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This letter investigates the magnetic integration of the LCL filter in grid-connected inverters. By sharing an ungapped core and arranging the windings properly, the fundamental fluxes generated by the two inductors of an LCL filter cancel out mostly in the common core. Thus, the common core with low flux level can be dramatically reduced. Although the reluctance of the common core can hardly be zero, which implies an inevitable coupling between the integrated inductors, the proposed magnetic integration scheme is still attractive if the cross-section area and magnetic material of the common core are made reasonable. Experimental results from both single-phase and three-phase grid-connected inverters verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the relationships among corporate-brand credibility, product-brand personality, and purchase intention, specifically in China's auto industry. A large-scale survey was conducted in four major Chinese Mainland cities. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. A total of 800 questionnaires were distributed for the study. Ultimately, 477 usable cases were collected for a 60 percent response rate. Results reveal that corporate-brand credibility and product-brand personality have direct positive effects on purchase intention. Further- more, corporate-brand credibility acts as a positive moderator in the relationship between product-brand personality and purchase intention. This chapter offers new theoretical insights into the influential factors affecting consumers' purchase intentions by testing the moderating effect of corporate-brand credibility in the relationship between product-brand personality and purchase intention. It further provides useful suggestions to companies on brand credibility and personality issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines a prospective, randomized trial on the effects of sedating antidepressant mirtazapine on driving safety in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and the effect of mirtazapine on daytime alertness. The York Driving Simulator was used in the study. It was found that mirtazapine does not have time effects or group-over-time effects on any session for standard deviation of road position and driving speed, among others. Also noted is the increase in the release of norepinephrine and serotonin due to mirtazapine.

SummaryWe present the case of a young woman who suffered from right cervical lymphadenopathy with associated malaise for 8 weeks. The sonography showed multiple, enlarged lymph nodes in the cervical, submaxillary, and subclavicular chains on the right side. The biopsy of a right cervical lymph node disclosed necrosis, histiocytic accumulation, infiltration with lymphocytes and immunoblasts, and cellular debris, demonstrating histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (HNL). Although the patient had received treatment with dexamethasone for 5 weeks and antibiotic drugs for 6 weeks, the lymphadenopathy and the associated malaise had not improved. For fear of the side-effects caused by dexamethasone and the antibiotic drugs, the patient and her parents asked for treatment with Chinese herbs instead of dexamethasone and antibiotics. With the patient’s and her parents’ consent, the dose of dexamethasone was tapered according to its specifications and Chinese herbs were applied to treat her disease. After 6 weeks of orally administered Chinese herbs both the lymphadenopathy and the associated malaise disappeared. Follow-up by phone 6 months later showed no abnormality. Chinese medicinal herbs, as a natural treatment, can be used as an alternative in treating HNL.Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In order to explore the application effect of Yezhiyuan in early hybrid rice, Liangliangyou No.211 and Lingliangyou No.268 were tested in a teaching base in Hunan Agricultural University and Xidu Town, Hengyang County, with Yezhiyuan. The test results showed that the application of photosynthesis synergist in later tillering stage would increase the content of chlorophyll of functional leaf and photosynthetic rate, reduce transpiration rate and enhance yield per unit area. With Yezhiyuan applied, both of photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content kept higher compared with control group in two experimental sites, and practical yield in Hunan Agricultural University grew 8.54% higher compared with control group, and 10.67% in Hengyang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of food testing, human operation is an important variable affecting the experimental results. In order to reasonably avoid the influence of human subjective operation behavior on the accuracy of detection results, the laboratory information management system was used as the information platform to de-sign a high-throughput laboratory automation pre-treatment system based on the deep integration of mechanical principles, visual analysis, high-speed conduction, intelligent storage and other technical systems. The experimental results showed that the system could shorten the sample circulation cycle, efectvely improve the laboratory biosafety, and meet the requirement of high-throughput procusing of samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The in-plane and out-of-plane band-gap properties of two-dimensional triangular void channel photonic crystals fabricated by femtosecond laser drilling in a solid polymer material were characterized for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarization illumination. For a 24 layer structure stacked in the Γ–M direction, the fundamental stop gap resulted in the suppression of infrared transmission of as much as 96% for TE- and 85% for TM-polarized incident light. The midgap wavelength for the TM polarization was longer by 2.5% than that for the TE polarization. Increasing the angle of incidence for both the in-plane and out-of-plane cases shifted the stop gap to short wavelengths for both TE and TM polarizations. The experimental results allowed for the estimation of the cross section of void channels and the effective refractive index of the polymer after the fabrication. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The QuEChERS extraction technique is a pretreatment technique that has been rapidly applied in recent years and is widely used in the field of pesticide residues with many advantages. This technique is based on solid phase extraction (SPE), which uses the interaction between adsorbent and impurities in the matrix to achieve the purpose of purification. The method has easier operation and better purification effect than SPE. In this paper, the research progress of the QuEChERS technique in pesticide residue detection in different fields in recent years and its future development were reviewed, hoping to provide reference for further development and utilization of the QuEChERS technique in pesticide residue detection in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to addictive substances impairs flexible decision making. Cognitive flexibility is mediated by striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs). However, how chronic alcohol drinking alters cognitive flexibility through CINs remains unclear. Here, we report that chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal impaired reversal of instrumental learning. Chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal also caused a long-lasting (21 days) reduction of excitatory thalamic inputs onto CINs and reduced pause responses of CINs in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). CINs are known to inhibit glutamatergic transmission in dopamine D1 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) but facilitate this transmission in D2-MSNs, which may contribute to flexible behavior. We discovered that chronic alcohol drinking impaired CIN-mediated inhibition in D1-MSNs and facilitation in D2-MSNs. Importantly, in vivo optogenetic induction of long-term potentiation of thalamostriatal transmission in DMS CINs rescued alcohol-induced reversal learning deficits. These results demonstrate that chronic alcohol drinking reduces thalamic excitation of DMS CINs, compromising their regulation of glutamatergic transmission in MSNs, which may contribute to alcohol-induced impairment of cognitive flexibility. These findings provide a neural mechanism underlying inflexible drinking in alcohol use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ascorbic acid (Asc) is one of the most abundant antioxidants and it serves as amajor contributor to protect plants against oxidative damage. Plants use two enzymes that participate in the metabolic recycling of Asc. One of these two enzymes is dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR). It directly regenerates Asc from its oxidized state and thus prevents Asc from being irreversibly hydrolyzed to 2, 3-diketogulonic acid. This study aimed to examine whether over-expression of DHAR leads to an enhanced oxidative stress tolerance in tobacco plants. Results: In this study, we functionally characterized a novel JcDHAR gene from Jatropha curcas and found via quantitative RT-PCR analysis that JcDHAR can be induced with H2O2, salt and PEG stresses. The DHAR activities of transgenic tobacco plants increased from 2.0 to 5.3 fold compared to wild-type plants. As a result, the transgenic plants displayed enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress. Conclusions: Our results indicate that JcDHAR expression can effectively enhance the tolerance to oxidative stress in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Observing the effects of high-volume hemofiltration (HVHF) treatment on the monocytes apoptosis, antigen presentation, and secretion function, this study investigated the mechanism of HVHF effect on immunity homeostasis in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in an animal model. Materials and Methods. Lipopolysaccharides were administered in 12 Beagle dogs in order to induce MODS. Six dogs were randomly assigned to receive HVHF treatment for 12 hours (HVHF group) and the rest did not receive any treatment (the MODS group). The expression of DLA-DR, apoptosis, and cytokine levels were measured at 7 time points: normal condition (T1), after operation (T2), and zero, 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours after endotoxin injection (T3 to T7, respectively). Results. Apoptosis of CD14+ mononuclear cell increased in early and late stages gradually in the MODS group and began to decline gradually after the HVHF treatment. There was a significant difference between the two groups at time points T2 to T7 (P < .01). After HVHF, the impaired expression of dog leukocyte antigen- DR showed an improvement trend in the HVHF group, which was significant better at T5 and T7 than that in the MODS group (P < .05). Interleukin-4 secretion increased significantly with HVHF and was significantly higher at time points T4 to T7 as compared with the MODS group (P < .01). Conclusions. High-volume hemofiltration can alleviate the mononuclear cell apoptosis, improve antigen-presenting function and secretion function, inhibit the release of inflammatory factors, and maintain immune homeostasis, and consequently alleviate symptoms of MODS effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosized ZnAl2O4 powders were synthesized by a high-temperature calcinations method at 1100oC for 180min. Transparent ZnAl2O4 ceramics were obtained at 1275°C for 15min by spark plasma sintering (SPS) with the home-made nanosized ZnAl2O4 powders. To improve the sinterability, 0.5wt% tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used as a sintering agent, so that a higher transmittance was obtained at a lower sintering temperature of 1260°C. The transparent ZnAl2O4 ceramics sintered by the improved sintering process had a more uniform microstructure with an average grain size of 500nm and a high relative density. The in-line transmittance of the transparent ZnAl2O4 ceramics reached 63.5% at 550nm and 84.7% at 2000nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]