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Transcription factor 21 (TCF21) has been identified as a candidate tumor suppressor at 6q23–q24 that is epigenetically inactivated in many types of human cancers. This study aimed to determine the expression of TCF21 mRNA and protein in gastric cancer cell lines and tissue specimens and then investigate the prognostic impact of TCF21 expression in gastric cancer and analyze the relationship between TCF21 expression and methylation level. We used real-time PCR and immunohistochemical staining to detect the expression of TCF21 and used methylation-specific-PCR to determine the methylation status of TCF21 in gastric cancer samples and gastric cancer cell lines. The results showed that TCF21 expression level in gastric cancer samples was significantly lower than in normal adjacent tissue samples. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated that TCF21 was a significant prognosticator of cancer-specific survival (p = 0.001). Furthermore, the methylation level of TCF21 in gastric cancer samples was much higher than the samples in normal adjacent tissue. Treatment with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2′-deoxy-cytidine can upregulate the expression of TCF21 in gastric cancer cells. These results suggest that the low expression of TCF21 was an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in patients with gastric cancer. Aberrant methylation was an important reason for the downregulation of TCF21 and may be associated with tumorigenesis in gastric cancer.

Based on the size-dependent cohesive energy formula for two-dimensional materials, we investigate the gap openings in graphene layers regarding distinct interfacial interaction from substrates. Depending on the interfacial physicochemical nature, the gap is opened weakly induced by the van der Waals interaction but readily by the chemical bonding. Relative to the former, in essence, the distinct opening behavior for the latter comes from the substantial change in atomic cohesive energy of graphene associated with the coordination imperfection. Our predictions agree with the available experimental or computer simulation results for graphene layers on layered BN or bulk truncated SiC. The present work is of benefit for the application of graphene in electronics.

Lung cancer commonly metastasizes to lymph nodes, brain and bones, which is the main cause of death. It is still a challenge to detect molecular biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapeutics of lung cancer. Our previous study found that bone marrow-derived stroma cells (BMSCs) under tumor microenvironment produced nitric oxide (NO), which was induced by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and promoted invasion and metastasis of cancer cells by remodeling cytoskeleton. The aim of this study is to elucidate the relationship between the expressions of iNOS, cytoskeleton protein caldesmon, OPN, and clinical parameters especially the metastasis of lung cancer. We found that nitric oxide can remodel cytoskeleton and promoted the mobility of lung cancer cells. The expressions of iNOS, caldesmon, and OPN are closely correlated to metastasis of lung cancer. The intracranial metastatic tissue samples of lung cancer showed significantly higher expression of iNOS, caldesmon and OPN. A flow-cytometry analysis for peripheral blood of lung cancer patients showed increased EPCAM+/OPN+ cells in circulation of patients with bone metastasis compared to that of patients without metastasis, which is indicative of cancer circulating cells. The concentration of serum OPN was also positively related to the bone metastasis of lung cancer. Taken together, these results suggested that iNOS, caldesmon and OPN may work as biomarkers for metastasis of lung cancer.

A series of racemic nine o,o-dialkyl-2-benzyloxycarbonyl-aminoarylmethyl-phosphonate enantiomers has been separated by high performance liquid chromatography on cellulose tri(3,5-dimethyl-phenylcarbamate) and N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl) leucine (DNB-leu) chiral stationary phases. The chromatographic parameters, the capacity factor (k), separation factor (α), and the resolution factor (Rs) of all solutes are presented. The influence of the mobile phase composition on the enantioselectivity has been discussed.

Nd 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 perovskite ceramics were respectively prepared by conventional solid state reaction and high-energy ball milling with continuative heat treatment. The both ceramics obtained by different methods present a large difference in electromagnetic transport despite having the same crystallographic structure, chemical composition, similar size in grain and mass density. For the sample from solid state reaction, the resistivity is low and keeps the peak-resistivity unchanged with increasing load voltages. However, for the sample obtained by ball milling and post heat treatments, a novel colossal electroresistance effect of more than 2000% at around the transition point was found when load voltages from 0.01 to 0.8 V. The microstructure, the screw dislocation-like in particular, is supposed to be responsible for the electroresistance in the ball-milled ceramics.

In this paper, the micro-structure and laser damage threshold of nano-ZrO2 thin films were investigated. High-purity nano-ZrO2 particles as the coating materials of samples were prepared by electron beam evaporation. The crystallitic size and surfaces’ roughness of the samples were analyzed. The laser damage threshold test used a 1064 nm, 10 ns, 3 Hz Nd:YAG laser. The experimental results showed that oxygen partial pressure has an important influence on the micro-structure of nano-ZrO2 films, and also we found that the laser damage threshold was dependent on the micro-structure.

This paper demonstrates that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy combined with atomic force microscopy analysis can successfully characterize the coverage ability of an overcoat on perpendicular magnetic recording media. Rougher media, brought about by lower surface energy oxide segregants, can adversely impact the overcoat integrity. The role of the capping layer, and its ability to somewhat planarize the overall structure, is also discussed.

The adsorption of water on several alkali halide surfaces was studied using scanning polarization force microscopy. Water adsorption leads to an overall increase of surface potential and ionic mobility. At a critical humidity that is characteristic of each salt (NaCl, KCl, KBr, and KI), important changes in the rate of increase of the surface potential and ionic mobility occurred. Topographical changes occurred as well, in the form of step motion. These were observed to occur at a fast rate above the critical point, while little step motion occurred at lower humidity. Dissolution of the crystal (deliquescence) is observed at high humidity. Below the critical humidity, contact potential images indicate that preferential solvation of cations occurs at steps producing a large enhancement of the step contrast in the images.

Close-contact melting processes of phase change material (PCM) inside a horizontal elliptical tube are studied. The theoretical formulas of the melting rate, thickness of liquid layer, elapsed time of solid PCM and Nusselt number during the heat melting process are obtained by analyzing. The results include those of contact melting inside a horizontal cylinder. Finally, the influences of elliptical compression coefficient and temperature difference in melting are discussed, and useful conclusions are drawn. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Friction force microscopy measurements on the vacuum-cleaved (001) surfaces of KF, KCl and KBr have been carried out. All surfaces exhibit atomically flat terraces with monatomic steps aligned preferentially along low-index lattice directions. Stick-slip lateral forces with the lattice periodicity are observed on all surfaces. Tip-sample contact creates higher friction domains on the terraces of all three materials. The structure, topography and degree of friction force contrast of these domains is material dependent. The dependence of friction upon load generally does not coincide with the behavior expected for an elastic contact. We propose that the observed domains result from surface structural changes created by low load tip-sample contact on these relatively soft materials.

A series of alkyl hydrogen α-(benzyloxycarbonylamino)benzylphosphonates are prepared from benzyl carbamate, substituted benzaldehydes and alkoxydichlorophosphine in acetyl chloride and subsequent hydrolysis. Compared with the previous methods, the reaction avoids producing the corresponding diesters and thus improves the yields of the products.

A series of phenyl Hydrogen α-(benzyloxycarbonylamino)benzyl-phosphonates are prepared from the reaction of benzyl carbamate, substituted benzaldehydes and phenoxydichlorophosphine in acetic chloride and subsequent hydrolysis. The reactions proceed smoothly in mild condition and afford the title compounds in good yields.

Using an atomic force microscope operated in contact and noncontact mode, we have studied the structures formed on the (100) cleavage surface of NaCl when exposed to water vapor. Above ∼35% relative humidity (RH), a uniform layer of water is formed and the surface steps are observed to evolve slowly. At ∼73% RH, the step structure becomes unstable and disappears abruptly because of dissolution (deliquescence) of the salt surface. Reversing the process by drying leads to the reappearance of new, more uniform monatomic steps. At humidity levels less than 30%, water adsorbs primarily at the step edges.

Stem culture in vitro was attempted for the elimination of mulberry dwarf phytoplasma. Stem segments, from mulberry plants (Morus alba) seriously infected with the phytoplasma, were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) solid nutrient medium without phytohormones for 2–3 months. The tissue cultures, and regenerated plants grown under greenhouse conditions for 3 years, were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining for the presence of the phytoplasma, and also observed for mulberry dwarf symptoms. From 70% to 90% of regenerated plants were apparently freed from the phytoplasma since they remained PCR-negative, DAPI-negative and symptom-free for as long as tested (3 years).

With acetyl chloride as the solvent, benzyl carbamate reacted with aromatic aldehyde and dichlorophenylphosphine to give phenyl 1-aryl methylphosphinic chloride, which reacted with an amino acid ester to give corresponding phosphinopeptide derivatives.

The influence of initial texture on rollability is investigated using cuneal AZ31 Mg alloy sheets. Upon large thickness reduction, the sheet with initial basal texture has many edge cracks, whereas the sheet is crack-free if its normal direction is orthogonal to c-axis of hexagonal close packed (HCP) lattice. Microstructural analysis shows that the former one has heterogeneous grain structure owing to grain-boundary-related recrystallization, and by contrast the later one has a more uniform microstructure for the twin-related recrystallization. The initial nonbasal texture can lead to excellent rollability and anisotropic deformation, based on which a new iterative approach of rolling is proposed, which may achieve large reduction in few passes.

we design a novel core-suspended capillary fiberhat the core is suspened in the air hole and close to the inner surface of the capillary, and experimentally demonstrate its fabrication technology. In addition, a method for linking a single mode fiber and a core-suspended fiber is proposed based on splicing and tapering at the fusion point between the two fibers. By combining with the optical time domain reflectometer technology, we construct a distributed gas sensor system to monitor greenhouse gas based on this novel fiber.

Based on a newly developed size-dependent cohesive energy formula for two-dimensional materials, a unified theoretical model was established to illustrate the gap openings in disordered graphene flakes, involving quantum dots, nanoribbons and nanoporous sheets. It tells us that the openings are essentially dominated by the variation in cohesive energy of C atoms, associated to the edge physicochemical nature regarding the coordination imperfection or the chemical bonding. In contrast to those ideal flakes, consequently, the gaps can be opened monotonously for disordered flakes on changing their sizes, affected by the dimension, geometric shape and the edge saturation. Using the density functional theory, accordingly, the electronic structures of disordered flakes differ to the ideal case because of the edge disorder. Our theoretical predictions have been validated by available experimental results, and provide us a distinct way for the quantitative modulation of bandgap in graphene for nanoelectronics.

The enantiomers of a series of twelve O,O-diethyl, (p-methyl-benzenesulfonamido), aryl(alkyl)-methylphosphonates have been separated by high performance liquid chromatography on a Pirkle model chiral stationary phase. Chromatographic data and a chiral recognition model are presented for the separation of these organic phosphorus enantiomers on the chiral phase. The influence of column temperature and flow rate of mobile phase has been described.

We have successfully designed, fabricated, and tested contact recording sliders where most of the suspension load is supported by an air-bearing surface with only a small contact force (

This paper presents performance analysis of a fractional-slot, concentrated, non-overlapping winding Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) Synchronous Machines under two commonly used control strategies: rotor field oriented control (RFOC); and Direct Torque Control (DTC). Application of concentrated winding to IPM machine is gaining attention from research community because of its advantages such as high-power density, high efficiency, short end-turns, wider flux-weakening capability, fault tolerance, robust rotor, and presence of additional reluctance torque component. The major disadvantage of concentrated winding is non-sinusoidal magnetomotive force (MMF. However, using appropriate combination of slots and poles, sinusoidal EMF and low cogging torque can be achieved despite presence of MMF harmonics. A 14-pole/ 18-slot, double layer concentrated winding IPM machine had been designed and constructed at the University of New South Wales. Above mentioned two control schemes were applied to this constructed prototype machine. The performances of the two control schemes are compared in terms of torque and current ripple, transient responses for the step variations of speed and load under maximum torque per ampere and field weakening regions. Both RFOC and DTC are based on the dq model of the machine which assumes sinusoidal variation of MMF. The experimental result of the concentrated winding IPM machine indicates that the conventional dq model starts to deteriorate in the field-weakening region resulting in a steady-state error between estimated flux and measured flux. This paper attempts to investigate the sources of this error and causes of deterioration of the dq model. This work is a preliminary investigation for the possible improvement in the control schemes of the concentrated winding IPM machine.

Synechogobius hasta is an important commercial marine fish with distinctive features of rapid growth and short lifespan. We isolated and characterized 17 microsatellite markers for S. hasta using a (GT)(13)-enriched genomic library. Polymorphism was assessed in 48 individuals from a single population collected from the northern coastal waters of the Yellow Sea. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 23, with a mean of 11.3. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.130 to 1.000 and from 0.123 to 0.939, with means of 0.758 and 0.774, respectively. Fourteen of 17 loci conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and no significant linkage disequilibrium between locus pairs was detected. These microsatellite markers will be useful for population genetic structure analyses.

This study aimed to explore a simple way to identify the genetic mechanism of shank color in chicken and provide an on-the-spot evaluation method for the trait without genealogy records. The shank color of 202 parental mating combinations and 489 offsprings were observed in Zhongyuan Game chicken and Snyder genetic ratios were calculated. The results showed that the cyan shank was dominant compared to the livid shank in Zhongyuan Game chicken, which was coincident with the characteristic of Mendelian trait in autosome. We concluded that Snyder genetic ratio was an effective way to identify the genetic mechanism of complex genetic trait. Key words: Chicken, shank color, Snyder, genetic mechanism.

Background: depression is characterized by a stable negative bias toward emotional stimuli. This bias is associated with abnormal activities in emotion-processing regions (such as the amygdala) and cognitive-control regions (such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [DLPFC]). However, it remains unclear whether the emotion-processing and cognitive-control regions affect negative cognitive bias independently or reciprocally. Experimental procedure: a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of 16 depressed patients and 16 matched control subjects was conducted during an emotion-interference task. Results: the accuracies were significantly lower in the depressed group than in the control group when subjects attended to the happy and the neutral faces. Compared with control participants, depressed patients showed abnormal activity in bilateral amygdala and the right DLPFC. In addition, a significant correlation was found between the right amygdala and the right DLPFC when subjects observed the happy faces. Conclusions: the results suggest that the dysfunction in positive emotion-processing and cognitive-control regions may reciprocally affect negative cognitive bias. Additionally, altered positive emotional interference processing in the fronto-limbic brain circuitry might be another cause of negative cognitive bias that finally leads to depression.

The computational complexity of a sequential algorithm (SA) developed for intersymbol interference (ISI) channels is analyzed. To determine the computational complexity, the finite-state machine that models the channel and white matched filter system, of which the SA is a part, is interpreted as a special convolutional encoder followed by a binary symbol to Q-ary symbol mapping. It follows that the computational distribution is Pareto, and that there exists a computational cutoff rate R/sub comp/. For the uncoded data considered, the rate is fixed and the R/sub comp/ criterion translates into a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) criterion. An upper bound on SNR/sub comp/ is found analytically by assuming a uniform input distribution. Iteration equations developed by S. Arimoto (1976) are adapted to find the true SNR/sub comp/ numerically. >

The enantiomers of eightO,O-dialkyl-2-benzyloxycarbonyl-aminoarylmethyl-phosphonates are directly separated on anN-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)leucine (DNBleu) column. The influence of the mobile phase composition and the column temperature on the retention and the enantioselectivity are investigated. The influence of the length and steric hindrance of alkoxyl groups of the phosphonate ester and the nature of the substituentp-Cl and pH on the benzene ring which is attached to the chiral carbon atom on chiral separation are discussed also.

To determine the feasibility and reliability of using xPlane imaging to examine simultaneously the four-chamber and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) views in real time, to assess rotation angles from the four-chamber view to the LVOT view, and to investigate factors affecting the angles.In 145 fetuses at 11-37 weeks' gestation, we visualized the four-chamber view in one of three cardiac positions: a subcostal view with the apex at the 3 or 9 o'clock position; an apical view with the apex at the 12 or 6 o'clock position; or a view with the fetal heart apex midway between these two positions. We then used the rotation function of xPlane imaging, using the four-chamber view as the reference plane, to visualize the LVOT view simultaneously in real time on the secondary image plane, on the right side of the split screen, by rotating a reference line from 0° with a rotation step of 5°. The rotation angle necessary for the first appearance of LVOT was recorded as the first rotation angle. The reference line was then rotated until the LVOT was just out of view, and this last rotation angle was recorded as the second rotation angle. The difference between these two angles was recorded as the angle span of the LVOT display. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Of the 145 fetuses examined, 29 had cardiac defects. Using xPlane imaging, the LVOT was visualized successfully after 14 weeks in 95.1% of cases. The first and second rotation angles varied significantly with cardiac position (P0.001); when the fetal heart was examined using a subcostal approach with the apex at the 3 or 9 o'clock position, the first rotation angle was smaller than that at the apical view for normal hearts (20° vs. 50°, P0.001). There was also a significant difference for the second rotation angle and for the angle span, between fetuses with and without normal LVOT (P = 0.038 and 0.006, respectively). Regarding intra- and interobserver reliability for measurement of first and second rotation angles, the ICCs were high (range, 0.847-0.980).Using xPlane imaging, it is feasible to examine simultaneously the four-chamber and LVOT views in real time, and measurement of the rotation angles between these two views is reproducible. The rotation angles depend on the position of the fetal heart, and the normality of the LVOT. Proposed algorithms for examination of the fetal heart with three-/four-dimensional ultrasonography may need to be adapted to optimize visualization of the standard planes.

A series of phenyl Hydrogen α-(benzyloxycarbonylamino)benzyl-phosphonates are prepared from the reaction of benzyl carbamate, substituted benzaldehydes and phenoxydichlorophosphine in acetic chloride and subsequent hydrolysis. The reactions proceed smoothly in mild condition and afford the title compounds in good yields.

A series of alkyl hydrogen α-(benzyloxycarbonylamino)benzylphosphonates are prepared from benzyl carbamate, substituted benzaldehydes and alkoxydichlorophosphine in acetyl chloride and subsequent hydrolysis. Compared with the previous methods, the reaction avoids producing the corresponding diesters and thus improves the yields of the products.

A description of the fractional-statistics gas based on the complete summation of Hartree, Fock, ladder and bubble diagrams is presented. The superfluid properties identified previously in the random-phase-approximation (RPA) calculation are substantially confirmed. The discrepancy between the RPA sound speed and the Hartree-Fock bulk modulus is found to be eliminated. The unusual Hall-effect behavior is found to vanish for the Bose gas test case but not for the fractional-statistics gas, implying that it is physically correct

In flexible automation approach to batch or job-shop production the main emphasis has always been on the re-programmability of the elements of a manufacturing system. The assumption that lies behind this philosophy is that “system flexibility” can be achieved through (mainly) software flexibility and limited hardware flexibility. Modular robots introduce a new dimension to flexible automation in terms of hardware flexibility, when compared to conventional industrial robots, in terms of yielding individual global optimal arm geometries for each of the tasks at hand. The objective of our ongoing research in the area of “mechanical design of modular robots” is to develop an inventory of basic modular units, which will allow a user to configure the most suitable robot geometry for a task (or a set of tasks) at hand. Standardization of these units and minimization of the size of the inventory constitute the two main goals of this research. In this paper some of our research results on the conceptual design of a modular robot are presented. The individual modular robot units that are presented include: one degree-of-freedom (dof) main joints (rotary and prismatic types), one dof end effector joints (Yaw, Pitch and Roll types), links and connectors.

Pedestrian flow out of a hall is investigated by using a small-grid lattice gas (LG) model with different maximum velocities. Some dynamical characteristics of the transition from choking flow to decaying flow are found. In the choking-flow region, the flow rate increases with the increase of the fraction of faster pedestrians and the door width. The evacuation time decreases with increasing fraction of faster pedestrians and door width. In addition, the dependence of the average velocity on the mixture fraction and door width is discussed. Finally, the relationship of evacuation time with mixture fraction and door width are obtained.

In flexible automation approach to small batch production, computer controlled flexible/modular fixturing systems can play an important role in reducing set-up times and manufacturing costs

The modeling of human behavior is an important approach to reproduce realistic phenomena for pedestrian flow. In this paper, an extended lattice gas model is proposed to simulate pedestrian counter flow under the open boundary conditions by considering the human subconscious behavior and different maximum velocities. The simulation results show that the presented model can capture some essential features of pedestrian counter flows, such as lane formation, segregation effect, and phase separation at higher densities. In particular, an interesting feature that the faster walkers overtake the slower ones and then form a narrow-sparse walkway near the central partition line is discovered. The phase diagram comparison and analysis show that the subconscious behavior plays a key role in reducing the occurrence of jam cluster. The effects of the symmetrical and asymmetrical injection rate, different partition lines, and different combinations of maximum velocities on pedestrian flow are investigated. An important conclusion is that it is needless to separate faster and slower pedestrians in the same direction by a partition line. Furthermore, the increase of the number of faster walkers does not always benefit the counter flow in all situations. It depends on the magnitude and asymmetry of injection rate. And at larger maximum velocity, the obtained critical transition point corresponding to the maximum flow rate of the fundamental diagram is in good agreement with the empirical results.

Mesoscopic models for traffic flows are usually difficult to be employed because of the appearance of integro-differential terms in the models. In this work, a lattice Boltzmann model for traffic flow is introduced on the basis of the existing kinetics models by using the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook-type approximation interaction term in the Boltzmann equation and discretizing it in time and phase space. The so-obtained model is simple while the relevant parameters are physically meaningful. Together with its discrete feature, the model can be easily used to investigate numerically the behavior of traffic flows. In consequence, the macroscopic dynamics of the model is derived using the Taylor and Chapman-Enskog expansions. For validating the model, numerical simulations are conducted under the periodic boundary conditions. It is found that the model could reasonably reproduce the fundamental diagram. Moreover, certain interesting physical phenomena can be captured by the model, such as the metastability and stop-and-go phenomena.

The attachment between mercury and argon gas bubbles was investigated at various polarization potentials E (volt vs SCE) of a mercury electrode in aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions in the presence of 0.01 M NaClO 4 . It was found that the range of E for sponteneous attachment was about −0.3 ∼ −0.6 V when SDS concentration was less than 5 × 10 −6 M , while no sponteneous attachment was observed at SDS concentrations higher than 5 × 10 −6 M . Under the conditions of spontaneous attachment, the Stern potentials of both mercury and bubbles were negative and the surface coverages of DS − ions on the two surfaces were less than 10% and 2%, respectively, assuming a cross-sectional area of the alkyl chain of 18.5 A 2 . Experimental results are discussed in terms of the heterocoagulation theory. The existence of an additional attractive hydrophobic force is suggested and an attempt is made to reveal the dependence of the hydrophobic force on the surface coverage of the surfactant.

Following the development of reliable methods for inferring the direction of mutations of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and the revealing of the human isochore map, it has become possible to investigate the evolution of the isochore structure in a continuous region. In this study, the recent evolution of the isochore structure on human chromosome 18, as inferred from the SNP, was examined. A remarkable mutation bias was found, which was destroying the present isochore structure. However, a fixation bias contributed by the biased gene conversion (BGC) effect and a rising fixation probability of derived alleles with increasing GC content was extending the present isochore structure. Combining the two opposing processes, the old isochore structure was declining and a more homogenous isochore structure with higher GC content was being formed on the chromosome. During this process, both the CpG and genic sites, which were present in the isochore but were paid little attention to before, played an important role. In addition, the recombination was confirmed to promote the GC alleles fixed in the genome because of the BGC effect. For the first time, it was observed that with the occurrence of little recombination, AT alleles had the identical fixation probability with GC alleles in the recombination cold spots.