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Abstract: Dysbiotic gut microbiota has been identified as a primary mediator of inherent inflammation that underlies the pathogenesis of obesity. Cordyceps comprises the larval body and the stroma of Cordyceps sinensis (BerK.) Sacc. parasiting on Hepialidae larvae of moths (H. pialusoberthur) with potent metabolic regulation functions. The underlying anti-obesity mechanisms, however, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the water extract of Cordyceps attenuates glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and its associated inflammation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and microbiomic analysis showed that Cordyceps reduced the amounts of Enterococcus cecorum, a bile-salt hydrolase-producing microbe to regulate the metabolism of bile acids in the gut. Importantly, E. cecorum transplantation or liver-specific knockdown of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a bile acid receptor, diminished the protective effect of Cordyceps against HFD-induced obesity. Together, our results shed light on the mechanisms that underlie the glucose- and lipid-lowering effects of Cordyceps and suggest that targeting intestinalE. cecorum or hepatic FXR are potential anti-obesity and anti-inflammation therapeutic avenues.

Raillietina echinobothrida (R. echinobothrida) is one of the most pathogenic and prevalent tapeworms threat to the commercial chickens in China. However, there is a lack of research on their molecular identification and morphological characteristics. This study explored the molecular identification markers for R. echinobothrida in North China based on 18s ribosomal RNA (18s rRNA) gene and the ribosomal DNA second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) gene. The BLAST results of 18s rRNA (1643 bp) and ITS-2 (564 bp) gene sequences showed that the isolated intestinal tapeworms were R. echinobothrida. Phylogenetic trees obtained by maximum likelihood (ML) or neighbor-joining (NJ) method revealed that the R. echinobothrida in North China had the closest evolutionary relationship with the species found on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China. Morphological observations by hematoxylin staining and scanning electron microscope showed four round suckers and a retractable rostellum on the spherical scolex of R. echinobothrida. Two rows of alternately arranged hooks distributed around the rostellum. There were 30–40 testes in each mature segment. A well-developed cirrus pouch lied outside the excretory duct of mature segment. The gravid segment contained 200–400 eggs and there was a well-developed oncosphere in each egg. In addition, abundant ultrastructural features in mature proglottid of R. echinobothrida in North China were identified by transmission electron microscopy. In conclusion, the present study established ways of molecular phylogenetic identification for R. echinobothrida based on 18s rRNA and ITS-2 gene, and identified the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of R. echinobothrida in North China.

An efficient and environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted (UAE) natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) extraction method was applied for the extraction of five bioactive compounds (liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid and isoliquiritigenin) from compound liquorice tablets (CPLTs), and the antioxidant activities of these compounds were evaluated. In this study, eighteen different NADES systems based on either two or three components were tested and a 1,4-butanediol–levulinic acid system (1 : 3 molar ratio) was selected as a topgallant solvent for maximizing analyte extraction yields. Various extraction parameters, such as water content, liquid/solid ratio, extraction time and temperature, were systematically optimized by single-factor and response surface methodology (RSM) experiments. The results indicated that the optimum extraction conditions for the analytes featured a water content of 17%, a liquid/solid ratio of 42 mL g−1 and an extraction time of 30 min. The extracted amounts of liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid and isoliquiritigenin reached 5.60, 3.17, 1.27, 74.62 and 1.34 mg g−1, respectively, under optimized conditions, which were much higher than those extracted using conventional organic solvents. In addition, antioxidant tests revealed that the NADES extracts showed higher DPPH and hydroxyl radical-scavenging capacity than the conventional solvent extracts used for comparison. This study provides a suitable approach for efficiently extracting the bioactive compounds of CPLTs. Meanwhile, NADESs can be extended to other natural products as green extraction media.

Traditional power distribution systems in ship field usually adopt power breakers, contactors, relays and fuses as power distribution devices, thus result in low fault response and lack of current-limiting, so loads with high current spikes when started may result in large voltage drop on the DC power bus or misoperation of the power distribution branch, moreover, short-circuit may bring great damage to the whole power system. In this paper, a smart power distribution equipment is proposed, to automatically distinguish different load type and state, realize current-limiting when large capacitive load is started and cut off the power distribution branch whenever short-circuit occurs. This technique greatly increases the smart management capability of the power system. The feasibility and effectiveness of this technique is verified by the experiments carried out on a 24V/2kW prototype.

The aftereffect damage efficiency of shaped charge jets formed with the conventional metal liner against light armor is quite low. The validity of the PTFE-copper powder metallurgy liner material prepared by the cold pressing-sintering-compound pressing forming technique is experimentally studied and numerically simulated. The models of constitutive state and dynamic mechanical behavior were adapted to the specific shaped charge liner design. Shaped charge jets formed with the powder metallurgy material liner was shown to cause a higher surface target damage after breaking the light armor down, thus exhibiting an improved aftereffect damage efficiency.

Long noncoding RNA-Myosin heavy chain associated RNA transcript (LncRNA-MHRT) has been reported to prevent pathological cardiac hypertrophy. However, the underlying inhibition mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Further, whether MHRT inhibits hypertrophy by regulating post-translational modification of certain proteins remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to find potential role of MHRT in inhibiting cardiac hypertrophy via regulating modification of certain proteins. Here, Angiotensin II (Ang II) -treated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and transverse aortic constriction (TAC) mice were used to investigate the effect and mechanism of MHRT in cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the regulatory effects of MHRT on SUMOylation of NAD-dependent protein deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1 α (PGC-1α)/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), specificity protein 1 (SP1)/histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) pathway were investigated. Here, we found that MHRT improved heart function by attenuating pathological cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro. MHRT also promoted the SUMOylation of SIRT1 protein that activated PGC1-α/PPAR-α pathway. Furthermore, MHRT enhanced SUMOylation of SIRT1 by upregulating SP1/HDAC4. Our findings suggested that SUMOylation of SIRT1 could mediate the protective effect of MHRT in cardiac hypertrophy. The new regulatory pathway provides a potential new therapeutic target for pathological cardiac hypertrophy.

ObjectiveGraphene has been widely used for various biological and biomedical applications due to its unique physiochemical properties. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiotoxicity of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced GO (rGO)in vitroandin vivo, as well as to investigate the underlying toxicity mechanisms.MethodsGO was reduced by gamma irradiation to prepare rGO and then characterized by UV/visible light absorption spectroscopy. Rat myocardial cells (H9C2) were exposed to GO or rGO with different absorbed radiation doses. Thein vitrocytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay, cell apoptosis assay, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity assay. The effects of GO and rGO on oxidative damage and mitochondrial membrane potential were also explored in H9C2 cells. Forin vivoexperiments, mice were injected with GO or rGO. The histopathological changes of heart tissues, as well as myocardial enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation indicators in heart tissues were further investigated.ResultsrGO was developed from GO following different doses of gamma irradiation.In vitroexperiments in H9C2 cells showed that compared with control cells, both GO and rGO treatment inhibited cell viability, promoted cell apoptosis, and elevated the LDH release. With the increasing radiation absorbed dose, the cytotoxicity of rGO gradually increased. Notably, GO or rGO treatment increased the content of ROS and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential in H9C2 cells.In vivoexperiments also revealed that GO or rGO treatment damaged the myocardial tissues and changed the activities of several myocardial enzymes and the lipid peroxidation indicators in the myocardial tissues.ConclusionGO exhibited a lower cardiotoxicity than rGO due to the structure difference, and the cardiotoxicity of GO and rGO might be mediated by lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant disease originating from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells, characterized by anemia, hemorrhage, fever, and infection, with low survival rate. However, the pathogenesis of AML is not fully understood at present. In this work, an integrated approach based untargeted metabolomics and network pharmacology was adopted to elucidate the pathogenesis of AML. Metabolic profiling of plasma samples from 14 patients and 16 healthy individuals were performed based on UHPLC-MS platform. As a result, 23 metabolites were identified by using the human metabolite database based on PLS-DA (partial least squares discriminant analysis) and independent sample test. And metabolic pathways related to AML mainly included fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism and lipid metabolism. Meanwhile, biomarkers-targets-pathways-disease network was constructed, 75 biomarker targets and 122 disease targets were identified. Furthermore, 30 pathways were predicted, some of which were consistent with these in metabolomics. This is the first time that metabolomics and network pharmacology approach have been combined to investigate the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of AML. ALDH, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4 were potential therapeutic targets for AML, which provide available way to elucidate the pathogenesis and treatment of AML.

To investigate the probable roles of the novel C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor ZFP580 on all-transretinoic acid (ATRA)-regulated VSMCs migration and underlying mechanisms.Rat aortic VSMCs were isolated, cultured and identified. VSMCs were treated with ATRA at the concentrations of 0, 5, 10 or 20 μmol/L for 24 hours. The migration ability of VSMCs was observed in each group and compared with control group which was treated by 0 μmol/L ATRA. The mRNA and protein expression levels of ZFP580 were detected by QPCR and Western blot. ZFP580 protein expression in VSMCs was detected under ATRA stimulation when ERK inhibitor PD98059 was used to inhibit the protein expression of ERK. Adenovirus transfection technology was used to obtain VSMCs with overexpression or low expression of ZFP580, and QPCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and ZFP580.On the 10th day of VSMCs culture, immunofluorescence showed that SM22 alpha antibody, as a specific marker of smooth muscle cells, was positive. Compared to the control group, VSMCs migration was reduced by 32%, 43%, and 59% in the group of 5, 10, and 20 μmol/L ATRA pretreatment. Compared with the control group, VSMCs treated by 20 μmol/L ATRA reduced the cell migration by 49%, 36% and 22% at 24, 48 and 72 h. The mRNA and protein expression levels of ZFP580 were increased with the increase of ATRA stimulation solubility and the extension of stimulation time. ERK was increased significantly after 15 min of ATRA stimulation. Pretreatment with ERK inhibitor PD98059 (20 μmol/L) inhibited the expression of ERK protein and reduced the expression of ATRA-induced ZFP580 protein. Overexpression of ZFP580 inhibited the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9, whereas down-expression of ZFP580 promoted the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9.ATRA increased the expression of ZFP580 through the ERK signaling pathway, while ZFP580 was involved in ATRA's inhibition of VSMCs migration by affecting the expression of downstream MMP-2 and MMP-9.

Cadmium is a highly toxic metal threatening human and animal health. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was reported to play a positive role in disease treatment and immune regulation. The present study aimed to explore the effect of NAC administration on Cd-induced cytotoxicity and abnormal immune response on chicken peritoneal macrophages. Peritoneal macrophages isolated from Isa Brown male chickens were exposed to CdCl2 (20 or 50 μM) and/or NAC (500 μM) for different time periods. Results showed that Cd caused dose-dependent damage on chicken peritoneal macrophages characterized by morphologic and ultrastructural alterations, increased cell apoptosis, reactive oxygen species accumulation and mitochondrial injury. Cd exposure inhibited phagocytic activity of chicken peritoneal macrophages, and promoted transcriptional status of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) in both unactivated macrophages and cells in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimuli. Pretreatment with 500 μM NAC did not affect growth of normal chicken peritoneal macrophages, while remarkably inhibiting Cd-caused cell death, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. NAC pretreatment significantly prevented intracellular Cd2+ accumulation in the Cd-exposed macrophages. Inhibitory effects of NAC on Cd-induced ROS accumulation and mitochondrial injury on chicken macrophages were confirmed in HD-11 macrophage cell line. In addition, NAC pretreatment promoted the phagocytic activity of Cd-exposed chicken peritoneal macrophages, and significantly inhibited expression of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) in both Cd-exposed macrophages and Cd-treated cells in response to LPS stimuli. In conclusion, the present study firstly demonstrated the antagonistic effect of NAC against Cd-caused damage and abnormal immune response on chicken peritoneal macrophages. Protective effect of NAC on chicken macrophages was highly related to its suppression on Cd-induced ROS overproduction, pro-inflammatory reaction and intracellular Cd2+ accumulation.

The utility of electronically conductive metal-organic frameworks (EC-MOFs) in high performance devices has been limited to date by a lack of high quality thin film. Here, we report the controllable thin film fabrication of an EC-MOF, Cu3(HHTP)2, (HHTP=2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), by a spray layer-by-layer liquid-phase epitaxial method. The EC-MOF thin film can not only be precisely prepared among 10 ~ 100 nm in thickness with increment of ~ 2 nm per growing cycle, but also show smooth surface, good crystallinity and high orientation. The chemiresistor gas sensor based on this high quality Cu3(HHTP)2 thin film is one of the best room temperature sensors for NH3 in all reported sensors based on various materials.

Negative pressure wave positioning method is a technique for pipeline leakage detection and location, which is widely used in various fields. Wireless sensor technology has the advantages of low power consumption, easy networking and high positioning accuracy, which is the preferred technology for wireless location. This paper discusses a pipeline monitoring system based on negative pressure wave and wireless sensor. This system combines the advantages of high positioning accuracy, wide application range and small nodal volume. In order to prove the practicality, reliability and accuracy of this system, experimental results and comparison with other method are given, positioning error within 5%.

Recently, eco-friendly ‘green’ electronics are attracting increasing attention. Here, electrochemical field-effect transistors (EC-FETs) with lateral capacitive coupling were firstly fabricated on a paper substrate using natural chicken albumen as gate dielectric. Due to extremely huge lateral electric-double-layer (EDL) capacitance of the natural chicken albumen, these EC-FETs exhibit excellent electrical properties with low-voltage operation. At the same time, the threshold voltage of these EC-FETs can be effectively tuned from enhancement-mode range to depletion-mode range with two different methods. Our results demonstrate these coplanar EC-FETs with natural chicken albumen as gate dielectric are very meaningful for the applications for environmentally friendly electronic products and portable electronics.

In view of the poor performance of biological nitrogen removal in saline wastewater treatment, nitrogen removal of anaerobic ammonium oxidation(ANAMMOX) with K

The effect of pH shock on nitrogen removal performance of marine anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (MAAOB) treating saline wastewater was studied by employing an ASBR reactor. Dynamic characteristics of the MAAOB were simulated by the Andrew model and Ratkowsky model. The results indicated that the reactor had the best nitrogen removal efficiency when the pH value was 7-8. The nitrogen removal rate (NRR) was (0.30±0.04) kg·(m

Artificial synapse is the key element for neuromorphic systems. Recently, synaptic transistors have been proposed and investigated, but physical understanding of such synaptic devices based on ion/electron electrostatic coupling effect remains unknown. Here, laterally coupled InGaZnO4 electric-double-layer synaptic transistors were numerically simulated. An ion drift-diffusion model is employed to describe the laterally capacitive coupling of the proton conducting electrolyte. Important synaptic behaviors, such as excitatory postsynaptic current and paired-pulse facilitation, are mimicked by the transient solution. InGaZnO4 synaptic device exhibits an extremely low-power consumption of $\sim 0.2$ pJ/spike. Our simulation results are interesting for energy-efficient synaptic electronics and neuromorphic systems.

We report the application of one-shadow-mask self-assembled method for fabricating low-voltage transparent oxide-based thin film transistors (TFTs) gated by atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3with in-plane-gate configuration. These in-plane-gate TFTs exhibit a good device performance with a small subthreshold swing (300 mV/decade), a large on/off ratio (106), and a low operation voltage (5V). The leakage current for in-plane-gate TFT is actually significantly lower, compared with TFT with bottom-gate configuration. This work has provided a good route for fabricating low-power transparent electronics using simple processing method.

Thin film transistors with nanoparticles silicon floating-gate are fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. It should be noted that SiO2acts as both a tunneling and a blocking layer. Meanwhile, some np-Si dots are embedded within SiO2layers. The electrical characteristic of the devices are measured by semiconductor parameter analyzer at room temperature. These Thin film transistors show a good device performance with a high charge-carrier mobility of 33 cm2/vs and a large on/off ratio of 1.2×106. Moreover, the capability of written and erasing was demonstrated. This indicates that thin film transistors can be operated as rewritable nonvolatile floating gate memory devices.

The change law of gel time of calcium carbonate-acid water glass grouting material with the content of calcium carbonate is researched in this paper. But the gel time does not increase evenly with reduction calcium carbonic reducing. It increases suddenly because there is sudden exceeding range with the solution pH value increasing. Meanwhile, the change relation of strength of pure gelation with suitable gel time and time is measured. Firming sand strength experiment is conducted by the better mixture ratio. The strength of pure gelation body increases with the time and the content of calcium carbonate increasing. It is closely related with the reaction mechanism of calcium carbonate-acid water glass. The active Ca2+in this system can react with a series of silicate ion to form silicate precipitate which is filled with colloid and forming skeletonation. And the correlation between firming sand strength and the calcium carbonic acid content is non-significant. Finally, the contrast test of the water glass-glyoxal is done, which is the preparation for the subsequent engineering application.

With the purpose of reducing cost, improving the operability, and ensuring the safety, a low-speed testing system of the encounter of fuse and target was carried out. When the system working, the relative velocity of the target and fuse is in control in less than 10m/s, which is a shrink ratio of the real encounter. Experimental investigation shows that the low-speed encountering system can reach the requirements of Doppler radio fuse in the early design, which can help designers design a better fuse.

In order to improve the block area and damage probability to targets, a new type warhead of circumferential cutter is presented. The optimization simulation is designed for the circumferential cutter warhead by using LS-DYNA finite element software. The detonation mode and the liner curvature radius are two important factors, which influence the formation process of circumferential cutting warhead. The result shows that priority should be given to use the upper and lower ends at the same time blasting technique. The shaped charge liner curvature radius and shot elevation ratio should be controlled in between 0.9 and 1.1.The warhead can be envisaged to achieve the desire of circumferential cutting.

According to the shortcomings of currently shooting range ballistic measuring method, the differential technique is applied in positioning system through analyzing the differential GPS technique to realize range ballistic high-precision measurements. This paper introduces the shooting range positioning system design and the realization of software terminal. This method overcomes the disadvantages of shooting range measurement .Positioning accuracy has indeed been improved through this way.

Early understanding of construction cost represents a critical factor of a feasibility study in the early design phase of a project. A new project cost estimation model based on Gaussian Process was proposed. Gaussian Process model theory was introduced, and project cost estimation model based on Gaussian Process’ flow chart was analyzed in detail. Through example analysis, project cost estimation model based on Gaussian Process using Nelder-Mead and genetic algorithms algorithm was proven feasible for this problem and represented accuracy than BP neural network.

The situation of the global energy is tending to be in short supply, but geotherm is the inexhaustible renewable energy. Extracting reservoir geothermal water from old oil well can achieve economic benefits of oil - heat joint production. Since 2005, Huabei oilfield has been engaging in geothermal comprehensive utilization research projects and developed the large displacement electrical submersible pumps suitable for high temperature. For the operation management of this equipment, the working condition diagnosis analysis research has been carried out, 16 kinds of current curve template and 73 kinds of pump characteristic curve template have been established using ADO remote data access technology, and the volume efficiency and energy efficiency dynamic control model and chart have been established as well. The production situation analysis using the chart can timely find out the problems existing in the production and puts forward the improvement measures to achieve the purpose of energy saving and consumption reduction.

When solving large scale combinatorial optimization problems, Max-Min Ant System requires long computation time. MPI-based Parallel Max-Min Ant System described in this paper can ensure the quality of the solution, as well as reduce the computation time. Numerical experiments on the multi-node cluster system show that when solving the traveling salesman problem, MPI-based Parallel Max-Min Ant System can get better computational efficiency.

The all-electron full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method, by means of quasi-harmonic Debye model, is applied to investigate the elastic constant and thermodynamic properties of body-centered-cubic tantalum (bcc Ta). The calculated elastic constants of bcc Ta at 0 K is consistent with the previous experimental and theoretical results. Our calculations give the correct trends for the pressure dependence of elastic constants. By using the convenient quasi-harmonic Debye model, we refined the thermal equations of state. The thermal expansivity and some other thermal properties agree well with the previous experimental and theoretical results.

Objective The purpose of the present study was to study the potential association of CDC2L2 variations with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) were extensively screened across the CDC2L2 gene by the site-specific PCR method ARMS (Amplification Refractory Mutation System). The identified novel polymorphisms were further evaluated in a Han Chinese cohort comprising of 467 patients with diabetes and 569 nondiabetic controls. In addition, 76 parent-offspring trios were also included in this association study. The case-control and TDT/sibTDT studies are applied for association analysis in this study. Results Seven loci (rs1059831, SNP33, rs7528782, SNP11, SNP36, rs11488590 and SNP30) were shown to be significantly associated with T2D in unrelated individuals (p < 0.05). When individuals were stratified by age, sex and body mass index (BMI), the SNP11 was shown to be strongly associated with female patients with T2D, patients whose age was over 45 years and individuals whose BMI was less than 23 (p = 0.018, 0.011 and 0.0089, respectively). However, it was not replicated in the family-based TDT/sibTDT analysis (p = 0.085, OR = 0.63 (CI 95% 0.34–1.06)). Conclusion Our data suggested that the CDC2L2 gene may contribute to the susceptibility of type 2 diabetes in the northern Han Chinese population, but further studies are needed to replicate these findings. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mongolian folk medicine resource is the origin of Mongolian medicine development, even more important of which is the specialized Mongolian folk medicine resources with regional and high medicine quality, it processes distinctive national characteristics with irreplaceable important position in traditional Mongolian medicine. Nevertheless, due to the serious destroy of ecological environment and sharp increase of demands, etc. A lot of specialized Mongolian folk medicine resources were endangered, and there still existed some problems in the protection and exploitation and utilization. This paper intends to provide comprehensive insight into the species protection and exploitation and utilization states of specialized Mongolian folk medicine resources. The application and protection status and the existing problems were reviewed, and the development strategies of Mongolian folk medicine resource were analyzed.

This article made Computer Simulation Technique to analysis the relationship of the different heights of hit tennis and serve's effect in the course of tennis serve. The results show that with the increase height of hit tennis the effective area of tennis serve also increased significantly; the success rate of serve higher and the angle of serve bigger; the flight time of tennis more short and the aggressiveness of serve stronger; the coach and athlete that they had master grasped serve technique should be more emphasis increase the effect of serve by raising the height of hit tennis.

Artesunate (ART), a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin isolated from the traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua, is an effective novel antimalarial drug. The present study investigated the apoptotic activity of artesunate in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) by means of nuclear staining, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis, and flow cytometry. The observations also indicated that artesunate induced apoptosis of HUVEC in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. A Western immunoblot analysis showed down-regulation of the bcl-2 protein and up-regulation of the bax protein in the artesunate-treated HUVEC. Ca2+ in cells was evaluated by fluorescent spectrophotometer using Fura 2-AM as probe. These results suggest that artesunate may be a potential apoptosis-inducing agent for endothelial cells.

Dihydroartemisinin, a more water-soluble metabolite of artemisinin derivatives, is a safe and most effective antimalarial analog of artemisinin. In the present study, we investigated the antiangiogenic activity of dihydroartemisinin in vitro and in vivo, and investigated dihydroartemisinin-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Dihydroartemisinin markedly reduced VEGF binding to its receptors on the surface of HUVEC. The expression levels of two major VEGF receptors, Flt-1 and KDR/flk-1, on HUVEC were lower following dihydroartemisinin treatment as shown by an immunocytochemical staining assay. The in vivo antiangiogenic activity was evaluated in the model of chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) neovascularization. Dihydroartemisinin significantly inhibited CAM angiogenesis at low concentrations (5-30 nmol/100 microl per egg). We also investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively the induction of HUVEC apoptosis by dihydroartemisinin. A dose-related (5-80 microM) and time-dependent (6-36 h) increase in dihydroartemisinin-induced HUVEC apoptosis was observed by flow cytometry. Our results suggest that the antiangiogenic effect induced by dihydroartemisinin might occur by induction of cellular apoptosis and inhibition of expression of VEGF receptors. These findings and the known low toxicity of dihydroartemisinin indicate that it might be a promising candidate angiogenesis inhibitor.

Phosphorus (P)-doped nanogranular SiO(2) films are deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at room temperature, and a high proton conductivity of ~5.6 × 10(-4) S cm(-1) is measured at room temperature with a relative humidity of 70%. The accumulation of protons at the SiO(2)/indium-zinc-oxide (IZO) interface induces a large electric-double-layer (EDL) capacitance. Thin-film transistors (TFTs) with two in-plane gates are self-assembled on transparent conducting glass substrates. The large EDL capacitance can effectively modulate the IZO channel with a current ON/OFF ratio of10(7). Such TFTs calculate dual input signals at the gate level coupled with a floating gate, analogous to that of neuron MOS (vMOS). AND logic is demonstrated on the neuron TFTs. Such neuron TFTs gated by P-doped nanogranular SiO(2) shows an effective electrostatic modulation on conductivities of oxide semiconductors, which is meaningful for portable chemical-biological sensing applications.

Junctionless oxide-based neuron thin-film transistors with in-plane-gate structure are fabricated at room temperature with a laser scribing process. The neuron transistors are composed of a bottom ITO floating gate and multiples of two in-plane control gates. The control gates, coupling with the floating gate, control the "on" and "off" of the transistor. Effective field-effect modulation of the drain current has been realized. AND logic is demonstrated on a dual in-plane gate neuron transistor. The developed laser scribing technology is highly desirable in terms of the fabrication of high performance neuron transistors with low-cost., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

Network architecture is a protocol set of hierarchy architectures. Network performance with respect to its application should be improved as for its innovation and improvement under the condition of keeping up or extending its functions. Routing strategy research is important to carry out the above. In principle routing methods is concerned with the shortest routing, the lowest cost, the largest flux or the lowest extent of its congestion. We put forward a kind of routing strategy about intelligent selection basing on multi-agent system in order to overcoming the defect of routing selection strategies appeared at present as well as combining with the demand of high-performance.

To identify the susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population.Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery, genotyping and haplotype construction were performed in 30 candidate genes. Case-control study were carried out in a population-based sample and confirmed by the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) analysis in 77 trio pedigrees. The effects of the SNP rs5210 on gene expression were studied by reporter gene technique.The case-control studies showed that several SNPs on KCNJ11 gene was associated with type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population, in which the allele frequency of SNP rs5219, the genotype frequency of rs5210, rs2285676 and rs5219, and the frequency of haplotype GA combined of the rs5219 and rs5215 showed significant difference between these two groups (P0.05). In addition, TDT test also showed statistical significance on this haplotype GA (P0. 05). The reporter gene assay showed that the effect on gene expression was significantly different between two alleles of rs5210 (P0.05).KCNJII gene is one of the susceptibility genes of type 2 diabetes in Chinese Han population.

Artesunate (ART), a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin extracted from the Chinese herb Artemisia annua, is a safe and effective antimalarial drug. In the present investigation, we analyzed the inhibitory effects of ART on angiogenesis and on VEGF production in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cells in vitro and in vivo. In order to analyze the effect of ART on VEGF secretion in K562 cells, we examined the level of VEGF secreted in conditioned media (CM) by ELISA assay. The result showed that ART could decrease the VEGF level in CM of K562 cells, even at a lower concentration (2 micromol/l, P

To search for the susceptibility variant (s) of type 2 diabetes in the susceptible regions on chr.1 (1p36.23-36.33, 1q24.3-25.1, and 1q42.12-42.13) by genotyping SNP markers in case-control DNA samples and identifying the haplotype associated with type 2 diabetes.Totally 124 SNPs in 33 candidate genes in the mapped regions were chosen from public SNP data or identified by sequencing the samples that were used to search for SNP locus. Sequencing method was used to genotype the loci for 236 sporadic type 2 diabetes patients and 152 normal subjects in Northern Han Chinese population. The haplotypes with significant difference were further analyzed.Of 124 SNPs successfully typed, 4 SNPs that showed association with diabetes status were found: rs203849 (P=0.005, OR=1.60) and rs203826 (P=0.016, OR=1.60) located in sAC gene, rs7535528 (P=0.028, OR=1.45) located in PANK4, rs884363 (P=0.043, OR=1.37) located in CASP9 gene. In addition, the frequencies of two combination types from these 4 SNP genotypes were significantly different between case and control groups (P0.001). Furthermore, four haplotypes associated with diabetes were found in haplotype analysis of sAC gene.sAC, PANK4, and CA SP9 may be associated with type 2 diabetes in Han population in north China, and it seems that the synergetic effect of these genes is responsible for the development of type 2 diabetes.

To search for the disease-associated haplotype in the PRKCZ gene, a susceptibility gene for type 2 diabetes in Han population of North China, by case-control study and linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).SNPs located in the PRKCZ gene were chosen from public SNP domain by bioinformatic methods and single base extension (SBE) method was used to genotype the loci in 173 sporadic type 2 diabetes patients and 152 normal individuals to perform case-control study and LD analysis. Haplotype block were constructed in these populations.Several SNPs in the PRKCZ gene were found to be associated with the disease. The SNPs formed different haplotype block pattern in case and control groups. The frequencies of the haplotypes formed by 5 SNPs were statistically different between the two groups.The haplotype formed by 5 SNPs in the PRKCZ gene may be associated with type 2 diabetes in Han population of China, which is confirmed from statistics to be a susceptibility gene for the disease.

To probe the candidate susceptibility gene (s) of type 2 diabetes in the formal mapping region, 1p36.33-p36.23, in Han people of Northern China using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).23 SNPs located in 10 candidate genes in the mapping region were chosen from public SNP domain by bioinformatic methods and single base extension (SBE) method were used to genotype the loci in 192 sporadic type 2 diabetes patients and 172 normal individuals to perform case-control study.Among the 23 SNPs, 8 were found to be common in Chinese population. There were statistically different in the allele frequency of 2 SNP, rs436045 in the protein kinase C/xi gene and rs228648 in Urotensin II gene between case and control groups.The two SNP may be associated with type 2 diabetes in Han people of China, which makes base for further study of the relation between the genes they located with type 2 diabetes.

To study the function of 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the PRKCZ gene, a susceptibility gene for type 2 diabetes in Han population of North China, in the pathogenesis of the disease.Bioinformatic methods and reporter gene activity determination were used to analyze the function of the 5 SNPs.The reporter gene activities of different alleles of 2 SNPs, rs427811 and rs809912, were obviously different, which implies that these 2 SNPs might be susceptibility loci of the disease.The PRKCZ gene is further confirmed to be a susceptibility gene for type 2 diabetes in Han population of North China. Two SNPs in the gene play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease by affecting the expression level of PRKCZ gene.

Artesunate (ART) is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin extracted from the plant Artemisia annua is a safe and effective antimalarial drug. In the present investigation, ART was found also to inhibit angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro. The anti-angiogenic effect in vivo was evaluated in nude mice by means of human ovarian cancer HO-8910 implantation and immunohistochemical stainings for microvessel (CD31), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptor KDR/flk-1. Tumor growth was decreased and microvessel density was reduced following drug treatment with no apparent toxicity to the animals. ART also remarkably lowered VEGF expression on tumor cells and KDR/flk-1 expression on endothelial cells as well as tumor cells. The in vitro effect of ART was tested on models of angiogenesis, namely, proliferation, migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The results showed that ART significantly inhibited angiogenesis in a dose-dependent form in the range of 0.5∼50 µmol/l. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of ART on HVUEC proliferation was stronger than that on Hela, JAR, HO-8910 cancer cells, NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells and human endometrial cells, indicating that ART was selectively against HUVEC. These findings and the known low toxicity of ART are clues that ART may be a promising angiogenesis inhibitor.