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Experiments were conducted to develop and assess a method by which the water content of a lettuce canopy can be nondestructively detected and estimated using a combination of spectra, RGB images, and canopy temperature. To this end, 130 lettuce samples grown in four different substrate water content levels were collected for data acquisition. In the spectroscopy procedure, five spectral intervals (380 variables) were selected by backward interval partial least squares and were further reduced to 48 wavelength variables, chosen using a genetic algorithm based on Savitzky–Golay smoothing and log (1/R) transformation. Then, 967, 1170, 1221, 1406, 1484, 1942, and 1985 nm optimum spectral variables were selected by the successive projection algorithm. Thirteen plant features were extracted from top- and front-view RGB images. These features comprised morphological, color, and textural features. An empirical crop water stress index was established based on dry and wet reference surfaces via thermal imagery. Subsequently, a principal component analysis was applied to the spectral variables and the image features, and an extreme learning machine was used to construct the multisensor and single-sensor models. The results show that the multisensor model had a correlation coefficient of prediction of 0.9018, which was found to be approximately 9.4 and 15.7% better than that of the spectral and image models. This work demonstrates that integrating spectra, RGB images, and canopy temperature with suitable algorithms offers a high potential for use in the nondestructive measurement of water content in lettuce, considerably improving accuracy over that using a single-sensor modality.

Glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) play a central role in plant nitrogen (N) metabolism. In order to study the effect of powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Bgt) on N metabolism, field experiments were carried out to evaluate GS and GOGAT activity, GS expression and grain protein content (GPC) in susceptible (Xi'nong 979) and resistant (Zhengmai 103) wheat cultivars under three treatments. The three treatments were no inoculation (CK), inoculated once with Bgt (MP) and inoculated nine times with Bgt (HP). For Xi'nong 979, the activities of GS and GOGAT in grains as well as GS activity in flag leaves increased at 10–15 days after anthesis (DAA), and decreased significantly at 15 or 20–30 DAA in HP and MP. However, GS activity in grains decreased from 20 DAA, which was later than that of flag leaves (15 DAA). At the same time, GS expression in grains was up-regulated at early stage, with GS1 at 10 DAA and GS2 at 15 DAA, followed by a continuous down-regulation. This result indicated that GS and GOGAT activity as well as GS expression were inhibited by powdery mildew, indicating that N metabolism in grains was inhibited at 20–30 DAA. The current study also found out that the yield of the susceptible cultivar decreased significantly, while its GPC increased obviously in HP. It was shown that the increase of GPC was not due to the enhancement of N metabolism, but due to the passive increase caused by yield reduction.

To investigate the protective effect ofTwenty-four BALB/c mice at ages of 8 to 10 weeks, each weighing approximately 20 g, were randomly divided into four groups, including groups A (blank control group), B (blank intervention group), C (AR model group) and D (AR+HCFP intervention group), with 6 mice in each group. On days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, mice in groups A, B, C and D were injected with 200 μL sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS), 200 μL sterile PBS containing 20 μg HCFP, 200 μL sterile PBS containing 50 μg OVA and 5 mg Al(OH)The mean behavioral score was significantly greater in Group C (6.83 ± 0.50) than in groups A (1.17 ± 0.52) and B (1.33 ± 0.52) (

To analyze the components of proteins fromTheThe

OBJECTIVE: Calprotectin, the heterdimer of S100A8 and S100A9, is the major cytoplasmic protein of neutrophils, which is also expressed or induced in gingival epithelial cells, activated mononuclear macrophages and vascular endothelial cells. Calprotectin is intimately associated with the initiation and progression of periodontitis, but the in vivo expression patterns of calprotectin in healthy and inflamed periodontal tissue are not fully understood. To observe the expression, distribution and cellular localization of calprotectin in the samples of healthy periodontal tissues and experimental periodontitis tissues of Beagles and to explore their relationship with periodontal inflammation and possible effect. METHODS: Experimental periodontitis model was established by ligation around the mandibular second molar of the Beagle dogs, while the contralateral teeth were healthy controls. Induction duration was 12 weeks, before the dogs were executed. Tissue specimens were demineralized and serial sections were made conventionally. The in vivo expression of calprotectin in the healthy and inflamed periodontal tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. The in vitro expression of calprotectin in human primary gingival fibroblasts (GFs) and periodontal ligament (PDL) cells were detected by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that calprotectin was expressed in gingival epithelial cells and infiltrated neutrophils in the healthy periodontium within the gingival epithelium, S100A8/A9 was most strongly expressed in the junctional epithelium, followed by surface epithelium, and least expressed in the sulcular epithelium. The S100A8/A9 expression levels were sharply defined at the junction between the junctional epithelium and the sulcular epithelium. In periodontal inflammatory lesions, the expression level of calprotectin in sulcular epithelium and junctional epithelium was up-regulated than that in the healthy gingival epithelium. Calprotectin was inducibly expressed in fibroblast-like cells in gingival connective tissue and periodontal ligament tissue, microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) and bone marrow fibroblasts under inflammatory conditions. Additionally, the expression of calprotectin in primary human GFs and PDL cells was confirmed by immunnocytochemistry staining. CONCLUSION: Constitutively expressed in neutrophils and gingival epithelial cells, and calprotectin might maintain the homeostasis and integrity of periodontium. Inflammation-induced expression of calprotectin in GFs, PDL cells, microvascular ECs and bone marrow fibroblasts might process anti-microbial function and promote leukocytes transmigration to defend the host against the microorganisms.

Trichinellosis is a worldwide zoonotic parasitic disease, which may infect humans and a wide range of animals, including carnivores, herbivores and even birds. Humans get infections through ingestion of raw or semi-cooked meat or meat products containing live

报道1例临床表现复杂多样的药物性肝损伤，在临床诊断与治疗疾病中具有参考意义。.

Calprotectin S100A8/A9, a heterodimer composed of S100A8 and S100A9, is the main component of cytoplasmic proteins in neutrophils. It plays multiple roles in the immuno-inflammatory reactions intracellularly and extracellularly. Recent studies find that S100A8/A9 is closely related with the initiation and progression of periodontal inflammatory diseases. S100A8/A9 is expected to be a new biomarker for diagnosing periodontal inflammatory diseases, monitoring inflammatory activities in patients with periodontitis, evaluating the outcome of periodontal treatments and predicting the susceptibility of individual patient to periodontitis. In this literature review, we summarize the clinical research progress on the relation between S100A8/A9 and periodontal inflammatory diseases.S100A8/A9蛋白是由S100A8与S100A9蛋白组成的异二聚体，属于钙结合蛋白S100家族，是中性粒细胞的主要胞质蛋白，在免疫炎症反应中发挥多种胞内、胞外的生物学功能。近年研究发现，S100A8/A9与牙周炎症性疾病的发生发展关系密切。S100A8/A9在诊断牙周炎症性疾病、监测牙周炎症活动性、评价牙周治疗效果以及预测牙周炎易感性等方面有望成为新的生物标志物。本文就S100A8/A9蛋白与牙周炎症性疾病关系的临床研究进展作一文献综述。.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the blood parameters related to erythrocyte and platelet between baseline and 3 months after initial periodontal therapy in patients with both type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis (DM-P). METHODS: According to the International Symposium on Classification of Periodontal Diseases and Conditions in 1999 and the diagnostic criteria of type 2 diabetes mellitus proposed by the World Health Organization in 1999, 35 patients with DM-P were recruited. All the participants received initial periodontal therapy, including oral hygiene instruction, scaling, and root planning provided by one senior periodontist. Original diet, exercise, and medication for blood glucose control were unchanged for all the participants. At baseline and 3 months after initial periodontal therapy, the clinical periodontal parameters, including probing depth (PD), bleeding index (BI) and clinical attachment loss (CAL); erythrocyte-related indexes, including red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), RBC volume distribution width (RDW); platelet-related indexes, including platelet (PLT) count, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), plateletocrit (PCT) were measured and compared. RESULTS: Compared with baseline, the periodontal parameters, including PD [(3.370±0.601) mm vs. (2.729±0.431) mm], BI [2.160 (1.550~3.410) vs. 1.420 (1.000~2.970)] and CAL [(3.307±1.577) mm vs. (2.990±1.587) mm], were significantly reduced (P < 0.001) three months after the initial periodontal therapy; the erythrocyte-related indexes, including RBC count [(4.727±0.392)×10(12)/L vs. (4.825±0.394)×10(12)/L, P=0.010], HGB [(145.886±11.792) g/L vs. (149.200±12.979) g/L, P=0.007] and HCT [43.40% (37.50%~48.50%) vs. 43.80% (38.50%~53.20%), P=0.003], were significantly increased three months after the initial periodontal therapy; PLT count [(216.714±61.900)×10(9)/L vs. (205.886±62.051)×10(9)/L, P=0.016] was significantly reduced 3 months after the initial periodontal therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The initial periodontal therapy can significantly improve blood parameters related to RBC and PLT, which might decrease the risk of vascular complications in DM-P patients.

VZ Psc is a W-type contact binary system with a short period of 0.26125897 days. B, V, Rc and Ic light curves of the eclipsing binary system were obtained by using the 1.0 m reflecting telescope at Weihai Observatory of Shandong University. By collecting 136 times of minimum light, we studied the orbital period change of VZ Psc. A sinusoidal variation was discovered in the O − C diagram, and the amplitude of 0.d0023 and the period of 17.7 year were obtained. This can be caused by Applegate mechanism or light-time effect. Both the mechanisms are suited according to our investigation, but we prefer the latter that the light-time effect due to the presence of a third body results in the cyclic variation. By using the W-D program, we analyzed the four color light curves. Because of the asymmetric light curves and the possible third body, we used the spot mode of W-D program with and without L3. We found that a hot spot on the primary component with the third light leads to the best result. A very high filling factor of 94.4% ± 2.8% and orbit inclination of 53.2° were obtained.

07g-3-00820 is a K-type contact binary system with a period of 0.2269551 days. This extremely short period makes this system a rare target whose period is close to the empirical limit (0.22 days). Rc and Ic light curves of this binary were obtained using the 1.0 m reflecting telescope at Weihai Observatory of Shandong University. A high mass ratio of q = 1.300 ± 0.006 and a low contact degree of f = 5 % ± 1.5 % were determined from a photometric study using the Wilson–Devinney method. The following parameters of this W-subtype shallow contact system were derived: M 1 = 0.621 ± 0.072 M ⊙ , M 2 = 0.807 ± 0.093 M ⊙ , R 1 = 0.634 ± 0.036 R ⊙ , R 2 = 0.710 ± 0.037 R ⊙ , L 1 = 0.270 ± 0.037 L ⊙ , and L 2 = 0.339 ± 0.048 L ⊙ . By analyzing the location of the two components on the mass-luminosity diagram, we provide a preliminary discussion on the properties and the state of evolution of this system.

肝样腺癌原发部位以胃最为常见，恶性程度高，易出现肝脏和周围淋巴结转移。临床上对于产甲胎蛋白肝样腺癌出现肝转移与原发性肝癌肝内转移易误诊，有必要加强对产甲胎蛋白肝样腺癌的认识，积极治疗原发病灶，从而改善预后。.

Traditional species identification has gone through five stages -- morphology, cytology, biochemistry, immunology and molecular biology. At present, the use of DNA technology for species identification has become a research hotspot. In the use of DNA for species identification, the presentation and application of DNA barcode is of epoch-making significance. With the successful application of new technology in species identification, forensic species identification has also made corresponding development, and is expected to play an important role in forensic related fields. This paper briefly describes the general situation and principles of DNA barcode technology as well as its advantages and limitations when applied to biological classification, and discusses the future significance and feasibility of DNA barcode technology in forensic applications, in order to provide new ideas for future forensic identification.DNA条形码技术及其在法医学中的应用展望.传统的物种鉴定历经了从形态学、细胞学、生物化学、免疫学到分子生物学5个阶段的发展，目前使用DNA技术进行物种鉴定已然成为研究热点。利用DNA进行物种鉴定中，DNA条形码的提出与应用具有划时代的重要意义。结合已成功应用的物种鉴定新技术，法医学物种鉴定也取得了相应的发展，并有望在法医学相关领域发挥重要作用。本文简述了DNA条形码技术的概况、原理以及在生物分类应用上的优势与局限性，并对DNA条形码技术在法医学应用中的意义与可行性等进行展望，以期为未来的法医学鉴定提供新思路。.法医遗传学；DNA条形码；物种鉴定；综述.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a common complication of diabetes, has a high morbidity, and currently there is no effective therapy. To investigate the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine in combination with Western medicine, 88 patients with early DPN who were admitted to Binzhou City Center Hospital, Shandong, China, between November 2015 and November 2016, were selected as the research subjects and were randomly divided into a control group and an observation. Patients in the control group were treated by conventional Western medicine, while patients in the observation group were treated by traditional Chinese medicine in addition to conventional Western medicine. The clinical effect was compared between the two groups. The results demonstrated that the overall effective rate of the observation group was much higher than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). The vibration perception threshold (VPT) of nervus peroneus communis, nervus suralis and posterior tibial nerve of the two groups significantly declined after treatment (P less than 0.05), however, the decreae in the observation group was more obvious (P less than 0.05). The improvement of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) and blood glucose of the observation group was superior to that of the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (P less than 0.05). In conclusion, traditional Chinese medicine in combination with Western medicine has a remarkable effect in the treatment of DPN and can effectively relieve vital signs and clinical symptoms of patients and significantly improve nerve conduction velocity. The therapy is worth clinical application and promotion.

Image segmentation is a very important aspect in the fields of computer vision and pattern recognition. Although Pulse-coupled Neural Network (PCNN) is an effective method for image segmentation, the optimal parameters of PCNN are difficult to be decided. In order to effectively find the optimal parameters of the PCNN, Quantum Geese Swarm Optimization (QGSO) is proposed to evolve parameters of PCNN. The proposed QGSO applies quantum computing theory to Geese Swarm Optimization (GSO) for continuous optimization problems. Minimal combined weighting entropy which considers of Shannon-entropy and Cross-entropy is used as the fitness function of QGSO. Experiment results show that the proposed method can obtain better segmented image and has an excellent performance.

For the netted radar embattle under the deception jamming, because of the requirement of the distance between the radars and the coverage of the netted radar system, the optimal sites of the netted radar system obtained by the conventional optimization algorithm is not ideal. In this paper, the method of netted radar embattle based on immune seeker search with particle mechanism (ISSPM) is proposed. This method establishes a mathematical model for the deployment of the netted radar, and combines with the constraint conditions to construct the joint optimization objective function. Then uses the immune seeker search with particle mechanism method to deal with the problem. This method can find the optimal sites of the netted radar system quickly and accurately without falling into the local optimum.

In order to solve complex optimization problems, a novel intelligence algorithm called quantum-inspired teaching-learning-based optimization method (QTLBO) is proposed. By hybridizing teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO) and quantum computing theory, QTLBO can be well evolved by simulated quantum rotation gate operation. Then QTLBO is used to resolve linear array pattern synthesis problems. Simulation results are provided to show that the proposed QTLBO method can solve this kind of problems efficiently and give out a superior solution than those obtained by previous classical intelligence optimization methods. The proposed QTLBO method can search for the global optimal solution of linear array pattern synthesis problems.

The robustness and the imperceptibility are important properties in a digital watermarking system. Since they conflict with each other, a traditional watermarking system is difficult to satisfy them at the same time. In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a novel digital watermarking method based on cultural invasive weed algorithm (CIWA) is designed to resolve the difficulties of the robustness and imperceptibility at the same time. The proposed CIWA combines the advantages of cultural algorithm (CA) and invasive weed optimization algorithm (IWO), so the proposed CIWA has the capability to search for the global optimal solution. The robustness and the imperceptibility of the watermarking system were optimized comprehensively by CIWA searching optimal parameters of embedding strength and embedding threshold. Simulation results have proved that the proposed method is superior to other methods based on intelligent algorithms.

Over-proliferation of mesangial cells is the major pathological change of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). PTEN-PI3K/AKT pathway plays a role in regulating proliferation of mesangial cells. Anti-thymocyte serum nephritis (ATSN) is a widely used animal model for studying MPGN. This study established ATSN model, on which the role of PTEN-PI3K/AKT signal pathway in MPGN pathogenesis was investigated.ASTN rat model was established in parallel with control group. Protein expressions of PTEN, p-AKT, PCNA, Cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 were quantified, along with glomerular mesangial cell (GMC) counting. Rat mesangial cell (RMC) was treated with 0 or 10 ng/mL IL-6, followed by flow cytometry analysis for apoptosis, cycle and PCNA expression. Expressions of PTEN, p-AKT, PCNA, Cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 were measured. RMC was treated with pSicoR-PTEN and/or LY294002, followed by the treatment of 10 ng/mL IL-6 for 48 h. Cell apoptosis, cycle, PCNA expression and protein expression were measured.Lower PTEN expression was found in renal cortex of ATSN rats, along with increasing levels of p-AKT, PCNA, Cyclin D1, Bcl-2, and higher GMCs, compared to that in control rats. IL-6 treatment increased protein expression in RMC, facilitated cell proliferation and cycle progression and suppressed apoptosis. Over-expression of PTEN and/or LY294002 remarkably decreased protein expression in RMC, inhibited the effect of IL-6 on proliferation, and induced cell apoptosis and cycle arrest.The down-regulation of PTEN played a role in enhancing PI3K/AKT pathway activity, facilitating GMC proliferation and MPGN pathogenesis.

To observe the influences of atracurium besylate and vecuronium bromide on muscle relaxant effects and electromyography of patients with tracheal intubation under general anesthesia in thyroid surgery.120 patients treated with thyroid surgery were randomly divided into group A and group V. Patients in group A were administered with cisatracurium besylate combined with propofol and fentanyl for induction of tracheal intubation under general anesthesia. Patients in group V were administered with 0.10 mg/kg vecuronium bromide combined with propofol and fentanyl for induction of tracheal intubation under general anesthesia. Then, the amplitude in electromyography was observed 30-70 min after I.V. muscle relaxant medicine to record the time for patients to reach 0% TW convulsion in abductor pollicis muscle and to observe the muscle relaxant effects.There was no statistical difference in the time to reach 0% TW in two groups (p0.05). After 30 min of injection of muscle relaxants, EMG positive rate and TW value in group A were significantly higher than those in group V (p0.05). After 50-70 min of injection of muscle relaxants, EMG positive rate of patients in two groups was up to 100%, and EMG amplitude in group A was significantly higher than that in group V (p0.05). The time of taking muscle relaxant effects in group A was significantly faster than that in group V (p0.05), while the recovery time of autonomous respiration and the time of autonomous body activity in group A were slightly lower than those in group V (p0.05). There was no statistical difference in the time of eye-opening of both groups (p0.05). MAP and HR of patients in both groups showed no statistical difference before and after injection (p0.05).Average EMG amplitude and the positive rate of effective EMG amplitude of cisatracurium besylate are all higher than those of vecuronium bromide. With faster effects and shorter action time, cisatracurium besylate is more suitable in thyroid surgery IONM (intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring).

The reproduction of on-orbit free boundary is one of the key technologies for highly accurate ground micro-vibration test of high precision optical spacecraft. This paper focuses on the simulation design method of the free boundary simulator based on finite element method (FEM). The preliminary design is modeled by one-dimensional spring elements, which is effective to optimize the critical design parameters. Then the detailed design model is established to verify the capability of strength, the stability and the modal performance of the free boundary simulator. The actual simulator is manufactured according to the simulation design. And the test of the actual simulator indicates that, the simulation results match well with the experimental results. The development of the free boundary simulator of spacecraft can be instructed effectively by the simulation method in this paper.

SUMMARYA field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. Tritici, Bgt) on wheat grain at varying levels of disease severity and at different growth stages. Methods used to determine these effects included Kjeldahl determination, unidimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis combined with mass spectrometric analysis. The specific influences explored were those on prolamins and protein composition at the molecular level. Concentrations of both grain protein and prolamin in wheat increased as disease indices (DIs) of powdery mildew rose from 20 days after anthesis (DAA) to maturity. Globulin concentrations changed dynamically and significantly, especially at 25 DAA when DI was the highest. This was verified by proteomic analysis which showed globulins (such as globulin 3, globulin 3B, globulin 3C, gliadin/avenin-like protein and triticin) being up-regulated significantly under powdery mildew stress. It was proposed that powdery mildew might indirectly affect protein accumulation in grain by influencing the regulative enzymes (including peptidylprolyl isomerase, cyclophilin A-2 and GTPase ObgE) and metabolic processes. It was speculated that the indirect increase caused by yield reduction was not the only factor causing the increase in prolamin concentration. Another factor may be the rise of expression level of molecular chaperones and enzymes relating to protein synthesis, which led to the rise in protein synthesis.

In modern design of composite structures, multiple materials with different properties are bound together. Accurate prediction of the strength of the interface between different materials, especially with the existence of cracks under thermal loading, is demanded in engineering. To this end, detailed knowledge on the distribution of temperature and heat flux is required. This study conducts a systematical investigation on the cracks terminated at material interface under steady-state thermal conduction. A new symplectic analytical singular element is constructed for the numerical modeling. Combining the proposed element with conventional finite elements, the generalized flux intensity factors can be solved accurately.

CA19-9, CA125, AFP, CEA, and CA153 are common cancer biomarkers. This study aimed to detect the expression and assess clinical significance of these biomarkers in ovarian mature cystic teratomas (OMCT).The clinical data of 312 resected patients with ovarian mature cystic teratoma referred to the third Hospital of Suzhou University from January 2008 to February 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Levels of serum CA19-9, CA125, CA153, AFP, and CEA were detected.Levels of serum CA19-9, CA125, AFP, and CEA were detected in all patients, but the level of serum CA153 was detected in 36 patients. The positive expression of these biomarkers above is 45.83%, 6.09%, 0.00%, 0.64%, and 2.78%, respectively. Ovarian tumor diameter in CA19-9 and CA 125 elevation is larger than that in negative group. The levels of serum CA19-9 and CA125 in multilocular ovarian tumor patients is higher than that in unilocular ovarian tumor patients. The level of serum CA19-9 in bilateral ovarian tumor patients is higher than that in unilateral patients. The level of CA19-9 in patients three months after operation decreased significantly compared with that before operation.The present study suggests that elevated CA 19-9 is probably the most reliable marker among many tumor markers in the OMCT. It is valuable for diagnosis and recurrence of OMCT.

We evaluated the application of three machine learning algorithms, including logistic regression, support vector machine and back-propagation neural network, for diagnosing congenital heart disease and colorectal cancer. By inspecting related serum tumor marker levels in colorectal cancer patients and healthy subjects, early diagnosis models for colorectal cancer were built using three machine learning algorithms to assess their corresponding diagnostic values. Except for serum alpha-fetoprotein, the levels of 11 other serum markers of patients in the colorectal cancer group were higher than those in the benign colorectal cancer group (P < 0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis indicted that individual detection of serum carcinoembryonic antigens, CA199, CA242, CA125, and CA153 and their combined detection was effective for diagnosing colorectal cancer. Combined detection had a better diagnostic effect with a sensitivity of 94.2% and specificity of 97.7%; combining serum carcinoembryonic antigens, CA199, CA242, CA125, and CA153, with the support vector machine diagnosis model and back-propagation, a neural network diagnosis model was built with diagnostic accuracies of 82 and 75%, sensitivities of 85 and 80%, and specificities of 80 and 70%, respectively. Colorectal cancer diagnosis models based on the three machine learning algorithms showed high diagnostic value and can help obtain evidence for the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Li, G., Zhang, Z.-S., Gao, H.-Y., Liu, P., Dong, S.-T., Zhang, J.-W. and Zhao, B. 2012. Effects of nitrogen on photosynthetic characteristics of leaves from two different stay-green corn ( Zea mays L.) varieties at the grain-filling stage. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 671–680. The effects of nitrogen on the photosynthetic characteristics of two different stay-green corn (Zea mays L.) at the grain-filling stage were studied. Using a stay-green inbred line (Q319) and a non-stay-green inbred line (HZ4) as materials, using fast chlorophyll fluorescence-induction kinetics and 820 nm light-absorption curves, we analyzed the influences of nitrogen supplementation on photosystem I (PS I) and photosystem II (PS II). The results show that nitrogen fertilization has significant effects on promoting the net photosynthetic rate (P n ) in leaves at the grain-filling stage and on single-plant grain yield at the harvest stage (P n and grain yield were still significantly lower than those of Q319.

Effect of rare earth (RE) metals addition on the microstructure, formation of Fe–Zn intermetallics and corrosion resistance of the batch galvanising Zn–0·18Al coating were studied. Microstructure of the coating was observed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Salt spray test and surface potential measurement were employed for corrosion resistance determination. The results show that the addition of RE can improve bath liquidity, refine surface spangles, stabilise the Fe2Al5 inhibition layer, decrease coating thickness and enhance corrosion resistance of the coating. However, corrosion resistance of the coating did not increase continuously with increasing RE content and the optimum RE content lies between 0·045 and 0·069% in the experiment. Mechanism of RE on the corrosion resistance of the galvanised coating was briefly analysed.

The physiological and quality changes of 'Cuiguan' pear stored both at room and low temperature were investigated. The results showed that soluble sugar, titratable acid and vitamine C contents decreased rapidly after harvest, which indicated that quality deterioration in 'Cuiguan' pear was a senescence process and closely related to nutrients loss. During postharvest senescence, the consumption of nutrients caused by respiration made the fruit lose their unique flavor. Meanwhile, the accumulation of active oxygen species due to inefficient scavenging capacity of SOD, CAT, POD resulted in damage of cell construction, which in turn promoted the senescence process mainly manifested as fruit softening and the formation of off-flavor. The deconstruction of cell membrane also provided the contact of PPO and polyphenolic compounds leading to flesh browning. The production of ethylene stimulated fruit respiration. Low temperature significantly inhibited the fruit senescence process, therefore refrigeration is a key to postharvest storage of 'Cuiguan' pear.

Peeled water bamboo shoots (Zizania caduciflora Hand-Mozz) were treated with 0.5 μl/L of 1-MCP for 20h at 20°C, and then placed into 20 and 2°C with 90-95% RH to examine the effects of 1-MCP on senescence of peeled water bamboo shoot postharvest. Shoot firmness, ethylene production rate and contents of lignin and cellulose were measured. 1-MCP treatment not only delayed the time of ethylene production peak of shoots stored at 20°C but also reduced the peak value of ethylene production in those shoots held at 2°C, while shoots with treated 1-MCP retained greater firmness than those of non-treated with 1-MCP during both 20 and 2°C storages. In addition, peeled shoots treated with 1-MCP kept low levels of lignin and cellulose compared with the control during either 20 or 2°C storage. These results suggested that 1-MCP could inhibit the ethylene production, delay softening and inhibit the fibrosis of peeled water bamboo shoots during room and low temperatures. Therefore, 1-MCP treatment could be an effective method to delay the senescence and extend the storage life of water bamboo shoots.

Freshly harvested loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl. 'Dahongpao') fruit were exposed to 100% N 2 for 6h at 20°C and then stored at 5°C for 35 days to investigate the effect of short-term N 2 treatment on the quality of the fruit. Fruit decay rate, total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity (TA) contents, membrane permeability, malondialdehyde (MDA) content were measured. The short-term N 2 treatment significantly delayed the increase of fruit decay rate and delayed the decreases of total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity (TA) contents, thereby maintaining better eating quality and extending the storage life of the fruit. The short-term N 2 treatment also markedly delayed the increases in membrane permeability, malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These results suggest that a prestorage pure N 2 treatment for 6h can effectively reduce fruit decay, delay the peroxidation of membrane lipid and maintain the quality of loquat fruit. Therefore, a short-term N 2 treatment in combination with low temperature could be a useful technique to maintain the quality of postharvest loquat fruit.

To investigate the effects of the simultaneous occurrence of salt stress and tidal sea-level rise on mangroves, potted Kandelia candel seedlings were treated under deep flooding (flooded 40 cm above the soil surface for 16 h per day, inundating the entire plant) and shallow flooding (flooded just above the soil surface for 8 h per day) at salinity levels of 5, 15, and 25 ppt over 14 months. Deep flooding enhanced stem elongations at all salinity levels but increased stem biomass only at 5 ppt. Deep flooding increased both leaf production and leaf fall; leaf biomass increased at 5 ppt, but decreased at 15 and 25 ppt. Biomass ratios of root/shoot (R/S) of deep flooding treatments were significantly lower than those of shallow flooding treatments. Under deep flooding, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities did not show significant change between 5 and 15 ppt, but increased at 25 ppt. With increasing salinity level, peroxidase (POD) activities increased, and the difference between shallow and deep flooding was enhanced. Malonaldehyde (MDA) content significantly decreased at 25 ppt with 40 cm flooding, but was not affected by other treatments. These results demonstrated that the growth and physiological responses of K. candel seedlings under deep flooding conditions varied with salinity level; growth was enhanced at low salinity level but inhibited at high salinity level. It is therefore probable that K. candel will shift from downstream to upstream, where the influence of fresher river water resources will ameliorate the effects of increased salinities that accompany deeper tidal flooding in these mangrove ecosystems.

Photosynthesis, photorespiration, and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence in green and red Berberis thunbergii leaves were studied with two different measuring radiations, red (RR) and “white” (WR). The photosynthetic and photorespiration rates responded differently to the different radiation qualities, which indicate that the carboxylase and oxygenase activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) were affected. Differences in photosynthetic rate between the two color leaves were less under RR than under WR. However, this reduced difference in photosynthetic rate was not correlated with the stomatal response to the measuring radiation qualities. Compared with the WR, the RR reduced the differences in dark-adapted minimum and maximum fluorescence, steady-state fluorescence, light-adapted maximum fluorescence, and actual photochemical efficiency (ΦPS2) of photosystem 2 (PS2), but enlarged the difference in non-photochemical quenching between the two color leaves. Differences in both maximum quantum yield of PS2 and ratio of ΦPS2 to quantum yield of CO2 fixation between the two color leaves were similar under the two measuring radiations. To exclude disturbance of radiation attenuation caused by anthocyanins, it is better to use RR to compare the photosynthesis and Chl fluorescence in green versus red leaves.

Low temperature storage of loquat significantly reduces decay incidence, however, the fruit rapidly loses its market value due to the development of flesh leatheriness. Hypobaric storage has been shown to inhibit postharvest ripening and senescence and extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of hypobaric storage on physiological and quality attributes of loquat fruit. Loquat fruits were stored for 49 days in air (control) or at 40-50 kPa pressure at 2-4°C. Changes in fruit decay rate, quality parameters, rates of respiration and ethylene production and activities of polyphynol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) were monitored during storage. Hypobaric storage significantly inhibited the fruit decay and loss of titratable acidity and ascorbic acid contents. The decay rate of the fruit stored at 40-50 kPa was reduced by 87%, and fruit browning and flesh leatheriness were reduced. Respiration and ethylene production increased in air within the first 14 days of storage and then declined whereas those in 40-50 kPa had significantly reduced the rates of respiration and ethylene production. POD and PPO activities increased and then reached the highest values after 14 days in air storage. Hypobaric storage reduced the increase in PPO and POD activities and delayed the onset of peak activity in these enzymes. These results suggest that hypobaric storage has potential to control fruit decay and flesh leatheriness development of loquat fruit stored at low temperature.

The effect of a postharvest application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on fruit decay and quality in peaches stored at 25°C were investigated. Peach fruit (Prunus persica Batsch cv Hujing) were harvested at firm-mature stage and treated with 1, 10,100 or 500 μmol/L MeJA vapor at 20 °C for 24 h before stored at 25 °C for 8 days. Changes in fruit decay rate, decay index, firmness, vitamin C, total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TA) contents, electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were monitored during storage. The results indicated that peach fruit showed fruit decay on day 2 during storage at 25 °C.[...]

As every engineering student knows, any signal can be portrayed as an overlay of sinusoidal waveforms of assorted frequencies. But while classical analysis copes superbly with naturally occurring sinusoidal behavior-the kind seen in speech signals-it is ill-suited to representing signals with discontinuities, such as the edges of features in images. Latterly, another powerful concept has swept applied mathematics and engineering research: wavelet analysis. In contrast to a Fourier sinusoid, which oscillates forever, a wavelet is localized in time-it lasts for only a few cycles. Like Fourier analysis, however, wavelet analysis uses an algorithm to decompose a signal into simpler elements. Here, the authors describe how localized waveforms are powerful building blocks for signal analysis and rapid prototyping-and how they are now available in software toolkits.

The antifatigue effects of the hot-water extract of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) seeds were studied in mice. Longan seed polysaccharides were administered at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg and antifatigue activity was evaluated using a swimming test, along with the determination of serum urea nitrogen, hepatic glycogen and blood lactic acid content. The results show that longan seed polysaccharides, in doses ranging from 50 to 100 mg/kg, extended swimming time, increased hepatic glycogen (p < 0.01, n = 10), reduced blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.01, n = 10) and decreased blood lactic acid (p < 0.01, n = 10) in the mice. Therefore longan seed polysaccharides may have potential as an antifatigue agent.