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In order to study the mechanical mechanism of the dynamic engraving process of the CTA band, the simulation model of the engraving process is established considering the friction and contact characteristics between the interfaces. The adaptive FEM-SPH coupling algorithm is used to obtain the variation law of the temperature and stress distribution of the band, the attitude of the projectile, and the dynamic engraving resistance through numerical calculation. The results show that the band undergoes plastic flow during engraving, and the surface temperature of the band is close to the melting point temperature of the material during the adiabatic engraving. The engraving process presents obvious segmented characteristics, and the initial engraving speed has an important influence on the spatial projectile attitude. The variation of dynamic engraving resistance is quite different from that of the quasi-static model, and the resistance has two ‘rising-decreasing’ processes.

To give a fatigue life prediction for problems with bimodal stress power spectral density which is commonly observed in the dynamic response of structures, the bimodal triangular model is established first and a large sum of bimodal stress power spectral densities with different characteristics are built. Then the error analysis of the fatigue life prediction results of bimodal stress power spectral densities with different shapes are calculated by the stress power spectral density method with zero-order moment (SPSD0) and the classical frequency-domain fatigue life prediction method, which is under single frequency band process and broadband process. The simulation results show that, for single frequency band process or broadband process being divided into appropriate segments, the fatigue damage is not sensitive to the real curve shape of bimodal stress power spectral density.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Radiotherapy is the main treatment option. However, radiotherapy does not benefit all patients because there is no known precise biomarker that can be used for screening radioresistant patients. Genetic predisposition is closely related to tumor development, therapeutic response, and prognosis. The relationship between regenerating gene IA (REGIA) and NPC is unclear. This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the association between REGIA expression and metastasis, radiosensitivity, and survival in patients with NPC as well as assess the effect of radiation on REGIA expression in vitro. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect REGIA. The relationship between REGIA expression in radioresistant NPC and the prognosis of CNE1 NPC cells were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We found that increased doses of radiation in CNE1 cells significantly decreased REGIA expression (P0.05). The overall rate of REGIA-positive expression was 47.15% in NPC tissues and 45.00% and 61.02% in radiosensitive and radioresistant cases, respectively, showing significant differences (P0.05). A REGIA-positive protein expression rate had a negative correlation with radiosensitivity in NPC (r= -0.109, P=0.047). Both REGIA-positive and REGIA-negative expression strongly predicted the overall survival rate and progression-free survival of NPC patients (P0.01). A multivariate analysis indicated that REGIA was an inverse prognostic factor in NPC patients (REGIA-positive expression: hazard ratio (HR)=2.139, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.56-2.94, P0.001 and REGIA-negative expression: HR=1.958, 95% CI=1.42-2.69, P0.001). In conclusion: Radiation can affect REGIA expression. The REGIA expression level correlated with radioresistance and a poor prognosis. In addition, REGIA expression might act as a potential therapeutic target and prognostic predictor in NPC patients.

To identify the environmental factors affecting the distribution of suitable habitats ofData pertaining to the distribution ofThe current suitable habitats ofModerate climate, adequate precipitation and high altitude are favorable for the survival of

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence and related factors of osteoarthritis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and provided a scientific basis for the prevention of the comorbidity. METHODS: The data were obtained from the database of all designated medical institutions in Beijing from 2015 to 2017. Data of the adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were collected for descriptive analysis, and a Logistic regression model was used to explore the related factors of osteoarthritis in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: A total of 1 046 264 diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus adult patients were included in our study, with an average age of 63.07 years, and 50.78% were males. Among the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, there were 341 561 cases with osteoarthritis, and the prevalence of osteoarthritis was 32.65%. The prevalence of females (38.05%) was higher than that of males (27.41%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Osteoarthritis occurred in all age groups among the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, with the highest prevalence of osteoarthritis in the age group of 65-69 years (36.76%), and the lowest prevalence in the age group ≤44 years (14.3%). Before the age of 70, the prevalence increased with age. Further analysis of related factors for osteoarthritis in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus showed that female (OR=1.62, 95%CI: 1.61-1.63), age (OR=1.01, 95%CI: 1.01-1.01), had other comorbidities (OR=1.19, 95%CI: 1.18-1.21), used hypoglycemic drugs (OR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.78-0.80), having the cardiovascular disease (OR=1.13, 95%CI: 1.11-1.15), having cerebrovascular disease (OR=1.25, 95%CI: 1.23-1.28), and having nephropathy (OR=1.61, 95%CI: 1.51-1.71) were associated with the osteoarthritis in the type 2 diabetic mellitus patients. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that the prevalence of osteoarthritis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus is high in Beijing area. Health education and disease monitoring should be strengthened in middle-aged and elderly patients. Screening for comorbidities should be carried out as soon as possible, with the focus on menopausal women.

To evaluate the effects of environmental factors the distribution ofThe known distribution sites ofCurrently, the highly suitable habitats ofThe suitable habitat of

该文报道1例反复发作晕厥患者，心电图表现为Brugada综合征合并间歇性完全性右束支传导阻滞，植入式心律转复除颤器（ICD）植入后仍反复发作恶性室性心律失常电风暴，后予奎尼丁（100 mg，每日3次）口服治疗10个月无发作；停用奎尼丁后再次反复发作多形性室性心动过速电风暴触发ICD放电，再次服用相同剂量奎尼丁后随访1年余无心律失常发作。Brugada合并右束支阻滞可能与室性心动过速发生风险高有关，低剂量奎尼丁预防室性心律失常有效。.

The clinical significance of FLAIR vascular hyperintensity (FVH), a marker of collateral circulation in ischaemic stroke, remains controversial. We hypothesised that the association between FVH and outcomes varies with the severity of leukoaraiosis (LA), another marker of collaterals, and that their combined significance may vary with time.We included 459 consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. Proximal and distal FVHs were distinguished based on location. LA was divided into two grades, according to Fazekas scores of 0-2 and 3-6. Symptom-to-MRI time was divided into two categories: ≤ 14 days and ≥ 15 days.We found no difference in FVH proportion according to LA grade. Multivariate analysis revealed that LA and FVH status were independently associated with unfavourable outcomes (modified Rankin scale ≥ 2) in patients with symptom-to-MRI times ≤ 14 days (P = 0.008), but not in those with symptom-to-MRI times ≥15 days (P = 0.61). In the group with symptom-to-MRI times ≤14 days, patients with LA 3-6 and FVH(+) (OR, 3.044; 95% CI, 1.116-8.305) were more likely to have unfavourable clinical outcomes compared with patients with LA 0-2 and FVH(+) but not compared with those with LA 0-2 and FVH(-) or LA 3-6 and FVH(-). In addition, FVH location did not influence the relationship between FVH and outcomes.The association between FVH and outcomes was influenced by the degree of LA in the acute but not in the subacute and chronic stages of MCA infarction. FVH predicts clinical outcomes independently only in those with more extensive LA.

To study the clinical characteristics of cognitive impairment in patients with hemorrhagic stroke, Birmingham cognitive screen test, mini-mental state examination, Montreal cognitive assessment was used to evaluate the cognitive function of acute hemorrhagic stroke and the incidence and clinical characteristics of cognitive impairment was evaluated. Seventy acute hemorrhagic stroke patients were enrolled in the study and the abnormal rates of Birmingham cognitive screen test, mini-mental state examination and Montreal cognitive assessment were 81.42, 33.34 and 41.5 %, respectively. Birmingham cognitive screen test showed that patients with acute hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage have cognitive impairment in many aspects, especially in language function, memory, attention, executive function, number and application ability and the damage rate was more than 30 %. Different degrees of cognitive impairment involving multiple cognitive domains could occur in the acute stage of hemorrhagic stroke, among which language ability, memory, execution and application ability were the most common. Compared to minimental state examination and Montreal cognitive assessment, Birmingham cognitive screen test has a higher detection rate of cognitive impairment after hypertensive hemorrhage and a more comprehensive evaluation of cognitive function.

Elucidation of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is often very challenging and yields complex and unclear results. Lectin-glycoprotein interactions are especially difficult to study due to the noncovalent nature of the interactions and inherently low binding affinities of proteins to glycan ligands on glycoproteins. Here, we report a "ligand-directed labeling probe (LLP)"-based approach to fabricate protein probes for elucidating protein-glycoprotein interactions. LLP was designed with dual photoactivatable groups for the introduction of an alkyne handle proximal to the carbohydrate-binding pocket of lectins, Ricinus communis agglutinin 120 (RCA120) and recombinant human Siglec-2-Fc. In proof-of-principle studies, alkynylated lectins were conjugated with a photoreactive diazirine cross-linker and an environment-sensitive fluorophore, respectively, by the bioorthogonal click reaction. The modified RCA120 or Siglec-2-Fc was used for detecting the interaction with the target glycoprotein in the solution or endogenously expressed glycoproteins on live HeLa cells. We anticipate that the fabrication of these protein probes will accelerate the discovery of novel PPIs.

In this paper, we present a novel charge-free fluorescence-switchable near-infrared (IR) dye based on merocyanine for target specific imaging. In contrast to the typical bathochromic shift approach by extending π-conjugation, the bathochromic shift of our merocyanine dye to the near-IR region is due to an unusual S- cis diene conformer. This is the first example where a fluorescent dye adopts the stable S- cis conformation. In addition to the novel bathochromic shift mechanism, the dye exhibits fluorescence-switchable properties in response to polarity and viscosity. By incorporating a protein-specific ligand to the dye, the probes (for SNAP-tag and hCAII proteins) exhibited dramatic fluorescence increase (up to 300-fold) upon binding with its target protein. The large fluorescence enhancement, near-IR absorption/emission, and charge-free scaffold enabled no-wash and site-specific imaging of target proteins in living cells and in vivo with minimum background fluorescence. We believe that our unconventional approach for a near-IR dye with the S- cis diene conformation can lead to new strategies for the design of near-IR dyes.

OBJECTIVE: The Clinicopathological characteristics and the reason of misdiagnosis about nasal extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma in head and neck(ENKTL) are analysised to raise awareness and reduce misdiagnosis. METHOD: One hundred and twenty patients with ENKTL, diagnosed pathologically in head and neck from May 2010 to April 2018, were analyzed retrospectively. All cases were divided into misdiagnosed group and non-misdiagnosed group according to whether there were misdiagnosis and mistreatment before diagnosis. The differences of clinicopathological characteristics between the two groups before and after diagnosis were compared. The differences of overall survival(OS) between the two groups after treatment were also compared. RESULT: The misdiagnosis rate of this study was 71.7%, and they were misdiagnosed as sinusitis, nasal polyps, upper respiratory tract infection and so on. On the whole, the 1-year OS, 3-year OS and 5-year OS were 77.8%, 65.9% and 49.3% respectively. There was no significant difference in sex, age, first symptom, initial site, B symptom, superficial lymph node enlargement and weight loss between two groups before diagnosis(P>0.05), however, there were significant differences in relative specific signs, hospital grade and time from first visit to definite diagnosis(P < 0.05). The proportion of the high-level hospitals in the first visit hospital was significantly lower than that in the non-misdiagnosed group, while the time from the first visit to the final diagnosis was significantly longer than that in the non-misdiagnosed group. There was no significant difference in international prognostic index(IPI) score, expression of Ki-67, therapeutic schedule, chemotherapy regimen for patients receiving chemotherapy, and radiation dose for patients receiving radiotherapy after diagnosis between the two groups(P>0.05), but there was a significant difference in the clinical stages of Ann Arbor between the two groups(P < 0.05). The clinical staging of the misdiagnosed group was later than that of the non-misdiagnosed group. The 1-year OS, 3-year OS and 5-year OS were 73.6%, 59.3% and 43.2% in the misdiagnosed group respectively, and 88.2%, 82.4% and 64.2% in the non-misdiagnosed group respectively. The overall survival rate in the misdiagnosis group was lower than that in the non-misdiagnosed group, and the overall survival time was lower than that in the non-misdiagnosed group. However, there was no significant difference in the overall survival rates between the early stage(Ⅰ and Ⅱ) and the advanced stage(Ⅲ and Ⅳ) of Ann Arbor(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The non-specific clinical and the complexity of pathological features of ENKTL in head and neck might cause misdiagnosis, which leads to prolonged time from first visit to definite diagnosis, thus results in disease progression, and ultimately may lead to decreased overall survival rate. To avoid the misdiagnosis and early diagnosis is very important.

Gastric cancer remains a worldwide burden as a leading cause of cancer-related death. Drug resistance of chemotherapy looms as a major clinical challenge to effective treatment. Recent research data has suggested that microRNAs could be a potential gastric cancer treatment strategy. To further evaluate the role of microRNAs on gastric cancer cells and its underlying possible mechanism, we transfected human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells with microRNA-200c.The cell proliferation, migration and invasion of SGC-7901 were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Transwell assay and cell invasion assay. The expression of FN1 was detected by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.The cell proliferation, migration and invasion were all significantly decreased after microRNA-200c transfection. Moreover, Fibronectin 1 (FN1) expression was significantly inhibited by microRNA-200c transfection. These results indicated that the mechanism by which microRNA-200c impresses human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells may be mediated by its inhibition on FN1 expression.This study highlighted the potential of using microRNA-200c as a new treatment strategy for human gastric cancer.

Owing to their prokaryotic origin, plastid rRNAs are mainly 23s/16s/5s rRNAs. We present a novel plant RNA isolation method in this paper. Also, not only the eukaryotic 28s (26s, 25s)/18s rRNAs but the prokaryotic 26s/23s rRNAs as well were demonstrated in a single sample for the first time by formaldehyde denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis.

For extruded magnesium alloy, prior compression along extrusion direction has great influences in the flow stress during subsequent tension. Detwinning plays an important role for these influences. In the present study, the effects of different prestrains on strain hardening behaviour during subsequent tension were examined in an extruded magnesium alloy AZ31. The results showed that the existence of detwinning decreased the tensile yield stress. Samples with different prestrains exhibited different strain hardening behaviour during subsequent tension. The reorientation due to detwinning had a great effect on strain hardening during tension. In addition, the effect of detwinning on ultimate elongation was investigated. The results showed that the sample with higher prestrain always has higher ultimate elongation due to the contribution of detwinning on macroscopic strain.

In the present paper, the effects of precompression along extrusion direction (ED) on subsequent compression perpendicular to ED were investigated in an extruded magnesium alloy AZ31. The results showed that the yield stress under compression perpendicular to ED increased if there was precompression along ED. The evolution of deformation mechanism was responsible for increase in yield stress because plastic deformation was dominated by both basal slip and {10–12} twinning under compression perpendicular to ED in samples without prestrain, but basal slip was difficult to be activated and {10–12} twinning dominated deformation in samples with precompression. However, because basal slip had no obvious contribution to plastic deformation, the ductility decreased if there was precompression along ED.

The varied therapeutic approaches like radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, etc. primarily aimed to target cancer cells specifically. Despite these efforts, they are not completely successful in eliminating this deadly pathological state. These failures ultimately lead to cancer reoccurrence, which is again, another burning problem associated with cancer. The prime reason for the above observation has been found to be the development of resistance by cancer cells towards cancer drugs or cancer-initiating cells (cancer stem cells) remain unaffected by existing treatment procedures. Recent research has evolved two drugs, salinomycin and apoptin, that hold great potential for the future of cancer treatment not only for restricting malignancy, but also in preventing tumor recurrence. The present review article will put light on these new upcoming cancer stem cell targeting agents.

To investigate the infection status of HCV in remunerated blood donors and risk factors in Jiangsu province.A Cross-sectional study was conducted among people aged50 years. Questionnaires were used to collect the information about their demographic characteristics and risk behaviors, and venous blood samples were collected from them to detect HCV anti-body, HCV-RNA and other biochemical indicators. EpiData and Stata were used for data entry and statistical analysis.The overall HCV sero-prevalence rates were 22.55% and 61.05% among remunerated blood donors. Data from multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that alanine aminotransferase(ALT)(adjusted OR=1.38, 95%CI: 1.18-1.62)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)(adjusted OR=1.30, 95%CI: 1.10-1.54)were associated with the outcomes of HCV infection, and fasting plasma glucose(adjusted OR=1.17, 95%CI: 1.01-1.35)were associated with HCV RNA viral loads.The prevalence of HCV infection in remunerated blood donors was high, clinical ALT, AST and fasting plasma glucose levels were associated with the risk for HCV infection and HCV RNA viral load.

To investigate the clinical and radiologic features of patients with spontaneous cerebral arterial dissections (CADs) presenting with ischemic stroke and to explore the effect of gender and age on those features.Patients admitted to our stroke center diagnosed as ischemic stroke secondary to CADs from August 2008 to April 2015 were prospectively registered. Patients aged between 15 to 80 years old, who had acute brain infarcts within the territory of a major cerebral artery affected by a dissection confirmed by the neuroradiological examinations, were enrolled in the study. The followings were the exclusion criteria: (1) there were any potential causes for the brain infarcts other than CADs; (2) CADs were the results of a definite cause; (3) the clinical data were incomplete.A total of 118 patients were enrolled in the study with the mean age of (44.2±12.8) years old. There were 87 men (73.7%) and 67 patients (56.8%) aged under 45 years old. Smoking (41.5%), hypertension (25.4%) and hypercholesterolemia (21.2%) were the three leading risk factors for stroke. Hypercholesterolemia was more common in the male patients (25.3% vs 9.7%, P=0.021), whereas hypertension (39.2% vs 14.9%, P=0.005) and diabetes (25.5% vs 4.5%, P=0.002) were more common in the patients aged 45 years or older. Headache or neck pain before or at the onset of stroke was more common in the female patients (67.7% vs 34.5%, P=0.002). A total of 71 patients were found with CADs of the anterior circulation, while 47 patients with that of the posterior circulation. The involvement of the intra and extracranial arteries were documented in 59 and 59 patients, respectively. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) was the most common site in the intracranial dissection and more MCA dissections were observed in the male patients (46.3% vs 11.1%, P=0.016). The dissection of intracranial carotid artery was more common in patients aged under 45 years old (38.7% vs 0, P0.001). Lumen status of CADs often presented as stenosis (43.2%) and occlusion (41.2%), while less aneurysm (5.9%) and aneurysm with stenosis (9.3%) were observed. Aneurysm was found to be more common in patients aged 45 years or older (11.8% vs 1.5%, P=0.042).Chinese patients with spontaneous CADs presenting with ischemic stroke have unique clinical and imaging features, which correlated with age and gender.

To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of visual hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease(PD), and to analyze the relationship between visual hallucinations and sleep disorders.We recruited 187 patients with PD(H-Y Ⅰ-Ⅲ) from outpatient department in Beijing Hospital. The patients were investigated for general information and the use of medicine. The patients were divided into visual hallucination(VH) group and non-hallucination(non-VH) group. A comparison study was conducted between two groups. We investigated the sleep disorders of PD patients according to Non Motor Symptom Quest(NMSquest) and Parkinson's disease sleep scale(PDSS). Logistic stepwise multiple regression procedures were used to determine the best predictive model of visual hallucinations in patients with PD.(1) 42 cases(22.5%) of PD patients were accompanied by visual hallucinations; (2) the VH group and non-VH group had no difference in age, sex, duration of illness, the scores of Minimum Mental State Examination(MMSE) and levodopa equivalent doses (LED). The scores of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale(UPDRS) Ⅰ, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety(HAMA) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression(HAMD) in VH group were significantly higher than those in non-VH group[3.5(2, 5) vs 2 (1, 3); 10(6.75, 15) vs 8(5, 11); 11(7.75, 17) vs 9(5, 13); P0.05]; (3) the incidences of vivid dreams and REM sleep behavior disorder(RBD) in VH group were significantly higher than those in non-VH group(61.9% vs 40.7%, 71.4% vs 47.6%, P0.05). There were no significant differences in incidences of excessive daytime sleepiness and restless legs between two groups(P0.05). The score of PDSS in VH group was significantly lower than that in non-VH group[111(92.75, 128.25) vs 123(109, 135), P0.05]; (4) the Logistic stepwise multiple regression revealed that vivid dreams(P=0.045) and the score of PDSS(P=0.006) were the independent influencing factors for VH in PD patients.The incidence of VH in PD with H-Y staging Ⅰ-Ⅱ is 22.5%. The presence of vivid dreams and severe sleep disorder are independently associated with VH in PD.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been the main pillars of cancer treatment. Some of the recent improvements in survival of other cancers can be attributed to novel treatment therapies. Such therapies mostly target specific molecules involved in cancer progression and metastasis. Development and clinical introduction of targeted therapies involve identification of new and potentially important molecules in cancer progression. The next important step is to evaluate its prognostic value. Prognostication by molecular markers is also important as this may identify subgroups of patients in need for additional treatment or not, which was not possible with the traditional clinic-pathological prognosticators. Hypoxic markers have been widely explored in the recent past for their prognostic efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer. The present review article will enlighten importance of hypoxic markers with special reference to non-small cell lung carcinoma.

The formation of the Fe-Al inhibition layer in hot-dip galvanizing is a confusing issue for a long time. This study presents a characterization result on the inhibition layer fomed on C-Mn-Cr and C-Mn-Si dual-phase steels after a short time galvanizing. The samples were annealed at 800˚C for 60 s in N2-l0% H2 atmosphere with a dew point of -30˚C, and were then galvanized in a bath containing 0.2%Al. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed for characterization. The TEM electron diffraction shows that only Fe2Als intermetallic phase was formed. No orientation relationship between the Fe2Al5 phase and the steel substrate could be identified. Two peaks of Al 2p photoelectrons, one from metallic aluminum and the other from Al3+ ions, were detected in the inhibition layer, indicating that the layer is in fact a mixture of Fe2Al5 and A12O3. TEM/EDS analysis verifies the existence of A12O3 in the boundaries of Fe2Al5 grains. The nucleation of FeAl5 and the reduction of the surface oxide probably proceeded concurrently on galvanizing, and the residual oxides prohibited the heteroepitaxial growth of Fe2Al5.

Floral differentiation is induced by low temperatures and enhanced by autumn and winter drought. Antioxidant enzyme activities, hydrogen peroxide concentration, leaf water content, maximum photochemical efficiency of PS 2 (F v /F m ) and SPAD value in Litchi chinensis Sonn. cvs. 'Nuomici' and 'Feizixiao' during the chilled and drought-induced floral differentiation from Nov. to Feb. 2006 were studied, with the aim to show the physiological changes during the stress-induced floral differentiation. The results showed that the SPAD value indicating chlorophyll concentration increased before and then decreased after the emergence of panicle primordia in 'Nuomici', while in 'feizixiao' SPAD values slowly rose during the period. Leaf water content in both cultivars decreased to the lowest level when panicle primordia emerged and increased thereafter. F v /F m decreased with the drop of temperature, and were higher in 'Feizixiao' than in 'Nuomici'. Activities of SOD and POD in the two cultivars increased at first and then decreased before panicle primordia emerged. But after that, the enzyme activities in 'Nuomici' increased and remained at stable levels, while that in 'Feizixiao' increased to a high level but decreased thereafter. APX activity in 'Nuomici' increased during the whole stage while in 'Feizixiao' it increased then decreased but still remained at a higher level. On the whole, APX activities in the floral induction stage were lower than those in the panicle developmental stage. A sudden increase in H 2 O 2 concentration in the two cultivars was found when panicle primordia emerged. H 2 O 2 concentration before panicle emergence in both cultivars was lower than that after panicle emergence.

Floral bud of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a mixed bud consisting of leaf primordia, rudimentary leaves and panicle primordia. According to field observation, vigorous development of panicle results in abscission of rudimentary leaves. In this study, abscising rudimentary leaves (AL) and their subtending developing panicle (DP) were sampled from the terminal shoots of cvs. 'Nuomici' and 'Feizixiao'. In 'Nuomici', AL had a higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity compared to the DP. In 'Feizixiao', however, no significant difference was found between them, although AL had lower SOD activity. Peroxidase (POD) activity in AL was higher and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was lower than that in DP, whereas H 2 O 2 concentration was higher in AL than in DP in both cultivars. The DP had higher levels of zeatin plus zeatin riboside (ZRs) and auxin (IAA) and lower levels of abscisic acid (ABA) than AL. The results suggested that different developmental fates of AL and DP had different antioxidant activities and hormone balance. High levels of SOD and APX activities and low levels of POD activity and H 2 O 2 concentration, together with high levels of ZRs, IAA and low level of ABA may be associated with the vigorous development of the panicle. Whereas low levels of SOD and APX activities, high levels of POD activity and H 2 O 2 concentration, low levels of ZRs, IAA and high level of ABA may be associated with the senescence and abscission of rudimentary leaves caused by panicle development.

Phenolic contents and antioxidant activities in fruit pericarp of eight litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cultivars ('Nuomici', 'Feizixao', 'Guiwei', 'Edanli', 'Yuhebao', 'Dingxiang', 'Wuye' and 'Lanzhu') were studied. Antioxidant activities were elucidated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-piceyhydrazyl (DPPH) decoloration test and hydroxide free radical scavenging (HFRS) assay. Litchi fruit pericarp (LFP) contains rich phenolic compounds including phenolic acids, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins, and exhibits a powerful antioxidant activity in retarding oil deterioration and antiradical activity in vitro. Among these cultivars, phenolic acids in dry pericarp ranged from 1.0 to 2.4 g 100 g -1 DW, total flavonoids from 1.5 to 3.8 g 100 g -1 DW, and proanthocyanidins from 1.6 to 4.4 g 100 g -1 DW. These compounds are the highest in 'Nuomici', 'Feizixiao' and 'Edanli', moderate in 'Yuhebao' and 'Wuye', and lowest in 'Guiwei', 'Dingxiang' and 'Lanzhu'. The radical scavenging rate ranged from 18 to 72% in DPPH system and from 22 to 57% in HFRS system. Their antiradical activities were positively correlated with phenols, while their activities against lipid oxidation showed no correlation with phenol levels. 'Nuomici' and 'Edanli' displayed the lowest peroxide values (POV) and therefore the highest lipid antioxidant activity and their activity increased with concentrations in the range of 0.1 to 0.8%. 'Feizixiao', though showed high phenolic content and radical scavenging rate, displayed a very poor ability in suppressing lipid oxidation.

Litchi industry in China at present suffers from seasonal overproduction, which causes heavy burden in marketing the fresh fruit. Development of processing industry provides a way out from this difficult situation. Large quantity of scrap materials of skin and seed will be produced from processing and await utilization. Health promoting effects and medical functions of litchi tissues were well documented in ancient China. Modern phytochemistry and pharmacology provide sound evidences of litchi's health promoting and medical functions, and functional compounds in the fruit are being discovered. This paper provides an overview of the studies of antioxidant activities in various fruit tissues of litchi, 'heating' effect of and allergens in the flesh, anti-cancer effect of the peel, and anticancer, antivirus and diabetes-controlling effects of the seed.

Changing cultivars in established litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) orchards is commonly carried out by top-grafting. However, there is little information about performances of different scion-rootstock combinations in grafted litchi trees. In this study, scions of different cultivars ('Guiwei', 'Nuomici' and 'Feizixiao') were top-grafted onto branches about 1 cm in thickness in trees of different cultivars ('Baitangying', 'Baila', 'Feizixiao', 'Heiye' and 'Shuangjianyuhebao') in the summer of 2006, and the length of shoots developed from the scions were measured 8 month later on June 7, 2007. The results showed that scions of 'Guiwei' grew vigorously on 'Baitangying' and 'Baila', but less vigorously on 'Heiye', while the growth was stunted when grafted onto 'Shuangjianyuhebao' and 'Feizixiao'. 'Nuomici' scion grew most vigorously on 'Baitangying', less vigorously on 'Baila' and least vigorously on 'Shuangjianyuhebao'. 'Feizixiao' shoot grew very well on 'Heiye'. The results showed a poor compatibility between 'Guiwei' and 'Feizixiao' and that 'Shuangjianyuhebao' might serve a dwarfing rootstock for 'Guiwei' and 'Nuomici'.

About 10% of people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis develop active tuberculosis (TB), and Th1 effector cells and Th1 cytokines play key roles in controlling M. tuberculosis infection. Here, we hypothesise that this susceptibility to M. tuberculosis infection is linked to increased T regulatory (Treg) cells and Th2 cytokines in TB patients. To test this, we recruited 101 participants (71 TB patients, 12 non-TB pulmonary diseases and 18 healthy subjects) and investigated Treg cells and Th1/Th2 cytokines in peripheral blood. CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T cells significantly increased and IL-5 dramatically decreased in TB patients relative to healthy subjects. CD8(+)CD28(-) T cells, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10 and IL-4 significantly increased in patients with culture and sputum smear-positive pulmonary TB (PTB(+)) compared with healthy subjects. CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) and CD8(+)CD28(-) T cells significantly decreased in PTB(+) after one month of chemotherapy. CD4(+), CD4(+)CD25(+) and CD8(+)CD28(+) T cells significantly increased in extra-pulmonary TB patients after one month of chemotherapy. These findings suggest that M. tuberculosis infection induces circulating CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) and CD8(+)CD28(-) T cell expansion, which may be related to the progression of M. tuberculosis infection, and that the balance between effector immune responses and suppression immune responses is essential to control M. tuberculosis infection.

The combined influence of inter-asperity cavitation and elastic deformation of non-Gaussian surfaces on flow factors is numerically investigated based on the equations for flow factor analyses, since some engineering surfaces are non-Gaussian. For this task, non-Gaussian surfaces are generated at first through a digital filter technique by using authors’ computer code whose validity is proven. The numerical results show that the pressure flow factor increases whereas the shear flow factor decreases with low film thickness-to-roughness ratio ( h/σ < 3 or so). This is due to the above-said combined influence, if the oblique flow of lubricant is not obvious. But for a high film thickness-to-roughness ratio (approximately h/σ ≥ 3), the combined influence becomes weaker, hence ignored. Therefore, the above-said combined effect similar to the one from Gaussian surface circumstances ought to be considered in flow factor analyses and their applications.

For thin structures immersed in water, a full interaction between the structural domain and the fluid domain needs to be taken into account. In this work, the finite element method (FEM) is used to model the structure parts, while the boundary element method (BEM) is applied to the exterior acoustic domain. A coupling algorithm based on FEM and the wideband fast multipole BEM (FEM/Wideband FMBEM) is used for the simulation of acoustic-structure interaction. The Burton–Miller formulation is used to overcome the fictitious frequency problem when using a single Helmholtz boundary integral equation for exterior boundary-value problems. Structural-acoustic design sensitivity analysis is performed based on the coupling formulation. The design variable can be chosen as the material parameters, structure and fluid parameters, such as the fluid density, structural density, Poisson’s ratio, Young’s modulus, structural shape size and so on. Furthermore, the impact of sound-absorbing material on the scattering problem for structures underwater is researched. The acoustic admittance of the soundabsorbing material has also been chosen as the design variable for the sensitivity analysis. Numerical example is presented to demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

This study focuses on providing a direct insight into the process by which sulfate is formed on mineral dust surface in the actual atmosphere. Six sets of aerosol measurements were conducted in the outskirts of Beijing, China, in 2002–2003 using a tethered balloon. The mineralogy of individual dust particles, as well as its influence on the S (sulfur) loadings was investigated by SEM-EDX analysis of the directly collected particles.

Taiwan's TFT-LCD industry, which has been growing rapidly since 1997, is recognized as another blooming high tech business after semiconductor industry. In the next two to three years, Taiwan will soon become one of the three major players, two of which are Japan and Korea. However, some key components supply industries, engineering resources and in-house capability for advanced process and product technologies are tree constraints for the growth of the Taiwan's TFT-LCD industry.