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Abstract: The formula for surface energy was modified in accordance with the slab model of molecular dynamics (MDs) simulations, and MD simulations were performed to investigate the relaxed structure and surface energy of perfect and pit rutile TiO2(110). Simulation results indicate that the slab with a surface more than four layers away from the fixed layer expresses well the surface characteristics of rutile TiO2 (110) surface; and the surface energy of perfect rutile TiO2 (110) surface converges to Jm−2. The study on perfect and pit slab models proves the effectiveness of the modified formula for surface energy. Moreover, the surface energy of pit surface is higher than that of perfect surface and exhibits an upper-concave parabolic increase and a step-like increase with increasing the number of units deleted along [001] and [110], respectively. Therefore, in order to obtain a higher surface energy, the direction along which atoms are cut out should be chosen in accordance with the pit sizes: [] direction for a small pit size and [001] direction for a big pit size; or alternatively the odd units of atoms along [110] direction are removed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An integrated MD simulation of scratching and shearing with one specimen is conducted to analyze the nanomachining mechanism and mechanics properties of nanostructures. Simulation results indicate that during scratching the onset and propagation of dislocations depend on the scratch depths; during shearing, the yielding stress of a small-size nanostructure is more sensitive to nanomachining imperfection and residual defects. Dislocations nucleate first near the burr in a scratched specimen. In an ideal nanostructure or a nanostructure with shallow scratched groove, the distribution of stress is generally lower and flatter. As the depth of groove increases, high stresses transit from the corner to either end of groove, especially near the burr or around the location of tool withdraw. During the deformation of nanostructures, shear stress plays a leading role in the elastic stage, and both normal stress gradients and shear stress determine the onset and evolvement of defects in the plastic stage. When the ratio of the depth of groove to the height of specimen is up to one third, the scratched groove determines the breakpoint of a nanostructure. The fluctuation of shear stress during the plastic deformation of specimen is caused by the competition between atoms which form new atomic planes and slip on different slip planes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Designing and synthesizing a novel cyclic phosphonate flame retardant TCDP. • Utilizing a single-component FR to access fire-safe FPUF with 26% high LOI value. • Preserving the mechanical integrity of FPUF at high FR concentrations. • Achieving mechanical durability and anti-aging performance on FPUF. Incorporating flame retardants (FRs) is an essential way to enhance flame resistance of polymers. In an effort to obtain required flame retardancy, a large number of flame retardants are often needed, which inevitably deteriorate the mechanical properties, especially suffering from heat aging. To balance the flame retardancy and mechanical performance, herein, we designed and synthesized a cyclic phosphonate, denoted as TCDP, with high phosphorus content (20.1 %) for flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF). Notably, only 2.8 wt% TCDP addition can endow FPUF with self-extinguishing behavior when it is horizontally or vertically exposed to the flame for 10 s. High limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 26 % can be reached for the 12.6 wt% TCDP filled FPUF. In particular, the compression strength and resilience of the resulting FPUFs remain robust even under heat aging at 125 °C for 16 h, resulting from an energy dissipating network may be established by hydrogen bonding between the cyclic phosphonate and polyurethane. Additionally, the TCDP filled FPUFs exhibit an LOI loss of only 0.5 % after heat aging. This work presents a new strategy to do not sacrifice the mechanical properties even under heat aging but impart excellent flame retardancy to flammable polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the melamine polyphosphate (MPP) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) were used to investigate their synergistic effects with aluminum diethyl phosphinate (AlPi) on enhancing the flame retardancy of epoxy resins (EP). The results indicated that low loadings of only 3.2 mass% AlPi, 1.6 mass% MPP and 0.2 mass% Al2O3 can make EP get high LOI value of 33.5% and UL-94 V-0 rating. The results also showed that the multi-component system of AlPi, MPP and Al2O3 in appropriate mixing ratio had good smoke suppression effect. The total smoke production of flame-retarded EP was decreased by as much as 64% compared with EP. Joint analysis by multiple techniques of cone calorimeter test, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and TGA coupling FTIR was shown that the flame-retardant mechanisms of the flame-retarded EP by loading of AlPi, MPP and Al2O3 were proposed as synergistic mechanism in gas and condensed phase. The excellent flame retardancy of EP/AlPi/MPP/Al2O3 composite was improved by the formation of protective char layer from the high valence phosphorus compounds in the residual char. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "An improved intumescent flame-retardant epoxy resin with hydroxylated melamine as both charring and blowing agent" published in the Journal of Thermal Analysis & Calorimetry. The correction states that Jin-Ni Deng should have been denoted as a corresponding author in the original publication, and this error has been corrected. The publisher, Springer Nature, remains neutral regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The authors of the article are Tao Chen, Xin-Ya Liu, Ting Wang, Lei He, Jin-Ni Deng, Zhi-Cheng Fu, Tian-Bao Zhao, Chang-Lin Xia, Zhi-hui Liu, and Ming-Jun Chen. [Extracted from the article]

Inspired by the semi-quantum protocols, this paper defines the lightweight quantum security protocols, in which lightweight participants can only perform at most two out of four very lightweight quantum operations. Subsequently, this study proposes a Lightweight Mediated Quantum Key Distribution (LMQKD) protocol as an example to show the feasibility and advantage of the lightweight quantum protocol. In the proposed protocol, a dishonest third party (TP) with complete quantum capabilities helps two lightweight quantum users establish a secure key. The lightweight quantum users are allowed to perform only: (1) unitary operations and (2) reflecting qubits without disturbance. The proposed protocol has been showed to be robust under the collective attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intumescence, compactness, and strength of char are the key points to the intumescent flame retardant system. However, the char residues of flame retardant polymers rarely exhibit all three characteristics, especially strength. Herein, a novel Cu2+-doped intumescent flame retardant (Cu–CHP) was prepared without producing any waste. When Cu–CHP was exposed at a high temperature (∼1400 °C), it can rapidly expand and carbonize to form dense char. Surprisingly, the intumescent char residue of Cu–CHP can hold up more than 2000 times its own weight. Benefitting from the excellent intumescent charring capacity of Cu–CHP, the resultant EP/Cu–CHP 18% composite can withstand around 600 s penetrating of butane flame (∼1400 °C) because of strong dense char protection, and only 0.9 wt% Cu2+ content resulted in the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of EP/Cu–CHP 18% increases to 31% and the vertical burning (UL-94) reaches V-0 rating. Additionally, its peak heat release rate, total smoke production, and fire growth rate are significantly reduced by 70%, 53%, and 75%, respectively, compared with neat epoxy resin. Especially, the smoke density of EP/Cu–CHP 18% was dramatically dropped by more than 68%. Because a Cu2+-doped intumescent, compact, and strong char residue was produced during burning. This work provides a new strategy to impart excellent flame retardancy and smoke suppression to highly flammable polymers by building metal-doped strong intumescent char residues. [Display omitted] • Cu2+-doped flame retardant was prepared without producing any wastes. • Cu2+-doped intumescent, compact, and strong char residue was produced. • Excellent flame retardancy and smoke suppression were imparted to epoxy resin. • The intumescent flame retardant mechanism was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throttle-type self-excitation dust separator was chosen as the study object. Through the study of dust separator's throttle strength value a, total pressure loss value h and throttle liquid-level difference value ΔH, the dust separator resistance characteristics, based on adjustment of liquid phase, was explored. The primary conclusions are as follows: there-is linear relationship between a value and gas velocity value v. And the slope of a-v curve is affected by the equipment resistance coefficient in dust separator. The slope value reduces with the increase of equipment resistance value. The dust separator h-v curve is made up of straight line and parabola. When the initial throttle strength value a0>0 and the gas velocity v is on the small side, the h-v curve exhibits a parabolic distribution obviously. Whereas if the initial throttle strength value a0<0 or a0>0 and the gas velocity v is on the great side, the h-v curve exhibits a linear distribution. The equilibrium condition of force is changed by the self-fluidity of liquid-phase; as the result, the resistance characteristics of dust separator are adjusted by that. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregation and plasticizing of most 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene −10-oxide (DOPO) derived additives often result in deteriorating the glass transition temperature and mechanical properties of epoxy resins (EP). To address this issue, an imide-DOPO derivative (BMP) with bulky aromatic structure was successfully synthesized. Benefitting from the space hindering and intermolecular interaction (π-π stacking) of BMP, it does not lead to the loss of glass transition temperature, and only a minor damage of tensile and impact strengths is caused. Additionally, with only 0.78 wt% loading of phosphorus (10 wt% BMP), the EP/BMP 10% achieves UL-94 V-0 and high LOI value of 35%. Simultaneously, both the heat release rate and total smoke production are markedly reduced. More excitingly, BMP exhibits aggregation-induced emission enhancement of fluorescence in the N, N -dimethylformamide/water mixed solution as well as epoxy resin. This work provides a new insight in simultaneously imparting flame retardancy and fluorescence to epoxy resins without losing glass transition temperature. [Display omitted] • Imide-DOPO derivative exhibits aggregation-induced emission enhancement. • Imide-DOPO derivative endows epoxy resin with excellent flame retardancy. • No loss of T g while the improvement of flame retardancy. • Fluorescence is imparted to the flame retardant epoxy resin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerogel composites based on melamine-formaldehyde (MF) and alginate (A) was fabricated with ice-templated method. The preparation process involves two cross-linking processes, in aerogel precursor at room temperature and in dried aerogel at 80 °C (100% humidity), respectively. Cross-linking was demonstrated to be very efficient for improving the mechanical property and water resistance of MF-A aerogels. The obtained aerogels have compressive moduli ranging from 1.2 MPa to 24.1 MPa. All the cross-linked aerogels display good dimensional stability when soaked in water. The morphological study of MF-A aerogels show a layered or network microstructure, with a homogeneous distribution of MF spheres. Due to low density and porous structure, MF-A aerogels have low thermal conductivity from 0.035 to 0.047 W/m K. MF-A aerogels have good thermal stability and extremely low flammability, with LOI value up to 41%. This novel aerogel from partially bio-based raw material would have promising application prospects. Image 10735 • Fully organic aerogel based on melamine-formaldehyde and alginate was fabricated. • The resulting flame retardant aerogels possess low thermal conductivity. • The obtained aerogels are insoluble in water even fabricated from water solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) is a ubiquitous material utilized in furniture cushions, mattresses, and various technical applications. Despite the widespread use, FPUF faces challenges in maintaining long-lasting flame retardancy and aging resistance, particularly in harsh environments, while retaining mechanical robustness. Here, we present a novel approach to address these issues by enhancing FPUF through multiple free-radical-trapping and hydrogen-bonding mechanisms. A hindered amine phosphorus-containing polyol (DTAP) was designed and chemically introduced into FPUF. The distinctive synergy between hindered amine and phosphorus-containing structures enables the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds with urethane, while also effectively capturing free radicals across a broad temperature spectrum. As a result, incorporating only 5.1 wt% of DTAP led to the material successfully passing vertical burning tests and witnessing notable enhancements in tensile strength, elongation at break, and tear strength. Even after enduring accelerated thermal aging for 168 hours, the foam maintained exceptional flame retardancy and mechanical properties. This study offers novel insights into material enhancement, simultaneously achieving outstanding long-lasting flame retardancy, toughness, and anti-aging performance.

Polyurethane (PU) foams, pivotal in modern life, face challenges suh as fire hazards and environmental waste burdens. The current reliance of PU on potentially ecotoxic halogen-/phosphorus-based flame retardants impedes large-scale material recycling. Here, our demonstrated controllable catalytic cracking strategy, using cesium salts, enables self-evolving recycling of flame-retardant PU. The incorporation of cesium citrates facilitates efficient urethane bond cleavage at low temperatures (160 °C), promoting effective recycling, while encouraging pyrolytic rearrangement of isocyanates into char at high temperatures (300 °C) for enhanced PU fire safety. Even in the absence of halogen/phosphorus components, this foam exhibits a substantial increase in ignition time (+258.8%) and a significant reduction in total smoke release (-79%). This flame-retardant foam can be easily recycled into high-quality polyol under mild conditions, 60 °C lower than that for the pure foam. Notably, the trace amounts of cesium gathered in recycled polyols stimulate the regenerated PU to undergo self-evolution, improving both flame-retardancy and mechanical properties. Our controllable catalytic cracking strategy paves the way for the self-evolutionary recycling of high-performance firefighting materials.

Polymeric materials, rich in carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen elements, present substantial fire hazards to both human life and property due to their intrinsic flammability. Overcoming this challenge in the absence of any flame-retardant elements is a daunting task. Herein, we introduce an innovative strategy employing catalytic polymer auto-pyrolysis before combustion to proactively release CO 2 , akin to possessing responsive CO 2 fire extinguishing mechanisms. We demonstrate that potassium salts with strong nucleophilicity (such as potassium formate/malate) can transform conventional polyurethane foam into materials with fire safety through rearrangement. This transformation results in the rapid generation of a substantial volume of CO 2 , occurring before the onset of intense decomposition, effectively extinguishing fires. The inclusion of just 1.05 wt% potassium formate can significantly raise the limiting oxygen index of polyurethane foam to 26.5%, increase the time to ignition by 927%, and tremendously reduce smoke toxicity by 95%. The successful application of various potassium salts, combined with a comprehensive examination of the underlying mechanisms, underscores the viability of this strategy. This pioneering catalytic approach paves the way for the efficient and eco-friendly development of polymeric materials with fire safety., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Limited research exists regarding the relationship between fasting plasma C-peptide levels and sarcopenia. As a result, our study aimed to examine this association in elderly Chinese diabetic patients. This cross-sectional study included 288 elderly patients with diabetes mellitus from the Fourth People's Hospital in Guiyang who were enrolled prospectively between March 2020 and February 2023. The independent variable of interest was fasting plasma C-peptide, while the dependent variable was sarcopenia. Data on several covariates, including demographic factors, lifestyle habits, co-morbidities, anthropometric indicators, and laboratory indicators, were also collected. Of the 288 participants, 27.43% (79/288) had sarcopenia. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, we found a U-shaped association between fasting plasma C-peptide levels and sarcopenia, with inflection points identified at approximately 774 pmol/L and 939 mmol/L. Within the range of 50-744 pmol/L, each 100 pmol/L increase in CysC was associated with a 37% decrease in the odds of sarcopenia (odds ratio [OR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49 to 0.83; P < 0.001). Additionally, within the range of 939-1694 pmol/L, each 100 pmol/L increase in fasting plasma C-peptide was associated with a 76% increase in the odds of sarcopenia (odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 2.81; P = 0.017). Our study revealed a U-shaped association between fasting plasma C-peptide levels and the likelihood of sarcopenia, with lower risk in the range of 774-939 pmol/L. These findings may assist in the development of more effective prevention and treatment strategies for sarcopenia in elderly diabetic patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: To investigate the effects of composite Sophora colon-soluble Capsule (CSCC) on gut microbiota-mediated short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production and downstream group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) mice model., Methods: The main components of CSCC were analyzed by hybrid ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography ion mobility spectromety quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-IM-QTOF/MS). Twenty-four male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=6) by using a computer algorithm-generated random digital, including control, DSS model, mesalazine, and CSCC groups. A DSS-induced colitis mice model was established to determine the effects of CSCC by recording colonic weight, colonic length, index of colonic weight, and histological colonic score. The variations in ILC3s were assessed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. The results of gut microbiota and SCFAs were acquired by 16s rDNA and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The expression levels of NCR + ILC3 - , CCR6 + Nkp46 - (Lti) ILC3 - , and ILCreg-specific markers were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively., Results: The main components of CSCC were matrine, ammothamnine, Sophora flavescens neoalcohol J, and Sophora oxytol U. After 7 days of treatment, CSCC significantly alleviated colitis by promoting the reproduction of intestinal probiotics manifested as upregulation of the abundance of Bacteroidetes species and specifically the Bacteroidales&#95;S24-7 genus (P<0.05). Among the SCFAs, the content of butyric acid increased the most after CSCC treatment. Meanwhile, compared with the model group, Lti ILC3s and its biomarkers were significantly downregulated and NCR + ILC3s were significantly elevated in the CSCC group (P<0.01). Further experiments revealed that ILC3s were differentiated from Lti ILC3s to NCR + ILC3s, resulting in interleukin-22 production which regulates gut epithelial barrier function., Conclusion: CSCC may exert a therapeutic effect on UC by improving the gut microbiota, promoting metabolite butyric acid production, and managing the ratio between NCR + ILC3s and Lti ILC3s., (© 2022. The Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: To develop a new modality of colorectal cancer screening based on chronic disease management (CDM) to improve the participation rate of screening, and maximize the benefits of limited resources., Methods: Patients under CDM were assigned to screening intervention group (SI) and screening control group1 (SC1), residents from natural community were assigned to screening control group2 (SC2). A parallel controlled community intervention study was performed. Only SI would achieve "one-to-one" intervention services. Meanwhile, 200 subjects were selected from each of the three groups for the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) questionnaire before and after intervention, named questionnaire intervention group(QI), questionnaire control group1(QC1) and questionnaire control group2(QC2). The outcome of the intervention was evaluated using the difference-in-differences method and multiple regression analysis., Results: The preliminary screening participation rate was 43.63%(473/1084) in SI, 14.32%(132/922) in SCI, and 5.87%(105/1789) in SC2. The baseline questionnaire showed low knowledge scores in the three questionnaire groups with no statistically significant differences, while attitude scores in QI and QC1 were significantly higher than QC2. The differences between baseline and terminal showed QI increased larger in knowledge and attitude scores than QC1 and QC2, while no difference was detected between QC1 and QC2., Conclusion: The colorectal cancer screening model based on chronic disease management effectively improved the screening participation rate, and the "one-to-one" intervention and the inherent characteristics of the patient population under CDM were the core elements of the new modality., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Nylon-cotton (NC) blend fabrics are widely used in military and industrial applications, but their high flammability still remains a serious problem. In an effort to effectively and quickly impart flame retardancy to the NC fabric, it was treated by simply blade coating with a Cu 2+ -doped polyelectrolyte complex (CPEC) that consists of ammonium polyphosphate (APP), polyethylenimine (PEI), and copper sulfate. The viscosity of the CPEC can be adjusted by altering the content of CuSO 4 , which controls the amount of extrinsic and intrinsic ion pairs. By adjusting the proportion and content of PEI, APP, and CuSO 4 , CPEC suitable for treating the NC fabric was obtained. Only 0.067 wt % Cu 2+ was needed to adjust the viscosity and impart self-extinguishing behavior in a vertical burning test. This simple two-step treatment provides a promising technology to protect flammable polymeric substrates with ultralow metal-doped polyelectrolyte complexes.

Physicians write clinical notes with abbreviations and shorthand that are difficult to decipher. Abbreviations can be clinical jargon (writing "HIT" for "heparin induced thrombocytopenia"), ambiguous terms that require expertise to disambiguate (using "MS" for "multiple sclerosis" or "mental status"), or domain-specific vernacular ("cb" for "complicated by"). Here we train machine learning models on public web data to decode such text by replacing abbreviations with their meanings. We report a single translation model that simultaneously detects and expands thousands of abbreviations in real clinical notes with accuracies ranging from 92.1%-97.1% on multiple external test datasets. The model equals or exceeds the performance of board-certified physicians (97.6% vs 88.7% total accuracy). Our results demonstrate a general method to contextually decipher abbreviations and shorthand that is built without any privacy-compromising data., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Few machine learning (ML) models are successfully deployed in clinical practice. One of the common pitfalls across the field is inappropriate problem formulation: designing ML to fit the data rather than to address a real-world clinical pain point., Methods: We introduce a practical toolkit for user-centred design consisting of four questions covering: (1) solvable pain points, (2) the unique value of ML (eg, automation and augmentation), (3) the actionability pathway and (4) the model's reward function. This toolkit was implemented in a series of six participatory design workshops with care managers in an academic medical centre., Results: Pain points amenable to ML solutions included outpatient risk stratification and risk factor identification. The endpoint definitions, triggering frequency and evaluation metrics of the proposed risk scoring model were directly influenced by care manager workflows and real-world constraints., Conclusions: Integrating user-centred design early in the ML life cycle is key for configuring models in a clinically actionable way. This toolkit can guide problem selection and influence choices about the technical setup of the ML problem., Competing Interests: Competing interests: This research was funded by Google LLC. LF is now an employee of Marpai Inc. but work for this paper was completed at Google., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Diosgenin is widely distributed in many plants, such as Polygonatum sibiricum, Paris polyphylla, Dioscorea oppositifolia, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Costus speciosus, Tacca chantrieri, which has good anti-tumor activity and preferable effects on preventing atherosclerosis, protecting the heart, treating diabetes, etc. This review combed through the anti-tumor mechanisms of diosgenin encompassing lung, breast, gallbladder, liver, oral cavity, stomach, bladder, bone marrow, etc. Besides, it was discovered that diosgenin mainly exerts its effect by inhibiting tumor cell migration, suppressing tumor cell proliferation and growth, and inducing cell apoptosis. However, problems like low yield and bioavailability frequently exist in natural diosgenin. This review introduced methods such as structural modification, dosage form optimization and combination medication to improve the yield and anti-tumor activity of diosgenin. Via the summary of this paper, it is expected to provide theoretical basis for the rational exploitation and utilization of diosgenin.

Most current flame-retardant nanocoatings for flexible polyurethane foam (PUF) consist of passive barriers, such as clay, graphene oxide, or metal hydroxide. In an effort to develop a polymeric and environmentally benign nanocoating for PUF, positively charged chitosan (CH) and anionic sodium hexametaphosphate (PSP) were deposited using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. Only six bilayers of CH/PSP film can withstand flame penetration during exposure to a butane torch (∼1400 °C) for 10 s and stop flame spread on the foam. Additionally, cone calorimetry reveals that the fire growth rate, peak heat release rate, and maximum average rate of heat emission are reduced by 55, 43, and 38%, respectively, compared with uncoated foam. This multilayer thin film quickly dehydrates to form an intumescent charred exoskeleton on the surface of the open-celled structure of polyurethane, inhibiting heat transfer and completely eliminating melt dripping. This entirely polymeric nanocoating provides a safe and effective alternative for reducing the fire hazard of polyurethane foam that is widely used for cushioning and insulation.

The species diversity and temporal niche of entomopathogenic fungi community in the rhizosphere soil collected from the extensively managed Huangshan fuzz tip tea plantation were investigated. A total of 140 soil samples were collected at the location of Tangkou Town, Huangshan of Anhui Province during August, 2012 to June, 2013, and totally 1041 fungal isolates were obtained on selective medium with soil dilution plating. The results showed that the entomopathogenic fungi community in the tea plantation soil was diverse with 13 species in 6 genera. Purpureocillium lilacinum (309 strains), Beauveria bassiana (255 strains), and Metarhizium anisopliae (101 strains) were the dominant species accounting for 29.7%, 24.5% and 9.7% of the relative frequency, respectively. P. lilacinum had the widest temporal niche breadth among these dominant entomopathogenic fungi from the tea plantation soil, while B. bassiana had the narrowest. Among the entomopathogenic fungi, B. bassiana and B. brongniartii had the biggest temporal niche overlap of 1.965, while Isaria javanicus and B. bassiana had the smallest of 0.374.

Growth of Microcystis aeruginosa could be inhibited significantly within 24 h by the extracellular substances prepared from Aeromonas sp. strain FM. During the treatment, the concentration of extracellular soluble carbohydrates increased significantly in algal culture. Morphological and ultrastructural changes in M. aeruginosa cells, including breakage of the cell surface, secretion of mucilage, and intracellular disorganization of thylakoids, were observed. HPLC-MS analysis showed that the extracellular substances of Aeromonas sp. strain FM were a mixture of free amino acids, tripeptides, and clavulanate. Among these, the algae-lysis effects of lysine and clavulanate were confirmed.

Objective: To analyze the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine constitution types in elderly patients with insomnia., Methods: The epidemiological data were collected from communities in the Yangpu District, Shanghai via a cross-sectional field survey. The elderly participants were enrolled by using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale and the TCM Constitution Questionnaire., Results: (1)The distribution of imbalanced constitutions between the elderly with insomnia and normal subjects showed statistical difference (P<0.01) and the elderly with insomnia tend to be of imbalanced constitutions. Among these unbalanced constitutions, deficient constitutions were more frequent than others in the elderly with insomnia, and yang-deficiency and qi-deficiency occurred mostly in unbalanced and simple constitutions. (2) Blood-stasis and qi-stagnation constitutions were more frequent in females than in males among the elderly with insomnia. Frequency of deficiency constitutions in the elderly increased as the age increases. (3) The frequency of composite constitutions was higher than that of simple constitutions in elderly patients with insomnia (74.8%), among which qi-deficiency was more likely to be composite with other constitutions., Conclusion: Identification and classification of traditional Chinese medicine constitution types will provide further information for devising projects with systematic intervention for insomnia management.

Isaria farinosa is an important entomopathogenic fungus. By using ISSR, this paper studied the genetic heterogeneity of six I. farinosa populations at different localities of Anhui Province, East China. A total of 98.5% polymorphic loci were amplified with ten polymorphic primers, but the polymorphism at population level varied greatly, within the range of 59.6%-93.2%. The genetic differentiation index (G(st)) between the populations based on Nei's genetic heterogenesis analysis was 0.3365, and the gene flow (N(m)) was 0.4931. The genetic differentiation between the populations was lower than that within the populations, suggesting that the genetic variation of I. farinosa mainly come from the interior of the populations. The UPGMA clustering based on the genetic similarities between the isolates revealed that the Xishan population was monophylectic, while the other five populations were polyphylectic, with the Yaoluoping population being the most heterogenic and the Langyashan population being the least heterogenic. No correlations were observed between the geographic distance and the genetic distance of the populations. According to the UPGMA clustering based on the genetic distance between the populations, the six populations were classified into three groups, and this classification was accorded with the clustering based on geographic environment, suggesting the effects of environmental heterogeneity on the population heterogeneity.

An investigation was made on the quantitative composition, niche width, and niche overlap of dominant entomopathogenic fungi in three different forest ecosystems, i.e., natural broad-leaved forest, natural secondary broad-leaved forest, and pure Masson' s pine plantation. In the three forest ecosystems, Beauveria bassiana was the first dominant species in natural secondary broad-leaved forest, the second in pure Masson's pine plantation, and the third in natural broad-leaved forest. B. bassiana had the broadest temporal niche width and nutritional niche width, whereas the dominant species Isaria cateinannulata, L. farinose, and I. tenuipes had much smaller niche widths. Meanwhile, B. bassiana had larger temporal niche overlaps but smaller nutritional niche overlaps with other dominant entomopathogenic fungi. It was suggested that in the three forest ecosystems, B. bassiana had the longest occurrence duration, widest host range, and strongest environmental adaptability.

By the method of ISSR, the genetic heterogeneity of 111 Beauveria bassiana isolates in a pure Masson' s pine plantation in Magu Mountains of Anhui Province was analyzed. A total of 58 loci were obtained with 7 ISSR primers, 54 of which (93.10%) were polymorphic. For the isolates sampled at different time, their Nei's gene diversity (He) was 0.2552, Shannon's diversity index (I) was 0.3825, coefficient of gene differentiation (Gst) was 0.2269, and gene flow Nm was 0.8518. The genetic distance between the isolates sampled in May and July was the shortest (0.0408). For the isolates grouped based on host orders, their He was 0.2623, I was 0.3884, Gst was 0.1964, and Nm was 1.0223. The genetic distance between the isolates from Coleopteran and Hymenoteran was the shortest (0.0163). All the results suggested that the genetic heterogeneity of B. bassiana population in the test plantation was rich, and the genetic variation between B. bassiana sub-populations was relatively low but that within the sub-populations was high, and none of the isolates were identical or highly similar with each other.

672 specimens of entomogenous fungi belonging to 20 species, 8 genera and 4 families were collected from 20 sampling quadrates in the Langya Mountains Nature Reserve of East Anhui. The dominant species were Beauveria bassiana, Paecilomyces farinosus, P. cateinannulatus, B. brongniartii and P. fumosoroseus, and B. bassiana was most dominant, with the relative abundance of 73.8%. The entomogenous fungi in the Reserve were high in amount but low in diversity. The amount of isolates and the abundance of each species were the highest in summer and decreased with decreasing air temperature and rainfall, while the Pielou evenness changed from relatively low to relatively high. Paecilomyces spp. had a less seasonal fluctuation of quantity than Beauveria spp.

Objective: To investigate the risk factors for multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRP) infections, and the factors related with poor prognosis of P. aeruginosa infections., Methods: The data of 44 cases of MDRP nosocomial infections were analyzed from Jan, 1999. to Dec, 2002 in Peking Union Medical Hospital; 68 cases of antibiotic-sensitive P. aeuroginosa infection were randomized as control. T test, chi-square test and Logistic regression analysis were used for statistics., Results: According to univariate analysis, the factors associated with the development of MDRP nosocomial infection were age, APACHE II, co-infection with other pathogens, hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), mechanical ventilation, COPD, fluoroquinolone and imipenem/meropenem use 15 days before isolation of MDRP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified two independent factors: mechanical ventilation and previous imipenem/meropenem use. Of 44 cases of MDRP infections, 24 died, and 20 survived. Univariate analysis revealed that three factors (APACHE II, mechanical ventilation, resistance switch) were associated with clinical prognosis. But a ccording to multivariate logistic regression analysis, only resistance switch was a predictive factor., Conclusions: Mechanical ventilation and previous imipenem/meropenem use were independent risk factors for MDRP infection. Resistance switch was a predictive factor for the prognosis of MDRP infection.