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Within a monitored duration of more than 7 yr, we obtained 1358 pairs of gri observations (514 at the g band, 393 at the r band, and 451 at the i band) for PKS0735+178 with a 1.26 m telescope in 20 nights from 2015 February 24 to 2016 April 28, and 98 VRI observations (27 at the V band, 35 at the R band, and 36 at the I band) with a 1.56 m telescope in 8 nights from 2009 January 13 to 2014 March 17. Based on the observations and analyses, we obtained the following results. (1) The maximum variation was 2.69 mag at the g band, and the largest intraday variations were Δmg = 0.89 ± 0.08 mag at the g band, Δmr = 0.38 ± 0.04 mag at the r band, and Δmi = 0.78 ± 0.15 mag at the i band. (2) We analyzed the intraday observations and find intraday optical variabilities with minimum timescales of ΔTg = 10.08 minutes, ΔTr = 10.08 minutes, and ΔTi = 10.08 minutes. (3) The variability rates of the magnitudes with time were consistent at three bands not only in the dimming stages but also in the brightening stages. (4) On 2016 January 19, we found intraday periodic oscillations, with a period P = 66.9 ± 4.1 minutes, based on which we calculated the mass to be in the approximate range of 1.5 × 107M⊙ to ∼8.9 × 107M⊙. (5) Based on our data and observations from the literature, we built long-term lightcurves of more than 100 yr and obtained two quasi-periods of P = 0.9 ± 0.4 yr and 12.4 ± 0.6 yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let f be a locally univalent function in the unit disk D = {z: |z| < 1}. In this paper, by using Schwarzian derivatives of f, we obtain two criteria for univalency of f. A result of Nehari in 1954 is generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, spectral energy distribution has been calculated for a sample of 597 Fermi blazars. Based on the calculation, we proposed a classification for subclasses of blazars as lower synchrotron peak sources (LSPs) if , intermediate synchrotron peak sources (ISPs) if , higher synchrotron peak sources (HSPs) if , ultra higher synchrotron peak sources (UHSPs) if . -ray luminosity is found correlated with lower energetic wavebands (radio, optical and X-rays). When redshift effect is removed, correlations are still strong for FSRQs; As for BL lacertaes, correlation between -ray and radio or between -ray and optical band is strong, but that between -ray and X-ray is only marginal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted for carbon-contained cement raw meal pellets from an actual production facility, and on heat transfer, particle cracking and the reaction process of the material balls under high temperatures. Reasonable process parameters and significant conclusions were obtained. The results suggested that (1) the residence time of materials in the preheating process should be controlled within approximately 300 s; (2) the preheating exhaust gas temperature should be controlled at 600°C, which should be conducive to reducing a large number of broken pellets; (3) higher temperatures, smaller particle sizes and greater gas velocity were helpful to a higher weight-loss ratio and an overall reaction rate; (4) pulverized coal combustion took longer time than limestone decomposition above 900°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Background Oral leukoplakia is a precancerous disorder that is common among residents in Linxian. However, the associations between oral leukoplakia and upper gastrointestinal cancers have not been reported. We investigated the relationships between oral leukoplakia and upper gastrointestinal cancers in the Linxian General Population Trial cohort. Methods The Linxian General Population Trial cohort, with 29,584 healthy adults enrolled in 1985 and followed through the end of 2012. With collected baseline data, hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for developing upper gastrointestinal cancers were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. Results During 28 years of follow-up, we confirmed a total of 2924 incident esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases, 1644 gastric cardia cancers and 590 gastric non-cardia cancers. Overall, participants with oral leukoplakia had significantly higher risk of developing ESCC (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.29). Among individuals ⩽52 years old at baseline, oral leukoplakia was associated with elevated risk of ESCC (HR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.15, 1.49). No significant associations were observed for gastric cardia or non-cardia cancers in either all subjects or subgroups. Conclusions Oral leukoplakia was associated with increased risk of ESCC, particularly in younger population. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most identified sources observed by Fermi/LAT are blazars, based on which we can investigate the emission mechanisms and beaming effect in the γ-ray bands for blazars. Here, we used the compiled around 450 Fermi blazars with the available X-ray observations to estimate their Doppler factors and compared them with the integral γ-ray luminosity in the range of 1-100 GeV. It is interesting that the integral γ-ray luminosity is closely correlated with the estimated Doppler factor, νγLνγ = (2.95 ± 0.09)log δ + 43.59 ± 0.08 for the whole sample. When the dependence of the correlation between them and the X-ray luminosity is removed, the correlation is still strong, which suggests that the γ-ray emissions are strongly beamed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i- ELISA), based on the structural protein VP2 of goose parvovirus ( GPV), for the detection of antibodies to GPV in blood serum. In this study, the capsid protein VP2 of GPV was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by nickel chromatography. The purified protein was capable of reacting with GPV antibodies, as analysed by Western blot. An i- ELISA based on the protein VP2 was developed. For evaluation of the newly developed ELISA, 192 field sera collected from six goose herds were tested in parallel by the serum neutralization ( SN) test. The result showed that 138 samples were positive and 49 negative in both cases. The agreement of the two tests was 97·3%. This i- ELISA has high sensitivity and good specificity and is an alternative serologic test for the detection of the antibodies to GPV in blood serum. Significance and Impact of the Study In this study, we expressed and purified the capsid protein VP2 of GPV and developed a VP2-based i- ELISA for the detection of GPV antibodies. This i- ELISA can be used for evaluating the immune effects of GPV vaccine and for diagnosing of GPV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set invariance condition for a piecewise continuous time-varying system is developed and applied to the fault-tolerant control problem against the actuator effectiveness loss for linear systems subject to system uncertainties and actuator saturation in this study. Linear matrix inequality conditions are proposed to compute invariant ellipsoidal sets. Discussions on system performance optimisation are given including reduction on computational complexity, maximisation of the domain of attraction and disturbance rejection. The proposed design techniques are applied to an unstable multi-input and multi-output system and to the flight control of a non-linear unmanned aerial vehicle model subject to the control effectiveness loss fault in the elevator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing the notion of exceptional family of elements, we establish some existence results for generalized variational inequality problems in reflexive Banach spaces provided that the mapping is upper sign-continuous. We show that the nonexistence of an exceptional family of elements is a necessary condition for the solvability of the dual variational inequality. For quasimonotone variational inequalities, we present some sufficient conditions for the existence of strong solutions. For the pseudomonotone case, the nonexistence of an exceptional family of elements is proved to be an equivalent characterization of the problem having strong solutions. Furthermore, we establish several equivalent conditions for the solvability for the pseudomonotone case. As a byproduct, a quasimonotone generalized variational inequality is proved to have a strong solution if it is strictly feasible. Moreover, for the pseudomonotone case, the strong solution set is nonempty and bounded if it is strictly feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3C 273 is a well-studied FSRQ. In order to analyze its spectrum variabilities, we make spectroscopic observations of 3C 273 using the 2.16 m telescope at Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatories. Based on these observations and some other spectra from the literature, we study the spectrum variabilities and the physical origin of the optical spectrum. The main results are as follows: (1) The continuum spectrum (S c ) shows obvious variabilities and displays quasi-periodic properties, P = 3.39 ± 1.13 yr, consistent with the result calculated from photometric observations. (2) The spectral energy distribution (SED) was modeled by a combination of blackbody emission that originated from the accretion disk and the dusty torus, synchrotron emission from the jet, the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission, and the external Compton (EC) emission from the broad-line region, accretion disk, and dusty torus. The SED suggests that the optical continuum is dominated by the thermal emission from the accretion disk. (3) A time delay of τ c H β = 209.42 ± 9.38 days lies between the slope of the continuum spectrum (S c ) and H β emission line. (4) The relationships between the spectrum and polarization can be explained by the jet model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the influence of vitamin K status on brain sulfatide metabolism in young mice and rats. Effect of vitamin K on brain galatocerebroside sulfotransferase (GST) activity and sulfatide levels; Response of GST activity and sulfatide concentration on two forms of vitamin K.

In this paper, multiwavelength chromatic luminosity at radio (logLR), optical (logLO), X-ray (logLX), and γ-rays (logLγ) for a sample of 442 Fermi blazars with known redshifts are collected from Fan et al. (2016), to study the correlations between the γ-rays and the low-energy bands using a multiple linear regression analysis. In this way, we can see which band is more important for the γ-ray emissions. Mutual correlation analysis is also used to discuss the correlations between the γ-ray and the low energy bands for the whole sample and subclasses. We come to following conclusions: The multiple linear correlation indicates that the γ-rays are correlated with the radio, optical and the X-ray emissions for the whole sample and the subclasses of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lac objects (BL Lacs), the correlation between the γ-rays and the radio emissions is the strongest one.For BL Lacs, the optical emissions are more important than the X-rays for the γ-rays, while the X-ray emissions are more important than optical ones in FSRQs.The γ-ray emissions in HBL are from an synchrotron self-Compton, while those in FSRQs may be from external Compton and synchrotron self-Compton as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a sample of 451 blazars (193 flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 258 BL Lacertae objects) with corresponding X-ray and Fermi γ-ray data is compiled to investigate the correlation both between the X-ray spectral index and the γ-ray spectral index and between the spectral index and the luminosity, and to compare the spectral indexes αX, αγ, αXγ, and αγXγ for different subclasses. We also investigated the correlation between the X-ray and the γ-ray luminosity. The following results have been obtained. (1) Our analysis indicates that an anti-correlation exists between the X-ray and the γ-ray spectral indexes for the whole sample. However, when we considered the subclasses of blazars (FSRQs, the low-peaked BL Lacertae objects (LBLs) and the high-peaked BL Lacertae objects (HBLs)) separately, there is not a clear relationship for each subclass. For the average values, , we have ; and (2) For the correlations between the X-ray and the γ-ray luminosities, we have log νLγ = (1.033 ± 0.002)log νLX + (0.213 ± 0.094) for the whole sample, log νLγ = (0.741 ± 0.004)log νLX + (12.378 ± 0.162) for HBLs, and log νLγ = (1.032 ± 0.003)log νLX + (0.643 ± 0.138) for the LBLs and FSRQs; the correlation slope for HBLs is different from that for FSRQs and LBLs. For the average values, , we have , , and for the X-ray luminosity; and , , and for the γ-ray luminosity. (3) There is an anti-correlation between the effective spectral index, αXγ, and log νLγ for the whole sample, and the subclasses (FSRQs, LBLs, and HBLs). The effective spectral index shows that (4) For the spectral index difference, αγXγ(=αXγ – αγ) of the effective spectral index, αXγ, and the γ-ray spectral index, αγ, we obtain (5) Based on the Fermi-detected sources, we can say that the HBLs are different from FSRQs, while the LBLs are similar to FSRQs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blazars show extreme observational properties that are due to the beaming effect with the jet being close to the line of sight. It was found that the observed luminosity is anticorrelated with the synchrotron peak frequency but the debeamed luminosity and the frequency is positively correlated. In this work, we revisit this correlation for a large sample of 255 blazars from the fourth Fermi catalog with available Doppler factors. Our analysis comes to the following conclusions. (1) The observed radio, X-ray, Îł -ray, and synchrotron peak luminosity are all anticorrelated with the peak frequency, but the debeamed luminosity is positively correlated with the debeamed peak frequency. The anticorrelation is due to a selection effect or a beaming effect. (2) The Compton dominance parameter is correlated with both the bolometric luminosity and Doppler factor, implying that the more highly Compton-dominated sources are more luminous. (3) The bolometric luminosity can be represented by the Îł -ray luminosity for Fermi blazars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatigue behaviour of A356 cast aluminium alloy under 104 cycles was investigated by a servo-hydraulic machine at the temperature of 150°C. The specimens for the fully reversible tension compression tests were cut from cylinder head castings of automobile engines. The testing data were treated by S-N curve and the staircase method and the mean values of fatigue property coincided with each other by these two methods, though the data scattered with different casting defects. The fracture surfaces of fatigue specimens were examined by OM, SEM and EDS. It was found that in most of the specimens two or more fatigue crack initiations appeared at a fracture surface. Compared with casting defects such as oxide film, inclusion and blowhole, shrinkage porosity is more detrimental to the fatigue behaviour of aluminium alloy castings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BL Lacs are one subclass of blazars with highly energetic γ -ray emission, which is strongly boosted by a relativistic beaming effect. The latest catalogue of the 10 years of Fermi/LAT data (Abdollahi et al. 2020) and the γ -ray Doppler factors in Pei et al. (2020) provide us with a large BL Lac sample to study their jet emission morphologies and intrinsic properties. In this paper, we collected a sample of 294 Fermi BL Lacs and probed the correlations between the γ -ray emissions and luminosity distances. Our analyses give following conclusions: (1) the observed γ -ray emissions are really boosted by the γ -ray Doppler factor, and the intrinsic γ -ray emissions are closely correlated with luminosity distances. (2) the morphology of jet emissions for HBLs may be continuous, while that for IBLs may be the case of a moving sphere in the γ -ray bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation shows that tumblebug's elytra are a kind of chitin fibre reinforced biocomposite. In the biocomposite, the chitin fibres possess a laminated microstructure and distribute in a kind of particular helicoidal pattern. More careful observation indicates that there is a kind of fibre helicoidally rounding hole in the elytra. Based on the SEM observation, a kind of composite laminate with biomimetic fibre helicoidally rounding hole was fabricated through a special mould and moulding process. The extrusion strength of the biomimetic fibre helicoidally rounding hole was investigated and compared with that of the conventional drilling hole in the composite laminate. It is shown that the extrusion strength of the biomimetic fibre helicoidally rounding hole is markedly larger than that of the conventional drilling hole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The observation of scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that Tumblebug elytra consist of almost parallel upper and lower cuticles. Both of which are a kind of chitin-fiber-reinforced composite. There is a kind of chitin-fiber-reinforced composite pillars between the upper and lower cuticles, which support and connect the upper and lower cuticles uprightly. More careful observation showed that the chitin fibers in the pillars smoothly extend to the upper and lower composite cuticles forming a kind of fiber-continuous pillar-board composite (FCPBC) structure. Based on the observation, two kinds of pillar-board composite structure specimens, respective with continuous and discontinuous glass fibers, were fabricated with molding and felting processes. The rupture strengths of the two kinds of the specimens were tested and compared. It showed that the rupture strength of the specimens of the FCPBC structure is markedly larger than that of the specimens of the fiber-discontinuous pillar-board composite (FDPBC) structure. At last, the experimental result was analyzed for illumining the mechanism of the FCPBC structure in the enhancement of the strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-situ observations on the initiation and propagation behaviour of low-cycle fatigue small cracks in cast magnesium–aluminium alloys (AM50 and AM60B) were carried out with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to elucidate the resistance to fatigue cracking and to evaluate the fatigue small crack growth rate accurately and quantitatively. The results indicate that the fatigue small cracks formed preferentially on ß-phase (Mg 17 Al 12 ) boundaries at room temperature. In addition, the effects of the parameters of stress levels in low-cycle fatigue and temperatures as well as microstructure on fatigue small crack propagation behaviour are revealed. The variation of crack open displacement (COD) with stress levels and cycles at elevated temperature shows that it is unsuitable to estimate the fatigue small crack growth rate of cast magnesium alloys using conventional measurement methods such as the plastic-replica technique due to the obvious difference between microscopic cracks in the open and closed states. Stabilized crack propagation behaviour is limited to cases where the physical crack length is less than 1?mm in low-cycle fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for as yet undetected γ -ray sources is one of the main stated goals of the Fermi Large Area Telescope Collaboration. In this paper, we explore the capability of a filtering method based on a finite mixture of von Mises–Fisher distributions. The proposed procedure is specifically designed to handle data with support on the unit sphere. The assumption of a parametric model for each high energy emitting source allows us to derive an explicit expression for both the direction of the sources and their angular resolutions. The corresponding measures are based on the directional mean and the quantiles of the single mixture components. Sound criteria of model selection can provide an automatic way to determine the number of detected sources. Additionally, a likelihood-ratio test is developed to evaluate their significance. The procedure is tested on simulated data sets of photon emissions from high energy sources within the energy range [ 10 − 1 , 000 ] GeV . A real data example consisting of a sample of the Fermi LAT data collected over a period of about 7.2 years within the energy range [ 10 − 1 , 000 ] GeV , in a subregion of the γ -ray sky, is furthermore provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the radial point interpolation method (RPIM) for studying the dynamic behaviors of rotating Mindlin plates. By considering nonlinear coupling deformation, that is, the in-plane longitudinal shortening terms caused by transverse deformation, the first-order approximation coupled (FOAC) dynamic model is established using Lagrange's equations of the second kind. The effectiveness of RPIM is first demonstrated in some static cases and then extended for dynamic analysis of a rectangular plate subjected to a large overall motion. The simulation results were compared with those obtained with zero-order approximation coupled (ZOAC) dynamic model, and it was observed that results obtained with FOAC dynamic model are more accurate, especially for cases involving high rotating speed. Furthermore, the influence of the radial basis shape parameters is discussed and the optimal parameters for plates are recommended. An approach to overcome the shear locking issue is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: CircRNAs exert gene regulatory effects by sequestering target microRNAs (miRNAs) and play a vital role in the onset and development of disease. Until recently, little has been known about the expression, regulation and biological function of circRNAs in both health and chronic hepatitis B (CHB).To identify hepatic circRNAs associated with CHB, we performed RNA sequencing using liver biopsies from untreated CHB patients and controls. We then established a bioinformatics pipeline for identification of CHB‐associated circRNAs and in silico analysis of the circRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA pathways. We used quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) to confirm these results. The profiles of hepatic circRNA expression were significantly different in CHB compared with controls, with a total of 99 dysregulated circRNAs identified to be correlated with CHB. Computational analysis of the circRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA pathways revealed a large number of miRNAs (665), which were putatively targeted by the differentially expressed hepatic circRNAs. Interestingly, four of the predicted CHB‐related circRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA pathways were found to be involved in the pathogenesis of HBV infection and progression of HBV‐associated liver disease. Among these pathways, regression analysis of gene expression revealed a strong positive correlation between hsa_circ_0000650 and TGFβ2 and a negative correlation between hsa_circ_0000650 and miR‐6873‐3p, which hinted that hsa_circ_0000650 interacted with TGFβ2 mediated by miR‐6873‐3p. This study firstly demonstrates that patients with CHB present different profiles of hepatic circRNAs and circRNA/miRNA interactions. Thus, circRNAs have promise as novel mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and progression of CHB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a recently identified coronavirus in the genus Deltacoronavirus that can cause enteric disease with clinical signs including diarrhoea, vomiting, dehydration and mortality in neonatal piglets. Although evidence of the prevalence of PDCoV in China is accumulating, little published information about Chinese PDCoV isolates is available. In this study, we investigated the presence of PDCoV in 49 faecal/intestinal samples from piglets with diarrhoea on different farms in Hebei province. Five samples (10.2%) were positive for PDCoV, but no coinfection of PDCoV with other enteropathogens was observed. A PDCoV strain named HB‐BD was successfully isolated from the intestinal contents of a diarrhoeic piglet and serially propagated in swine testicular (ST) cells for >40 passages. The complete genome of the HB‐BD strain was sequenced and analysed. Genomic analysis showed that the HB‐BD strain had a closer relationship with Chinese strains than those from other countries and was grouped within the Chinese PDCoV cluster. The results of this study will be valuable for further research of PDCoV genetic evolution and development of effective diagnostic reagents, assays and potential vaccines against newly emerged PDCoV strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a multiwavelength spectral and temporal analysis of the blazar OJ 287 during its recent activity between 2015 December and 2016 May, showing strong variability in the nearinfrared (NIR) to X-ray energies with detection at γ -ray energies as well. Most of the optical flux variations exhibit strong changes in polarization angle and degree. All the interband time lags are consistent with simultaneous emissions. Interestingly, on days with excellent data coverage in the NIR-UV bands, the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) show signatures of bumps in the visible-UV bands, never seen before in this source. The optical bump can be explained as accretion-disc emission associated with the primary black hole of mass ~1.8 × 1010 M☉ while the little bump feature in the optical-UV appears consistent with line emission. Further, the broad-band SEDs extracted during the first flare and during a quiescent period during this span show very different γ -ray spectra compared to previously observed flare or quiescent spectra. The probable thermal bump in the visible seems to have been clearly present since 2013 May, as found by examining all available NIR-optical observations, and favours the binary supermassive black hole model. The simultaneous multiwavelength variability and relatively weak γ -ray emission that shows a shift in the SED peak is consistent with γ -ray emission originating from inverse Compton scattering of photons from the line emission that apparently contributes to the little blue bump. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the multiband optical behaviour of the BL Lacertae object, S5 0716+714, during its outburst state from 2014 November to 2015 March. We took data on 23 nights at three observatories, one in India and two in Bulgaria, making quasi-simultaneous observations in B, V, R, and I bands. We measured multiband optical fluxes, colour, and spectral variations for this blazar on intraday and short time-scales. The source was in a flaring state during the period analysed and displayed intense variability in all wavelengths. R-band magnitude of 11.6 was attained by the target on 2015 January 18, which is the brightest value ever recorded for S5 0716+714. The discrete correlation function method yielded good correlation between the bands with no measurable time lags, implying that radiation in these bands originate from the same region and by the same mechanism. We also used the structure function technique to look for characteristic time-scales in the light curves. During the times of rapid variability, no evidence for the source to display spectral changes with magnitude was found on either of the time-scales. The amplitude of variations tends to increase with increasing frequency with a maximum of ~22 per cent seen during flaring states in B band. A mild trend of larger variability amplitude as the source brightens was also found. We found the duty cycle of our source during the analysed period to be ~90 per cent. We also investigated the optical spectral energy distribution of S5 0716+714 using B, V, R, and I data points for 21 nights. We briefly discuss physical mechanisms most likely responsible for its flux and spectral variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the clinicopathological features of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and compare them with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), hoping to find the fact of ILC in China and assist the decision makers with proper individualized treatment. Materials and Methods: A nationwide multicenter retrospective study was performed. A total of 4211 primary breast cancer cases were randomly selected from 1999 to 2008 in seven regions of China. ILC cases were compared with IDC by clinicopathological features and molecular subtypes. Results: A total of 135 (3.2%) ILC and 3471 (82.4%) IDC cases were included for analysis. The age, tumor size, menopausal state, family history, nodal status, and stage of ILC were similar to that of IDC. ILC was more likely to be positive for estrogen receptor (65.5% vs. 57.7%) and progesterone receptor (64.7% vs. 58.5%), and less likely to overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (17.3% vs. 23.6%). Even though, these differences are not significant, the proportion of luminal A type of ILC is significantly larger than that of IDC (54.8% vs. 42.7%; P < 0.05). Conclusion: ILC has a larger proportion of luminal A type compared with IDC. Larger sample size study for better known of molecular subtypes of ILC is needed in future to individualize the treatment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Although vitamin D deficiency has been noted in cross-sectional studies of chronic liver disease and laboratory studies suggest possible benefits of vitamin D in preventing liver cancer, little epidemiologic data are available.Methods:We performed a nested case-control study in the Linxian Nutrition Intervention Trials on participants developing incident liver cancer or dying from chronic liver disease over 22 years of follow-up. Baseline serum 25(OH) vitamin D was measured for 226 incident liver cancer cases, 282 chronic liver disease deaths and 1063 age-, sex- and trial-matched controls. Unconditional logistical regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results:The median serum vitamin D level in controls was low (20 nmol l-1). Compared with the lowest quartile, subjects in the fourth quartile had lower risk of chronic liver disease death (OR=0.34, 95% CI=0.21-0.55). For liver cancer incidence, risk estimates were below one, but were not statistically significant. Associations, however, were significant among participants with higher serum calcium levels (Q4 vs Q1, OR=0.43, 95% CI=0.21-0.89). Results for chronic liver disease did not vary by serum calcium level.Conclusion:In a low vitamin D population, higher serum 25(OH) vitamin D concentrations were associated with significantly lower risk of chronic liver disease deaths, and among those with higher serum calcium, incident liver cancer. Our results suggest a possible protective role for vitamin D in these diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microstructures of a cork wood. It showed that the wood consists of countless rectangular and honeycomb wood cells. The wall of each wood cell connects with adjacent wood cells at the middle of the cell wall. More careful observation showed that the walls of the wood cells are a kind of fibre reinforced biocomposite consisting of crystalline cellulose fibre layers and hydrocarbonated polymer matrix. The crystalline cellulose fibres in different fibre layers possess different directions, which compose a kind of fibre helicoidal microstructure. In the microstructure, the helicoidal angle is very large. The maximum pullout force of the fibre helicoidal microstructure, which is closely related to the fracture toughness of the wood, was theoretically and experimentally investigated and compared with that of the fibre parallel microstructure. It showed that the maximum pullout force of the fibre helicoidal microstructure is markedly greater than that of the fibre parallel microstructure and that the larger the helicoidal angle, the more the maximum pullout force will increase compared with that of the parallel microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone possesses excellent mechanical properties, which are closely related to its favorable microstructures optimized by nature through millions of years. In this work, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the microstructures of a shankbone. It showed that the bone is a kind of bioceramic composite consisting of hydroxyapatite layers and collagen protein matrix. The hydroxyapatite layers are further composed of long and thin hydroxyapatite sheets. The hydroxyapatite sheets in different hydroxyapatite layers distribute along different orientations, which composes a kind of intersectant microstructure. The maximum pullout force of the intersectant microstructure was investigated and compared with that of 0° microstructure with their representative models. The result indicated that the maximum pullout force of the intersectant microstructure is markedly larger than that of the 0° microstructure, which was experimentally verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is involved in the immune response; however, little is known of its role in immune-induced renal injury. In this study, we examine JNK signaling in the rat anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease model using CC-401, a specific JNK inhibitor. Animals were given CC-401, vehicle alone or no treatment starting before anti-GBM serum injection and continued treatment until killing. In acute disease, CC-401 blocked JNK signaling and reduced proteinuria in the first 24 h. The transient neutrophil influx seen at 3 h of disease was not affected, however. Continued CC-401 treatment suppressed glomerular and tubulointerstitial damage usually seen at 14 days. The protective effect may be due to modulation of macrophage activation, as CC-401 had no effect upon glomerular macrophage infiltration at day 14 despite the suppression of glomerular lesions and a marked reduction in renal tumor necrosis factor-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase messenger RNA levels. Treatment with CC-401 had no apparent effect on T cell or humoral immune responses. These studies suggest that JNK signaling promotes renal injury in acute and progressive rat anti-GBM disease. JNK inhibitors may be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of human glomerulonephritis.Kidney International (2007) 72, 698–708; doi:10.1038/sj.ki.5002404; published online 27 June 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a cohort of 29,584 residents of Linxian, China, followed from 1985 to 2001, we conducted a case-cohort study of the magnitude of the association of Helicobacter pylori seropositivity with cancer risk in a random sample of 300 oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas, 600 gastric cardia adenocarcinomas, all 363 diagnosed gastric non-cardia adenocarcinomas, and a random sample of the entire cohort (N=1050). Baseline serum was evaluated for IgG antibodies to whole-cell and CagA H. pylori antigens by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Risks of both gastric cardia and non-cardia cancers were increased in individuals exposed to H. pylori (Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals=1.64; 1.26-2.14, and 1.60; 1.15-2.21, respectively), whereas risk of oesophageal squamous cell cancer was not affected (1.17; 0.88-1.57). For both cardia and non-cardia cancers, HRs were higher in younger individuals. With longer time between serum collection to cancer diagnosis, associations became stronger for cardia cancers but weaker for non-cardia cancers. CagA positivity did not modify these associations. The associations between H. pylori exposure and gastric cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma development were equally strong, in contrast to Western countries, perhaps due to the absence of Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinomas in Linxian, making all cardia tumours of gastric origin, rather than a mixture of gastric and oesophageal malignancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective – To determine the prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in rural China. Methods – A cross-sectional study was conducted within a cohort of adults older than 50 years of age in Linxian County, China. A Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE) was used to screen cases of possible dementia. Three different cutoff points on CMMSE were applied depending on the participant's level of education. The participants then were given psychiatric interviews, medical and neurological examinations, and psychometric tests to ascertain the clinical diagnoses of dementia and AD. Results – Among the 16,095 participants, 5.26% were screened positive with 374 diagnosed as having dementia. Among them, AD accounted for 80.5%. The adjusted prevalence rates were 0.33%, 0.89%, 3.43%, and 8.19% in people in age groups 50–54, 55–64, 65–74, and 75 and above, respectively. The prevalence of AD correlated with the participant's level of education, and was 2.61%, 0.94%, and 0.56% in the illiterate group, in the primary school group, and in the middle school or higher group, respectively. Adjusted by education levels a higher prevalence in women was observed in the illiterate group. Conclusions – The prevalence of dementia in this population is similar to that reported from other areas in mainland China and Taiwan with aging being a significant risk factor. After controlling for age, being a female and having received less number of years of education were associated with an higher prevalence of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhang L, Nie ZY, Liu Y, Chen W, Xin SM, Sun XD, Fan JH, Liu YH, Gao XH, Lu LQ, Como P, McDermott MP, Qiao YL, Kieburtz K. The prevalence of PD in a nutritionally deficient rural population in China.Acta Neurol Scand 2005: 112: 29–35.© Blackwell Munksgaard 2005.In most reports, the prevalence of PD in mainland China is lower than in western populations. To estimate PD prevalence in China, we performed a cross-sectional study in a rural population in Linxian County, China.Clinical diagnosis of PD.Among the 16,488 participants examined, the overall age- and gender-adjusted prevalence rate of PD was 522/100,000 (95% CI: 477–567) assuming no cases of PD would be found among those younger than 50 years of age. The gender-adjusted prevalence rates were 103 (95% CI: 83–123), 621 (95% CI: 572–670), 902 (95% CI: 843–961), and 1744 (95% CI: 1662–1826) per 100,000 in age groups 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and 80 and above, respectively.The estimated prevalence of PD in Linxian, China is higher than most of those reported from other areas in China, and similar to those reported from non-Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]