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Xylan extracted from corncobs was used to modify bamboo and to improve its dimensional stability. A lotus leaf-like surface was prepared on the modified bamboo using a fresh lotus leaf and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the template and seal via soft lithography. The dimensional stability of bamboo was tested via anti-shrinkage efficiency (ASE), moisture excluding efficiency (MEE), weight percent gain (WPG), and its superhydrophobic property. The microstructures of lotus-like bamboo surface were analyzed via water contact angle (WCA), scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The study found that with increasing mass fraction of xylan content, the anti-swelling property and WPG of modified bamboo increased accordingly. When the mass fraction of xylan was 10%, its WPG was the largest (2.21%), and xylan had a better compatibilization effect on bamboo. The dimensional stability of bamboo was improved to a certain extent by xylan. Moreover, the anisotropy and superhydrophobicity of the lotus leaf-like bamboo treated by xylan were noticeably improved after modification, such that the WCA of the transverse, radial, and tangential sections were 157.5º, 145.5º, and 137.5º, respectively. This research lays a foundation for studies of dimensional stability of bamboo and the mechanism of modification to achieve hydrophobic properties.

Polymeric nanoparticles, which show aggregation-induced luminescence emission, have been successfully prepared from larch bark, a natural renewable biomass resource, in a simple, rapid ultrasonic fragmentation method. The structure, element, particle size and molecular weight distribution of larch bark extracts (LBE) were studied by FTIR, XPS, TEM, XRD and linear mode mass spectrometry, respectively. LBE was found containing large numbers of aromatic rings, displaying an average particle size of about 4.5 nm and mainly presenting tetramers proanthocyanidins. High concentration, poor solvent, low temperature and high viscosity restricted the rotation and vibration of the aromatic rings in LBE, leading to the formation of J-aggregates and enhancing the aggregation-induced fluorescence emission. LBE possessed good resistance to photobleaching under ultraviolet light (200 mW/m2). Cytotoxicity experiments for 24 h and flow cytometry experiments for 3 days proved that even the concentrations of LBE as high as 1 mg/mL displayed non-toxic to MG-63 cells. Therefore, LBE could be employed for MG-63 cell imaging, with similar nuclear staining to the DAPI. The effects of different metal ions on the fluorescence emission intensity of LBE were analyzed and exhibited that Fe3+ owned obvious fluorescence quenching effect on LBE, while other metal ions possessed little or weak effect. Furthermore, the limit of detection (LOD) of Fe3+ was evaluated as 0.17 μM.

Almost 90,000 tons of larch bark, which contains 10–16 % anthocyanins by weight, is produced as waste in China each year. Here, proanthocyanidins from the bark of Larix gmelinii were used to prepare oligomeric proanthocyanidin nanospheres (OPCM). The OPCMs were then blended with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to produce OPCM/PVA nanocomposite films. Incorporation of OPCM not only improves the performance of the film but also expands the applications of proanthocyanidins and provides a way to reduce the environmental impact of waste bark. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the OPCM were uniformly dispersed in the PVA, without macroscopic phase separation. OPCM/PVA nanocomposite film had improved mechanical and thermal properties compared with pure PVA film because of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the OPCM and PVA. The tensile strength of nanocomposite film containing 3 wt% OPCMs was 95 % higher than that of PVA film and its toughness and elongation at break were also enhanced to some extent. Compared with PVA film, the glass transition temperature (Tg) and peak decomposition temperature (Tmax) of nanocomposite film containing 10 wt% OPCM were increased by 10.4 °C and 20.2 °C, respectively. The addition of OPCMs also overcomes a major disadvantage of PVA film, which is that the melting temperature is close to Tmax, and thus facilitates melt processing of PVA composite materials. The composite film also had increased resistance to oxidation and better surface wettability than PVA film. Although the composite film had enhanced UV-blocking properties compared with PVA film, even films with the highest proportion of OPCM still showed good transmittance of visible light. Because both OPCs and PVA are biodegradable, the resulting nanocomposites are also biodegradable and can be regarded as suitable candidates for agricultural film and packaging materials.

The excessive recruitment and improper activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) often induces serious injury of host tissues, leading to inflammatory disorders. Therefore, to understand the molecular mechanism on neutrophil recruitment possesses essential pathological and physiological importance. In this study, we found that physiological shear stress induces c-Abl kinase activation in neutrophils, and c-Abl kinase inhibitor impaired neutrophil crawling behavior on ICAM-1. We further identified Vav1 was a downstream effector phosphorylated at Y174 and Y267. Once activated, c-Abl kinase regulated the activity of Vav1, which further affected Rac1/PAK1/LIMK1/cofilin signaling pathway. Here, we demonstrate a novel signaling function and critical role of c-Abl kinase during neutrophil crawling under physiological shear by regulating Vav1. These findings provide a promising treatment strategy for inflammation-related disease by inactivation of c-Abl kinase to restrict neutrophil recruitment.

Adhesive interaction contributes toward tumor metastasis and the transmembrane glycoprotein receptor, integrin has been recognized to mediate the adhesion to extracellular matrix thus upregulating tumor metastasis. In the current study, we evaluated the anti-adhesive mechanisms of a water-soluble polysaccharide (BCP) extracted from Bupleurum chinense. BCP inhibited integrin-mediated adhesion of human melanoma A375 cells to fibronectin but had no effects on nonspecific adhesion to poly-l-lysine. BCP also reduced β1 integrin ligand affinity for GST-FNIII9-10 proteins. The adhesion-dependent formation of F-actin stress fiber and focal adhesion (FA) was also inhibited by BCP treatment. The inhibition of BCP on integrin-mediated signaling is probably through inhibiting phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin. Collectively, our current findings indicated that BCP may be a potential therapy for melanoma metastasis due to its inhibitory effects on integrin function.

In this study, three sulfated polysaccharides (S-RSP1-2, S-RSP1-4 and S-RSP1-8) from Rhodiola sachalinensis were produced by chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine method. d-gal was used to develop an oxidative stress model in the mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line NIH 3T3. Effects of the three sulfated polysaccharides on d-gal-induced oxidative stress were investigated. The results showed that S-RSP1-4 improved the viability of the d-gal-induced oxidative stress in NIH 3T3 cells. The sulfated polysaccharides were found to have a better protective effect against d-gal-induced oxidative stress as compared to the native polysaccharide. Scanning electronmicroscopy also showed a significant change in the surface morphology of sulfated polysaccharides. In addition, the sulfated polysaccharides had noticeable DPPH radical-scavenging activity. In summary, our results demonstrated that d-gal was able to induce oxidative stress in NIH 3T3 cells, and sulfated group might play an important role in resistance to d-gal-induced oxidative damage.

Nano-cellulose was prepared via acid hydrolysis and cell crushing using microcrystalline cellulose as the raw material. Mesoporous TiO2 was then prepared via hydrothermal synthesis using butyl titanate as the titanium source and the previously prepared nano-cellulose as the template. It is confirmed by FT-IR and XRD that the commercial product P25 consisted of anatase and rutile mixed crystal structure, in which the content of anatase and rutile was 80.5% and 19.5%, respectively. The prepared TiO2 had an anatase single crystal structure. XPS analysis showed an elemental content of C, O, and Ti with two kinds of TiO2. TEM, HRTEM, and electron diffraction were used to characterize the particle size of the prepared mesoporous TiO2, mainly concentrated in the 10 to 20 nm range. Crystalline spacing was 0.35 nm (101). By comparison, the particle size of P25 was mainly distributed in the 15 to 25 nm range with a crystalline spacing of 0.35 (101) and 0.32 nm (110) respectively. XRD analysis was consistent with the results. Based on N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm curves it was evident that the surface area of prepared TiO2 and P25 was 38.92 m2/g and 53.54 m2/g, the cumulative pore volume of the two is 0.24 m2/g and 0.17 m2/g respectively. The experiments of photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B showed that the catalytic ability of the prepared mesoporous TiO2 to degrade pollutants was better than commercial TiO2 under UV irradiation.

α-Glycosidase is an essential target for the management of postprandial serum glucose in diabetic patients. Therefore, the interest has been growing in the screening of α-glycosidase inhibitor from natural resource. In the present study, the structure and α-glycosidase inhibitory activity of a polysaccharide (named as ACPP-1) from Aconitum coreanum were investigated. Based on the results from high performance gel permeation chromatography, GC–MS and 1D/2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, ACPP-1 was a highly-linear polysaccharide with a molecular weight of 34.0 kD and containing over 90 % of glucose. It was composed of (1→4)-α- d -Glcp and α-Araf. ACPP-1 exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory eff ;ect against α-glycosidase activity in vitro and the IC50 value was ∼0.8 mg/mL. In oral starch tolerance test, treatment with ACPP-1 (800 mg/kg) significantly improved the starch tolerance in mice. Taken together, this study provided a potential intervention and management for postprandial hyperglycemia by the polysaccharide fraction from A. coreanum.

This study investigates methods for improving the heat resistance of polyvinyl alcohol/alkali lignin foam material (PLFM). Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as a precursor to prepare PLCFM by a sol-gel method. The PLCFM, prepared with different levels of TEOS, was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the addition of silica notably improved the heat resistance properties and the initial decomposition temperature of the foam and exhibited good biocompatibility with the polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and alkali lignin. The melting temperature of the PLCFM also increased significantly. It reached 268 °C when the silica content was 10%, which was 110 °C higher than that of PLFM. The mechanical properties were also improved to 27.42 MPa.

Flower-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized with sodium hydroxide and zinc acetate in a cellulose hydrogel microreactor (prepared by the inversion method). The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, EDX, x-ray diffractometry, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The results indicated that ZnO grows in a flower-like shape in the pores of the cellulose hydrogel. The pure hexagonal wurtzite structures have uniform diameters in the range of 10 nm to 30 nm, surface areas of 39.18 m2/g, and pore volumes of 0.2109 cm3/g. This study also investigated the photocatalytic properties. The nanoparticles have a band gap of 3.23 eV and a 95.2% efficiency for the ultraviolet degradation of rhodamine B over 3 h at room temperature.

P-selectin is a promising target for inflammatory-related diseases. Polysaccharides are the active ingredients of Sanguisorba officinalis L. (Rosaceae) responsible for its anti-inflammatory activities; however, the molecular mechanism is not clear yet.This study evaluates the effects of polysaccharides (SOPs) from Sanguisorba officinalis on their antagonistic function against P-selectin-mediated leukocyte adhesion.The antagonistic function of SOPs was investigated by flow cytometry and static adhesion assay at the concentrations of 25 and 100 μg/ml. The dynamic interaction between HL-60 cells and CHO-P cell monolayer treated with SOPs (25 and 100 μg/ml) was analyzed in a parallel plate flow chamber, and quantitatively calculated by ImageJ software (NIH, Bethesda, MD). In vitro protein binding assay was carried out to evaluate the blocking effects of SOPs (25 and 100 μg/ml) on the interaction between P-selectin and PSGL-1.SOPs-treatment (100 μg/ml) significantly reduced the percentage of HL-60 cells binding to P-selectin (p0.01) determined by flow cytometry. In addition, SOPs (25 and 100 μg/ml) markedly blocked the adhesion between HL-60 cells and CHO-P cells under static condition, and the inhibitory rates reached 39.9% and 71.2%, respectively. Compared with the positive control group, SOPs-treatment (25 and 100 μg/ml) significantly reduced the percentage of HL-60 cells rolling on CHO-P cell monolayers by 43.5% and 75.2%, respectively. Protein binding assay showed the interaction between P-selectin and PSGL-1 was significantly blocked by SOPs.SOPs possess a significant antagonistic function against P-selectin-mediated leukocyte adhesion, and SOPs could be considered as a promising candidate for amelioration of inflammation-related diseases.

P-selectin-mediated adhesion between endothelium and neutrophils is a crucial process leading to acute inflammatory injure. Thus, P-selectin has been considered as promising target for therapeutics of acute inflammatory-related diseases. In the present study, the water-soluble polysaccharides (BCPs) were isolated from Bupleurum chinense, and we evaluated their therapeutical effects on acute inflammatory injure and antagonistic function against P-selectin-mediated neutrophil adhesion. Our results showed that BCPs significantly impaired the leukocyte infiltration and relieve lung injury in LPS-induced acute pneumonia model. BCPs significantly blocked the binding of P-selectin to neutrophils and inhibited P-selectin-mediated neutrophils rolling along CHO-P cell monolayer. The result from in vitro protein binding assay showed a direct evidence indicating that BCPs-treatment significantly eliminated the interaction between rhP-Fc and its physiological ligand PSGL-1 at protein level. Together, these results provide a novel therapeutical strategy for amelioration of inflammation-related disease processes by polysaccharides from B. chinense.

A grading countercurrent extraction method was used to separate polymeric proanthocyanidins (LPPC) from degreased Larix gmelinii bark, and the purification of LPPC was performed using HP-2MGL resin. The purity of LPPC was 26.37%. The cumulative recovery rate of purified product (LPPC-1) was 98.54% by the adsorption method of HP-2MGL resin. The purity of LPPC-1 was 99.79%. Catalytic hydrogenolysis tests of LPPC-1 were performed by means of a palladium carbon catalyst. The degradation rate was 67.5%, and the residual rate was 72.1%. The results of antioxidant ability showed that the degradation product (LHOPC) had more excellent antioxidant ability compared with LPPC-1, VC, TBHQ, grape seed extract, and pine bark extract. The results, through the analysis of the linear model of MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, revealed that LHOPC was oligomeric with the tetramer as the major component and the distribution ranging from the trimer to eleven units.

A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was used to remove COD, NH 4 + -N and PO 4 3- -P in slaughterhouse wastewater at different temperatures. A complete operation cycle was 7 h, which consisted of fill, aeration(5 h), settling(1 h), stationary(1 h) and drawing. Conventional treatment technologies were unsuccessful in treating slaughterhouse wastewater because it contained substantial amounts of fat, oil and grease (FOG). The SBR process showed great nutrient removal performances after 7 days prefermentation. The removals of COD, NH 4 + -N and PO 4 3- -P were 99%, 85% and 99%, respectively. The increase in effluent volatile fatty acid (VFA) and phosphate concentrations after prefermentation may explain the high levels of biological carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal observed. The results also showed that 30 C was found to be the most suitable temperature as the removal efficiency of COD, NH 4 + -N and PO 4 3- -P was 96%, 92% and 91%, respectively.

Two new proanthocyanidins, namely garcinianin A (1) and garcinianin B (2), together with two known compounds (3 and 4) were isolated from the leaves of Garcinia multiflora Champ. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.

This paper presents a Web-based Call System design. Without any changes of existing SIP communication system, the system can achieve the expansion of web call feature. We design and implement a Web SIP proxy server to manage the Web Call and make the conversion of signal and data between the Web Call page and SIP UA. Finally this paper implements the Web-based Call page by Silverlight and the Web SIP proxy by C# for testing.

This paper directed towards the characteristics and potential problems of the LEACH and the EECS routing protocols, making the appropriate improvements and improving a new algorithm - Energy-Efficient Optimal Multipath Routing Algorithm (EEOM). The algorithm have improved cluster head selection, cluster establishment and data transmission, while introduce the concept about multi-path and reconstruction of cluster head. The improved protocol is not only for large-scale networks, but is also conducive to energy balance. Verified by MATLAB simulation software, the improved protocol compared with the other two routing protocols showing the better performance at the network lifetime and energy balance.

Through pervasive computing, people could acquire any interested information anytime, anywhere and transparently. The pervasive computing makes the information space and physical space into a unified whole. Meanwhile, with the growing development of the wireless sensor networks technology, pervasive computing will also become a reality. In this paper, by the research on pervasive computing model based on wireless sensor networks, we propose a pervasive computing model based on wireless LAN. Among the model, wireless sensor networks nodes and other pervasive devices execute context-aware, wireless LAN makes the information space integrated with the physical space. So that the users perceive information by pervasive devices in wireless LAN anywhere and anytime.

For the fault of S-MAC protocol with adaptive listening in energy-consume unbalance between nodes, a Cross-layer optimization MAC protocol based on network fairness (BS-MAC) is proposed. In the new mechanism, add the new variable TS which records the number of how many times this node becomes virtue clusters’ boundary, nodes sleep/listen adaptive through comparing with the size of TS; adjust the balance of energy-consume Cross-layer with the clustering algorithm added TS. Simulation statistics shows that BS-MAC not only increases the fairness of the network and the network lifetime, but also keeps the same energy-consume and delay with the S-MAC.

a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was used to treat synthetic wastewater when dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and temperature were 0.5-1.0mg/L, and 30±1? respectively. Effect of COD/NH4+-N and influent pH on simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) were investigated. The results indicated that removal efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), COD and total nitrogen (TN) were higher than 90%, respectively, when influent NH4+-N, COD/NH4+ and influent pH were 35-45mg/L, 12, 7.0-8.0 under 7 hours of aeration time and 1 hour of idle time, respectively. Therefore, the SBR has obviously achieved simultaneous nitrification and denitrification.

With the development and popularization of WLAN (Wireless LAN), people prefer IP phone over WLAN for its economy, so it is necessary to research and develop WLAN IP phone terminal. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is capable of supporting mobility naturally. Compared with other signaling protocol, SIP is characterized by its simplicity, extendibility, flexibility, mutual operation and reusability. Because of these merits, SIP has become the preferable signaling protocol of embedded mobile terminal. This article is aimed to implement an efficient and flexible SIP protocol stack as well as to develop User Agent application with the function of register and call, and ultimately to realize WLAN IP phone terminal. To achieve simplicity, flexibility and high efficiency, the SIP protocol stack is designed by using modularization model and implemented by using C language. Then, this article proposes a general design scheme and expounds respectively from hardware and software the implementation of User Agent, which is provided with register and fundamental call function.