomiasis control increased from 6.16, 9.10, and 8.67 before education to 8.12, 9.86, and 9.45 after education in experiment group (t = 5.716 8, P0.01; t = 3.2764, P0.01; t = 3.276 4, P0.01), respectively. Compared to the experiment group, after health education the scores of knowledge (6.34, t = 3.517 5, P0.01) and attitude of schistosomiasis control (9.43, t = 2.311 9, P0.05) were lower in control group; but no significant difference was found on the score of behavior between the two groups. After health education, the scores of 26 indices in experiment group were higher than that of the control and before education.The health education intervention is effective for schistosomiasis control in the experiment school.

BiOCl is known as a highly efficient photocatalyst for degradation of pollutants. However, effective methods for fabricating BiOCl nanomaterials with well-defined facets are still lacking. In this work, a facile synthetic method was developed for the fabrication of BiOCl nanodisks with exposed {001} facets. The central feature of this approach was the use of water as the hydrolysis agent and ethylene glycol as the crystal growth inhibitor agent to tune the growth of BiOCl nanomaterial. With this approach, the size and shape of BiOCl nanostructures could be effectively tuned through adjusting the volume ratio of ethylene glycol/H2O. In addition, the mechanism of the crystal growth in this fabrication process was elucidated. The as-prepared BiOCl nanodisks with exposed {001} facets exhibited an excellent photocatalytic activity towards Rhodamine B degradation under both ultraviolet and visible light irradiations. These findings shed light on the deep understanding of formation mechanisms of BiOCl nanodisks and provide an efficient and facile method for the synthesis of high active photocatalyst.

In a survey of endophytic fungal biodiversity, an antimicrobial endophytic isolate zjwcf069 was obtained from twigs of Forsythia viridissima, Zhejiang Province, Southeast China. Zjwcf069 was then identified as Pezicula sp. through combination of morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on ITS-rDNA. Zjwcf069 here represented the first endophytic fungus in Pezicula isolated from host F. viridissima. From the fermentation broth, four compounds were obtained through silica gel column chromatography and Sephadex LH-20 under the guide of bioassay. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis as mellein (1), ramulosin (2), butanedioic acid (3), and 4-methoxy-1(3H)-isobenzofuranone (4). Compound 4 here stood for the very first time as natural product from microbes. In vitro antifungal assay showed that compound 1 displayed growth inhibition against 9 plant pathogenic fungi, especially Botrytis cinerea and Fulvia fulva with EC50 values below 50 μg/mL. Endophytic fungi in medicinal plants were good resources for bioactive secondary metabolites.

There is a scarcity of reports addressing patients with multiple primary malignancies (MPM), especially for Chinese cses. The aim of this study was to present a detailed analysis of Chinese patients presenting with at least two primary malignancies. Particularly, the clinical characteristics and survival between synchronous and metachronous MPM were compared. Out of 6,545 cases, 72 patients (1.1%) including 39 males (54.2%) and 33 females (45.8%) were diagnosed as MPM, giving a male: female sex ratio of 1.2:1. Of these, there were 16 (22.2%) cases of synchronous MPM (7 males, 9 females), 55(76.4%) metachronous (31 males, 24 females), and 1 "mixed form". For first tumor diagnosis time, synchronous MPM patients generally presented later than the metachronous cases. The top three sites for malignancies with metachronous MPM were colorectum, head and neck, and lung, while for synchronous they were lung, colorectum and breast. Among MPM patients, the median survival time was 15.7 years and the 5-year survival was 56%, and there was statistical difference in MPM categories (P < 0.05). The median survival time was 17.3 years and 3.8 years for metachronous and synchronous MPM patients, respectively. In comparison with synchronous MPM patients, those metachronous had a longer survival. This studies increase understanding of the clinical features of Chinese MPM patients and suggest that those presenting with metachronous cancers have a higher incidence and a better prognosis.

To study the clinicopathologic features and differential diagnosis of cutaneous regressing/regressed melanoma.Histopathologic evaluation and immunohistochemical study by EnVision method were performed in 8 cases of cutaneous regressing/regressed melanoma. The clinical presentation, treatment and follow-up data were analyzed.The age of the patients ranged from 40 to 69 years (mean 58 years). The male-to-female ratio was 3: 1. Tumors were located on the back (4 cases), sole of the foot (2 cases), ventral aspect of the toes (1 case), and the forearm (1 case). Clinically, 6 patients presented with progressive black mole of the skin, followed by subsequent focal hypopigmentation, even scarring. Two patients presented with multiple foci of dark-brown pigmentation. Microscopically, 3 cases were completely regressed malignant melanoma. Tumoral melanosis was found in 1 of 3 cases. The other 5 cases were melanoma with severe regression. The extent of regression ranged from 75% to 90%. The Breslow depth of the tumors ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 mm. Immunohistochemically, both metastatic and primary tumor cells were diffusely positive for S-100, HMB45 and Melan A, while melanophages were positive for CD68. Follow-up data were available in 8 patients, ranging from 8 to 27 months. Five patients were alive with no evidence of disease, 1 patient was alive with stable disease and 2 patients died of metastatic melanoma.Correlation between clinical presentation and pathologic features is important for diagnosis of cutaneous regressing/regressed melanoma. Thin melanoma with extensive regression ( ≥ 75%) should not been regarded as low metastatic risk and wide excision combined with sentinel lymph node biopsy is recommended.

From the aerial part of Hypericum japonicum, two new compounds, japonica acid and 3,4-epoxy-5-hydroxy-1-cyclohexenecarboxylic acid; one found naturally for the first time, 5-O-coumaroylquinic acid methyl ester; were isolated together with four known compounds. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the first-line treatment of HER-2-positive advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer.Fifteen Chinese research centers are involved in the BO18255 (ToGA) study. Patients with gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer were eligible for inclusion if their tumor showed overexpression of HER-2 protein by immunohistochemistry +++ or FISH-positive. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a chemotherapy regimen consisting of capecitabine or 5-FU plus cisplatin or chemotherapy in combination with intravenous trastuzumab. The primary endpoint was overall survival.Eighty-five Chinese patients were enrolled in this study, of whom 84 were included in the primary analysis: trastuzumab plus chemotherapy (FP/H) (n = 36) and chemotherapy alone (FP)(n = 48). The median follow-up was 15.2 months in the FP/H group and 14.2 months in the FP group. The median survival time was 12.6 months in the FP/H group compared with 9.7 months in the FP group [hazard ratio 0.72, 95%CI (0.40; 1.29)]. Grade 3/4 adverse events were higher in the FP/H(63.9%)than FP (47.9%) groups, including neutropenia, vomiting and nausea. Two mild cardiac adverse events occurred in the FP/H group. Severe adverse events occurred in 3 cases of both two groups, respectively.Addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy is well tolerated and shows improved survival in Chinese patients with advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer. These results are consistent with the results of ToGA whole population trial. Trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy can be considered as a new option for patients with HER-2-positive advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer.

Malicious modification of integrated circuits (ICs) in untrusted foundry, referred to as “Hardware Trojan”, has emerged as a serious security threat. Since it is extremely difficult to detect the presence of such Trojan circuits using conventional testing strategies, side-channel analysis has been considered as an alternative. In this paper, we proposed a non-destructive side-channel approach that characterizes and compares transient power signature using principle component analysis to achieve the hardware Trojan detection. The approach is validated with hardware measurement results using an FPGA-based test setup for large design including a 128-bit AES cipher. Experimental results show that this approach can discover small (

To compare anesthesia profiles of target-controlled infusion (TCI) and manual-controlled infusion (MCI) of propofol and remifentanil in kyphosis correction or scoliosis correction surgery, in which intraoperative spinal cord monitoring was employed.In the study, 160 patients scheduled for kyphosis correction surgery or scoliosis correction were enrolled and randomly allocated into 2 groups, group TCI and group MCI. In group TCI, induction and maintenance of general anesthesia were carried out by target-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil. Marsh and Minto, three-compartment pharmacokinetic models for propofol and remifentanil were used respectively. In group MCI, the patients received propofol and remifentanil by conventional dose-weight infusion method. Muscle relaxants were only applied for ease of induction. In both the groups, anesthesia depth was monitored by bispectral index (BIS), and the change of hemodynamic parameters was kept in the range of 20% of the baseline. The control convenience of anesthesia depth and change amplitude of BIS in the main steps of the procedure were compared. The total amounts of propofol and remifentanil, influence on the hemodynamics, influence on the successful rates of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and electromyography (EMG) were compared too.The time of pump regulation in group TCI was significantly less than in group MCI (P0.05). The BIS fluctuation in the main steps of the procedure was significantly smaller in Group TCI than in group MCI (P0.05). There was no significant difference in the amounts of propofol and remifentanil(P=0.158 and P=0.168). The time to awake (P=0.972) and time to extubation (P=0.944) had no significant difference. The successful rates of SSEPs and MEPs had no significant difference between groups TCI amd MCI (P0.05).Both TCI and MCI can offer practical anesthesia for spinal deformity correction surgery. TCI has the advantage in keeping smooth and steady depth of anesthesia.

The mutualism pattern of the dark septate endophyte (DSE) Harpophora oryzae in rice roots and its biocontrol potential in rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae were investigated. Fluorescent protein-expressing H. oryzae was used to monitor the colonization pattern. Hyphae invaded from the epidermis to the inner cortex, but not into the root stele. Fungal colonization increased with root tissue maturation, showing no colonization in the meristematic zone, slight colonization in the elongation zone, and heavy colonization in the differentiation zone. H. oryzae adopted a biotrophic lifestyle in roots accompanied by programmed cell death. Real-time PCR facilitated the accurate quantification of fungal growth and the respective plant response. The biocontrol potential of H. oryzae was visualized by inoculation with eGFP-tagged M. oryzae in rice. H. oryzae protected rice from M. oryzae root invasion by the accumulation of H2O2 and elevated antioxidative capacity. H. oryzae also induced systemic resistance against rice blast. This systemic resistance was mediated by the OsWRKY45-dependent salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathway, as indicated by the strongly upregulated expression of OsWRKY45. The colonization pattern of H. oryzae was consistent with the typical characteristics of DSEs. H. oryzae enhanced local resistance by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and high antioxidative level and induced OsWRKY45-dependent SA-mediated systemic resistance against rice blast.

A digital HDTV video decoder system is designed and implemented by using multiple multimedia video processors in a loosely-coupled multi-processor architecture. This decoder system can decompress video bitstream up to 20 Mbits/s and produce analog output at HDTV pixel rate. This design has the advantage of hardware scalability to adapt different picture resolutions and computation requirements. The design target is the video subsystem of a digital HDTV receiver.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of ursolic acid on the chloride channels and cell volume in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE-2Z). The whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to detect the current, and cell imaging technique was applied to measure cell volume. The properties of the currents induced by ursolic acid were investigated by changing the extracellular osmotic pressure, replacing the extracellular anions and applying chloride channel blockers. The results showed that, under isotonic conditions, the background current was weak and stable. When perfusing the cells with ursolic acid (100 nmol/L), a large current (-59.86 pA/pF ± 4.86 pA/pF at -80 mV, 78.92 pA/pF ± 6.39 pA/pF at +80 mV) was induced. The chloride current showed outward rectification and negligible time- and voltage-dependent inactivation. The reversal potential (-4.83 mV ± 0.30 mV) of the current was close to the calculated equilibrium potential for Cl⁻ (-0.9 mV). The permeabilities of the channel to different anions were ranked in order as follows: Cl⁻ = I⁻Br⁻gluconate. Hypertonic solutions inhibited the current induced by ursolic acid. The chloride channel blockers, tamoxifen (20 μmol/L) and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpro-pylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB, 100 μmol/L), suppressed the current. Furthermore, ursolic acid decreased the cell volume by (11.78 ± 1.20)% in 1 h, and the effect was inhibited by NPPB. These results suggest that ursolic acid can activate chloride channels, resulting in outflow of Cl⁻ and decrease of cell volume in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Multiple primary carcinoma (MPC) is defined as two or more carcinomas without subordinate relationship detected in the same or other organs of an individual patient. The diagnosis of MPC must comply with the following standards: each of the tumors must present a definite picture of malignancy, each tumor must be histologically distinct, and the probability of one being a metastasis of the other must be excluded. MPC often occurs in the digestive system, but its pathogenesis remains unclear involving genetic susceptibility, tumor immunity and iatrogenic factors, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Most MPC patients are double primary malignancy; the occurrence of quadruple primary malignancy is below 0.1%. Here we present a rare case of quadruple primary malignancy involving the small intestine, descending colon, renal pelvis and pancreas. Due to its rarity, the relevant literature is also reviewed. In general, the incidence of MPC is rising, so prevention, early diagnosis and treatment will become necessary and important. Therefore, further research should focus on the etiology and mechanism of MPC.

In the past 20 years, hundreds of Chinese traditional and herbal medicines with immunomodulating functions have been screened. In this paper, the immunopharmacological studies of several potent compounds isolated from them are reviewed; their medicinal plant sources and chemical structures are also presented.

Background: Trial design neuroinflammation and postoperative pain after surgery are increasingly reported in association with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Parecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor, is used for postoperative analgesia for its potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. This study aimed to evaluate parecoxib's effects on POCD in elderly patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

ZigBee is a recent rise of wireless network technology, with low-rate, low cost, low power, network capacity and other characteristics, to organize their own network, and network recovery ability, very suitable for wireless sensor networks. In this paper, the industrial production environment, systematic study of the ZigBee technology, video compression technology, as well as data communication principle, the development of the industrial video monitoring and control system based on ZigBee protocol.

KIT mutations play an important role during the pathogenesis of melanoma. Acral melanoma, which is the most common type in China, is more likely to harbor activating KIT mutations. Currently, there are few large studies on KIT expression and mutation in acral melanoma, especially in patients with matched primary/secondary pairs. Here, we investigated KIT expression and mutation in 39 primary acral melanomas together with their corresponding secondary tumors (17 lymph node metastases, 6 local recurrences, and 3 skin metastases) and explored the relationship between KIT expression, mutation, and clinicopathologic characteristics. Cytoplasmic and membranous staining for KIT was noted in 17 cases (43.6%) of 39 primary acral melanomas. KIT expression in patients without lymph node metastases at presentation was significantly higher than those with lymph node metastases (P = .024). KIT mutations were detected in 9 (23.1%) of 39 cases of primary acral melanomas. KIT expression did not correlate with KIT mutation status. In 23 cases with primary/secondary pairs, KIT mutations were observed in 6 cases. Comparison of KIT mutations between primary and secondary tumors showed a discordance rate of 13.0% (3/23). We concluded that KIT mutations are common in acral melanoma, and patients with acral melanoma should be screened for KIT mutations. Mutation status may change during metastases/recurrences after diagnosis of primary tumors. This has important clinical implications, and its mechanism needs further investigation.

Decreased intracranial adaptive capacity is one of the most common neurological problems in critically ill patients. It is the main cause of intracranial hypertension and, if not handled properly, is likely to negatively affect patient prognoses and may lead to further brain injury or death. This article describes concepts related to the mechanisms that cause decreased intracranial adaptive capacity and related factors. This article may provide a guide for clinical evaluation and nursing management. We hope to increase nursing staff knowledge to ensure they take the clinical management action necessary to prevent intracranial hypertension and provide optimal patient treatment and prognosis.

Traditional marine lighting with low efficiency has been gradually replaced by high-efficiency electronic lighting equipment. However, these electronic lighting equipment are mainly for land use, and ignore unique lighting requirements of marine use, such as, temperature, vibration, etc. To confirm the applicability of land-use electronic light sources in a marine environment, several existing commercial electronic lamps are selected in this paper to replace traditional on-board light sources and then land and on-board tests are conducted according to maritime lighting regulations for comparison with traditional light sources in terms of performance. According to information in the test results, in response to the introduction of electronic lamps, existing ship lighting rules should be appropriately strengthened in terms of lighting and vibration test requirements. Meanwhile, general land-use electronic lamps should be strengthened with respect to vibration and lumens depreciation due to engine room environment. The analysis results can assist shipyards and ship owners in the selection of suitable electronic lamps, and can provide useful information to lighting equipment manufacturers for the development of lighting equipment that are suitable for electronic light sources for marine use.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Crizotinib has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC. However, understanding of mechanisms of action is still limited. In our studies, we confirmed crizotinib-induced apoptosis in A549 lung cancer cells. In order to assess mechanisms, small molecular docking technology was used as a preliminary simulation of signaling pathways. Interesting, our results of experiments were consistent with the results of computer simulation. This indicates that small molecular docking technology should find wide use for its reliability and convenience.

The robustness and reusability of Intellectual Properties (IPs) is the key to the success of the modern System on chip (SoC) designs. Therefore, it is very important to implement a rigid IP qualification platform to ensure the quality of IPs in the SoC design flow. In this paper, we propose an automated IP qualification platform, which uses XML schema technique to describe the quality model and has a layered architecture referred to the concepts from software metric theory. The experimental results on three open source IPs show that the qualification platform can not only improve accuracy of qualification results, but also accelerate the qualification process. Actually, more than 60% time savings are expected through the proposed automated IP qualification.

ENHANCIN is an enhancing protein chiefly found in insect baculoviruses. One ENHANCIN homologue was identified, by blast method, in Agrotis Segetum granulovirus (AgseGV) genome, named enhancin-like. Sequence analysis indicated that this gene includes the conserved domains, conserved in other ENHANCIN, and it has no signal peptide or a-transmembrane helix. A proline-rich domain, which is similar to those of mammals, is present at its C-terminal. To analyze the synergistic function of AgseGV enhancin-like gene, prokaryotic expression vectors of its whole gene and the 5'-truncated fragment (1, 017bp) were constructed. Expression product of truncated fragment was purified by chromatography, and then it was used to prepare antibody. The expression product of whole gene was identified by Western blot with specific antibody and anti-His-Tag antibody. Bioassay proved that the expression product of whole gene can increase the mortality with 16.25% to 3th instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (HaNPV: 1.17 x 10(2) PIBS/mL), while the truncated fragment has no obvious synergistic function.

The reliability and robustness of Intellectual Properties (IPs) are the keys to the success of the modern System on Chip (SoC) designs. Therefore, it is very important to implement a rigid IP evaluation platform to ensure the reliability of IPs in the SoC design flow. In this paper, we introduce major aspects of IP reliability and present a XML schema based metric model which is able to describe reliability characteristics of IP cores. An evaluation platform is implemented based on the metric model. The experimental results on three open source IPs demonstrate that the evaluation platform can assess IP reliability quantitatively and locate its bottleneck.

This study was performed to investigate the impact of a family history of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) on insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction in populations with varying glucose tolerance.Among the total of 142 participants, 73 subjects with no family history of T2DM (FH-) included 42 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT/FH-) and 31 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT/FH-); and 69 first-degree relatives of patients with T2DM (FH+) included 36 with NGT (NGT/FH+) and 33 with IGT (IGT/FH+). Insulin resistance was evaluated by Insulin Sensitivity Index (ISI) based on the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. Islet beta-cell function was assessed by disposition index (DI) for the acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg) using intravenous glucose tolerance test. Metabolic data were compared between groups after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio.The NGT/FH+ group showed lower level of ISI (P = 0.023) than the NGT/FH- group, whereas no difference was found in AIRg or DI between these 2 subgroups. In the FH- individuals, both ISI and DI of the IGT/FH- group decreased compared with the NGT/FH- group (both P0.05). In the FH+ individuals, no difference was found in ISI between the IGT/FH+ and NGT/FH+ groups, whereas the IGT/FH+ group had a lower level of AIRg and DI than the NGT/FH+ group (both P0.0001).This study showed that the pathophysiological changes were different between individuals with and without a family history of T2DM during the glucose tolerance aggravation.

The in situ 120 days experiment was conducted to investigate effects of rainfall on nitrogen and phosphorus loss from courtyard composting with four kinds of coverage, involving no coverage, rice straw, thin film and soil, and their risks of nonpoint source pollution were discussed. The results showed that, with decomposing of the manure and increasing of runoff, the concentration of total nitrogen (TN), ammoniac nitrogen (NH4(+)-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3(-)-N), total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved phosphorus (DP) from courtyard composting decreased. Especially, the concentration variation of TN, NH4(+)-N, NO3(-)-N with time fit for I kinetic equation, while TP and DP fit for linear equation. The concentration order of nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff observed as follows: no coveragecoverage by rice strawcoverage by soilcoverage by thin film. As a result, the coverage by thin film could be used as a recommended mode to decrease the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff resulting from its low risks for nonpoint source pollution.

Three randomised trials have demonstrated that combining bevacizumab with first-line chemotherapy significantly improves progression-free survival versus chemotherapy alone in HER2-negative locally recurrent/metastatic breast cancer (LR/mBC). However, data from Chinese populations are limited and possible differences between ethnic and geographic populations are unknown. This study was conducted to determine whether there are differences in safety and efficacy in patients with HER2-negative LR/mRC between Chinese and Western populations after they receive first-line bevacizumab combined with taxane-based therapy.In the single-arm, open-label, Avastin Therapy for Advanced Breast Cancer (ATHENA) study (NCT00448591), patients with HER2-negative LR/mBC received first-line bevacizumab (investigator's choice of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks or 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks) combined with taxane-based therapy. The primary endpoint was safety profile and the secondary is time to progression (TTP). A subpopulation analysis was conducted to assess safety and efficacy in Chinese patients.Of 2264 patients treated in ATHENA, 202 were enrolled in China. Bevacizumab was combined with docetaxel in 90% of Chinese patients and paclitaxel in 10%. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were diarrhoea (in 5.0% of patients) and hypertension (in 2.5% of patients). Grade 3/4 proteinuria occurred in 0.5%. After median follow-up of 17.6 months and events in 56% of patients, median TTP was 9.0 months (95%CI, 8.4-11.1). Overall survival data were immature.We found no evidence of increased bevacizumab-related toxicity or reduced efficacy in Chinese LR/mBC patients receiving first-line bevacizumab-taxane therapy compared with predominantly Western populations. The safety profile was generally similar to previously reported LR/mBC trials. Subtle differences may be attributable to different lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese patients compared with the overall population. It appears reasonable to extrapolate findings from bevacizumab-based randomised trials to Chinese populations.

To investigate the relationship between serum concentration of fluorouracil and therapeutic efficacy as well as adverse reactions in patients with unresectable locally advanced or measurable metastatic colorectal cancer, and to analyze its role in further improving therapeutic efficacy and reducing adverse reactions of fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.Eighty-six patients were randomly assigned into three groups according to the average plasma concentration of fluorouracil after three cycles of chemotherapy with the initial regimen of two weeks FOLFOX-4 (oxaliplatin + leucovorin + fluorouracil) or FOLFIRI (irinotecan + leucovorin + fluorouracil): group 1 (plasma concentration of fluorouracil25 ng/ml), group 2 (25 - 35 ng/ml) and group 3 (35 ng/ml). The blood samples were taken at 12 h after continuous infusion of fluorouracil in each cycle and the plasma concentration of fluorouracil was detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (about 5 am ± 1 h). The relationship between the drug plasma concentration, therapeutic efficacy and adverse reactions in different fluorouracil plasma concentration arms was analyzed retrospectively.The average plasma concentrations of fluorouracil of the three groups were (23.48 ± 1.95) ng/ml, (31.47 ± 2.33) ng/ml and (39.89 ± 3.87) ng/ml, respectively (P0.01). As for therapeutic efficacy, the median OS of the groups 2 and 3 were 18.0 and 17.5 months, significantly higher than that in the group 1 (13.0 months, P0.01). The PFS were 4.5, 7.5 and 8.0 months, respectively (P0.01). In terms of adverse reactions, the incidences of bone marrow suppression, mucositis and diarrhea in the group 3 were significantly higher than that in the first two groups (P = 0.02, P = 0.04 and P = 0.02).The patients with local advanced and metastatic colorectal cancer, receiving fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, and with an average plasma concentration of fluorouracil between 25 - 35 mg/L have a better prognosis, and lower incidence of adverse reactions such as bone marrow suppression, mucositis and diarrhea.

While the M. smegmatis genome has been sequenced, only a small portion of the genes have been characterized experimentally. Here, we purify and characterize MSMEG_2731, a conserved hypothetical alanine and arginine rich M. smegmatis protein. Using ultracentrifugation, we show that MSMEG_2731 is a monomer in vitro. MSMEG_2731 exists at a steady level throughout the M. smegmatis life-cycle. Combining results from pull-down techniques and LS-MS/MS, we show that MSMEG_2731 interacts with ribosomal protein S1. The existence of this interaction was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. We also show that MSMEG_2731 can bind ssDNA, dsDNA and RNA in vitro. Based on the interactions of MSMEG_2731 with RPS1 and RNA, we propose that MSMEG_2731 is involved in the transcription-translation process in vivo.

Forsythiaside (3,4-dihydroxy-β-phenethyl-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-4-O-caffeo yl-β-d-glucopyranoside, C29H36O15), which is isolated from air-dried fruits of Forsythia suspensa, has been shown to possess anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study is to investigate the neuroprotective effects of forsythiaside on learning and memory deficits in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8, a model of age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease). Forsythiaside (60, 120 and 240mg/kg) was orally administered to aged (8months old) SAMP8 mice for 45days followed by evaluating cognitive impairment (Morris water maze and step-through passive avoidance), inflammation (interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels), oxidative stress (glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activities; malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) contents) and neurotransmitter such as norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), glutamate (GLU) gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and acetyl choline (ACh). In Morris water maze, forsythiaside had significantly reduced the latency time, the crossing numbers and time spent in target quadrant compared to aged SAMP8 mice. In passive avoidance test, a significant decline in number of errors while increase in latency was observed when compared with aged SAMP8 mice. Furthermore, a significant decrease in IL-1β, NO, MDA and NE levels, and an increase in T-SOD and GSH-Px activities and GLU and Ach levels were evident in the brain homogenates of forsythiaside-treated mice compared to aged SAMP8 mice. These findings demonstrated that forsythiaside may be a useful treatment against amnesia.

The present study aimed to clarify the effect of berberine on the chloride channels in human colorectal carcinoma cells (SW480). The whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to detect the Cl(-) current activated by berberine. The physiological and pharmacological characteristics of the current were clarified by changing the osmotic pressure of extracellular perfusate and applying chloride channel blockers. The results showed that, under isotonic conditions, the background current of SW480 cells was weak and stable. A large current was induced by perfusing the cells with the isotonic solution containing berberine (10 nmol/L), current density being (85.8 ± 4.6) pA/pF at +80 mV, (-71.9 ± 3.5) pA/pF at -80 mV, with a latency of (115.6 ± 21.7) s. The chloride current showed weak outward rectification and negligible time- and voltage-dependent inactivation. The reversal potential (-5.5 mV ± 1.2 mV) of the current was close to the calculated equilibrium potential for Cl(-) (ECl = -0.9 mV). Experiments under different osmotic pressures showed that the properties of hypotonicity-activated current recorded in SW480 cells were similar to those of the current induced by berberine, and hypertonic solutions suppressed the berberine-induced current by (98.6 ± 2.3)%. On the other hand, berberine-induced Cl(-) current was significantly inhibited by the chloride channel blockers NPPB (100 µmol/L) and tamoxifen (20 μmol/L), with the inhibition ratios of (83.1 ± 3.6)% and (95.6 ± 1.2)% respectively. These results suggest that berberine can activate the chloride channels that are sensitive to NPPB and tamoxifen, as well as the changes of cell volume in human colorectal carcinoma cells.

The aim of this study was to analyze the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) allelic ratios (AR), number of ITD, ITD length and positions of ITD insertions in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with FLT3-ITD positive, and the relationship between mutant level and therapeutic efficacy. Genomic DNA was amplified by PCR, capillary electrophoresis was used to detect the ITD characteristics in 31 de novo AML patients, and DNA sequences analysis of FLT3-ITD(+) were performed in 13 patients. The results showed that the ratios of mutant to wild type FLT3 allele ranged from 0.01 to 2.8; 28 patients (90.32%) had a single ITD, the remaining 3 patients had more than one ITD; the ITD length ranged from 3 to 144 bp in all FLT3-ITD(+) patients. 13 sequence-analyzed patients, 4 patients were of pure duplications, and 2 patients had foreign bases inserted, and the other 7 patients were partial duplications. The ITD occurred in the regions from p.E573 to p.P606 of the FLT3 protein, with the majority clustered in a stretch between p.F590 and p.R595. The complete remission (CR) rate in AR0.5 patients (43.75%) were more prevalent as compared with AR ≥ 0.5 patients (16.67%) (p0.05). It is concluded that the ITD length and AR are vary widely. Some of the insertions are foreign bases, and all of the 13 sequences-analyzed ITD were concentrated on the juxtamembrane domain. The CR rate in patients of AR0.5 had no statistical significance compared with patients of AR ≥ 0.5.

In China, colorectal cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in men and the sixth most common malignancy in women[1]. In 2008, colorectal cancer was the fifth most common cause of tumor death in men and women, accounting for 5.6% of the total deaths due to cancer[1]. Current recommended chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in China is fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy, with the addition of oxaliplatin or irinotecan (FOLFOX/FOLFIRI/CapeOx). Randomized clinical trials have shown that in patients with previously untreated mCRC, bevacizumab improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in combination with irinotecan-based[2] or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)–based chemotherapy[3] and improves PFS in combination with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy[4]. Furthermore, combination of bevacizumab with 5-FU–based chemotherapy has been shown to improve PFS compared with 5-FU–based chemotherapy alone in the second-line treatment of patients with mCRC[5]. However, there is a paucity of data from large phase III clinical trials on the effect of the combination of bevacizumab with chemotherapy in Chinese patients with mCRC. Three large observational studies in patients with mCRC have shown that the efficacy and safety profile of bevacizumab in routine clinical practice is consistent with results observed in prospective randomized clinical trials[6]–[9]. However, as with the randomized phase III trials, these observational studies did not include Chinese patients. This phase III trial—avastin and irinotecon in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer (China ARTIST)— was performed to evaluate whether the benefits observed in Caucasian patients following the addition of bevacizumab to irinotecan-based chemotherapy in a pivotal phase III trial[2] and a phase IV trial[10] could be replicated in Chinese patients with mCRC undergoing first-line therapy with bevacizumab in combination with modified irinotecan, leucovorin bolus, and 5-FU intravenous infusion (mIFL) compared with mIFL alone.

To investigate the role of chloride channels in the apoptosis of poorly differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells induced by gambogic acid (GA).MTT assay was applied to detect the proliferation of CNE-2Z cells after GA treatment, and the cell apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33342 staining. Whole-cell patch clamp technique was employed to record GA-activated Cl(-) currents in the cells.GA inhibited the cell proliferation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner with an IC(50) of 3.1 µmol/L for a 48-h treatment. The apoptosis-inducing effect of 8 µmol/L GA was attenuated by the chloride channel blocker NPPB (100 µmol/L) and tamoxifen (20 µmol/L). GA induced an outward-rectified Cl(-) current in the cells, which was significantly inhibited by NPPB.GA suppresses cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by activating Cl(-) channels in CNE-2Z cells, suggesting the important role of Cl(-) channels in GA-induced apoptosis.

Multi-audio frequency signal have been applied in vary case. In this paper, a novel method for weak multi-audio frequency signal detection have been proposed. We aim at the multi-audio frequency signal detection in very strong noise circumstance based on the chaotic oscillator. At the end of paper, we exploit our approach to a typical multi-audio signal, TVM430 railway signal system, which have been widely used in railway. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed method has preferable performance.

In this paper, an improved radar detection range plotting method based on radar equation is proposed. Radar equation can be used to plot the radar detection range in theory from the point of view of energy. But in practice, the condition can not be satisfied. Based on radar equation, this method takes ground reflection, atmospheric refraction, earth curvature and obstacle into account, which may affect radar detection range. (i) According to Image Method, analyze the effect of ground reflection to metric waves and centimeter wave;(ii) Amend the height result as the earth curvature;(iii) Remove the Blind Zone as the obstacle by cutting method. The simulation results show that the method can exactly calculate and plot radar detection range.

Quality and reliability of IP block is essential to the successful development of today's complex SoC design. In this paper, we discuss vital issues about the quality and reliability of digital soft IP, and propose a qualification metric system which is able to evaluate IP quality and reliability. The metric system consists of nine parts to characterize IP quality and reliability. Based on this metric system, we propose an extensive IP qualification framework. XML schema technique is used to describe the quality and reliability model, which can be easily extended to accommodate new qualification criteria. As a case study, the presented framework has been used to qualify three open source IP cores. The experimental results show that the metric system and the qualification framework presented in this paper can not only evaluate IP quality and reliability quantitatively, but also accelerate the qualification process and improve accuracy of qualification results.