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Heteropanax fragrans (Roxb.) Seem is a common garden landscape tree in China. In December 2020, a leaf disease on H. fragrans was observed in a 2 ha field in Zhanjiang (20.85° N, 109.28° E), Guangdong province, China. Early symptoms were small yellow spots on leaves. Later, the spots gradually expanded and turned into necrotic tissues with a clear yellow halo and a white center. The disease incidence on plants was 100%. Twenty diseased leaves were collected from the field. The margin of the diseased tissues was cut into 2 mm × 2 mm pieces, surface disinfected with 75% ethanol and 2% sodium hypochlorite for 30 and 60 s, respectively, and rinsed thrice with sterile water before isolation. The tissues were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28 ℃. After 2-day incubation, grayish fungal colonies appeared on the PDA, then pure cultures were produced by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. Single-spore isolation method was used to recover pure cultures for three isolates (HFA-1, HFA-2, and HFA-3). The colonies first produced a light-grayish aerial mycelia, which turned dark grayish upon maturity. Conidiophores were branched. Conidia numbered from two to four in chains, were dark brown, ovoid, or ellipsoid and mostly beakless; had 1–4 transverse and 0–3 longitudinal septa; measured within 7.2–17.8 (average = 10.2) × 2.5–7.5 (average = 4.3) µm (n = 30). Molecular identification was performed using the colony polymerase chain reaction method with MightyAmp DNA Polymerase (Takara-Bio, Dalian, China) (Lu et al. 2012) to amplify the large subunit (LSU), internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor (TEF) , and Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) with NL1/LR3, ITS1/ITS4, EF-1α-F/EF-1α-R, and GDF1/GDR1 (Walther et al. 2013;Woudenberg et al. 2015; Nishikawa and Nakashima. 2020). Amplicons of the isolates were sequenced and submitted to GenBank (LSU, ON088978-ON088980; ITS, MW629797, ON417005 and ON417006; TEF, MW654167, ON497264,and ON497265;GAPDH, MW654166, ON497262,and ON497263). The obtained sequences were 100% identical with those of Alternaria alternata strain CBS 102600 upon BLAST analysis . The sequences were also concatenated for phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood. The isolates clustered with A. alternata (CBS 102600, CBS 102598, CBS 118814, CBS 918.96,CBS 106.24, CBS 119543, CBS 916.96). The fungus associated with leaf yellow spot on H. fragrans was thus identified as A. alternata. Pathogenicity tests were conducted in a greenhouse at 24 ℃–30 ℃ with 80% relative humidity. Individual plants were grown in pots (n = 5, 1 month old). The unwounded leaflets were inoculated with 5 mm-diameter mycelial plugs of the isolates or agar plugs (as control). The test was performed thrice. Disease symptoms were found on the leaves after 7 days, whereas the controls remained healthy. The pathogen was re-isolated from infected leaves and phenotypically identical to the original isolates to fulfill Koch’s postulates. To our knowledge, this report is the first one on A. alternata causing leaf yellow spot on H. fragrans. Thus, this work provides an important reference for the control of this disease in the future.

With the IRAM 30 meter telescope, we performed observations of the $J$ = 2-1 transitions of CS, C$^{33}$S, C$^{34}$S, C$^{36}$S, $^{13}$CS, $^{13}$C$^{33}$S, and $^{13}$C$^{34}$S as well as the $J$ = 3-2 transitions of C$^{33}$S, C$^{34}$S, C$^{36}$S, and $^{13}$CS toward a large sample of 110 HMSFRs. We measured the $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C, $^{32}$S/$^{34}$S, $^{32}$S/$^{33}$S, $^{32}$S/$^{36}$S, $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S, $^{34}$S/$^{36}$S, and $^{33}$S/$^{36}$S abundance ratios with rare isotopologs of CS, thus avoiding significant saturation effects. With accurate distances obtained from parallax data, we confirm previously identified $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C and $^{32}$S/$^{34}$S gradients as a function of galactocentric distance (RGC). In the CMZ, $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C ratios are higher than suggested by a linear fit to the disk values as a function of RGC. While $^{32}$S/$^{34}$S ratios near the Galactic center and in the inner disk are similar, this is not the case for $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C, when comparing central values with those near RGC of 5 kpc. As was already known, there is no $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S gradient but the average ratio of 4.35~$\pm$~0.44 derived from the $J$ = 2-1 transition lines of C$^{34}$S and C$^{33}$S is well below previously reported values. A comparison between solar and local interstellar $^{32}$S/$^{34}$S and $^{34}$S/$^{33}$S ratios suggests that the Solar System may have been formed from gas with a particularly high $^{34}$S abundance. For the first time, we report positive gradients of $^{32}$S/$^{33}$S, $^{34}$S/$^{36}$S, $^{33}$S/$^{36}$S, and $^{32}{\rm S}/^{36}{\rm S}$ in our Galaxy. The predicted $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C ratios from the latest GCE models are in good agreement with our results. While $^{32}$S/$^{34}$S and $^{32}$S/$^{36}$S ratios show larger differences at larger RGC, $^{32}$S/$^{33}$S ratios show an offset across the entire inner 12 kpc of the Milky Way., HMSFRs: high-mass star-forming regions. CMZ: central molecular zone. GCE: Galactic chemical evolution. 68 pages, 12 tables, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Rhododendron pulchrum Sweet is a famous ornamental flower in China. In December 2020, a leaf spot disease was observed on cv. Maojuan in Zhanjiang (21.17 N, 110.18 E), Guangdong, China. The spots were irregular and distributed on both sides of the main vein. They were dark to black, and their borders were obvious. The coalescence of the spots eventually led to leaf wilt. The disease incidence was 100% (n = 100, about 50 ha ). Thirty infected leaves were collected from the field, and the margin of the diseased tissues was cut into 2 mm × 2 mm pieces. Samples were surface disinfected with 75% ethanol and 2% sodium hypochlorite for 30 and 60 s, respectively. They were rinsed thrice with sterile water before isolation. The tissues were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28 ℃. After 5 days, fungal colonies appeared on the PDA. Pure cultures were produced by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. Three isolates (RSP-1, RSP-2, and RSP-3) were obtained and the colonies of isolates were preserved in glycerol (15%) at -80 °C deposited at the Museum of Guangdong Ocean University. The morphology of these three isolates was consistent, and their sequences showed 100% homology according to ITS, TEF1, and ACT analysis results. The colonies grew to approximately 5 cm in diameter after 10 days. They showed olive green with off-white aerial mycelia. Stromata and conidia were observed on leaf lesions. Stromata were olivaceous brown. Conidia were solitary, cylindrical to narrowly obclavate, mildly curved, obtuse to rounded at the apex, and 1- to 3-septate; they had dimensions of 20 to 60 × 2.0 to 3.0 μm (n = 30). These morphological characteristics were not different from the description of Pseudocercospora rhododendricola (J.M. Yen) Deighton (Liu et al. 1998). For molecular identification, the colony PCR method with MightyAmp DNA Polymerase (Takara-Bio, Dalian, China) (Lu et al. 2012) was used to amplify the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1), and actin (ACT) loci of the isolates using primer pairs ITS4/ITS5, EF1/EF2, and ACT-512F/ACT-783R, respectively (White et al., 1990; O'Donnell et al. 1997). The sequences of the isolate RSP-1 were deposited in the GenBank (ITS, MW629798; TEF1, MW654168; and ACT, MW654170). BLAST analysis showed that the sequences of P. rhododendricola were submitted to GenBank for the first time by the author of this paper. A phylogenetic tree was generated based on the concatenated data of ITS, TEF1, and ACT sequences from GenBank by the Maximum Likelihood method. The isolates were closest to Pseudocercospora sp. CPC 14711 (Crous et al., 2013). Phylogenetic and morphological analyses identified the isolates as P. rhododendricola. Pathogenicity tests were conducted in a greenhouse at 24 °C-30 ℃ with 80% relative humidity. Healthy cv. Maojuan were grown in pots. Unwounded leaflets were inoculated with 5 mm-diameter mycelial plugs of the isolates or agar plugs (as control) (5 leaflets per plant, 3 plants, 2-month-old plants). The test was performed thrice. Disease symptoms were found on the leaves after 2 weeks, whereas the control plants remained healthy. The fungus was re-isolated from the infected leaves and confirmed as the same isolates by morphological and ITS analyses. P. rhododendricola was the cause of leaf spot of Rhododendron sp. from Singapore (Liu et al., 1998). For the first time, this pathogen was identified by combining phylogenetic and morphological analyses. The sequences in this study would be used as the reference sequences for further studies.

目的 探讨B7H3和纤维连接蛋白（FN）相互作用对人慢性髓性白血病细胞系K562细胞凋亡的影响。 方法 采用流式细胞术检测K562细胞中B7H3分子的表达，构建B7H3过表达细胞。采用免疫共沉淀技术检测B7H3与FN的相互作用。添加外源FN后，通过细胞实验检测细胞黏附和细胞凋亡的变化。Western blot法检测凋亡相关蛋白及PI3K/AKT信号通路的变化。 结果 ① K562细胞低表达B7H3分子，慢病毒转染后得到稳定表达B7H3的细胞系K562 OE-B7H3及其对照细胞系K562 NC-B7H3细胞。②B7H3与FN之间存在相互作用（P＝0.036）。③B7H3与FN的相互作用促进细胞黏附（P

本文报道1例罕见的阴道梭形细胞上皮瘤（spindle cell epitheliomas of the vagina，SCEV）并复习相关文献。组织学显示肿瘤主要由梭形间叶细胞及少量上皮成分组成，间叶细胞排列呈条索状、编织状或网状，细胞无异型，上皮性成分散在分布于间叶组织之间，主要由分化较成熟的鳞状上皮组成，可见细胞间桥，另可见少量呈腺样分化及类上皮性分化区域，类上皮性分化区域间质黏液样变，与周围梭形间叶成分之间可见移行。免疫组织化学显示广谱细胞角蛋白（CKpan）、p40、p63、平滑肌肌动蛋白（SMA）、Calponin均呈阳性表达，但在肿瘤不同分化区域阳性表达程度不同，CD10、雌激素受体、孕激素受体在两种成分均呈强阳性表达，Calretinin及WT-1呈灶性弱阳性，形态及免疫组织化学结果符合SCEV。.

患者男，78岁。因全程性肉眼血尿3 d，CT示右肾占位性病变入院，行右肾切除术。大体观察见肿瘤组织呈出血坏死多彩状，镜下观察见肿瘤主要由呈明显异型性的圆形或多边形上皮样细胞组成，核分裂象易见，细胞排列呈不规则条索、片状及网状裂隙样结构，裂隙边缘被覆肿瘤细胞。免疫组织化学显示血管内皮标志物（ERG、FLI-1、CD31、第八因子相关抗原）及广谱细胞角蛋白（CKpan）、波形蛋白、CD10等均呈阳性表达，肿瘤细胞Ki-67阳性指数约占50%，诊断为肾脏上皮样血管肉瘤。.

Based on the three phases of remote sensing imageries in 2000, 2010 and 2020, taking Boao town as the study area, this paper analyzed the changes in the ecological environment and the driving forces of ecological environment. The results showed that: (1) The main land use type of Boao town was forest, followed by cultivated land. The main change of land use types in Boao town from 2000 to 2020 is from forest to other land types. (2) The average vegetation coverage of Boao town was 70.68% in 2000, 62.49% in 2010 and 71.65% in 2020, which indicated a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. (3) The changes of landscape pattern index of type level from 2000 to 2020 were as follows: the landscape shape index and landscape fragmentation of cultivated land decreased gradually, while the landscape shape index and landscape fragmentation of construction land and forest land increased. The trend of landscape pattern index of landscape level from 2000 to 2020 was as follows: landscape fragmentation continued to increase, landscape spread continued to decline, landscape separation continued to rise, and landscape diversity and evenness continued to increase. (4) In the driving force analysis of ecological environment changes in Boao Town, the results of principal component analysis showed that human factors were the leading factors of ecological environment changes in Boao Town, and economic factors such as GDP, output value of the third industry and per capita disposable income of farmers were the main driving forces of landscape pattern changes in Boao town.

Living organisms can produce elegant structures with unique functions and properties through biological processes. Various proteins are involved in these processes. Inspired by the structure formation of mollusc shells, a single multifunctional recombinant protein ChiCaSifi was designed on the basis of mineralization proteins for regulating CaCO

LncRNA MALAT1 is reported to play a potential role in human cancers. Hence, we investigated the effects of MALAT1 on colorectal cancer

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of environmental temperature and dietary Mn on egg production performance, egg quality, and some plasma biochemical traits of broiler breeders. A completely randomized factorial design involved 2 environmental temperatures (a normal temperature, 21 ± 1°C, and a high temperature, 32 ± 1°C) × 3 dietary Mn treatments (a Mn-unsupplemented corn–soybean meal basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with 120 mg of Mn/kg of diet as either MnSO4·H2O or manganese proteinate). There were 6 treatments with 6 replicates (4 birds per replicate). High temperature decreased egg weight (P < 0.0001), laying rate (P < 0.0001), egg yield (P < 0.0001), feed intake (P < 0.0001), egg:feed ratio (P < 0.0001), eggshell strength (P < 0.05) and thickness (P < 0.0001), plasma triiodothyronine level (P < 0.05), and alkaline phosphatase activity (P < 0.04) whereas it increased rectal temperature (P < 0.0001); plasma malondialdehyde level (P < 0.02); and activities (P < 0.002) of lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatine kinase. Broiler breeders fed the diets supplemented with Mn regardless of source had greater (P < 0.05) eggshell strength and lower (P ≤ 0.05) plasma triiodothyronine level and protein carbonyl content than those fed the control diet. The broiler breeders fed the diet supplemented with the organic Mn had greater (P < 0.01) eggshell thickness than those fed the control diet. There were interactions (P < 0.05) between environmental temperature and dietary Mn in laying rate, egg yield, feed intake, and egg:feed ratio. Under normal temperature, dietary Mn did not affect the above 4 parameters; however, under high temperature, broiler breeders fed the diet supplemented with the organic Mn showed greater (P < 0.03) improvements in these 4 parameters than those fed the control diet. The results from this study indicated that high temperature significantly impaired egg production performance and eggshell quality and induced lipid peroxidation and tissue damage whereas dietary supplementation of either organic or inorganic Mn improved eggshell strength and thermotolerance and reduced protein oxidation and that the organic Mn could alleviate the negative effect of high temperature on egg production performance of broiler breeders at the period of 32 to 45 wk of age.

We present a brief review on predictions for hidden charm molecules, with and without strangeness, which were made prior to the LHCb experiment. We discuss these issues and how these states can be observed in the reactions, \(\Lambda _{b} \to J/\psi K^{ - }p\), \(\Lambda _{b} \to J/\psi \eta \Lambda \), \(\Lambda _{b} \to J/\psi \pi ^{ - }p\), \(\Lambda _{b} \to J/\psi K^{0}\Lambda \), and \(\Xi _{b}^{ - } \to J/\psi K^{ - }\Lambda \) by looking at the invariant mass distributions for \(J/\psi p\) or \(J/\psi \Lambda \).

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different astaxanthin (AST) levels on growth performance, hepatic antioxidative activity, heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) gene expression of juvenile golden pompano. Fish (mean initial body weight 5.8±0.05g) were fed six isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets (AST-0, AST-0.005, AST-0.01, AST-0.05, AST-0.1, AST-0.2) containing various supplemented levels of astaxanthin (0%, 0.005%, 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, respectively) in triplicate for 8 weeks. Growth performance (final body weight, FBW; weight gain, WG), and survival of fish fed diets containing astaxanthin above 0.01% were significantly higher (P

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of arginine on feed intake regulation. One hundred and twenty six 1-day-old male White Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domestica) were randomly were allotted to one of two dietary treatments. The birds were fed diets containing 0.71% (deficient) or 1.27% (sufficient) arginine for 3 weeks. At 21 days of age, feed intake was determined and hypothalamic protein profiles were analyzed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification technique. The birds fed with arginine-deficient diet had a lower final live BW and cumulative feed intake (P1.5-fold expressional changes between arginine-deficient and -sufficient dietary treatments. Nine of these proteins were upregulated and seven of them were downregulated. The identified proteins could be regrouped into six categories: protein processing, carbohydrate metabolism and energy production, transporter, cytoskeleton, immunity and neuronal development. Dietary arginine deficiency decreased expression of proteins involved in energy production (glycine amidinotransferase, aldolase B fructose-bisphosphate, aconitase, transaldolase, 6-phosphofructokinase type C-like) and oxygen transportation (haemoglobin subunit α expression). The proteomic alterations described here provides valuable insights into the interactions of arginine with appetite.

SUMMARY An experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of organic zinc (Zn) proteinate relative to inorganic Zn sulfate for chicks fed a conventional corn-soybean meal basal diet. A total of 576 one-day-old chicks were fed a Zn-unsupplemented corn-soybean meal basal diet (control) or the basal diet supplemented with 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg of Zn/kg from each Zn source for 21 d. As compared with birds fed diets supplemented with Zn sulfate, broilers fed the diets supplemented with Zn proteinate had higher (P = 0.048) ADFI and higher (P = 0.106) ADG values. Meanwhile, birds fed the diets supplemented with Zn proteinate had higher (P 0.05) difference in bioavailability was observed between Zn proteinate and Zn sulfate for chicks, which might be explained by the weak chelation strength of the Zn proteinate. Zinc from Zn proteinate was as available as Zn from Zn sulfate for broilers; however, Zn proteinate was more effective than Zn sulfate in enhancing feed intake and tended to improve the growth rate of broilers.

Two experiments were conducted to estimate standardized P retention (SPR) values of dicalcium phosphate (DCP), monocalcium phosphate (MCP), and monopotassium phosphate (MKP) in broilers. In total, ninety-six 22-d-old male broilers with similar BW (780 g average) were used in each experiment. The chicks were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments (P-free, DCP, MCP, or MKP diets) with 6 replicate cages of 4 chicks each in a completely randomized design. After 3-d acclimation, chicks were fasted for 24 h and then fed P-free, DCP, MCP, or MKP diets for 4 h in Exp. 1 or 72 h in Exp. 2. Excreta samples were collected for a total of 28 or 52 h (24 or 48 h after feed withdrawal) in Exp. 1 and 96 or 120 h (24 or 48 h after feed withdrawal) in Exp. 2, respectively. The excreta collection time of 52 h in Exp. 1 or 96 h in Exp. 2 was adequate for the estimation of SPR. The estimated basal endogenous P losses (EPL) in chicks fed the P-free diet were 109 ± 4 mg/52 h per bird and 49.2 ± 4.0 mg/96 h per bird in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. The SPR values of inorganic phosphate sources corrected by the above basal EPL differed (P < 0.001) in Exp. 2 but not in Exp. 1. However, these SPR values were very similar between the 2 experiments with 68.7, 69.8, or 76.6% in Exp. 1 and 71.8, 70.6, or 78.3% in Exp. 2 for DCP, MCP, or MKP, respectively. The results from the current study indicated that, compared with the 72-h feeding and 96-h excreta collection procedure, the 4-h feeding and 52-h excreta collection procedure was a relatively quicker time- and labor-saving method for estimating the SPR values of inorganic P sources in broilers. The estimated SPR values of commonly used inorganic P sources (MCP and DCP) were about 70%.

The effect of weaning age on the adrenal cortex, which plays a vital role in the stress response, is currently unknown. Therefore, plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels, weights and relative weights of adrenal glands, and steroidogenesis-related protein and enzyme expression levels in piglets weaned on different days were determined. Piglets weaned at 35 days had significantly lower ACTH levels than those weaned at 14 or 21 days, and cortisol levels of piglets weaned at 21, 28, and 35 days were significantly lower than those of piglets weaned on day 14. Adrenal gland weights of piglets weaned at 28 and 35 days and relative adrenal gland weights of piglets weaned at 35 days were significantly lower than those of piglets weaned at 14 days. However, no significant difference was detected in the expression of melanocortin-type 2 receptor mRNA, which is associated with weaning age. Steroidogenic acute-regulatory (StAR) mRNA and cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 mRNA expression levels in piglets weaned at 28 and 35 days were significantly lower than in those weaned at 14 or 21 days, and P450 11β mRNA expression levels in piglets weaned at 28 and 35 days were significantly lower than in those weaned at 14 days. Therefore, early-weaned piglets exhibited increased adrenal gland weights and StAR and steroidogenic enzyme expression, all of which contributed to high cortisol levels. The high plasma ACTH and cortisol levels in early-weaned piglets indicate that these animals would be greatly affected by stress.

We aimed to gain new insight into the molecular alterations of Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML).We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and subsequent Sanger sequencing validation analysis in three individuals with CMML. Genomic DNA samples from bone marrow and matching buccal mucosa samples were sequenced.For all six samples, a total of 806.43 Gb data were generated, achieving a minimum mean depth of 30.76. A total of 22 somatic variants were found to be protein-altering, including 1 exonic frame shift indel, 18 missense SNVs, 2 stop gain SNVs, and 1 stop loss SNV. We focused on the five novel variants which have not been reported in known databases and successfully validated three missense SNVs in AKAP4, COL2A1, and MAML1, respectively.WGS analyzes provided us a new insight into the molecular events governing the pathogenesis of CMML. The somatic variants we reported here may provide new targets for further therapeutic studies.

A novel compact dual band-notched ultra-wide band antenna with hexagonal slotted ground is proposed. By inserting two pairs of L-shaped branches symmetrically into the slotted ground plane, two notched bands, 3.3–3.7 GHz for worldwide interoperability for microwave access and 5.15–5.825 GHz for wireless local area network, are achieved, respectively. A prototype of the proposed antenna is designed, fabricated, and tested. By optimizing the length of the L-shaped branches and the gap between them, the desired bandwidth of VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) less than 2.0 can be achieved, ranging from 2.5 to 11 GHz, except two stop-bands of 3.1–4.0 and 5.0–6.0 GHz. The simulated and measured results of the proposed antenna have shown a reasonable agreement between them. The proposed antenna has a compact size, ultra wide bandwidth, good radiation characteristics, and good time-domain behaviors. It is very suitable for modern wireless communication applications.

In this paper, an electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structure is proposed to achieve tri-band operation for a novel circular slot patch antenna, which is suitable for WLAN and WiMAX applications. The proposed antenna consists of a rectangular radiation patch with an etched circular slot, a circular ring, and a mushroom-like EBG structure, all of which are printed on the top side of the substrate. By embedding a circular ring in the circular slot, the antenna can generate two impedance bandwidths. With the use of EBG structure, the proposed antenna can operate in three separate bands. Simulation results are compared with the measurements, and a good agreement is obtained. The measured results show that the 10 dB return loss bandwidths of the proposed antenna are 530 MHz (2.28–2.81 GHz), 470 MHz (3.29–3.76 GHz) and 1250 MHz (4.87–6.12 GHz), which can cover all the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN bands and 2.5/3.5/5.5 GHz WiMAX bands. In addition, a design evolution and a parametric study of the proposed antenna are prese...

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of environmental temperature and dietary Mn on egg production performance, egg quality, and some plasma biochemical traits of broiler breeders. A completely randomized factorial design involved 2 environmental temperatures (a normal temperature, 21 ± 1°C, and a high temperature, 32 ± 1°C) × 3 dietary Mn treatments (a Mn-unsupplemented corn–soybean meal basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with 120 mg of Mn/kg of diet as either MnSO4·H2O or manganese proteinate). There were 6 treatments with 6 replicates (4 birds per replicate). High temperature decreased egg weight (P0.0001), laying rate (P0.0001), egg yield (P0.0001), feed intake (P0.0001), egg:feed ratio (P0.0001), eggshell strength (P0.05) and thickness (P0.0001), plasma triiodothyronine level (P0.05), and alkaline phosphatase activity (P0.04) whereas it increased rectal temperature (P0.0001); plasma malondialdehyde level (P0.02); and activities (P0.002) of lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatine kinase. Broiler breeders fed the diets supplemented with Mn regardless of source had greater (P0.05) eggshell strength and lower (P ≤ 0.05) plasma triiodothyronine level and protein carbonyl content than those fed the control diet. The broiler breeders fed the diet supplemented with the organic Mn had greater (P0.01) eggshell thickness than those fed the control diet. There were interactions (P0.05) between environmental temperature and dietary Mn in laying rate, egg yield, feed intake, and egg:feed ratio. Under normal temperature, dietary Mn did not affect the above 4 parameters; however, under high temperature, broiler breeders fed the diet supplemented with the organic Mn showed greater (P0.03) improvements in these 4 parameters than those fed the control diet. The results from this study indicated that high temperature significantly impaired egg production performance and eggshell quality and induced lipid peroxidation and tissue damage whereas dietary supplementation of either organic or inorganic Mn improved eggshell strength and thermotolerance and reduced protein oxidation and that the organic Mn could alleviate the negative effect of high temperature on egg production performance of broiler breeders at the period of 32 to 45 wk of age.

A single-layer wideband printed slot antenna with polarisation diversity is presented using a hybrid feeding technique. The antenna consists of an aperture-coupled feeding element and a coplanar waveguide feeding element. The aperture-coupled microstrip feed line with a 180° phase difference is used to reduce the cross-polarisation level and improve the isolation level. A circular patch is connected to the coplanar waveguide feed line for good impedance matching. By introducing a fan-shaped slot to separate the ground plane of the radiating elements, the measured isolation between the two feeding ports is better than 30 dB in the whole operating band. The measured -10 dB impedance bandwidths are 49% (4.72-7.75 GHz) and 63% (3.96-7.64 GHz) at port 1 and port 2, respectively. Moreover, the proposed antenna has a compact structure and stable gain over the operating band; thus it can be used in the 5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN and 5.5 GHz WiMAX systems.

Tumor necrosis might be a consequence of innate sensitivity of tumor cells to changed dosage instead of the increased dosage of chemotherapeutics in the treatment of osteosarcoma patients.To explore whether dose-intensive regimen was a better treatment method than dose-control chemotherapy for high-grade osteosarcoma patients.The data of the included studies was analyzed by random-effects model when there was heterogeneity, otherwise by fixed-effects method. Meta-analysis outcomes were calculated as risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for 5-year disease free survival rate, 5-year overall survival, local recurrence rate, good histological response rate and Limb salvage rate.Five studies involving 1434 patients with high-grade osteosarcoma were included. All the included studies were inadequate in the information about randomization and blinding method. The meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the dose-intensive group and the dose control group in 5-year disease free survival rate (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.96-1.21), 5-year overall survival rate (RR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.98-1.17), good histological response rate (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.82-1.43), limb salvage rate (RR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.93-1.02). However, the local recurrence rate (RR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46- 0.92) and the 5-year disease free survival rate of the good and poor histological response (RR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.36- 1.82) were significantly different.Dose-intensive regimen might not be a preferred treatment for all of the high-grade osteosarcoma patients. Although there were advantages in dose-intensive regimen, appropriate dosage of chemotherapy should be considered in clinical cases.

Walsh et al. (1994) reported measurements of erosion of carbon steel by fly ash and unburned char particles in the convective heat transfer section of an industrial boiler cofiring coal–water fuel and natural gas. Erosion was enhanced by directing a small jet of nitrogen, air, or oxygen toward the surface of a test coupon mounted on an air-cooled tube. Ash and char particles that entered the jet from the surrounding flue gas were accelerated toward the surface of the specimen. Samples were exposed for 2 hours with metal temperature at 450, 550, and 650 K (350, 530, and 710°F). Changes in shape of the surface were measured using a surface profiler. Time-averaged maximum erosion rates were obtained from the differences between the original surface height and the lowest points in the profiles. Erosion was slowest at the lowest metal temperature, regardless of the jet gas composition. When the oxygen partial pressure at the sample surface was very small, under the nitrogen jet, erosion increased with increasing temperature over the range of temperatures investigated. At the intermediate oxygen level, in the air jet, erosion was most rapid at the intermediate temperature. In the presence of the pure oxygen jet erosion was slow at all three temperatures. A model was developed by Xie (1995) to describe wastage of tube material in the presence of the erosion by particle impacts and oxidation of the metal. The observed changes in erosion rate with temperature and oxygen concentration were consistent with a mechanism based upon the following assumptions: (1) Metal was eroded as a ductile material, at a rate that increased with increasing temperature. (2) Oxide was eroded as a brittle material, at a rate independent of temperature. (3) The oxide scale was strongly attached to the metal. (4) The erosion resistance of metal and scale was a linear combination of the resistances of the individual components. (5) Oxide formed according to the parabolic rate law, with a rate coefficient proportional to the square root of the oxygen partial pressure. (6) Erosion resistance from particles sticking to, or embedded in, the surface was negligible. Using the model and rate coefficients for metal and oxide erosion derived from the measurements, estimates were made of the erosion rate of a boiler tube as functions of impaction angle and gas velocity. Under the conditions of metal temperature, gas composition, particle size, particle concentration, and particle composition investigated, erosion of carbon steel is expected to be slower than 0.05 μm/h when the gas velocity in the convection section is less than approximately 8 m/s.

Two experiments were conducted to estimate standardized P retention (SPR) values of dicalcium phosphate (DCP), monocalcium phosphate (MCP), and monopotassium phosphate (MKP) in broilers. In total, ninety-six 22-d-old male broilers with similar BW (780 g average) were used in each experiment. The chicks were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments (P-free, DCP, MCP, or MKP diets) with 6 replicate cages of 4 chicks each in a completely randomized design. After 3-d acclimation, chicks were fasted for 24 h and then fed P-free, DCP, MCP, or MKP diets for 4 h in Exp. 1 or 72 h in Exp. 2. Excreta samples were collected for a total of 28 or 52 h (24 or 48 h after feed withdrawal) in Exp. 1 and 96 or 120 h (24 or 48 h after feed withdrawal) in Exp. 2, respectively. The excreta collection time of 52 h in Exp. 1 or 96 h in Exp. 2 was adequate for the estimation of SPR. The estimated basal endogenous P losses (EPL) in chicks fed the P-free diet were 109 ± 4 mg/52 h per bird and 49.2 ± 4.0 mg/96 h per bird in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. The SPR values of inorganic phosphate sources corrected by the above basal EPL differed (P0.001) in Exp. 2 but not in Exp. 1. However, these SPR values were very similar between the 2 experiments with 68.7, 69.8, or 76.6% in Exp. 1 and 71.8, 70.6, or 78.3% in Exp. 2 for DCP, MCP, or MKP, respectively. The results from the current study indicated that, compared with the 72-h feeding and 96-h excreta collection procedure, the 4-h feeding and 52-h excreta collection procedure was a relatively quicker time- and labor-saving method for estimating the SPR values of inorganic P sources in broilers. The estimated SPR values of commonly used inorganic P sources (MCP and DCP) were about 70%.

An experiment was conducted to estimate optimal dietary arginine requirement in White Pekin ducks from 1 to 21 d of age. Six hundred thirty 1-d-old male White Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to 10 dietary treatments with 7 replicate pens of 9 birds per pen. Birds in each group were fed corn-corn gluten meals diet containing 0.71, 0.84, 0.95, 1.03, 1.17, 1.27, 1.39, 1.47, 1.62, and 1.72% arginine, respectively. At 21 d of age, weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain ratio, and breast meat yield from each treatment were measured. Dietary supplementation of arginine significantly improved weight gain, feed intake, feed/gain, and breast meat yield (P < 0.01). Based on quadratic broken-line regression analysis, the arginine requirement of male White Pekin ducks from 1 to 21 d of age was 0.95, 1.16, and 0.99% for weight gain, feed/gain, and breast meat yield, respectively.

The $pp\to p n \pi^+$ reaction is a channel with the largest total cross section for pp collision in COSY/CSR energy region. In this work, we investigate individual contributions from various $N^*$ and $\Delta^{*}$ resonances with mass up to about 2 GeV for the $pp\to p n \pi^+$ reaction. We extend a resonance model, which can reproduce the observed total cross section quite well, to give theoretical predictions of various differential cross sections for the present reaction at $T_p=2.88$ GeV. It could serve as a reference for identifying new physics in the future experiments at HIRFL-CSR., Comment: talk at STORI08, Sept. 2008, Lanzhou, China

Favorable positive temperature coefficient (PTC) properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites were obtained. The results showed that such composites presented high PTC intensity, as well as eliminated negative temperature coefficient effect and high thermal stability, which indicated that the MWCNT/PVDF nanocomposites could overcome the main shortages of the current polymer-based PTC composites. By comparing with other contrastive nanocomposites through similar procedure, the mechanisms for the MWCNT/PVDF composite to overcome the shortages were studied and discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010

According to the theory of beam spreading and taking electromagnetic Gaussian Shell-model beam as an object of research, the change in its spectral degree of polarization is studied by numerical analysis. Based on the numerical results, the mechanism that governs the change in polarization of an electromagnetic beam on propagation is discussed. The results show that the beam spreading of two components of an electromagnetic beam results in the change in polarization of beam directly, and the beam spreading is determined by source parameters and atmospheric turbulence. The difference between beam spreading of two components induced by coherence leads to the change in polarization in free space. The change in degree of polarization is influenced by source parameters and turbulence on propagation in atmosphere. The result is similar to that in free space over relatively short distance, which is mainly governed by source parameters. With the enhancement of turbulence over a sufficiently long distance, the change in polarization in atmosphere is different from that in free space.

A rate equation model is established to describe the threshold characteristics of a diode-pumped Cs vapor laser in this paper. With the help of the numerical solution for the model, the influences of several parameters (waist position and waist radius of pump laser, length of vapor cell, and operating temperature) on the threshold pump power are analyzed. Results show that there are optimal values of the pump waist position and radius, vapor cell length and operating temperature to ensure a lowest threshold pump power. Besides, the decrease of divergence angle can reduce threshold pump power effectively. Simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. It is shown that the model can be used to reveal the threshold characteristics of diode-pumped alkali vapor laser and may serve as a theoretical guidance for the optimization design of this laser.

Based on the reaction mechanism of non-chain pulsed DF laser and taking into consideration the deactivation of the stimulated DF molecules by ground state DF molecules, D2 molecules, D atoms, F atoms, the dynamical model for non-chain pulsed DF laser is established using the rate equation theory. Through solving this model with Runge-Kutta method, the dependence of species concentration in the gain area on time is obtained. Then the effects of the working gas ratio and the reflectance of output mirror on photon number density, single pulse energy, pulse width and output power are studied in light of this model. The optimum parameters of the working gas ratio and the reflectance of output mirror are attained based on the theoretical calculation. The pulse waveform and single pulse energy of non-chain pulsed DF laser calculated by using the rate equations theory agree well with experimental data based on electric-discharge. These results would provide a theoretical support for the optimization of non-chain pulsed DF laser.

A series of multiwall carbon nanotube/low density polyethylene composite films with different thicknesses and different carbon nanotube volume fractions was prepared and studied. The result showed an interesting phenomenon which has not been reported before: when the thickness was reduced to the length range of the carbon nanotube filler, it could remarkably affect the percolation threshold of the composite films. Classical theories have been introduced to describe the phenomenon. This result could have significance in future applications of percolative composite thin/thick films.