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Clinically, the effective treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is very limited. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the mechanism how astragalus polysaccharide (APS) exerts protective effect against AIS and provide a new method for the treatment of AIS. Cell surface antigen flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were used to identify M1 and M2 microglia. Western blot was used to evaluate the expression of associated protein. Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was used to simulate the effect of AIS on rat microglia. The middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established to simulate the effect of AIS

Purpose: Scoliosis is a deformity of the spine, and as a measure of scoliosis severity, Cobb angle is fundamental to the diagnosis of deformities that require treatment. Conventional Cobb angle measurement and assessment is usually done manually, which is inherently time-consuming, and associated with high inter- and intra-observer variability. While there exist automatic scoliosis measurement methods, they suffer from insufficient accuracy. In this work, we propose a two-step segmentation-based deep learning architecture to automate Cobb angle measurement for scoliosis assessment using X-Ray images. Methods: The proposed architecture involves two steps. In the first step, we utilize a novel Augmented U-Net architecture to generate segmentations of vertebrae. The second step includes a non-learning-based pipeline to extract landmark coordinates from the segmented vertebrae and filter undesirable landmarks. Results: Our proposed Augmented U-Net architecture achieved a Symmetric Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 9.2%, with approximately 90% of estimations having less than 10 degrees difference compared with the AASCE-MICCAI challenge 2019 dataset ground truths. We further validated the model using an internal dataset and achieved almost the same level of performance. Conclusion: The proposed architecture is robust in providing automated spinal vertebrae segmentations and Cobb angle measurement, and is potentially generalizable to real-world clinical settings.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by cognitive dysfunction; however, the therapeutic strategies are not fully understood. Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction (HLJDD) is a famous traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been widely used clinically to treat dementia. Recently, according to previous study and our clinical practice, we generate a new modification of HLJDD (named modified-HLJDD). In this study, we indicated that modified-HLJDD attenuated learning and memory deficiencies in Aβ1-42 oligomer-induced AD model, and we confirmed the exact metabolites in modified-HLJDD solution, as compared with HLJDD by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Using GC-Q-TOF/MS-based metabolomics, we identified adenosine as the potential significant metabolite, responsible for modified-HLJDD regulating energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity in AD model. We also revealed that the potential underlying mechanism of modified-HLJDD in AD model may involve NMDA receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission and adenosine/ATPase/AMPK cascade. Moreover, we also indicated the differential gut microbiota which mainly involved Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria at the phylum level upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Based on the correlation of metabolomic analysis with microbiome analysis, we clarified that Dorea is the most affected microbiota with adenosine upon modified-HLJDD treatment in AD model. Thus, our study suggests that modified-HLJDD may serve as a potential therapeutic drug in treating AD.

Background Migraine is one of the most common neurological diseases which has been treated by active substances from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as ligustrazine, an extract of the Chinese herb Chuanxiong. However, the pathogenesis of migraine and the curative mechanisms of ligustrazine have remained unclear. The genes P2X3, TRPV1, ERK, and c-fos have been implicated to play a role. In this work, we attempted to elucidate the analgesic mechanism of ligustrazine using a classic migraine-representative rat model. Methods The migraine rat model was established by administration of nitroglycerin (NTG). Ligustrazine treatment was administered by intravenous injection. The animal's behavior was continuously recorded, and then trigeminal ganglions (TGs) were isolated. Total RNA was extracted from cells and total protein was extracted from TG. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot analyses were used to detect the levels of P2X3, TRPV1, c-Fos, and ERK in TG. Results Ligustrazine could reduce the neurological activities of NTG-induced migraine rats. The rats TG nerve showed varying degrees of expression of P2X3, TRPV1, c-Fos and ERK expression element. Ligustrazine could inhibit over-expression of P2X3, TRPV1, c-fos, and ERK in the TG nerve of NTG-induced migraine rats. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that ligustrazine had potent activity against NTG-induced migraine rats through inhibition of the c-fos/ERK signaling pathway. This work may provide a comprehensive basis for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of migraine and the curative mechanisms of ligustrazine.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. Genetic factors play important roles in PD risk. rs653765 and rs514049 of ADAM10 were reported to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Caucasian population; however, the association of the two variants with PD in Chinese Han population remains unknown. The present investigation aimed to explore the possible association of ADAM10 variants with PD in Chinese Han population.We enrolled 565 PD patients and 518 healthy controls to conduct a case-control study. DNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes, and the genotypes were determined by utilization of MassARRAY platform. Plasma levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).We found CC genotype of rs514049 was associated with an increased risk of PD (OR (95% CI) = 3.776 (1.127-11.217), p = 0.018). The C allele frequency of rs514049 was significantly higher in PD group (OR (95% CI) = 1.328 (1.031-1.709), p = 0.028), especially in male subgroup (OR (95% CI) = 1.484 (1.053-2.092), p = 0.024). However, there was no significant difference in the genotype or allele frequencies for rs653765 within the groups. Plasma levels were significantly decreased in PD patients compared with controls (p0.001).Our data suggested that C allele of rs514049 in ADAM10 may increase the risk of PD in Chinese Han population, especially in males. The decreased plasma levels are probably involved in PD development.

The NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was reported to be regulated by autophagy and activated during inflammatory procession of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Berberine (BBR) is well-studied to play an important role in promoting anti-inflammatory response to mediate the autophagy activity. However, the effect of Berberine on NLRP3 inflammasome in PD and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. Hence, in this study, we investigated the effects of BBR on 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mice, by evaluating their behavioral changes, dopaminergic (DA) neurons loss, neuroinflammation, NLRP3 inflammasome and autophagic activity. BBR was also applied in BV2 cells treated with 1-methyl-4-pehnyl-pyridine (MPP+). The autophagy inhibitor 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) was administrated to block autophagy activity both in vivo and in vitro. In our in vivo studies, compared to MPTP group, mice in MPTP + BBR group showed significant amelioration of behavioral disorders, mitigation of neurotoxicity and NLRP3-associated neuroinflammation, enhancement of the autophagic process in substantia nigra (SN). In vitro, compared to MPP+ group, BBR significantly decreased the level of NLRP3 inflammasome including the expressions of NLRP3, PYD and CARD domain containing (PYCARD), cleaved caspase 1 (CASP1), and mature interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), via enhancing autophagic activity. Furthermore, BBR treatment increased the formation of autophagosomes in MPP+-treated BV2 cells. Taken together, our data indicated that BBR prevents NLRP3 inflammasome activation and restores autophagic activity to protect DA neurons against degeneration in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that BBR may be a potential therapeutic to treat PD.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) has a close relationship with osteoporosis and bone secretory proteins may be involved in disease progress. Objectives: To detect the six bone-derived factors in plasma and CSF of patients with PD and evaluate their correlations with CRP level, motor impairment and HY stage of the disease.Methods: We included 250 PD patients and 250 controls. Levels of OCN, OPN, OPG, SO, BMP2 and DKK-1 in Plasma and CSF were measured by custom protein antibody arrays. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: Plasma levels of OCN and OPN were correlated with CRP level and HY stage and motor impairment of PD. Furthermore, the plasma assessment with CSF detection may enhance their potential prediction on PD.Conclusions: OCN and OPN may serve as potential biomarkers for PD. The inflammation response may be involved in the cross-talks between the two factors and PD.

The genetic background such as copy number, integration site and chromosome karyotype of exogenous genes of transgenic animals obtained by random integration is still unclear. There may be some problems such as silent integration, invalid integration, toxic integration and unpredictable expression level of exogenous genes. In this study, six primary (F0) and their corresponding offspring (F1) of human lactoferrin (hLF) transgenic goats were selected as the research objects, and blood samples were collected from jugular vein and DNA were extracted. The genetic background and expression level of exogenous genes were studied by chromosome karyotype analysis, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), ELISA and Western blotting. The chromosomes of six F0 transgenic goats had no obvious morphological variation, number change and other abnormalities. The relative copy number was different (2-16) and could be steadily inherited to the next generation. The copy number of F0 and F1 hLF gene was the same. The highest expression level of hLF was 1.12 g/L in F1 transgenic goats (L3-1, 8 copies). The results proved that the integrated exogenous genes could steadily inherit the next generation, and did not cause obstacles to the growth and development of transgenic goat individuals. Moreover, there was no obvious correlation between the number of copies and the expression level of hLF. This laid a foundation for the new varieties cultivation of transgenic goats and other transgenic animals, and analysis of genetic background.以随机整合方式获得的转基因动物外源基因的拷贝数、整合位点及染色体核型等遗传背景并不清楚，可能会存在外源基因的沉默整合、无效整合、毒性整合以及其表达水平不可预测等问题。文中选取了6 只原代（F0）及其相对应的子一代（F1）的人乳铁蛋白（hLF）转基因山羊作为研究对象，分别颈静脉采血、提取DNA，通过染色体核型分析、实时荧光定量PCR（qPCR）、ELISA 和Western blotting 等检测技术，研究其外源基因的遗传背景与表达水平。结果显示，6 只F0 代转基因山羊的染色体没有明显的形态变异、数量改变等异常情况。相对拷贝数高低不同（2–16），且能够稳定地遗传给下一代，F0 和F1 代hLF 基因拷贝数一致。F1 代转基因山羊表达hLF 水平最高可达1.12 g/L（L3-1，拷贝数8）。结果表明，整合的外源基因能够稳定地遗传下一代，也没有对转基因山羊个体的生长发育造成障碍，而且拷贝数高低与hLF 表达水平无明显的相关性，这为转基因山羊及其他转基因动物的新品种培育奠定了基础，解析了遗传背景。.

Many publications reported that genetic dysfunction mediates abnormal immune responses in the brain, which is important for the development of neurodegenerative diseases, especially for Parkinson's disease (PD). This immune disorder results in subsequent inflammatory reaction, which stimulates microglia or other immune cells to secrete cytokines and chemokines and disturbs the proportion of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets contributing to dopaminergic (DA) neuron apoptosis. Furthermore, the abnormal immune related signal pathways caused by genetic variants promote chronic inflammation destroying the blood-brain barrier, which allows infiltration of different molecules and blood cells into the central nervous system (CNS) exerting toxicity on DA neurons. As a result, the inflammatory reaction in the CNS accelerates the progression of Parkinson's disease and promotes α-synuclein aggregation and diffusion among DA neurons in the procession of Parkinson's disease. Thus, for disease evaluation, the genetic mediated abnormal immune response in PD may be assessed based on the multiple immune molecules and inflammatory factors, as well as the ratio of lymphocyte subsets from PD patient's peripheral blood as potential biomarkers.

Background Abnormal expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) is increased in dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Low-molecular-mass protein 7 (β5i) is a proteolytic subunit of the immunoproteasome that regulates protein degradation and the MHC pathway in immune cells. Methods In this study, we investigated the role of β5i in DA neurons using a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model in vitro and vivo. Results We showed that 6-OHDA upregulated β5i expression in DA neurons in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Inhibition and downregulation of β5i induced the expression of glucose-regulated protein (Bip) and exacerbated 6-OHDA neurotoxicity in DA neurons. The inhibition of β5i further promoted the activation of Caspase 3-related pathways induced by 6-OHDA. β5i also activated transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (TAP1) and promoted MHC-I expression on DA neurons. Conclusion Taken together, our data suggest that β5i is activated in DA neurons under 6-OHDA treatment and may play a neuroprotective role in PD. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40035-018-0125-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Large-scale syntheses of uniform AgCl nanocubes and nanospheres with sub-100 nm size have been achieved by the reaction of AgNO 3 and CCl 4 in a solvothermal system with polyvinylpyrrolidone as a capping agent. The reaction time and temperature have been proved to be the key factors for the morphological evolution of the AgCl nanocrystals. In addition, an interesting AgCl micro-tetrahedron structure can be obtained with dichloroethane instead of CCl 4 as the chlorine source. The synthesized products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The growth mechanism of the AgCl crystals is proposed. The AgCl products can be converted to plasmonic Ag/AgCl photocatalysts under UV-light irradiation, which exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the organic contaminant of Rhodamine B.

Shenqi Maixintong capsule (SMC), a traditional Chinese medicine compound, exerts various therapeutic effects, including nourishing one’s vitality, improving blood circulation, regulating vital energy, and promoting coronary circulation. Studies have demonstrated that SMC could effectively alleviate atherosclerosis (AS) and delay its development. However, the effect of SMC on lipid metabolism remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the mechanism of SMC on lipid metabolism of RAW264.7 cells induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). Drug-containing serum was prepared by intragastric administration of SD (Sprague Dawley) rats. RAW264.7 cells were transformed into foam cells with 25 mg/L ox-LDL. SMC-treated rat serum increased the survival rate of ox-LDL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Oil Red staining, total cholesterol, and free cholesterol detection data showed that the intermediated dose of SMC had the best effect on reducing the lipid accumulation, lipid droplets, intracellular cholesterol, and total cholesterol content of RAW264.7 cells. The results of western blotting showed that the expression of ABCA1, ABCG1, LXRα, PPARγ, and peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) was increased by SMC, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) was reduced, which promoted reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) of RAW264.7 cells and inhibited foam cell formation. Furthermore, SOD and MDA data indicated that SMC could reduce the senescence of RAW264.7 cells. These findings suggest that SMC might prevent ox-LDL-induced damage of macrophages in AS patients by improving cell viability and slowing down lipid accumulation and senescence.

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are promising energy storage systems owing to their high theoretical energy density and low costs due to the abundant reserves of sulfur. However, the easy dissolution of intermediate polysulfides (Li2Sx, 4 < x ≤ 8) and insulating nature of sulfur have hindered their commercialization. Herein, we develop a novel confinement approach by using porous hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs) embedded with well-dispersed cobalt monoxide (CoO) nanocrystals (CoO/HCN), which can effectively combine the advantages of physical entrapment and chemical binding interactions of sulfur species. When used as a sulfur host material, the CoO/HCN–S composite cathode with 1.4 mg cm−2 sulfur exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with high discharge capacity (996 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2C), great rate capability (620 mA h g−1 at 5.0C) and superior cycle stability (629 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1.0C with a capacity decay of only 0.033% per cycle and 482 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 2.0C with a capacity decay of only 0.043% per cycle). Furthermore, a high and stable reversible capacity of 640 mA h g−1 after cycling for 250 cycles is achieved with a higher sulfur mass loading (3.6 mg cm−2).

High-rise buildings with an active mass damper/driver (AMD) system generally use a simplified mathematical model. The result leads to parametric uncertainties including the stiffness and mass variations exist, and the accuracy of its controller is seriously affected. In view of the above uncertainties, based on a Lyapunov stability theory and linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, a state feedback controller based on the guaranteed cost control (GCC) algorithm is proposed in this paper. A ten-storey frame with an AMD system is taken as a numerical example, and its control effect and AMD parameters are viewed as the control indexes. The performance of the proposed robust controller is compared with a conventional controller based on the classical LQR algorithm. The analysis results show that the new controller effectively suppresses the dynamic responses of high-rise buildings with parametric uncertainties and keeps the AMD parameters stable. Finally, a four-storey steel experimental frame with an AMD system is used to verify the correctness of the conclusions.

Objective: To investigate the effect of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with tremor and its potential neuromechanism by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Methods: Forty-one PD patients with tremor were randomly assigned to true acupuncture group (TAG, n = 14), sham acupuncture group (SAG, n = 14) and waiting group (WG, n = 13). All patients received levodopa for 12 weeks. Patients in TAG were acupunctured on DU20, GB20, and the Chorea-Tremor Controlled Zone, and patients in SAG accepted sham acupuncture, while patients in WG received no acupuncture treatment until 12 weeks after the course was ended. The UPDRS II and III subscales, and fMRI scans of the patients' brains were obtained before and after the treatment course. UPDRS II and III scores were analyzed by SPSS, while the degree centrality (DC), regional homogeneity (ReHo) and amplitude low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) were determined by REST.Results: Acupuncture improved the UPDRS II and III scores in PD patients with tremor without placebo effect, only in tremor score. Acupuncture had specific effects on the cerebrocerebellar pathways as shown by the decreased DC and ReHo and increased ALFF values, and nonspecific effects on the spinocerebellar pathways as shown by the increased ReHo and ALFF values (P < 0.05, AlphaSim corrected). Increased ReHo values were observed within the thalamus and motor cortex of the PD patients (P < 0.05, AlphaSim corrected). In addition, the default mode network (DMN), visual areas and insula were activated by the acupuncture with increased DC, ReHo and/or ALFF, while the prefrontal cortex (PFC) presented a significant decrease in ReHo and ALFF values after acupuncture (P < 0.05, AlphaSim corrected).Conclusions: The cerebellum, thalamus and motor cortex, which are connected to the cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) circuit, were modulated by the acupuncture stimulation to alleviate the PD tremor. The regulation of neural activity within the cognitive brain regions (the DMN, visual areas, insula and PFC) together with CTC circuit may contributes to enhancing movement and improving patients' daily life activities.

Genetic factors play significant roles in the causes of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently, a meta-analysis of genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified 17 loci associated with PD. The objective of our study was to investigate the association of 17 single-nucleotide polymorphisms with the risk of PD in Chinese population. We performed a case-control association study, and 1189 subjects comprising 652 PD patients and 537 controls were genotyped by using a Mass ARRAY System or a TaqMan assay. We found that rs601999 (OR (95% CI) = 3.378 (2.273-5.051), p0.001), rs11343 (OR (95% CI) = 0.426 (0.210-0.862), p = 0.018), rs353116 (OR (95% CI) = 0.738 (0.577-0.943), p = 0.015), and rs2280104 (OR (95% CI) = 1.371 (1.078-1.743), p = 0.010) were significantly associated with PD in Chinese population. However, no significant association was found in the remaining 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms between both groups.

Active mass damper/driver (AMD) control system has been proposed as an effective tool for high-rise buildings to resist strong dynamic loads. However, such disadvantage as time-varying delay in AMD control systems impedes their application in practices. Time-varying delay, which has an effect on the performance and stability of single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) systems, is considered in the paper. In addition, a new time-delay compensation controller based on regional pole-assignment method is presented. To verify its effectiveness, the proposed method is applied to a numerical example of a ten-storey frame and an experiment of a single span four-storey steel frame. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can enhance the performances of an AMD control system with time-varying delays.

A cuboidal AgCl hollow nanostructure has been synthesized by a simple one-pot reaction using AgNO3 and CCl4 as precursors. The synthesized product is characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The AgCl product consists of well-dispersed hollow cubes with a side length of 600–900 nm and a cavity size of 400–600 nm. The formation mechanism is investigated, and it is revealed that the growth of the hollow cubes involves a dissolution–precipitation process accompanied by ion diffusion. Light irradiation of the AgCl product causes the formation of a plasmonic Ag/AgCl photocatalyst, which exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of organic contaminants of methyl orange (MO).

Recent studies have strongly shown that cell-to-cell transmission of neuropathogenic proteins is a common mechanism for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the underlying cause is complex and little is known. Although distinct processes are involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases, they all share the common feature of iron accumulation, an attribute that is particularly prominent in synucleinopathies. However, whether iron is a cofactor in facilitating the spread of α-synuclein remains unclear. Here, we constructed a cell-to-cell transmission model of α-synuclein using SN4741 cell line based on adenovirus vectors. Cells were treated with FeCl2, and α-synuclein aggregation and transmission were then evaluated. In addition, the possible mechanisms were investigated through gene knockdown or over-expression. Our results demonstrated that iron promoted α-synuclein aggregation and transmission by inhibiting autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Furthermore, iron decreased the expression of nuclear transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master transcriptional regulator of autophagosome-lysosome fusion, and inhibited its nuclear translocation through activating AKT/mTORC1 signaling. After silencing TFEB, ratios of α-synuclein aggregation and transmission were not significantly altered by the presence of iron; on the other hand, when TFEB was over-expressed, the transmission of α-synuclein induced by iron was obviously reversed; suggesting the mechanism by which iron promotes α-synuclein transmission may be mediated by TFEB. Taken together, our data reveal a previously unknown relationship between iron and α-synuclein, and identify TFEB as not only a potential target for preventing α-synuclein transmission, but also a critical factor for iron-induced α-synuclein aggregation and transmission. Indeed, this newly discovered role of iron and TFEB in synucleinopathies may provide novel targets for developing therapeutic strategies to prevent α-synuclein transmission in Parkinson's disease.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of removing blood stasis (RBS) herbal medicine for the treatment of acute intracerebral haemorrhage (AICH) within a 6-hour time window.Study designA randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study performed in 14 hospitals in China.Participants and interventionsPatients with AICH were randomly assigned to receive a placebo, the ICH-1 (Intracerebral Haemorrhage) formula (eight herbs, including the RBS herbs hirudo and tabanus) or the ICH-2 formula (six herbs without the RBS herbs hirudo and tabanus) within 6 hours of ICH onset.OutcomesThe primary safety outcome was the incidence of haematoma enlargement at 24 hours and at 10 days after treatment. The secondary outcome was the incidence of poor prognosis (mortality or modified Rankin Scale score ≥5) assessed at 90 days after symptom onset.ResultsA total of 324 subjects were randomised between October 2013 and May 2016: 105 patients received placebo; 108 patients received the ICH-1 formula; and 111 patients received the ICH-2 formula. The incidence of haematoma enlargement at 24 hours was 7.8% in the placebo group, 12.3% in the ICH-1 group and 7.5% in the ICH-2 group; the incidence of haematoma enlargement on day 10 was 1.1% in the placebo group, 1.1% in the ICH-1 group, and 3.1% in the ICH-2 group, with no significant differences among the groups (P>0.05). The mortality rates were 3.8% in the placebo group, 2.8% in the ICH-1 group, and 0.9% in the ICH-2 group; the incidences of poor prognosis were 7.1% in the placebo group, 6.0% in the ICH-1 group and 4.8% in the ICH-2 group at 3 months, with no significant differences among the groups (p>0.05). However, the overall frequency of treatment-emergent adverse events in the ICH-1 group (12.1%) was higher among the three groups (5.8% and 2.8%, respectively, p<0.05). All three cases of serious adverse events were in the ICH-1 group.ConclusionsUltra-early administration of ICH-1 formula for AICH patients did not exert significant beneficial effects on clinical outcomes but increased the risk of bleeding, which probably resulted from the inclusion of RBS herbal medicines in ICH-1.Trialregistration numberNCT01918722.

Active mass damper (AMD) control system is proposed for high-rise buildings to resist a strong wind. However, negative influence of noise in sensors impedes the application of AMD systems in practice. To reduce the adverse influence of noise on AMD systems, a Kalman filter and a linear matrix inequality- (LMI-) based filter are designed. Firstly, a ten-year return period fluctuating wind load is simulated by mixed autoregressive-moving average (MARMA) method, and its reliability is tested by wind speed power spectrum and correlation analysis. Secondly, a designed state observer with different filters uses wind-induced acceleration responses of a high-rise building as the feedback signal that includes noise to calculate control force in this paper. Finally, these methods are applied to a numerical example of a high-rise building and an experiment of a single span four-storey steel frame. Both numerical and experimental results are presented to verify that both Kalman filter and LMI-based filter can effectively suppress noise, but only the latter can guarantee the stability of AMD parameters.

Time-delays of control force calculation, data acquisition, and actuator response will degrade the performance of Active Mass Damper (AMD) control systems. To reduce the influence, model reduction method is used to deal with the original controlled structure. However, during the procedure, the related hierarchy information of small eigenvalues will be directly discorded. As a result, the reduced-order model ignores the information of high-order mode, which will reduce the design accuracy of an AMD control system. In this paper, a new reduced-order controller based on the improved Balanced Truncation (BT) method is designed to reduce the calculation time and to retain the abandoned high-order modal information. It includes high-order natural frequency, damping ratio, and vibration modal information of the original structure. Then, a control gain design method based on Guaranteed Cost Control (GCC) algorithm is presented to eliminate the adverse effects of data acquisition and actuator response time-delays in the design process of the reduced-order controller. To verify its effectiveness, the proposed methodology is applied to a numerical example of a ten-storey frame and an experiment of a single-span four-storey steel frame. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the reduced-order controller with GCC algorithm has an excellent control effect; meanwhile it can compensate time-delays effectively.

In order to research effects of the nitrogen top-dressing levels on carbon-nitrogen metabolism and yield of Desmodium styracifolium, a field experiment was conducted on the research farm of Guangxi University in 2007. Some physiological indexes and yield of D. styracifolium were compared among five nitrogen top-dressing levels (0, 37.5, 75.0, 112.5 and 150.0 kg N · hm−2). Results showed that the nitrogen top-dressing could significantly increase the contents of chlorophyll, soluble protein, sucrose and nitrogen as well as nitrate reducase activity. However, there were no significant differences in most of these indexes under high nitrogen levels. Consistently, there was no significant difference in yield among nitrogen top-dressing levels of 75 kg N · hm−2, 112.5 kg N · hm−2 and 150 kg N · hm−2. Therefore, the optimum nitrogen top-dressing level of D. styracifolium was 75 kg N · hm−2.

Polymeric ultrafiltration membrane formed via phase inversion by immersing polymer solution into nonsolvent bath was simulated with Monte Carlo method applying polymer bond fluctuation lattice model. In the simulation, the exchange algorithm using probability density has been employed for the first time at the boundary to simulate the open and wide diffusion layer in coagulation bath. The simulation focuses on the process of phase inversion of polymer solution from the interface to the inner by spinodal decomposition. It was found that the diffusion behavior of solvent obeys Fick's law and the apparent diffusion coefficient of nonsolvent has exponential relationship to the concentration of polymer solution and operation temperature. The asymmetrical structure from island-like phase to continuous phase comes from the mechanism transition of phase separation from spinodal decomposition to nucleation growth induced by the mutual diffusion of solvent and nonsolvent.

To investigate the anti-atherosclerosis mechanism of Astragalus mongholicus polysaccharides (APS) by examining its effect on gene expression profiles of the dendritic cells (DCs) from healthy donors.Peripheral blood DCs from healthy donors were incubated with 200 mg/L APS overnight, and changes in the gene expression profiles were investigated using microarray technique and RT-PCR.Compared with the control cells, APS-treated DCs showed significantly up-regulated expressions of CD36 (0.97 ± 0.23 vs 5.45 ± 1.14) and IL-27 (1.08 ± 0.22 vs 2.97 ± 0.61) and down-regulated expression of expression of IFI16 (0.98 ± 0.18 vs 0.46 ± 0.11).APS can promote the maturation and differentiation of DCs by up-regulating CD36 and IL-27 and down-regulating IFI16, and thus positively affects the occurrence and progression of the atherosclerosis.

Prussian blue analogue Zn3[Fe(CN)6]2⋅xH2O (Zn-PBA) micro-/nanocrystals with well-defined spherical, cubic and polyhedral morphologies have been successfully synthesized by a simple room-temperature solution method. The morphologies and sizes of the micro-/nanocrystals can be easily tuned by HCl dosage and polymer additive. The as-prepared products are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer Emmet Teller adsorption-desorption analysis. The possible formation mechanism for these Zn-PBA micro-/nanocrystals is then proposed. In addtion, adsorption performances of these micro-/nanocrystals toward organic dyes are systematically investigated. It is demonstrated that they exhibit strong adsorption selectivity to methylene blue (MB) with an extraordinary adsorption capacity as high as 1.016gg(-1) due to the proper pore size and large specific surface area (643.2m(2)g(-1)) of the product as well as the strong electrostatic interaction between MB molecules and Zn-PBA particles. It is found that the morphology and size of the micro-/nanocrystals have an important effect on their adsorption performance. Moreover, the adsorbed MB dye can be well released in some organic solvents such as ethanol and trichloromethane. The facile morphology-controlled synthesis and excellent adsorption property afford the materials promising application in adsorption related fields.

Since failures in sensors will degrade the performance of Active Mass Damper (AMD) control systems, a dynamic filter design method, a state observer design method, and a robust control strategy are developed and presented in this paper to overcome this deficiency. The filter design method will be transformed into a H2/H∞ control problem that can be solved by Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) approach. Thus, it can be used to perform fault detection and isolation (FDI) for the control systems. And, the state observer design method uses the acceleration responses as the feedback signal. The detected and isolated fault signals in accelerometers are used to estimate the whole states that are used to calculate the control force though a robust control strategy based on regional pole-assignment algorithm. Then, the active fault-tolerant control (FTC) will be accomplished. To verify its effectiveness, the proposed methodology is applied to a numerical example of a ten-storey frame and an experiment of a single span four-storey steel frame. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the performances of FTC controller and the control system will be improved by the designed dynamic FDI filter and that it can effectively detect and isolate fault signal.

A control-structure interaction (CSI) effect commonly exists between an active mass damper/driver (AMD) system with a DC motor and a controlled building. Additionally, its higher-order component leads to the fact that the actual control force acts behind its theoretical time; i.e., time delay. In this paper, the main influencing factors of a higher-order CSI effect are analyzed, including the input frequency of the control voltage, the structural parametric uncertainties, and the control gains. In addition, a new time-delay compensation controller based on a guaranteed cost control (GCC) algorithm is designed, to consider the higher-order CSI effect for multi-level steel frame structures. Experiments on a typical four-storey frame are conducted, to verify the performances of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed controller has an excellent control effect and stable control parameters, even under the situation of large parametric uncertainties and long time-varying delays.

Objective Herein, the synthesis, component, microstructure and pharmacological and toxicology researches of the Synthetic Mercury Sulfide (S-HgS) a kind of common drug in Chinese, Mongolia, Tibetan medicine, and Indian medicine system were summarized. The similar cognition about mercury toxicity & pharmacological action from some Asian regions was analyzed, and it can supply some useful direction for the traditional Asian medicine system. Method Recent literatures both domestic and abroad were summarized and analyzed. Result S-HgS is the basis of Vermilion, Mongolia-Vermilion, Zuotai, and Ras-sindoor. Athough the processes of synthesis are very different, but the microstructure and pharmacological & toxicology of S-HgS is similar. Conclusion S-HgS has a far-ranging application,and unique curative effect. New technology such as nanotechnology can be used for improving the advancement of traditional Asian medicine.

OBJECTIVE To find out the optimal nitrogen application level of Desmodium styracifolium. METHOD A field experiment using randomized block design was carried out to study the effects of 5 nitrogen application levels (150, 187.5, 225.0, 262.5 and 300.0 kg x hm(-2)) on yield and active component content of D. styracifolium. RESULT Nitrogen application could increase the yield and contents of polysaccharide, total flavonoides and total saponins of D. styracifolium. However, the enhancing extent of the active component content and the yield were not always significant with the increase of nitrogen level. In which, the yield were not significantly different among the nitrogen application levels of 225.0, 262.5, 300.0 kg x hm(-2) the polysaccharide content was no significantly difference among the nitrogen application levels of 225.0, 262. 5 and 300.0 kg x hm(-2), the total flavonoides content under the nitrogen level of 300.0 kg x hm(-2) was significantly lower than that of 150.0 kg hm(-2) (P < 0.01), and the total saponins content under the nitrogen level of 300.0 kg x hm(-2) was no significant difference compared with that of 262.5 kg x hm(-2). CONCLUSION The optimal nitrogen application level of D. styracifolium was 225.0-262.5 kg x hm(-2).

The photoassociation (PA) reactions of H + F → HF and D + F → DF are investigated by using the time-dependent quantum wave packet method. For each system, we consider four cases, where the target state is set to be ν = 16, 17, 18, 19〉, respectively. The effects of the initial collision momentum and laser parameters, including intensity, pulse duration, and frequency, on the final association probability are calculated and discussed. It is found that the PA probability for H + F → HF (ν = 16, 17, 18〉) is significantly greater than that for D + F → DF (ν = 16, 17, 18〉), while the PA probability to ν = 19〉 for the latter system is greater than the former one. This isotope effect has been connected with the Franck–Condon overlap integral between the target vibrational state and the collision continuum state.