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To improve the development level of intelligent dance education and choreography network technology, the research mainly focuses on the automatic formation system of continuous choreography by using the deep learning method. Firstly, it overcomes the technical difficulty that the dynamic segmentation and process segmentation of the automatic generation architecture in traditional choreography cannot achieve global optimization. Secondly, it is an automatic generation architecture for end-to-end continuous dance notation with access to temporal classifiers. Based on this, a dynamic time-stamping model is designed for frame clustering. Finally, it is concluded through experiments that the model successfully achieves high-performance movement time-stamping. And combined with continuous motion recognition technology, it realizes the refined production of continuous choreography with global motion recognition and then marks motion duration. This research effectively realizes the efficient and refined production of digital continuous choreography, provides advanced technical means for choreography education, and provides useful experience for school network choreography education.

This study aimed to select a combination of curcumin and luteolin, two phytochemicals from food, at lower concentrations with a higher inhibitory effect on colon cancer growth and investigate possible molecular mechanisms of this anti-colon cancer effect. By pairwise combination screening, we identified that the combination of curcumin (CUR) at 15 μM and luteolin (LUT) at 30 μM (C15L30) synergistically suppressed the proliferation of human colon cancer CL-188 cells, but the individual chemicals had a little inhibitory effect at the selected concentrations. This result was also confirmed in other colon cancer DLD-1cells, suggesting that this synergistic inhibitory effect of C15L30 applies to different colon cancer cells. The combination C15L30 synergistically suppressed the wound closure (wound healing assay) in CL-188 cells. We also found that the combination of CUR and LUT (at 20 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day, respectively, IP injection, 5 days for 2 weeks) synergistically suppressed tumor growth in CL-188 cell-derived xenograft mice. Western blot results showed that protein levels of Notch1 and TGF-β were synergistically reduced by the combination, both in CL-188 cells and xenograft tumors. Tumor pathological analysis revealed that combined CUR and LUT synergistically increased necrosis, but the individual treatment with CUR and LUT had no significant effect on tumor necrosis. Therefore, combined curcumin and luteolin synergically inhibit colon cancer development by suppressing cell proliferation, necrosis, and migration associated with Notch1 and TGF-β pathways. This study provides evidence that colon cancer may be prevented/treated by consuming foods having high levels of luteolin and curcumin in humans.

Chronic increased pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) play critical roles in the development of endothelial dysfunction and therefore induce cardiovascular disease. Although phytochemicals have the potential ability to reduce the risk of CVD, the big gap between required high concentration in cells and the low bioavailability in the blood of phytochemicals compromise their therapeutic potentials. This study aims to investigate if combined phytochemicals at low levels exert a synergistic anti-inflammatory effect and to define relevant molecular mechanisms. Our results found that combined curcumin (5 µM) and resveratrol (5 µM) synergistically (combination index is 0.78) inhibited TNF-α-induced monocytes adhesion to human endothelial EA.hy 926 cells while the individual chemicals did not have such effect at the selected concentrations. The concentrations of curcumin (5 µM) and resveratrol (5 µM) are very close to the maximum level of curcumin (3.56 µM) and resveratrol (2 µM) in human blood. Dietary supplementation of combined curcumin (500mg/kg) and resveratrol (200mg/kg) synergistically reduced TNF-α-induced vascular inflammation in C57BL/6 mice with a similar pattern in cells. Moreover, the combination ameliorated the TNF-α-induced protein expressions and circulating levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in EA.hy 926 cells, mice aorta and serum. Furthermore, combined curcumin and resveratrol significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) p65 nuclear protein expression than that by the individual chemical alone in EA.hy 926 cells, indicating that the synergistic effect of the combination may result from that curcumin reduces the required minimum concentration for resveratrol to inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. In conclusion, the combination of curcumin and resveratrol protects against TNF-α-induced vascular inflammation by suppressing NF-κB signaling in vitro and in vivo models. This study suggests that dietary intake of a combination of curcumin and resveratrol or its foods may be a practical, safe approach to prevent vascular inflammation and therefore prevent/treat vascular diseases in humans.

The anti-inflammatory effects of phytochemicals, bioactive components from plants having health benefits, have been heavily investigated in the last several decades. However, the gap between the high dosage demands (μM) of phytochemicals in vitro studies and the low bioavailability (nM) of most phytochemicals after consuming relevant foods/supplements in humans undermines the application of these phytochemicals in the prevention of chronic inflammation and its related chronic diseases in humans. One of the approaches to bridging this gap is to combine two or more phytochemicals/foods to synergistically prevent chronic inflammation. While increasing combinations of phytochemicals on anti-inflammation studies have been reported, there is no report dedicating why combining two or more phytochemicals synergistically attenuates chronic inflammation. In the present review, we summarized different types of combinations exerting synergistic anti-inflammatory effects such as the combination of phytochemicals from the same foods, and the combination of phytochemicals from different foods/plants. Particularly, we proposed five mechanisms including enhancing the bioavailability of phytochemicals, increasing antioxidant capacity, interacting with gut microbiome and targeting same and different signaling pathways, to understand how the combination of phytochemicals exerts synergistic anti-inflammatory effects in cells, animals, and humans. This review provides clues to boost more studies to combine several phytochemicals/foods to reduce chronic inflammation and prevent chronic diseases in humans.

The impact of UV‑C irradiation at 254 nm on microbial inactivation, cytotoxicity, and sensory properties of cranberry-flavored water (CFW) was studied using a continuous flow-through system. Two different bacterial outbreak strains, Escherichia coli ATCC 700728 and Salmonella enterica serovar Muenchen ATCC BAA 1764, were inactivated by >5 log10 CFU/mL at an UV‑C fluence of 12 mJ·cm−2 and 16 mJ·cm−2 from an initial concentration of approximately 8 log CFU·mL−1 with D values of 2.11 and 3.14 mJ·cm−2, respectively. Cytotoxicity evaluation of CFW in human endothelial cells (EA.hy926) demonstrated no toxic effects up to a maximum delivered UV‑C fluence of 120 mJ·cm−2. Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) was performed to evaluate the sensory attributes of UV‑C irradiated CFW at two (30 and 120 mJ·cm−2) UV‑C fluence levels. Our results suggested that UV‑C irradiated CFW had no significant difference (p > 0.05) in sensory attributes up to a fluence of 30 mJ·cm−2 which is below the FDA-recommended UV‑C fluence (40 mJ·cm−2) for the inactivation of E. coli and Salmonella. Overall, this research suggests that UV‑C treatment of CFW can achieve effective microbial inactivation, without the generation of cytotoxic effects, and also can retain its sensory attributes. These results demonstrated that UV‑C irradiation can be an alternative treatment technique in processing of beverages while maintaining food safety and quality.

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Simple Summary Anti-cancer effects of bioactive compounds have been extensively investigated; however, the effective dosages of the bioactive compounds are too high to be obtained by oral intake. Our study aimed to assess if combined two bioactive compounds, luteolin (LUT) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C), at low dosages that LUT or I3C along has no significant effect, synergistically exerts anti-breast cancer. We confirmed that combined LUT and I3C synergistically suppressed estrogen receptor-alpha positive breast cancer in cultured cells and cells-derived xenograft mice. Our results also indicated two possible molecular pathways involving the synergistic effects of the combination of LUT and I3C. Our findings provide a practical approach to treat or prevent breast cancer by combining two bioactive compounds. Abstract The high concentrations of individual phytochemicals in vitro studies cannot be physiologically achieved in humans. Our solution for this concentration gap between in vitro and human studies is to combine two or more phytochemicals. We screened 12 phytochemicals by pairwise combining two compounds at a low level to select combinations exerting the synergistic inhibitory effect of breast cancer cell proliferation. A novel combination of luteolin at 30 μM (LUT30) and indole-3-carbinol 40 μM (I3C40) identified that this combination (L30I40) synergistically constrains ERα+ breast cancer cell (MCF7 and T47D) proliferation only, but not triple-negative breast cancer cells. At the same time, the individual LUT30 and I3C40 do not have this anti-proliferative effect in ERα+ breast cancer cells. Moreover, this combination L30I40 does not have toxicity on endothelial cells compared to the current commercial drugs. Similarly, the combination of LUT and I3C (LUT10 mg + I3C10 mg/kg/day) (IP injection) synergistically suppresses tumor growth in MCF7 cells-derived xenograft mice, but the individual LUT (10 mg/kg/day) and I3C (20 mg/kg/day) do not show an inhibitory effect. This combination synergistically downregulates two major therapeutic targets ERα and cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6/retinoblastoma (Rb) pathway, both in cultured cells and xenograft tumors. These results provide a solid foundation that a combination of LUT and I3C may be a practical approach to treat ERα+ breast cancer cells after clinical trials.

Detecting seismic events using a fiber-based CW laser interferometer attracts wide attention. To make the detection more effective, we analyze the system’s noise level by setting up two vibration detection systems. By changing the fiber length (0∼100 km) and laser noise level, respectively, we detect the minor phase change caused by a 160 µm-fiber-length vibration. Furthermore, we use three indicators, Power Spectral Density, Background Noise Level, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio to analyze the noise level of the whole system. The relation between the system’s background noise and corresponding detection result is carried out. This quantitative research can serve as a reference and help people to realize the most efficient vibration detection system.

The industrial architectural heritage of Zhenjiang has unrepeatable technological and cultural art values. This paper fully understands and scientifically evaluates the characteristics and values of industrial architectural heritage, analyzes different sustainable utilization strategies for industrial architectural heritage under the guidance of green concept, and gives corresponding design and measures for conservation and utilization of industrial architectural heritage.

We previously discovered that phytonutrient genistein rapidly activates cAMP signaling in β-cells and improving islet mass in diabetic mice. However, the mechanism underlying these actions of genistein is still unclear. Here, we show that pharmacological or molecular inhibition of Gαs blocked genistein-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in plasma membrane and intracellular cAMP production in INS1 cells and islets. Further, genistein stimulation of cAMP generation was abolished in islets exposed to a specific GPR30 inhibitor G15 or islets from GPR30 deficient (GPR30−/−) mice. In vivo, dietary provision of genistein (0.5 g/kg diet) significantly mitigated streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in male WT mice, which was associated with improved blood insulin levels and pancreatic islet mass and survival, whereas these effects were absent in Gpr30−/− mice. Genistein treatment promoted survival of INS1 cells and human islets chronically exposed to palmitate and high glucose. At molecular level, genistein activated CREB phosphorylation and subsequently induced Bcl-2 expression, and knockdown of CREB diminished the protective effect of genistein on β-cells induced by lipoglucotoxicity. Finally, deletion of GPR30 in β-cells or islets ablated genistein-induced CREB phosphorylation and its cytoprotective effect. These findings demonstrate that genistein is a survival factor for β-cells via GPR30-initiated, Gαs-mediated activation of CREB.

We recently reported that epicatechin, a bioactive compound that occurs naturally in various common foods, promoted general health and survival of obese diabetic mice. It remains to be determined whether epicatechin extends health span and delays the process of aging. In the present study, epicatechin or its analogue epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) (0.25% w/v in drinking water) was administered to 20-mo-old male C57BL mice fed a standard chow. The goal was to determine the antiaging effect. The results showed that supplementation with epicatechin for 37 wk strikingly increased the survival rate from 39 to 69%, whereas EGCG had no significant effect. Consistently, epicatechin improved physical activity, delayed degeneration of skeletal muscle (quadriceps), and shifted the profiles of the serum metabolites and skeletal muscle general mRNA expressions in aging mice toward the profiles observed in young mice. In particular, we found that dietary epicatechin significantly reversed age-altered mRNA and protein expressions of extracellular matrix and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor pathways in skeletal muscle, and reversed the age-induced declines of the nicotinate and nicotinamide pathway both in serum and skeletal muscle. The present study provides evidence that epicatechin supplementation can exert an antiaging effect, including an increase in survival, an attenuation of the aging-related deterioration of skeletal muscles, and a protection against the aging-related decline in nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism.-Si, H., Wang, X., Zhang, L., Parnell, L. D., Admed, B., LeRoith, T., Ansah, T.-A., Zhang, L., Li, J., Ordovás, J. M., Si, H., Liu, D., Lai, C.-Q. Dietary epicatechin improves survival and delays skeletal muscle degeneration in aged mice.

Sweet potato is one of the potential alternatives to tobacco in Virginia and is well-adapted to environmental conditions of southern Virginia. Bioactive compounds and biological activity of extracts from five Virginia-grown sweet potato varieties (‘Beauregard’, ‘Bellevue’, ‘Hayman’, ‘Porto Rico’, and ‘Purple’) and their responses to three cooking methods (baking, boiling and steaming) were investigated. Cooking methods and variety had significant (P

Ground stone tools were a revolutionary technology that appeared during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene periods and played a key role in the economic and ritual activities of many prehistoric and early historic societies. Previous functional analyses of ground stone tools in China have focused primarily on Neolithic materials and had a regional preference for northern China. This article reports on the results of a functional study of an assemblage of ground stone tools found at the Dingjiacun site in southern China. Use-wear analysis was adopted to interpret the tools’ function through observing and identifying the wear patterns that corresponded to different substantial activities. Our results showed that the site once contained a settled agricultural community where a large array of activities such as wood-working, harvesting, earth-working, and hunting were carried out. The results of our study should provide a better understanding of human behaviors and subsistence strategies in the Lower Yangtze River region during the Bronze Age.

The composition of 321 pieces of Neolithic pottery samples in Liaoxi Area was detected by X-ray fluorescence analyzer, and the characteristics of raw materials in different periods were analyzed by principal component analysis. The results show that the raw materials of ceramic samples are ordinary fusible clay with low SiO2 and high flux RxOy. The composition of pottery from Chahai site of Xinglongwa culture is quite different from that in other areas. The contents of Fe2O3 and MgO are obviously higher, while the contents of SiO2, Al2O3 and K2O are lower. The raw materials used for making pottery are relatively poor.

Epicatechin (EC), a flavonoid present in various foods including cocoa, dark chocolate, berries, and tea, has recently been reported to promote general health and survival of old mice fed a standard chow diet. This is considered a novel discovery in the field of identifying natural compounds to extend lifespan, given that presumably popular anti-aging natural agents including resveratrol, green tea extract, and curcumin had failed in extending the lifespan of standard chow-diet-fed mice. However, the anti-aging mechanism of EC is not fully understood, thus impeding the potential application of this natural compound in improving a healthy lifespan in humans. In this review, we first summarized the main dietary sources that contain a significant amount of EC and recent research regarding the absorption, metabolism and distribution of EC in humans and rodents. The review is then focused on the anti-aging effects of EC in cultured cells, animals and humans with the possible physiological, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying its lifespan-extending effects.

Taking advantage of the fiber-based frequency transfer technique, we build up the Beijing Time and Frequency Network which connects several hydrogen masers of different institutes precisely and in real time. With this network, we generate a time scale out of 4 clocks each from a different institute. Distinguished from most of the existing time scales, this one is both “real-time” and “based on remote clocks”, which means it can serve more applications which require real-time time service and can be more reliable at the same time. Hardware system is built to output physical signal of the time scale, and this system is currently running continuously and healthily.

Background: Radiomic features might bridge CT to FDG PET parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean and SUVsum). Therefore, the estimation models were trained and validated for the lymph nodes of cancer patients. Methods: The lymph nodes (LNs) of the lung cancer (LC) patients from SMU (n= 1239) were used as the training cohort, and both PET/CT and thin-section CT were collected. Those of the esophagus cancer (EC) from SMU (n=301), and the LC from AMU (n=204) and TCIA (n=47 and 82) were used as the validation cohorts. The radiomic features of LNs on CT serials (short axis diameter >3mm) were extracted. The feature selection and model training strategy were investigated, and the influential factors of proposed deep learning models were explored. Findings: From each LN of the patients, 141 features (1683 variables) were extracted. In the training cohort, the top 20 features on the combined and thin- section CT serials were sorted by the deep learning method, and the identical 2, 2 and 3 features between the serials were trained against SUVmax, SUVmean and SUVsum by the logarithmically transferred model, respectively. In the validations, the logarithms of SUMsum model performed well in the SMU EC cohort (r=0.847, bias= 0.024, P=0.843) with particular coefficients for different scanners. The absolute biases of all the models were slightly affected by LN volume, injected dose, acquisition time, pathology classification and LN metastasis. Interpretation: Several radiomic features could be used to estimate PET parameters of lymph nodes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03648151). Funding Statement: Collaborative Innovation Center for Molecular Imaging and Precise D&T Center of Shanxi Medical University (Grant No. MP201604). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The protocol was approved by the ethics committees at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University (SMU) and the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (AMU). For a retrospective study, the review boards approved to waive the requirement for informed consent.

With large quantities of waste carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites generated, the development of recycling routes for CFRP composites have been driven by both environmental and economic factors. Vitrimer materials provide exciting opportunities to recycle thermosets and CFRP composites, since they can be thermally reprocessed without losing their permanently cross-linked networks. However, the poor mechanical properties, additional catalyst and time-consuming recycling process still limit their applications. Herein, the authors proposed an epoxy vitrimer with high contents of exchangeable aromatic disulfide crosslinks to overcome these limitations. This epoxy vitrimer exhibited outstanding properties with the glass transition temperature (Tg) of 147 °C and the tensile strength of 63.1 MPa. Upon heating, it released the stress from deformation more rapidly without any catalyst, resulting from the high contents of disulfide crosslinks in the network. Meanwhile, the networks exhibited excellent reprocessability and were more readily degraded by thiols. Moreover, this epoxy was applied as matrix to prepare recyclable CFRP composites. By dissolving the epoxy matrix efficiently, the carbon fibers embedded were recycled rapidly and they still exhibited outstanding mechanical properties when being reused to form CFRP composites. Results from this study may promote the wide development of cost-efficient recyclable composites in automotive, wind power and aeronautical industries.

An absolute phase synchronization method based on phase-conjugation scheme is demonstrated. A repeatable phase difference regardless of restart operation and fiber route changing between the phase standard at local site and the recovered signal at the intermediate-access node is achieved. This indicates that absolute phase synchronization to arbitrary nodes along the fiber link is feasible. At the intermediate-access node, this phase difference is highly stable with a fluctuation of ±0.014 rad over 10000s. And this phase difference shows consistency within 2% of the full cycle under different situations such as restart operation and fiber route changing.

The circum-Tai region has constituted an important cultural region since the Neolithic Age (5100-2000BC). It is also the most concentrated area of production and consumption of proto-porcelain wares in China; a large number of proto-porcelain wares have been discovered in settlements and cemeteries around the lake; large and enduring clusters of proto-porcelain production sites have been discovered in the Dongtiaoxi River valley in the southern coast. Where were the products of the sites circulated? Where were the wares found in the settlements and cemeteries imported from? This paper will approach these questions by examining samples of Eastern Zhou proto-porcelain wares from this region with the dual methods of typological and chemical analyses. Samples of Eastern Zhou proto-porcelain wares from settlements and tombs in the northern and eastern coasts can be typologically classified into group A and group B. Group A samples are formally reminiscient of those unearthed from the production sites in the Dongtiaoxi River valley, whereas Group B samples are somewhat distinct, although similarities to them are observable as well. The chemical composition of the glaze and body of the samples confirms this classification. Group A samples are compositionally close to the products of, and probably produced in, the Longshan cluster in the middle Dongtiaoxi River; Group B samples are different from them, characterized by high potassium and high barium in body, and close to those of the production site at Nanshan of the Qingshan cluster in the lower Dongtiaoxi River; they may have been produced there. It appears that products of the production sites of the two clusters were circulated over the water surface of Lake Tai and further into the river valleys around it; Wuxi and Suzhou may have served as redistribution centers for the northern coast.

To detect VHL gene mutation in a pedigree affected with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL).Clinical data of the pedigree was reviewed. Patients were subjected to Sanger sequencing to detect mutation of the VHL gene. Structure of pVHL was predicted by 3D modeling using the swiss-model.A novel c.426delT(p.V142fs) [NM_000551] mutation was found in exon 2 of the VHL gene. 3D modeling suggested that the alpha-structure of pVHL is completely absent.The novel c.426delT(p.V142fs) mutation probably underlies the VHL in this pedigree.

An accurate self-calibrated fiber transfer delay measurement method is demonstrated. Using the simplified self-calibration configuration, the measurement uncertainty of fiber transfer delay is improved. To demonstrate the accuracy of the method, the measurement results of two systems are compared. It shows that this method achieves a sub-picosecond accuracy. Besides, the chromatic dispersion of fiber under test is also obtained, which is in agreement with the nominal value.

We demonstrate a compact signal transmission delay measurement system in optical fibers. The frequency of a microwave signal is locked to the signal transmission delay which can be obtained in frequency domain. With a frequency-scanning ambiguity resolving system, the signal transmission delay can be precisely determined. The system delay fluctuation is monitored in real-time and subtracted from the measurement result. This method achieves sub-picosecond uncertainty.

Using random survival forest, this study was intended to evaluate the prognostic value of serum markers for lung adenocarcinoma patients with brain metastasis (BM), and tried to integrate them into a prognostic model. During 2010 to 2015, the patients were retrieved from two medical centers. Besides the Cox proportional hazards regression, the random survival forest (RSF) were also used to develop prognostic model from the group A (n = 142). In RSF of the group A, the factors, whose minimal depth were greater than the depth threshold or had a negative variable importance (VIMP), were firstly excluded. Subsequently, C-index and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to guide us finding models with higher prognostic ability and lower overfitting possibility. These RSF models, together with the Cox, modified-RPA and lung-GPA index were validated and compared, especially in the group B (CAMS, n = 53). Our data indicated that the KSE125 model (KPS, smoking, EGFR-20 (exon 18, 19 and 21) and Ca125) was the best in survival prediction, and performed well in internal and external validation. In conclusions, for lung adenocarcinoma patients with brain metastasis, a validated prognostic nomogram (KPS, smoking, EGFR-20 and Ca125) can more accurately predict 1-year and 2-year survival of the patients.

Although nasal extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (nasal ENKL) shares some prognostic factors with other lymphomas, seldom studies had explored the prognostic value of hemoglobin. The ENKL cases in stage I–IV during 2000 to 2015 were collected from two medical centers (group A, n = 192), and were randomly divided into the group B (n = 155) and C (n = 37). Although the significant factors identified by the univariate analysis differed between the group A and B, the multivariate Cox regression indicated the same factors. C-index of the model was slightly better than Yang’s, but its integrated Brier score (IBS) was obviously lower than Yang’s both in the group A and B. Additionally, minimal depth of random survival forest (RSF) classifier confirmed that the prognostic ability of hemoglobin was better than age both in the group A and B. In the calibration of the nomogram, the predicted 3-year or 5-year OS of our nomogram well agreed with the corresponding actual OS. In conclusion, Hemoglobin is a prognostic factor for nasal ENKL patients in stage I - IV, and integrating it into a validated prognostic nomogram, whose generalization error is the smallest among the evaluated models, can be used to predict the patients’ outcome.

Monocyte recruitment and adhesion to the endothelium is a crucial step the development of endothelial dysfunction and therefore induces cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one killer of Americans. Emerging evidence shows that polyphenols, the secondary plant metabolites present in a large variety of foods, have the potential ability in reducing risk of CVD. The aims of this study are to investigate the synergistic anti-inflammatory effects of combined polyphenols at physiological levels and define relevant molecular mechanisms. Our results indicate that resveratrol, curcumin and luteolin dose-dependently inhibited tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced monocytes adhesion to human endothelial cells. The half maximal effective concentration (EC50) values of curcumin, luteolin and resveratrol are 15 μM, 8 μM and 26 μM respectively. Particularly, combined luteolin (4μM) and curcumin (8 μM) or combination of curcumin (8 μM) and resveratrol (13 μM) synergistically inhibited TNF-α-induced monocytes adhesion to endothelial cells while the individual chemicals did not have such effect at the physiological concentrations. The combination index(CI)value of curcumin plus luteolin and curcumin plus resveratrol at the selected concentrations are 0.7 and 0.82, respectively, indicating these two combinations have synergistic anti-inflammatory effects. We also found that these phytochemicals ameliorated the TNF-α-enhanced protein expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), two major indicators of vascular inflammation in endothelial cells. These data suggest that these combined polyphenols maybe a novel strategy to diminish vascular inflammation and therefore prevent/treat cardiovascular disease.

We report a novel method for multichannel transmission delay measurement in optical fibers. The fiber transfer delay measurement is converted into frequency measurement. As a key technique, a simple ambiguity resolving process based on phase discrimination and frequency locking is used to overcome the contradiction between measurement accuracy and system complexity. A real-time calibration method is employed to detect and eliminate system delay fluctuation. It achieves two-channel fiber transmission delay measurement with a high accuracy of 0.1 picosecond and dynamic range over tens of kilometers.

Red or black ginseng has been reported more powerful than white/fresh ginseng in dealing with various diseases/conditions including obesity. The major reason is that heating/steaming, the process of making red or black ginseng, produces large amount of bioactive compounds including ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3), which are trace in fresh or white ginseng. In the present study, Rg3 was applied both in pre-adipocytes and obese mice to investigate the anti-adipogenic effects and relevant mechanisms. Our results show that Rg3 dose-dependently inhibited cell differentiation both in 3T3-L1 cells (30, 50 and 100 μM) and human primary pre-adipocytes (HPAs) (10, 20 and 30 μM). This inhibitory effect is accompanied by the attenuation of the expressions of adipogenic markers including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBP-α), fatty acid synthase (FAS), fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) and perilipin. Although dietary intake of Rg3 (0.1mg Rg3/kg diet, 8 weeks) did not significantly affect body weight gain, fat pads and food intake as well as of PPAR-γ expression in fat tissues, we found that hepatic PPAR-γ and C/EBP-α protein expressions and hepatic glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase, two major antioxidants molecules were significantly reduced by Rg3. These results suggest that ginsenoside Rg3 may be a potential agent in reducing/preventing obesity.

Due to its properties of low attenuation, high capacity and reliability, the widespread optical fiber network has become an attractive option for long-distance transmission. The signal transmission delay in fiber, as an essential characteristic, becomes a significant parameter that has broad effects on the performance of optical communications, fiber timing distribution systems, phased array antennas, and some other large-scale scientific or engineering facilities. We report a novel method for signal transmission delay measurement in optical fibers. Based on phase discrimination, dual-frequency locking and measurement, it achieves a very high measurement precision of 0.2 ps with a 0.1 ps resolution, and dynamic range over 50 km. Using a phase shift and frequency locking technique, the measurement ambiguity can be resolved within only a few seconds. It greatly simplifies the measurement procedure and requires much simpler equipment. A good agreement in measurement results with the conventional pulsed method is obtained as well.

This paper introduces the formation of a physical real-time time scale using data of remote clocks from different time laboratories in Beijing region linked via fiber-based high-precision frequency transfer network.

Emerging evidence shows that phytochemicals, the secondary plant metabolites present in a large variety of foods, have the potential ability in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the dosages of phytochemicals in the cellular and animal studies are too high to reach in humans by relevant foods or dietary supplement intake. The aims of this study were to investigate whether and how combined curcumin and luteolin synergistically inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced monocytes adhesion endothelium, a crucial step of the development of endothelial dysfunction, both in human vascular cells and mouse aortic endothelium. Our results show that combined curcumin (1 μM) and luteolin (0.5 μM) synergistically (combination index is 0.60) inhibited TNF-α-induced monocytes adhesion to human EA.hy926 endothelial cells while the individual chemicals did not have such effect at the selected concentrations. We also found that TNF-α-enhanced protein expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB translocation were synergistically reduced by the combined curcumin and luteolin in EA.hy 926 cells while the individual chemical did not have this inhibitory effect. Consistently, 2 weeks dietary intake of combined curcumin (500 mg/kg) and luteolin (500 mg/kg) in C57BL/6 mice synergistically prevented TNF-α-stimulated adhesion of mouse monocytes to aortic endothelium ex vivo as well as the TNF-α-increased aortic protein expression of MCP-1 and VCAM-1. Therefore, combined curcumin and luteolin at physiological concentrations synergistically inhibits TNF-α-induced monocytes adhesion to endothelial cells and expressions of MCP-1 and VCAM-1 via suppressing NF-κB translocation into the nucleus.

Genistein, a soy isoflavone, has received wide attention for its potential to improve vascular function, but the mechanism of this effect is unclear. Here, we report that genistein at physiological concentrations (0.1 µM–5 µM) significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced adhesion of monocytes to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), a key event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Genistein also significantly suppressed TNF-α-induced production of adhesion molecules and chemokines such as sICAM-1, sVCAM-1,sE-selectin, MCP-1 and IL-8, which play key role in the firm adhesion of monocytes to activated endothelial cells (ECs). Genistein at physiologically relevant concentrations didn’t significantly induce antioxidant enzyme activities or scavenge free radicals. Further, blocking the estrogen receptors (ERs) in ECs didn’t alter the preventive effect of genistein on endothelial inflammation. However, inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) significantly attenuated the inhibitory effects of genistein on TNF-α-induced monocyte adhesion to ECs as well as the production of MCP-1 and IL-8. In animal study, dietary genistein (0.1% genistein in the diet) significantly suppressed TNF-α-induced increase in circulating chemokines and adhesion molecules in C57BL/6 mice. Genistein treatment also reduced VCAM-1 and monocytes-derived F4/80-positive macrophages in the aorta of TNF-α treated mice. In conclusion, genistein protects against TNF-α induced vascular endothelial inflammation both in vitro and in vivo models. This anti-inflammatory effect of genistein is independent of the ER-mediated signaling machinery or antioxidant activity, but mediated via the PKA signaling pathway.