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BACKGROUND Glioblastoma has a high degree of malignancy and poor prognosis. It is common to have in situ recurrence and intracranial metastasis, while extracranial metastasis is rare, and extracranial multiorgan metastasis is extremely rare. We report a case of glioblastoma with extracranial multiorgan metastasis, which will strengthen clinicians’ attention to the extracranial metastasis of glioblastoma and its treatment. CASE SUMMARY A male patient visited our hospital for treatment of dizziness and headache. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed a space-occupying lesion in the right temporoparietal occipital region. Chest computed tomography and abdominal ultrasound were normal, and no space-occupying lesions were observed in other organs of the body. The patient underwent surgery and diagnosed with glioblastoma. Postoperative concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy were completed. During the follow-up, the tumor was found to have metastasized to the scalp and neck, and a second tumor resection was performed. Postoperative follow-up revealed extracranial metastases to multiple extracranial organs including skull, scalp, ribs, spine, liver and lung. His family members refused further treatment, and requested only symptomatic treatment such as pain relief, and the patient died of systemic multiple organ failure. Survival time from diagnosis to death was 13 mo and from extracranial metastasis to death was 6 mo. CONCLUSION Glioblastoma extracranial metastasis is extremely rare, clinicians should always pay attention to its existence. The mechanism of glioblastoma extracranial metastasis is still unclear, and genetic and molecular studies are required.

Sexually dimorphic plumage coloration is widespread in birds in which the male plumage is brighter than the female. This phenomenon is related to the environmental constraints on sexual selection or intraspecific competition between males and females in birds. The physiological factors and genetic regulation mechanism affecting the color of sexual dimorphism plumages in birds have always attracted significant attention in research. Understanding the diversity of sexually dimorphic traits provides insights into the mating strategies of the sexes and their behavior, ecology, and evolution. Interestingly, the ASIP, MC1R, TYRP1, and BCO2 genes have been identified to play a potential role in the coloration of melanin and carotenoids in bird sexual dimorphism plumages, either by controlling the rate and type of melanin or carotene synthesis or degradation by exerting an effect on the pigment biosynthetic pathway. In this review, we systematically summarize the biological significance, the direct causes (chemical and physical color), and the influence of sex hormones in sexually dimorphic plumage coloration. We also investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the roles of some genes on sexual dimorphism coloration, thereby providing a reference for in-depth understanding on the formation mechanism(s) of sexual dimorphic coloration in birds.鸟类羽毛颜色普遍存在性别二态性,即雄性羽色相对于雌性更鲜艳,这种现象的产生可能与环境对性别的选择效应或性别间的种内竞争有关。鸟类羽毛颜色性别二态性的生理因素及遗传调控机制一直备受关注。了解两性二态性特征的形成机制,有助于深入了解两性的交配策略及种群的行为和进化过程。研究表明,ASIP、MC1R、TYRP1和BCO2等基因能调控鸟类羽色性别二态性的形成,主要通过控制黑色素或胡萝卜素产生或降解的速率和类型,或通过调控色素生物合成途径。本文综述了影响鸟类羽色性别二态性的生物学意义、直接原因(化学性颜色、物理性颜色)、性激素对鸟类羽色性别二态性的影响,以及部分关键基因调控鸟类羽色性别二态性形成的分子机制,以期为深入理解鸟类羽色性别二态性的形成机制研究提供参考。.

A disturbance observer (DOB) based-backstepping sliding mode control scheme is discussed for a class of semi-strict nonlinear system with unknown parameters and mismatched uncertainty. Firstly, adaptive technique and DOB are respectively applied to tackle the unknown parameters and mismatched uncertainty, where the DOB can effectively alleviate the chattering problem of sliding mode control (SMC). Then, exponential sliding mode surface is proposed to improve the convergence rate of the sliding mode state. The ‘explosion of complexity’ problem inherent in conventional backstepping control is overcome by designing the novel first-order filter. The stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed in the framework of Lyapunov stability theory, in which the tracking error converges to an arbitrarily small neighborhood around zero (ASNZ). At last, two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Background: Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae) is a small plant lineage comprised of more than fifteen economically and medicinally important species. However, the phylogenetic relationships of the genus are not well explored, and the characteristics of Fagopyrum chloroplast genomes (plastomes) remain poorly understood so far. It restricts the comprehension of species diversity in Fagopyrum. Therefore, a comparative plastome analysis and comprehensive phylogenomic analyses are required to reveal the taxonomic relationship among species of Fagopyrum. Results: In the current study, 12 plastomes were sequenced and assembled from eight species and two varieties of Fagopyrum. In the comparative analysis and phylogenetic analysis, eight previously published plastomes of Fagopyrum were also included. A total of 49 plastomes of other genera in Polygonaceae were retrieved from GenBank and used for comparative analysis with Fagopyrum. The variation of the Fagopyrum plastomes is mainly reflected in the size and boundaries of inverted repeat/single copy (IR/SC) regions. Fagopyrum is a relatively basal taxon in the phylogenomic framework of Polygonaceae comprising a relatively smaller plastome size (158,768–159,985 bp) than another genus of Polygonaceae (158,851–170,232 bp). A few genera of Polygonaceae have nested distribution of the IR/SC boundary variations. Although most species of Fagopyrum show the same IRb/SC boundary with species of Polygonaceae, only a few species show different IRa/SC boundaries. The phylogenomic analyses of Fagopyrum supported the cymosum and urophyllum groups and resolved the systematic position of subclades within the urophyllum group. Moreover, the repeat sequence types and numbers were found different between groups of Fagopyrum. The plastome sequence similarity showed significant differences between intra-group and inter-group.Conclusions: The deletions of intergenic regions cause a short length of Fagopyrum plastomes, which may be the main reason for plastome size diversity in Polygonaceae species. Most of the Polygonaceae plastomes may have experienced gene loss events, resulting in the nested distribution of IR/SC boundary variation. The phylogenomic reconstruction combined with the characteristics comparison of plastomes supports grouping within Fagopyrum. The outcome of these genome resources may facilitate the taxonomy, germplasm resources identification as well as plant breeding of Fagopyrum.

In poultry, feed restriction is common feeding management to limit poultry nutrients intake so that poultry only intake the essential energy, meeting the basic need of growth and development. Our study investigated whether feeding restriction affects the diversity of the intestinal microbiota of growing breeding ducks. In this research, the 60-120-day-old ducks were raised in restricted and free-feeding groups. After slaughtering, the carcass traits and the cecal contents were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. After feeding restriction, the growth rate of ducks was limited, the weight and rate of abdominal fat decreased, and the rate of chest and leg muscles increased. In addition, feeding restriction can also change the diversity of intestinal microorganisms in breeding ducks, such as the increase of Firmicutes abundance and the decrease of Bacteroidetes abundance. After analyzing of correlation, significant correlations between gut microbiota and carcass phenotypes were found. The results indicated that gut microbiota might be involved in the life activities associated with phenotypic changes. This study proved the effect of feeding methods on the intestinal microbiota of ducks, providing a theoretical basis of the microbial angle for raising ducks in a feeding-restricted period.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays an important role in the ability of plants to cope with drought stress. As core members of the ABA signaling pathway, protein phosphatase type 2Cs (PP2Cs) have been reported in many species. However, the functions of MdPP2Cs in apple (Malus domestica) are unclear. In this study, we identified two PP2C-encoding genes, MdPP2C24/37, with conserved PP2C catalytic domains, using sequence alignment. The nucleus-located MdPP2C24/37 genes were induced by ABA or mannitol in apple. Genetic analysis revealed that overexpression of MdPP2C24/37 in Arabidopsis thaliana led to plant insensitivity to ABA or mannitol treatment, in terms of inhibiting seed germination and overall seedling establishment. The expression of stress marker genes was upregulated in MdPP2C24/37 transgenic lines. At the same time, MdPP2C24/37 transgenic lines displayed inhibited ABA-mediated stomatal closure, which led to higher water loss rates. Moreover, when exposed to drought stress, chlorophyll levels decreased and MDA and H2O2 levels accumulated in the MdPP2C24/37 transgenic lines. Further, MdPP2C24/37 interacted with MdPYL2/12 in vitro and vivo. The results indicate that MdPP2C24/37 act as negative regulators in response to ABA-mediated drought resistance.

BackgroundAn apparent association between decreased Ig levels and serious infections (SIs) was pre- viously reported. Here, we characterised the temporal evolution of Ig levels and risk of SIs by baseline Ig quartile over 6 years in OPERA I/II (NCT01247324/NCT01412333), ORATORIO (NCT01194570), and their open-label extensions.MethodsSerum Ig levels were measured ≥24 weeks. Baseline IgG/IgM/IgA quartiles (g/L) were determined; Q1 represents the lowest quartile. Changes in Ig levels and SI rates by baseline quartiles were assessed.ResultsOver 6 years, mean change in IgG levels, g/L (% change) per year by quartile were: Q1, -0.24 (-2.9%); Q2, -0.32 (-3.2%); Q3, -0.40 (-3.6%); Q4, -0.40 (-3.0%) in OPERA, and Q1, -0.23 (-2.9%); Q2, -0.28 (-2.9%);Q3 -0.35 (-3.1%); Q4, -0.51 (-3.8%) in ORATORIO. SI rates/100PY (95% CI) were: Q1, 1.63 (0.95–2.61); Q2, 1.55(0.90–2.48); Q3, 1.51 (0.86–2.45); Q4, 1.11 (0.57–1.94) in OPERA, and Q1, 4.04 (2.66–5.87); Q2, 3.81 (2.46–5.62); Q3, 5.39 (3.76–7.50); Q4, 2.17 (1.22–3.59) in ORATORIO. Changes in IgM/IgA will also be presented.ConclusionsPatients with lower baseline IgG demonstrated less absolute IgG decline, but similar per- centage decline, versus patients with higher baseline IgG. SI rates were low, and similar across quartiles.k.schmierer@qmul.ac.uk

Background Grasshoppers are typical phytophagous pests, and they have large appetites with high utilization of plants fibers, the digestion of which may depend on the microorganisms in their intestines. Grasshoppers have the potential to be utilized in bioreactors, which could improve straw utilization efficiency in the future. In this study, we describe the gut microbiome in three species of grasshoppers, Oedaleus decorus asiaticus, Aiolopus tamulus and Shirakiacris shirakii, by constructing a 16S rDNA gene library and analyzed the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose in the grasshoppers by using moss black phenol colorimetry and anthrone colorimetry. Results There were 509,436 bacterial OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) detected in the guts of all the grasshoppers sampled. Among them, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the most common, Aiolopus tamulus had the highest bacterial diversity, and Shirakiacris shirakii had the highest bacterial species richness. The intestinal microflora structure varied between the different species of grasshopper, with Aiolopus tamulus and Shirakiacris shirakii being the most similar. Meanwhile, the time at which grasshopper specimens were collected also led to changes in the intestinal microflora structure in the same species of grasshoppers. Klebsiella may form the core elements of the microflora in the grasshopper intestinal tract. The digestibility of cellulose/hemicellulose among the three species grasshoppers varied (38.01/24.99%, 43.95/17.21% and 44.12/47.62%). LEfSe analysis and Spearman correlation coefficients showed that the hemicellulosic digestibility of Shirakiacris shirakii was significantly higher than that of the other two species of grasshopper, which may be related to the presence of Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Glutamicibacter, Corynebacterium, and Brachybacterium in Shirakiacris shirakii intestinal tract. Conclusion The intestinal microbial communities of the three grasshoppers species are similar on phylum level, but the dominant genera of different species grasshoppers are different. The cellulose digestibility of the three species of grasshoppers is relatively high, which may be correlated with the presence of some gut microbiome. Increasing the understanding of the structure and function of the grasshopper intestinal microflora will facilitate further research and the utilization of intestinal microorganisms in the future.

In this paper, the finite-time control design problem for a class of nonlinear systems with matched and mismatched uncertainty is addressed. The finite-time control scheme is designed by integrating multi power reaching (MPR) law and finite-time disturbance observer (FTDO) into integral sliding mode control, where a novel sliding surface is designed, and the FTDO is applied to estimate the uncertainty. Then the fixed-time reachability of the MPR law is analyzed, and the finite-time stability of the closed-loop system is proven in the framework of Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, numerical simulation and the application to the flight control of hypersonic vehicle (HSV) are provided to show the effectiveness of the designed controller.

The composition of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract is closely related to the intestinal microenvironments and the exterior growth environments of host. In this study, 16S rDNA sequencing technology was adopted to investigate the influence of fermentation bed on the cecum microorganisms of ducks. Two feeding density treatment groups were set up, including group A (n = 4brids/m

The objective of this study was to observe the effects of the overexpression of miR-3074-5p in human trophoblast cells in vitro.Experimental in vitro study in HTR8/SVneo cells.HTR8/SVneo cells were transfected with miR-3074-5p mimic. The cell apoptosis and invasion were measured via flow cytometry and transwell assay, respectively. The expression levels of P53, Cyclin Dependent Kinase Inhibitor 1B (P27), BCL-2, BCL2 associated X (BAX), and BCL2 like 14 (BCL-G) in HTR8/SVneo cells were determined by Western blot. The alterations in gene expression profile of HTR8/SVneo cells were evaluated by complementary DNA microarray assay, and the differential expressions of dihydrolipoamide S-succinyltransferase (DLST), growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), and C-C type chemokine receptor 3 (CCR3) were validated by Western blot. Biofunctions of these differentially expressed genes were enriched by Gene Ontology analysis.The overexpression of miR-3074-5p in HTR8/SVneo cells promoted cell apoptosis but inhibited cell invasion, being accompanied by the significantly elevated expressions of P27, BCL-2, and BCL-G. Meanwhile, an increased expression of P27 and P57 was also detected in a small sample size of placental villi of recurrent miscarriage (RM) patients. Totally, 411 genes and 397 genes were screened out, respectively, to be downregulated or upregulated at least by 2-folds in miR-3074-5p overexpressed HTR8/SVneo cells. These differentially expressed genes were involved in several important functions related to pregnancy. Subsequently, the reduced expressions of DLST and GAP43 proteins, as well as the increased expressions of CCR3 and RUNX2 proteins, were validated in miR-3074-5p overexpressed HTR8/SVneo cells.These data suggested a potential contribution of miR-3074-5p in the pathogenesis of RM by disturbing the normal activities of trophoblast cells.

Bus body vibration and interior noise caused by vibration directly affect the ride comfort, cause driving fatigue, discomfort, and bring to the urban environmental noise pollution at the same time. Based on urban bus as the research object in the paper, the modal analyses of body structure, interior spoke and solid coupling model have been carried out by LMS. Virtual Lab software, and compared with the results of modal experiment results on body. The interior sound pressure response has been calculated under the engine incentive by using the boundary element method, and the sound pressure response curves for low frequency have been gotten. Finally, the local structure of body has been improved, and this method reaches the purpose of noise reduction by the simulation calculation. At the same time, references have been provided for improving vehicle vibration and noise.

Purpose MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play critical roles in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in decidua and villus of recurrent miscarriage (RM) patients. Methods Participants were recruited at the outpatient Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, China. Decidua and villus tissues were collected by curettage from recruited RM patients and normal pregnant women with their informed consent. MiRNAs expression profiles in decidua or villus were respectively determined by the deep-sequencing analysis. The predicated target genes of these differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed by miRWalk. The differential expressions of four miRNAs in decidua and four miRNAs in villus between the six pairs of RM patients and normal pregnant women were confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis. The expression patterns of two predicated target genes, Bcl-2 and Pten, in the same six pairs of decidual or villus tissues were detected by Western blotting analysis, respectively. Results Totally 18 RM patients and 15 normal pregnant women were recruited. Thirty-two miRNAs in decidua and four miRNAs in villus of RM patients were screened out to be significantly up-regulated compared to that of normal pregnant women, and five miRNAs in villus of RM patients were screened out to be remarkably down-regulated compared to that of normal pregnant women (P value 2). These differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted to target a large number of genes that involved in cell apoptosis, p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle and other cellular bio-functions. Differential expressions of hsa-miR-516a-5p, -517a-3p, -519a-3p and -519d in decidua, as well as hsa-miR-1, -372, -100-5p and -146a-5p in villus, were validated by qRT-PCR analysis. In the decidual of RM patients, expression of hsa-miR-516a-5p, -517a-3p, -519a-3p and -519d were significantly up-regulated compared to normal pregnancy. In the villi of RM patients, expression of hsa-miR-100 and -146a-5p were significantly higher, while hsa-miR-1 and -372 were significantly lower compared to normal pregnancy. Furthermore, the expression of Bcl-2 and Pten, a predicated target gene of hsa-miR-1 or hsa-miR-372 respectively, was significantly up-regulated in the villi of RM patients. Conclusions These data suggested that the pathogenic process of RM might be associated with the alteration of miRNAs expression profiles in decidua and villus. Especially, the aberrant placental expression of hsa-miR-1 and -372 might be involved in the progression of RM, but need to be further investigated by larger studies in the future.

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) are the main pests in agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry, and some species of grasshoppers can cause serious disaster. Taxonomy is the basis of pest control. Traditional morphological identification is time-consuming and laborious. It may be due to the existence of cryptic species or the limited number of morphologists, making the identification extremely unstable. In recent years, with the development of molecular systematics, DNA barcoding technology has been applied to environment, ecology, quarantine and so on. This study focuses on testing the feasibility of DNA barcoding in the species identification for superfamily Acridoidea. Sequences of the cox1 gene were obtained from 245 individuals of 43 species of Acridoidea and one species of Tetrigoidea as outgroup from Hebei Province. Phylogenetic, genetic distance and sequence difference threshold analyses using the Maximum Likelihood (ML), Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and Molecular Defined Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTU) methods, respectively, were performed for obtained sequences and the 139 additional sequences of 21 species downloaded from GenBank. The results have shown that 40, 33, and 35 species among the 48 species are consistent with the traditional morphological classification based on the phylogenetic tree, ABGD and MOTU results, respectively and the DNA barcoding technology is very efficient and helpful for identifying the species of the superfamily Acridoidea; however, the morphological approach is still playing a key role in the species identifications. It also indicates that the cox1 gene is suitable for the phylogeny of genera and species level, but it is not suitable for the phylogenetic relationship of the advanced taxa such as families.

Frames are the main components of the flight motion simulator, which are the support for each shaft system, at the same time the rotating load for the external shaft, so the stiffness and dynamic characteristics of the frames in a large extent determines the final accuracy and dynamic performance of the flight motion simulator. For the cast aluminum alloy ZL114A frames of a 3-DOF flight motion simulator, using finite element analysis method, the dynamic characteristics are calculated and analyzed, and then the each order resonance frequency and mode of vibration are obtained. By using of the modal synthesis method and optimization algorithms, the structural dynamics of frames are designed optimally, so as to further reducing the moment of inertia, and improving the stiffness and dynamic characteristics of frames. This method has provided important reference for the reasonable design of the frame structure, and definitively established the foundation to further study the triaxial coupling dynamic characteristics and system mechanical optimization for the flight motion simulator.

Maternal immune tolerance to the semi-allogenic fetus is required for successful pregnancy in mammals. Monoclonal nonspecific suppressor factor beta (MNSFB) is an immunosuppressive factor present in uterine epithelial and stromal cells, as well as in macrophages and T cells. Although the functional neutralization of MNSFB using specific antibodies against it lead to failed embryo implantation in mice, the exact role of MNSFB at the fetal-maternal interface remains unclear. The present study generated conditional heterozygous Mnsfb-deficient (Mnsfb(+/) (-) ) mice using the LoxP/Cre system. Western-blot analyses showed that uterine MNSFB protein in Mnsfb(+/-) mice was remarkably down-regulated compared to that in the wild-type (Mnsfb(+/+) ) mice. The litter size of female Mnsfb(+/-) mice was significantly reduced, which corresponded to developmental failure of embryos beyond Day 11 of pregnancy. The expression level of MNSFB protein was also lower in the failing compared to the normal embryos. An aberrant interaction between the embryos of Day-4 pregnant wild-type mice and endometrial stromal cells of female Mnsfb(+/-) mice was observed in vitro. The uterine Day-5 abundance of P53, BAX, and BCL-G in pregnant Mnsfb(+/-) mice was significantly decreased compared to that of wild-type mice, whereas the expression of P27 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA) was elevated. By comparison, the levels of MNSFB and BAX proteins in human decidual tissues obtained from recurrent spontaneous miscarriage patients were significantly reduced compared to those obtained from legal medial abortion, highlighting the involvement of MNSFB in the pathogenesis of recurrent spontaneous miscarriage. Together, these results demonstrated that a deficiency in MNSFb is associated with pregnancy loss, probably through reduced P53 and/or increased TNFA production at the fetal-maternal interface.

Objective To investigate the effect of exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, on aortic lesions in ApoE-knock-out (ApoE-/-) mice with atherosclerosis. Methods ApoE-/-mice were randomly divided into normal diet group (n=14) and high-fat diet group (n=68). After fed for 12 weeks, 4 from normal diet group and 8 from high-fat diet group were randomly chosen for verification of model reproductions. Then the mice in high-fat diet group were divided into 6 groups (10 each): non-drug intervention group, atorvastatin group, exenatide low/high-dose groups and atorvastatin + exenatide low/high-dose groups. After 6 weeks of drug intervention, blood samples were collected from the retro-orbital venous plexus of the mice. All the mice were sacrificed by intraperitoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital, and paraffin sections of the aortic arch was processed for HE staining. The serum lipid level was measured by ELISA, the protein expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were determined by Western blotting. Results HE staining showed that the histology of the aorta of mice in normal diet group and atorvastatin + exenatide high-dose group were normal, but those of atorvastatin group and exenatide low/high-dose groups and atorvastatin + exenatide low-dose group showed extensive pathological thickening of endometrium. Lipid plaques were formed with visible lipid cores in the aorta of mice in non-drug intervention group. Application of exenatide alone or combined with atorvastatin reduced the levels of serum lipid (TC, TG, LDL-C) in varying degrees (P

Objective: Side population (SP) cells may play a crucial role in tumorigenesis and the recurrence of cancer. Many kinds of cell lines and tissues have demonstrated the presence of SP cells, including several gastric cancer cell lines. This study is aimed to identify the cancer stem-like cells in the SP of gastric cancer cell line MKN-45. Methods: We used fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) to sort SP cells in the human gastric carcinoma cell line MKN-45 (cells labeled with Hoechst 33342) and then characterized the cancer stem-like properties of SP cells. Results: This study found that the SP cells had higher clone formation efficiency than major population (MP) cells. Five stemness-related gene expression profiles, including OCT-4, SOX-2, NANOG, CD44, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporters gene ABCG2, were tested in SP and MP cells using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Western blot was used to show the difference of protein expression between SP and MP cells. Both results show that there was significantly higher protein expression in SP cells than in MP cells. When inoculated into non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice, SP cells show higher tumorigenesis tendency than MP cells. Conclusions: These results indicate that SP cells possess cancer stem cell properties and prove that SP cells from MKN-45 are gastric cancer stem-like cells.

A vapor deposed LiFePO4/C composite cathode material was acquired through filled carbon to FePO4 precursor by vapor deposition. The results showed that the carbon could contact to LiFePO4 nanopaticle directly and uniformly and formed a conducting network. It showed a good discharge capacity retention at large discharge rate. It was 57.3% at 10C. It also showed an excellent capacity steady characteristic when cycling at 1C.

With the development of the power grid, the proportion of large capacity unit is increasing rapidly. It requires a more in-depth study on the reliability of the unit, especially for the unit adjusting the peak. This paper concerned on the research of the surface heat transfer coefficient, which is the key factor affect the precision in thermal stress analysis. The surface heat transfer coefficient is obtained via the numerical calculation for the steam’s flow state and the transient heat transfer between rotor. This paper mainly describes the steam’s flow state and the transient heat transfer with the steam seal, and the results show that the direct numerical calculation is resultful in this subject.

Based on aerobic manure composting with or without the addition of a mixture of sulfadimethoxine SM2 and sulfamonomethoxine SMM (1:1, m/m), changes in the physic-chemical properties of manure compost, the microbial community physiological profiles, the antibiotics concentration and the abundances of five antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) during the composting were tracked. The results indicated that the introduction of sulfonamide antibiotics led to inhibition on the basal respiration of manure compost during the early composting period, delayed the formation of thermophilic temperature and reduced the conversion of nutrients such as organic matter, ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen. Meanwhile, the introduction of sulfonamide antibiotics dramatically affected the physiological profile of microbial community in manure in the middle stage of composting. HPLC-MS/MS results showed that both SMM and SM2 in manure were completely degraded within 14 days, while the degradation rate of SMM was faster than that of SM2. For both composting treatments with or without addition of exogenous antibiotics, the relative abundance of sull and sul2 showed an initial decline in the first 14 or 21 days and a slight increase thereafter. The addition of exogenous antibiotics showed insignificant enhancement on increasing the relative abundance of sul1 and IntI1 in manure, but resulted in an apparent increase in sul2 relative abundance. Although the fates of tetQ and tetW during composting were different from that of sulfonamide ARGs, the introduction of sulfonamide antibiotics into manure increased the relative abundance of tetracycline ARGs. Redundancy analysis indicated that composting temperature correlated negatively with sul1, sul2 and IntI1 relative abundance in manure but had no obvious relationship with tetQ and tetW relative abundance. All the ARGs detected in this work correlated negatively with C/N ratio and the nitrate nitrogen concentration of manure compost but positively correlated with pH, moisture and ammonia nitrogen concentration of manure compost.

Embryo implantation is an essential step for the establishment of pregnancy and dynamically regulated by estrogen and progesterone. NDRG4 (N-myc down-regulated gene 4) is a tumor suppressor that participates in cell survival, tumor invasion and angiogenesis. The objective of this study was to preliminarily explore the role of NDRG4 in embryo implantation. By immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitive RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), we found that uterine expression of NDRG4 was increased along with puberal development, and its expression in adult females reached the peak at the estrus stage during the estrus cycle. Furthermore, uterine NDRG4 expression was significantly induced by the treatment of estradiol (E2) both in pre-puberty females and ovariectomized adult females. Uterine expression pattern of NDRG4 during the peri-implantation period in mice was determined by IHC, qRT-PCR and Western blot. It was observed that NDRG4 expression was up-regulated during the implantation process, and its expression level at the implantation sites was significantly higher than that at the inter-implantation sites. Meanwhile, an increased expression in NDRG4 was associated with artificial decidualization as well as the activation of delayed implantation. By qRT-PCR and Western blot, we found that the in vitro decidualization of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) was accompanied by up-regulation of NDRG4 expression, whereas knockdown of its expression in these cells by siRNA inhibited the decidualization process. In addition, Western blot analysis showed that NDRG4 protein expression was decreased in human villus tissues of recurrent miscarriage (RM) patients compared to normal pregnant women. Collectively, these data suggested that uterine NDRG4 expression could be induced by estrogen, and NDRG4 might play an important role during early pregnancy.

The pyrolysis behaviors of cotton stalk, corn stalk and corn cob have been investigated with the thermogaravimetric ananlysis(TGA) coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR). The results from TGA show that there are two reaction stages in the pyrolysis process, corn cob is easier to decomposition than others at the same temperature, and their pyrolysis process is different from each other. Different chemical component ratio maybe link with the variable biomass pyrolysis behaviors. The corn cob yield the most organic compound for its highest content of cellulose and the cotton stalk yield the most non-condensable gas in addition to H2 for its highest content of hemicellulose from the integrated data of peak area. Thus, the content of cellulose and hemicellulose have an important role in the biomass pyrolisis.

The calculation results show that relative cut-in depth at the moment of maximum shearing force decreases with the increase of steel plate thickness; along with blade clearance increasing, shearing force would increase slightly compared with the slide pressure of blade carrier; shearing force increases significantly with the increasing blunt end radius; shearing force displays a bit decrement with the decreasing platen force, while the pressure on slide plate of blade carrier increases substantially; shearing force increases a bit with the increasing shear velocity and decreases when nip angle increases while the horizontal component force of shearing force along the direction of plate width increases rapidly. The above results have important reference and actual using value for studying calculation of mechanical parameters of rolling shear and its structural design.

Hepatitis B x-interacting protein (HBXIP), a co-factor of survivin, was originally identified by its binding with the C-terminus of the hepatitis B virus x protein (HBx). We have recently shown that HBXIP promotes the growth of both normal liver cells and hepatoma cells in vitro, but the molecular mechanisms of this have not been documented. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of HBXIP on the proliferation of HepG2 cells and the intracellular signaling pathway mediating these changes. Over-expression of the HBXIP gene promoted the proliferation of HepG2 cells, as shown by the MTT assay. We also showed that HBXIP induced cellular accumulation in the S phase concomitantly with up-regulation of cyclinD1 and down-regulation of p21 and p53 levels. Moreover, HBXIP over-expression cells showed activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway; this activation was accompanied by an increase in phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 β. LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K, blocked HBXIP-stimulated Akt phosphorylation and suppressed the cell cycle promotion induced by HBXIP in HepG2 cells. The increase in cyclinD1 protein levels induced by HBXIP was inhibited when cells were incubated with LY294002. In conclusion, our data suggest that the proliferation of HepG2 cells promoted by HBXIP is associated with activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

The heat deformation failure form of workroll bearing chock in Bao Shan steel 2050mm hot strip mill was studied by using finite element method. This phenomenon indicates that the internal friction heat in the bearing is the major heat source that results in temperature rise. With the establishment of reasonable temperature boundary conditions on free and contact surfaces, the heat conduction model of bearing chock was built and discreted. By means of finite element method and three dimensional FEM program, the rules of temperature distribution and heat stress distribution of bearing chock were discussed. Moreover, some suggestions on bearing improvement were brought up.

According to the theories for stretch reducing process and steel tube plastic deformation, the energy method was used to mesh the rolled deformation zone of the steel tube into the upper limit elements, and an admissible velocity field was constructed to deduce a series of formulas of the inner virtual power consumption of deformed bodies. The rolling force during the stretch reducing process could be obtained by optimizing the upper limit power, which could provide guidelines for a proper choice of the stretch reducing process and devices for steel tube companies, as well as new products and devices.

With rollers as elastic bodies and workpieces as elastoplastic bodies, the rolling problem can be viewed as a friction elastic-plastic contact problem. With fewer assumptions in the simulation of strip-rolling process, a boundary element method (BEM) for two-dimensional elastoplastic finite strain and finite deformation analysis of contact problems with friction was presented. All the equations for contact problems, which include multi-nonlinearities, were obtained. Incremental and iterative procedures were used to find contact pressure and friction stress. Moreover, initial strain rate algorithm and work-hardening material behavior can be assumed in the plastic analysis. Several examples were presented, and the results of contact pressure and friction stress were in excellent agreement with those of analysis.

This study examined the effects of dietary tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E) and salinity on muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity and gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity in Litopenaeus vannamei. Three diets containing 0, 100 and 600 mg tocopheryl acetate kg-1 diet, respectively, were fed to shrimp (40-50 mg) for 35 days. Subsequently, shrimp were subjected to an acute salinity change (30[per thousand] to 5, 15, 30, and 50[per thousand]) for 24 h. Significantly (P 0.05). A similar trend was observed in Na+/K+-ATPase activity of shrimp fed the control diet. Na+/K+-ATPase activity of shrimp fed the vitamin E-supplemented diet showed no significant variation response to acute salinity changes. Supplementation of vitamin E in diet could enhance the resistance of shrimp to acute changes in salinity. However, the higher dose of vitamin E supplement was not significantly different from the moderate dose. The results demonstrated that vitamin E might have a potentially useful role as an effective antioxidant by regulating osmotic balance and resistance to salinity changes in shrimp.

According to the revised Cailikefu's rolling shear force formula, motion path equation of spatial seven-bar path was built, and a mechanical model, with the new structural feature of negative offset, was thus successfully established for 2 800 mm heavy shear of some iron and steel company. Shear and bar forces of steel plate, before and after the adoption of negative offset structure, were analyzed, as well as horizontal force component of mechanism that influences pure rolling shear and back-wall push force that keeps blade clearance. It was found that the back-wall push force keeps large even at the time that the maximum rolling shear was obtained; meanwhile, back-wall push force is the most approximate to side forces when 60 – 100 mm of offset was adopted. Both theoretical results and on-site shear quality show that the negative offset plays an important role in ensuring the stability of pure rolling shear and keeping blade clearance constant.

With the rapid development of the steel industry, to keep pace with the current trend of high speed, continuous, and large-scale production that focuses on automation and high levels of efficiency, many state-owned steel companies are being equipped with oil film bearings. Through long-term on-spot inspection and research on the fatigue failure of oil film bearing, three segments of annulated fatigue breakage were found axially along the inner surface of the bearing sleeve. In order to elucidate the reason for the three-segment annulated damage under rolling load, numerical boundary element method was adopted to analyze the contact behaviors between the sleeve and rollneck. Failure mechanism was discussed in detail, the distributions of contact stress were analyzed, and the service lives of the sleeve for different positions on the inner surface were quantitatively described, which provided an effective means to decrease wear and adhesive damage of the sleeve and to increase the load capacity of oil film bearing and its service life as well.

To observe the clinical efficacy of comprehensive Western medical treatment plus Compound Yindan Decoction (CYD) in treatment of acute cholestatic hepatitis (ACH).Using randomized controlled study, 60 ACH patients in line with inclusive criteria were randomly assigned to the treatment group (treated by comprehensive Western medical treatment plus CYD) and the control group (treated by comprehensive Western medical treatment alone), 30 in each group. Scores for symptoms and levels of liver functions [total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), total biliary acid (TBA)] were observed before and after treatment.Compared with before treatment in the same group, total scores for symptoms decreased in the treatment group and the control group at the end of the 1st and the 4th week after treatment (all P0.05). Compared with the control group, total scores for symptoms decreased in the treatment group at the end of the 1st week (P0.05). Compared with before treatment, serum levels of TBIL, DBIL, ALP, GGT, and TBA all decreased in the two groups at the end of the 4th week after treat- ment (P0.01). Compared with the control group, serum levels of TBIL, DBIL, ALP, GGT, and TBA all decreased in the treatment group at the end of the 1st and the 2nd week after treatment (P0.05). Compared with the control group, the average time for TBIL and DBIL decreasing to the level less than five times the normal value was significantly shorter in the treatment group (P0.05).CYD could significantly improve clinical symptoms of ACH patients, decrease serum levels of TBIL and DBIL, reduce serum levels of ALP, GGT, and TBA, obviously improve cholestasis, and promote the recovery.

Background N-myc down-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) is a tumor suppressor involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. The aim of this study was to determine the uterine expression pattern of this gene during early pregnancy in mice. Methods Uterine NDRG2 mRNA and protein expression levels were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot analyses, respectively, during the peri-implantation period in mice. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed to examine the spatial localization of NDRG2 expression in mouse uterine tissues. The in vitro decidualization model of mouse endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) was used to evaluate decidualization of ESCs following NDRG2 knock down by small interfering RNA (siRNA). Statistical significance was analyzed by one-way ANOVA using SPSS 19.0 software. Results Uterine NDRG2 gene expression was significantly up-regulated and was predominantly localized to the secondary decidual zone on days 5 and 8 of pregnancy in mice. Its increased expression was associated with artificial decidualization as well as the activation of delayed implantation. Furthermore, uterine NDRG2 expression was induced by estrogen and progesterone treatments. The in vitro decidualization of mouse ESCs was accompanied by up-regulation of NDRG2 expression, and knock down of its expression in these cells by siRNA inhibited the decidualization process. Conclusions These results suggest that NDRG2 might play an important role in the process of decidualization during early pregnancy.

Changes in photoperiod, ambient temperature and food availability trigger seasonal acclimatization in physiology and behavior of many animals. In the present study, seasonal adjustments in body mass and in several physiological, hormonal, and biochemical markers were examined in wild-captured plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Our results showed that plateau pikas maintained a relatively constant body mass throughout the year and showed no seasonal changes in body fat mass and circulating levels of serum leptin. However, nonshivering thermogenesis, cytochrome c oxidase activity, and mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) contents in brown adipose tissues were significantly enhanced in winter. Further, serum leptin levels were positively correlated with body mass and body fat mass while negatively correlated with UCP1 contents. Together, these data suggest that plateau pikas mainly depend on increasing thermogenic capacities, rather than decreasing body mass, to cope with cold, and leptin may play a potential role in their thermogenesis and body mass regulation.

Magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) is a processing technology using magnetic abrasive grain (MAG) under magnetic field to finish surface of workpiece. The magnetic fields used in MAF include permanent magnetic field and electromagnetic field. Two conditions must be taken into consideration in the finishing surface of workpiece. One is the sufficient cutting force; the other is the relative moving speed between MAG and workpiece. The principle of step-motor rotating magnetic field is used to produce rotating magnetic field (RMF) in this paper. RMF brings MAG to rotate and keeps workpiece immovable. Meanwhile, the coins vibrate within a definite angle range and reciprocate in axial direction so as to process the outer cylindrical surfaces. Yoke iron is made of two halves so that the coins for rotating magnetic field will be keyed to some section of heavy crankshaft, thus realizing cylindrical surface finishing on the heavy crankshaft. MAG are of importance to MAF . Six performance indexes related to MAG are suggested by studying on process parameters.

Chitin/Chitosan membrane has been used as wound dressing materials to facilitate clinical wound healing for many years. However, there are fewer articles studying the cell-biomaterial interaction in vitro or in vivo. In this study, the biological characteristics of human keratinocytes cultured on chitosan membrane that was mixed with gelatin in different ratio were investigated in vitro. Chitosan-gelatin membrane (CGM) in different ratio were prepared with N, N-(3 dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethyl carbodiimide (EDC). CGMs were divided into four groups: pure chitosan membrane, 7:3 (chitosan: gelatin), 5:5 and 3:7 groups. Human keratinocytes were isolated from foreskin by Dispase/Trypsin-EDTA digestion. Keratinocytes of passage3 were then seeded on the surface of CGM. Cloning forming efficiency (CFE) and migration distance of cultured keratinocytes on CGM were measured. The CFE of keratinocytes cultured on the surface of pure chitosan membrane was 9.8±2.08%; cultured on 7:3 CGM was 14.33±1.53%, 5:5 CGM was 19.17±1.26%, 3:7 CGM was 18.33±2.08%. The migration distance of cultured keratinocytes on pure chitosan membrane was 61.47±2.70µm, 7:3 CGM was 66.22±9.39µm, 5:5 CGM was 120.31±15.82µm, 3:7 CGM was 225.38±10.48µm. This sutdy demonstrated that increasing contents of gelatin in CGM could promote keratinocyte proliferation and migration. The results also suggested the membrane prepared from chitosan and gelatin can be utilized as a good keratinocyte delivery system.

To discuss the early diagnosis and effective treatment strategy of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP). We reviewed 17 patients in our department diagnosed with CSP between 2005 and 2010, including clinical characteristics, early diagnosis, treatment methods, side-effects and prognosis.The average duration of gestation at diagnosis was 46 days (range 37-82) and the interval between CSP and last cesarean scar was 6 years (range 2-15). Fourteen (82%) patients presented with slight vaginal bleeding and two (12%) complained of abdominal discomfort. Fourteen patients were diagnosed with CSP by transvaginal color Doppler ultrasonography (TVCDUS). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in two cases of CSP when the diagnosis by TVCDUS was difficult. One patient was diagnosed by histological examination of hysterectomy specimens due to life-threatening bleeding during curettage. Seven patients initially diagnosed with CSP before pregnancy termination were treated conservatively to preserve the uterus without causing maternal complications, ten patients underwent curettage due to incorrect diagnosis, eight patients had excessive vaginal bleeding during curettage and three patients underwent emergency hysterectomy due to hypovolemic shock.CSP does not have any specific symptoms and can be easily diagnosed incorrectly. Confirmation of a portion of gestational sac in the uterus is important and TVCDUS is the first-line tool for early diagnosis of CSP. Physicians never perform curettage at diagnosis with CSP, but curettage after uterine artery embolism or methotrexate are better treatments of choice to terminate CSP.

With the increase of steam turbine's steam parameter and the participation in peak-load adjustment of power grid more and more frequently, the stress of the turbine's rotor is becoming increasingly complex, and the alternating thermal stress has became the major factor reducing its life. This paper used a 600MW supercritical steam turbine's rotor as the research object, and analyzed the variation of thermal stress in the warm starting-up process. In this paper the analysis based on the operating data measured from actual operation and calculate the variations of the temperature field and stress field during the process of warm starting-up with the method of thermal-structure direct interaction analysis by Ansys. By analyzing the results, it proves that the maximum stress of the rotor is in the first stage of the intermediate pressure casing, and it is the main factor restricting the velocity of steam turbine's starting-up process. This result which calculated and analyzed by finite element method can be a theoretical basis for the optimal operation and online monitoring of turbine units.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common solid cancers, representing the third cause of cancer-related death among cirrhotic patients. Treatment of advanced HCC has become a very active area of research. Perifosine, a new synthetic alkylphospholipid Akt inhibitor, has shown anti-tumor activity by inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. In this study, the effect of perifosine on the cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatoma cells has been investigated. Cell growth inhibition was detected by MTT assay, cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, AnnexinV-FITC apoptosis detection kit was used to detect cell apoptosis, and protein expression was examined by Western blotting analysis. Our present studies showed that Akt phosphorylation was inhibited by perifosine in HepG2 and Bel-7402 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Perifosine inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells and Bel-7402 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and arrested cell cycle progression at the G(2) phase. Apoptosis induction became more effective with increasing perifosine concentration. The caspase cascade and its downstream effectors, Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), were also activated simultaneously upon perifosine treatment. The proapoptotic effect of perifosine was in part depending on regulation of the phosphorylation level of ERK and JNK. Perifosine cotreatment substantially increased cytotoxic effects of cisplatin in HepG2 cells. Down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and up-regulating the level of Bax may be the potential mechanism for this synergistic effect. Our findings suggest that the small molecule Akt inhibitor perifosine shows substantial anti-tumor activity in human hepatoma cancer cell lines, and is a good candidate for treatment combinations with classical cytostatic compounds in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Using different governing modes in the process of large steam turbine load variations will make the thermal characteristic and force of unit get complicated, especially affect the thermal characteristic and force change of the control stage notability the most. This article researched the governing mode problems of the domestic-type 600 MW steam turbine, analyzed different characteristics in different governing modes of control valve, calculated the control stage blade force in different loads and governing modes, and the blade force variations on the main steam pressure change in the same load, based on large amount of field test data. By calculating and analyzing, we found that, the blade force of sequential valve governing mode is significantly higher than the single valve governing mode in domestic-type 600 MW steam turbine. For the same load, the higher the main steam pressure, the smaller the main steam flow, the greater control stage blade force is. Therefore, in the process of unit actual operation, it should try to avoid the risk of working conditions of control stage blade stress in order to ensure the safety of unit operation when the governing modes are switching or the control valve opening is changing to regulate the load.

The on-line optimal control of operation is difficult to achieve with routine optimization methods because of the nonlinear thermal system and the changing frequently conditions in start-up, stop and load change of the large-scale thermal power plant. Based on the research of three typical evolution optimization methods which are evolution strategies, genetic algorithm and evolution programming in evolution optimization theory, the author analyzed the feasibility to solve the parallelism of on-line optimal calculation for thermal system by using evolution optimization methods, the existed problems in on-line optimal application of thermal system by using evolution optimization methods in the world at present. By understanding the relationship between the sub-population scales, the evolutional efficiency of layered cooperative evolution genetic algorithm and the thermal system characteristic, the author proposed the sub-population evolution layer model and the population evolution layered cooperative model. Furthermore, the author addressed the adaptive adjusting algorithm of sub- population scale, presented the adjusting standard and method of sub-population scale. The feasibility and efficiency of this model are verified by simulation experiments in 300MWXPDS simulator at Wuhan University.