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ObjectiveThis study investigated the characteristics and prognosis of the feeling of ear fullness in patients with unilateral all-frequency sudden sensorineural hearing loss.MethodsOur study included 56 patients with a diagnosis of unilateral all-frequency sudden sensorineural hearing loss accompanied by a feeling of ear fullness and 48 patients without a feeling of ear fullness. The condition of these patients was prospectively observed.ResultsPositive correlations were observed between grading of feeling of ear fullness and hearing loss in patients with a feeling of ear fullness (r = 0.599, p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the total effective rate of hearing recovery between patients with and without a feeling of ear fullness after one month of treatment (Z = −0.641, p = 0.521). Eighty-six per cent of patients (48 out of 56) showed complete recovery from the feeling of ear fullness. There was no correlation between feeling of ear fullness recovery and hearing recovery (r = 0.040, p = 0.769).ConclusionThe prognosis of feeling of ear fullness is good. There was no correlation between feeling of ear fullness recovery and hearing recovery for all-frequency sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients.

According to the principle of Euler similarity between laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, laboratory plasmas driven by high-power lasers have been used to simulate some aspects of astrophysical phenomena. And in doing so, they aid our understanding of shock heating, interaction structures, and the consequential evolution for astrophysical outflows within a short timescale (∼ns). In this work, we experimentally investigated the mechanism of X-ray emission originating from a hot outflow (plasma) with a velocity of around 330 km s−1, impinging on a cold medium. A hybrid model was set up to understand the high-resolution X-ray spectra taken at the interaction region and to deduce that charge exchange takes place in such a laboratory miniature of astrophysical outflow interacting with dense molecular clouds, as in the cases of HH 248 and Cap in M82, for example. Effects from targets with multiple electrons are also explored. A brief analysis has been performed for our laboratory analog and astrophysical objects by a dimensionless ratio of the length scale between X-ray-emitting and charge-exchange regions.

A novel high-throughput strategy was developed to determine the calcium precipitation activity (CPA) of mineralization bacteria used for self-healing of concrete cracks. A bacterial strain designated as H4 with the highest CPA of 94.8 % was screened and identified as a Bacillus species based on 16S rDNA sequence and phylogenetic tree analysis. Furthermore, the effects of certain influential factors on the microbial calcium precipitation process of H4 were evaluated. The results showed that lactate and nitrate are the best carbon and nitrogen sources, with optimal concentrations of approximately 25 and 18 mM, respectively. The H4 strain is able to maintain a high CPA in the pH range of 9.5-11.0, and a suitable initial spore concentration is 4.0 × 10(7) spores/ml. Moreover, an ambient Ca(2+) concentration greater than 60 mM resulted in a serious adverse impact not only on the CPA but also on the growth of H4, suggesting that the maintenance of the Ca(2+) concentration at a low level is necessary for microbial self-healing of concrete cracks.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of stathmin-l on chkl protein expression in cervical cancer cells and the influ- ences on the cells' invasion and tumorigenicity. Suppressed stathmin-l expression in Hela cells and C33A cells by lentiviral vector were utilized. Real time PCR and Western blot were used to examine the expression of chkl. Cell proliferation and invasion were stud- ied using MTT assays and transwell migration assays.The differences of tumorigenicity in vivo were explored using xenograft experi- ments. In addition, stathmin-l expressions in 24 cervical cancer patients were studied without regional lymph nodes metastasis and 16 metastatic patients by immunohistochemistry assays and real time PCR. This study found downregulating stathmin-l reduced chkl ex- pressions and the proliferation and invasion in cervical cancer cells and reduced the tumorigenicity of tumor cells.

The high temperature oxidation behaviour of plasma carburisation on Ni based third generation single crystal superalloy with NiCoCrAlYHf high temperature oxidation protective coating (HY5) is investigated in this paper. The Ni based third generation single crystal superalloy with single HY5 high temperature oxidation protective coating is compared to the plasma carburised samples. HY5 high temperature oxidation protective coating is deposited onto the single crystal superalloy by arc ion plating. The performance of diffusion during thermal cycling at 1100°C was studied. The microstructure and phase composition were examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that by means of plasma carburisation into the HY5 high temperature oxidation protective coating, its microstructure can be made finer and more uniform, and its microhardness and adhesion to the substructure can be improved markedly. There were smaller quantities of topologically cl...

To observe the influence of lumbar sympathetic ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation on the activation of spinal microglia in rats with diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP).Thirty-six painful diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats induced by 60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection were randomly divided into diabetic neuropathic pain group (group DNP, n=12), Sham operation group (group Sham, n=12) and radiofrequency thermocoagulation group (group R, n=12). Meanwhile another 12 age-matched rats were allocated as normal control group (group N), rats in group N received intraperitoneal injection of equal volume of normal saline. Twenty-eight days after STZ injection, rats in group R received L3 lumbar sympathetic ganglia radiofrequency thermocoagulation on the left side under X-ray guideline after anesthesia with damage time 60 s and damage temperature 60 ℃. Rats in group Sham received puncture positioning, but not thermocoagulation therapy. The mechanical paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) were performed before STZ injection, 7, 14, 21, 28 days after STZ injection and 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 days after radiofrequency thermocoagulation, respectively. Blood glucose were performed before STZ injection, 3, 28 days after STZ injection and 1, 14days after radiofrequency thermocoagulation. After the final behavioral testing, L3-L5 spinal cord tissues were removed to exam the expression of microglia marker OX42 by Western blotting and immunofluorescence technique, and the changes in the expression of inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α were detected by ELISA technique.Compared with group N, after 14, 21, 28 days of STZ injection and 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 days of radiofrequency thermocoagulation, the PWT of group DNP and group Sham decreased significantly (P0.05); Before radiofrequency thermocoagulation, the PWT of rats in group DNP was (3.84±0.83) g, the PWT of rats in group R was (4.45±0.88) g, there was no statistically significant difference between group DNP and group R (t=1.514, P0.05), but after radiofrequency thermocoagulation, compared with DNP group, the PWT of rats in group R increased significantly (P0.05), and lasted to 14 d after radiofrequency thermocoagulation. The ratio of spinal microglia marker OX42 and GAPDH, the expression of inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in group N were 0.074±0.023, (35.93±6.16) pg/ml, (92.11±13.23) pg/ml, and (169.50±22.64) pg/ml, respectively. The ratio of spinal microglia marker OX42 and GAPDH, the expression of inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in group DNP were 1.023±0.185, (73.82±9.25) pg/ml, (155.33±21.82) pg/ml, and (298.30±33.21) pg/ml, respectively. The ratio of spinal microglia marker OX42 and GAPDH, the expression of inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in group Sham were 0.951±0.103, (73.00±7.54) pg/ml, (151.02±24.26) pg/ml, and (294.01±36.37) pg/ml, respectively. The ratio of spinal microglia marker OX42 and GAPDH, the expression of inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in group R were 0.563±0.019, (51.81±7.36) pg/ml, (123.24±16.13) pg/ml, and (229.23±29.16) pg/ml, respectively. Compared with group N, the expression of spinal microglia marker OX42 and inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in group DNP, group Sham and group R increased significantly (F=7.501, 348.698, 568.021, 145.110, all P0.05). Compared with DNP group, the expression of spinal microglia marker OX42 and inflammation factor IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α of group R reduced significantly (all P0.05).The lumbar sympathetic ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation can alleviate diabetic neuropathic pain. The mechanism may relate with the inhibition of spinal microglia activation and the lower expression of inflammation factor.

Rewritable optical digital versatile discs (DVDs) were analyzed to identify alterations in layer composition after repeated overwrite cycles. Elemental depth profiling revealed the presence of S in the phase-change layer in areas with high jitter values. This we relate to a decomposition of the ZnS:SiO2 dielectric layer during repeated overwrite. The S concentration in the phase-change layer at the location of the repeatedly overwritten tracks is estimated to range between 0.1 and 1 at. %, depending on whether or not a caplayer is present between the ZnS:SiO2 layer and the phase-change layer. From electron microscope images we established that repeated overwrite cycles induce voids in the phase-change layer. By analyzing the repeatedly overwritten areas of various recording stacks we collected evidence that a caplayer may suppress void formation. Both S diffusion and void formation will limit the overwrite cyclability of optical discs, which explains the frequently reported beneficial effect of a caplayer on overwrite performance.

Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum is well documented in Thailand. Laos, however, continues to use chloroquine (CQ) as the first-line therapy for the treatment of P. falciparum malaria. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence, in these two areas, of the cg2, pfmdr1 and pfcrt allelic types that have previously been associated with CQ resistance. Isolates of P. falciparum were collected from participants in ongoing treatment studies conducted in Thailand (near the Thai-Cambodian border) and in Laos (Vang Vieng district). The pfmdr1 and pfcrt alleles were characterized by PCR-RFLP and mutations in cg2 were characterized by PCR and single-stranded-conformation-polymorphism (SSCP) electrophoresis. Eight (32%) of the 25 Laotian isolates but only one (4%) of the 25 Thai isolates were found to contain the pfmdr1 mutation N86Y (P = 0.02). In contrast, the cg2 polymorphisms previously associated with CQ resistance were present in only 10 of the isolates from Laos but 24 of those from Thailand (40% v. 96%; P < 0.001). All the samples from both countries contained the pfcrt K76T mutant allele reported to confer resistance to CQ. The results may indicate that drug pressure for the maintenance of the pfmdr1 and cg2 alleles varies in intensity in the Thai and Laotian study areas, probably reflecting differences in the national malaria-treatment policies of Thailand and Laos.

Some latest progress of the laboratory astrophysics in China are reviewed, particularly of those related to the atomic physics. This paper will address the problems related to the data needs in the area of analysis of modelling spectra emitted by laser facilities in laboratory as well as astrophysical plasmas. The atomic data required for some important unsolved problems in stellar spectroscopy are presented as well.

Higher NA optical pick-ups (OPUs) are being applied in optical storage system for high capacity. As the vector characteristics of the laser beam in high NA OPU play an important role in the interaction between the disc information layer and laser beam, simulations based on both vector diffraction theory and rigorous calculation of Maxell’s equations are becoming more and more important. They not only provide accurate and reliable simulation results, but also make it possible to investigate many other interesting topics e.g. the feasibility of using polarized light to increase storage density of optical discs. In this paper, a software package based on three-dimensional finite-difference time domain algorithm (3D-FDTD) is introduced to simulate readout signals. It can be used to simulate the reflection pattern for three dimension geometrical pits accurately. Moreover, because it can interface with optical design program ZEMAX, the simulation can be done for different light paths and in the presence of surface defects, which is very useful for analyzing and evaluating a practical OPU. The features of this software are expected to help explore new disc formats, understanding signals in servo path and data path, and furthermore designing a new optical pick-up etc.

Microscopic detection of Plasmodium species has been the reference standard for the diagnosis of malaria for more than a century. However, maintaining a sufficient level of expertise in microscopic diagnosis can be challenging, particularly in non-endemic countries. The objective of this study was to compare a new rapid malaria diagnostic device (NOW ICT Malaria Test; Binax, Inc., Portland, ME) to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and expert microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria in 256 febrile returned travelers. Compared with PCR, the NOW ICT test showed a sensitivity of 94% for the detection of P. falciparum malaria (96% for pure P. falciparum infection) and 84% for non-P. falciparum infections (87% for pure P. vivax infections and 62% for pure P. ovale and P. malariae infections), with an overall specificity of 99%. The Binax NOW ICT may represent a useful adjunct for the diagnosis of P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria in febrile returned travelers.

The most important performance parameter for CD-R recording is the recording speed. We have achieved recording speeds of up to 56X on CD-R with a data-to-data jitter of 25 ns that is well within Orange Book specification. This jitter is achieved at zero asymmetry and with a write power margin of 20% of the optimum recording power. In this paper, we present results on a number of CD-R media. Furthermore, we discuss the influence of write strategy parameters, such as laser power level, laser pulse length, pulse shape, etc., on the recording performance of high speed CD-R.

Spectroscopic researches in astronomy are significantly dependent on theoretical modelling methods, such as Chianti, Xstar, Cloudy etc. Recently, a different research community - Laboratory Astrophysics tries to benchmark these theoretical models or simulate the astrophysical phenomenon directly in conditions accessed in ground laboratory. Those unavoidable differences between the astrophysical objects and laboratory provide a need for a self-consistent model to make a bridge for the two cases. So we setup a visualized simulation package for soft X-ray and EUV spectroscopy in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas.