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Guided, programmable, and target-activated nucleases, exemplified by Cas in the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) system and Argonaute (Ago), are emerging as a new generation of nucleic acid tests (NATs). A specific approach for comparison of these two nucleases side by side in terms of similarities, differences, and complementarities is instrumental for the sensible design of novel NATs.

Levels of type 2 cytokines are elevated in the blood and intestinal tissues of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in the active phase; this phenomenon indicates the participation of type 2 immune response in UC progression. The beneficial effects of melatonin in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis models have been illustrated, but its role in the oxazolone (Oxa)-induced colitis model (driven by type 2 immune response) remains relatively unknown. We investigated the relationship between melatonin concentration and the severity of UC, revealing a significantly negative correlation. Subsequently, we investigated the effects of melatonin in Oxa-induced colitis mice and the potential underlying mechanisms. Administration of melatonin significantly counteracted body weight loss, colon shortening, and neutrophil infiltration in Oxa-induced colitis mice. Melatonin treatment mitigated Oxa-induced colitis by suppressing type 2 immune response. In addition, melatonin attenuated intestinal permeability by enhancing the expression of ZO-1 and occludin in colitis mice. Interestingly, the protective effect of melatonin was abolished when the mice were co-housed, indicating that the regulation of gut microbiota by melatonin was critical in alleviating Oxa-induced colitis. Subsequently, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to explore the microbiota composition. Decreased richness and diversity of intestinal microbiota at the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) level resulted from melatonin treatment. Melatonin also elevated the abundance of Bifidobacterium, a well-known probiotic, and reduced proportions of several harmful bacterial genera, such as Desulfovibrio, Peptococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was used to explore the role of microbiota in the function of melatonin in Oxa-induced colitis. Microbiota transplantation from melatonin-treated mice alleviated Oxa-induced colitis, suggesting that the microbiome participates in the relief of Oxa-induced colitis by melatonin. Our findings demonstrate that melatonin ameliorates Oxa-induced colitis in a microbiota-dependent manner, suggesting the therapeutic potential of melatonin in treating type 2 immunity-associated UC.

The coherent population trapping (CPT) phenomenon of atoms is used for high precision measurement of weak magnetic field. The sensitivity of the measurement is mainly affected by the resonance spectrum characteristics when this phenomenon occurs. Signal quality factor is defined to represent the characteristics of the CPT resonance signal. Its variation with temperature of the atomic chamber is analyzed and compared with signal contrast. Results show that signal quality factor and signal contrast offer different optimal working temperature which corresponding to the maximum value. The optimal temperature proposed by the signal quality factor is always lower and it makes the magnetic field measurement system to obtain a higher sensitivity.

Various non-nucleic acid targets (ions, small molecules, polysaccharides, peptides/proteins/enzymes, cells, transcription factors) are important biomarkers. They play important roles in environmental protection, food safety and medical diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to detect non-nucleic acid targets from various samples before the situation deteriorates. Derived from prokaryotic immune systems, CRISPR/Cas tools have exhibited great promise in the field of biosensing, in addition to the well-known gene-editing function. However, most reported CRISPR/Cas-based biosensors are for nucleic acid detection and the application of non-nucleic acid targets is still in its infancy. To fully explore the potential of CRISPR/Cas-based biosensing systems, it is of great significance to summarize the strategies and prospects of CRISPR/Cas toolboxes in non-nucleic acid targets recognition. In this review, we introduced CRISPR/Cas systems and their characteristics in the field of detection. The progress of detecting six non-nucleic acid targets was outlined and reviewed based on CRISPR/Cas systems coupled with biotransduction elements, including aptamers, DNAzymes, riboswitches, enzymatic reactions, transcription factors, antigen-antibody interactions, allosteric probes, in vitro transcription processes, steric hindrance effectors, etc. The development challenges and prospects in this field were also put forward. As such, this comprehensive review would provide valuable information for the expansion of the powerful CRISPR/Cas toolboxes into multiple detection fields.

Background Accumulating evidence supports the pivotal role of intestinal flora in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Serotonin synthesis by enterochromaffin (EC) cells is influenced by the gut microbiota and has been reported to have an interaction with IBS. The comparison between the microbiota of the caecal and colonic mucosa in IBS has rarely been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the gut microbiota, EC cells in caecum and descending colon, and diarrhoea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) symptoms. Results A total of 22 IBS-D patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in our study. Hamilton anxiety (HAM-A) and Hamilton depression (HAM-D) grades increased significantly in IBS-D patients. In addition, the frequency of defecation in IBS-D patients was higher than that in HCs. Among the preponderant bacterial genera, the relative abundance of the Ruminococcus_torques_ group increased in IBS-D patients in caecum samples while Raoultella and Fusobacterium were less abundant. In the descending colon, the abundance of the Ruminococcus_torques_group and Dorea increased in IBS-D patients and Fusobacterium decreased. No difference was observed between the descending colon and caecum in regards to the mucosal-associated microbiota. The number of EC cells in the caecum of IBS-D patients was higher than in HCs and the expression of TPH1 was higher in IBS-D patients both in the caecum and in the descending colon both at the mRNA and protein level. Correlation analysis showed that the Ruminococcus_torques_group was positively associated with HAM-A, HAM-D, EC cell number, IBS-SSS, degree of abdominal pain, frequency of abdominal pain and frequency of defecation. The abundance of Dorea was positively associated with EC cell number, IBS-SSS, HAM-A, HAM-D and frequency of abdominal pain. Conclusions EC cell numbers increased in IBS-D patients and the expression of TPH1 was higher than in HCs. The Ruminococcus torques group and Dorea furthermore seem like promising targets for future research into the treatment of IBS-D patients.

Objective Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory enteropathy with a symptom spectrum similar to that of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a common but largely undiagnosed condition in the Western countries. However, it is extremely rare among Chinese individuals, and few studies have investigated its prevalence in China. The aim was to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with IBS who were diagnosed using the Rome III criteria in a single center of northern China. Methods This was a single-center, prospective, controlled cohort study performed in Qilu Hospital involving 246 patients with IBS and 246 healthy controls. Blood samples were drawn to assess serum tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (tTg-IgA). Patients with a positive or equivocal tTg-IgA (≥15 U/mL) were subjected to probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) and duodenal biopsy to confirm celiac disease. Results Altogether 12 (4.9%) patients with IBS and two (0.8%) healthy controls were positive or equivocal for serum tTg-IgA. Of these, five patients with IBS underwent pCLE and a targeted biopsy; all were histopathologically found to have celiac disease, although one was eventually diagnosed with lymphoma. After implementation of a gluten-free diet, seven patients serologically positive for IBS showed clinical improvement, thus our study illustrated a minimum prevalence of 2.85% of celiac disease among patients with IBS in our center. Conclusions Celiac disease is not rare in Chinese individuals, particularly among those with IBS. Therefore, it should receive higher attention in clinical practice in China.

Fatigue failure in blades resulting from alternating loads is a primary cause of aircraft engine failure. In this study, the dynamic and fatigue performance of a compressor blade, which is prone to fatigue failure in practical use, is verified through numerical analysis and tests to identify specific failure causes and ultimately prevent blade failure. Two companion papers describe this work. Part I—blade modelling and vibration analysis establishes a compressor blade model based on reverse engineering and investigates the blade's dynamic characteristics during aerodynamic and structural behaviour interactions under various flight conditions. To accurately describe the dynamic performance of a real blade, three blade models with different fitting precisions are constructed to support dynamic response analysis. In addition, the flow field of each model is constructed to simulate the aerodynamic loads that cause blade vibration. A numerically based analysis of the fluid-structure interaction is subsequently performed. A reasonable calculation model is selected by comparing the dynamic characteristics among these models. The Campbell diagram is analysed to determine resonance probability, and blade failure cause is ultimately verified based on the vibration analysis. The results show that different accuracies in the blade calculation model produce varying degrees of error; the calculation model's ability to reflect the dynamic and fatigue behaviours of a real blade is recommended to be used as a critical evaluation index in the numerical study. The first-order harmonic resonance occurring at critical speeds may contribute to blade failure.

BACKGROUND Low-grade inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia (FD). We hypothesis that altered gastric permeability is involved in the onset and persistence of this disorder. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate gastric mucosal integrity and mast cell numbers in patients with FD. METHODS We enrolled 58 patients with FD fulfilling the Rome III criteria (H Pylori negative), 20 inflammatory control subjects (H Pylori positive), and 20 healthy controls (H Pylori negative). Probe-based confocal endomicroscopy was performed using intravenous fluorescein to assess the paracellular fluorescein leakage and cell shedding. Mast cells were identified with quantitative immunohistochemistry on mucosal biopsies. KEY RESULTS Endomicroscopic score of paracellular permeability was significantly higher in H pylori-negative FD patients compared with healthy controls (1.45 ± 1.27 vs 3.69 ± 3.18, P = .006). However, FD patients and healthy controls did not show differences in cell shedding score (0.75 ± 0.79 vs 1.29 ± 1.14, P = .069). Mast cell numbers were significantly increased compared with healthy control samples (18.91 ± 5.47 vs 14.1 ± 3.88, P

The photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of semiconductor CdSe quantum dots (QDs) aggregated on Cu nanowires (NWs) were studied in detail. The PL relaxation dynamic data show that Cu NWs improve the PL intensity of CdSe QDs by accelerating the emission relaxation rate. The temperature-dependent PL data and excitation intensity-dependent PL data suggest that the activation energy of CdSe QDs might decrease due to the excellent heat transfer properties and the plasmon effect of Cu NWs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fabrication of microchannels on titanium alloy with micro-milling is a tough challenge due to the difficultly to remove the burrs formed in machining process. A novel method to gelatinize workpiece surface to control the generation of burr as well as the optimization of cutting parameters are investigated in this paper. Differences existed between the process of micro-milling and that of traditional milling can be accounted for size effect. Influences of feed per tooth, depth of cut and spindle speed on the formation of burr were taken into consideration respectively by single factor method. The topographies of the machined surface with micro-milling were observed and measured by optical microscope. Results showed that the dimensions of burrs increased with the rise of depth of cut. However, it decreased initially, then increased later with the augment of feed per tooth. Sacrifice layer with PMMA was coated and gelatinized on the workpiece surface, which could restrain the plastic deformation of materials during titanium alloy micro-milling. The experimental results presented that the dimensions of burr could reduce greatly by the proposed PMMA coating method compared to materials without coating.

The vibration stress caused by resonance is the main cause of failure in aircraft engine blades. The study investigated the vibration stress of a single-stage fan blade influenced by the interaction of aerodynamic and structural behavior at multiple critical speeds. A numerically based analysis through the interfacing of computational fluid dynamics and finite element modeling analysis, referred to as fluid–structure interaction was performed. A three-dimensional finite element model of the blade which was verified by modal test was established to carry out response analysis when blade resonates. A single flow channel model of the blade was constructed to simulate the aerodynamic pressure loads that result in vibration of the fan blades. The Campbell diagram was introduced to determine the critical conditions of the blade. The results show that resonance phenomenon appears for several times between 2000 and 3600 r/min, and further analyses of the blade mode shape as well as dynamic stress at these speeds indicate that vibration stress at critical speed is obviously higher than those at the adjacent speeds. But there is no positive correlation between the peak stress and critical speed, while it is determined by the comprehensive action of critical speed, vibration mode and synchronous excitation. The peak stress distribution is closely linked to the mode shape of the blade, and it always appears at the leading edge and changes along the blade height. It also illustrates that the leading edge of the blade is most prone to vibration fatigue.

The magnetometer which is based on the coherence population trapping theory, works by exciting atoms with two modulated coherent light fields and obtaining magnetic resonance signals containing magnetic field intensity information. In view of the problem of measuring blind area in this scheme, the direction characteristics of CPT resonance signal are analyzed. A dark state coupling measurement scheme based on two groups of modulated light fields is proposed. The system performance based on this scheme is verified by the all-optical sensing experiment system. Experimental results show that the resonance signal with higher signal to noise ratio could be obtained by using the dark state coupling measurement technology. This effectively eliminates the blind area of the CPT magnetometer and avoids losing lock of system. As a result, sufficient system stability performance could be obtained in omnidirectional measurement of magnetic field.

This study aims to investigate the possible mechanisms of electroacupuncture (EA) at PC6 to improve myocardial ischemia (MI) by regulating the cardiac transient outward potassium current channel (Ito). According to the random number table, the mice were divided into six groups of six mice each: control group, MI group, PC6, LU7 (Lieque-point), ST36 (Zusanli-point), and nonacupoint group. Mice in the control group were injected with saline (20 mg/kg, 24 hours interval), and the other ASIC3 −/− mice were injected subcutaneously twice with isoproterenol (ISO) (20 mg/kg, 24 hours interval). In the preexperiment, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, and 30 mg/kg of ISO were used, and the results showed that 5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg of ISO both could induce acute MI, but shorter duration of sustained MI. On the other hand, an injection of 30 mg/kg can make the mice experience arrhythmia or die immediately, and EA was operated at PC6, LU7, ST36 acupoints, and nonacupoint in the mice of PC6, LU7, ST36, and nonacupoint groups, respectively, after injecting twice. Then Western blotting techniques (Western Blot) were used to analyze the protein expressions of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, and KchIP2. The results of this experiment showed that the protein expressions of Kv1.4, Kv4.2, Kv4.3, and KChIP2 in MI group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p 0.05). Keywords: ASIC3 −/− mice, cardiac transient outward potassium current channel, electroacupuncture, myocardial ischemia, PC6 (Neiguan-point), protein

Book of Changes is one of the ancient and bright cultural treasures. Because of it, all previous dynasties scholars in successive dynasties have strong interests on the research of Book of Changes. Through the thought "Harmony between man and nature", "feeling concerned about the mulberry of bud" and "continuous reproduction breed in an endless succession " reflected in the book. This thesis is intended to research the harmonious coexistence between human and nature of thought, environmental protection and sustainable development, ecological occurrences and study with a view to correspond to today's serious ecological crisis, in order to provide intelligence support and theoretical support on protecting the ecological environment.

A four-level double-ladder atomic system with two upper states coupled to the excited state by a standing-wave trigger field is explored to generate photonic bandgap (PBG) structure. With the assistance of spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) from the two decay pathways, we can obtain single or double fully developed PBG when the trigger field is far away from resonance or resonant. While in the absence of SGC, the atomic medium becomes strong absorptive to the probe field, and therefore the resulting PBGs are severely malformed or even cannot be opened up. Numerical results show that the PBG structure is originated from the third-order cross Kerr nonlinear modulation between the probe and trigger fields. This mechanism differs from the recent schemes based on linear modulation.

Accuracy of the quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) depends on the stability of the reference gene(s), i.e. housekeeping gene(s) used for data normalization. Recent studies have shown that the expression of common reference genes can vary considerably in certain experimental conditions. However, reference genes of qRT-PCR in fruit trees have not been well identified. In this study, stability of expression of ten potential reference genes in citrus, including CitACT7, CiteIF-1A, CiteIF4α, CitHistone H3, CitHistone H4, CitTUA3, CitTUB8, CitUBL5, CitUBQ1 and CitUBQ14 was assessed. Furthermore, this was validated by qRT-PCR in diverse sets of biological samples, including embryonic callus at seven stages, embryos maintained at three different temperatures, five distinct plant organs, four floral tissues and four stages of flower development. Three distinct statistical algorithms, geNorm, NormFinder and Bestkeeper, were used to evaluate the expression stability of the candidate reference genes. The three outputs were merged by means of a non-weighted unsupervised rank aggregation method. GeNorm was also used to determine both the optimal number and the best combination of reference genes for each experimental set. The expression of CitUBQ1 was the most stable one across the set of all samples, flower developmental stages and somatic embryogenesis process under two conditions i.e. different temperature treatment and normal temperature treatment. CitUBQ14 presented more stable expression in different plant organs and floral tissues. CitHistone H3 was the most unsuitable reference gene in many citrus sample sets. In addition, the relative gene expression profile of citrus receptor-like kinase gene CitSERK1-like was conducted to confirm the validity of the reference genes in this study. Taken together, this study identified the reference genes that are most suitable for normalizing the gene expression data in citrus. These results provide guidelines for the selection of reference gene(s) under different experimental conditions, and will benefit future research on more accurate gene expression studies in a wide variety of samples in citrus.

Magnetic field detection is an important means of deep space environment exploration. Benefit from simple structure and low power consumption, atomic interference magnetometer become one of the most potential detector payloads. Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) is usually used as a light source in atomic interference magnetometer and its frequency stability directly affects the stability and sensitivity of magnetometer. In this paper, closed-loop control strategy of VCSEL was designed and analysis, the controller parameters were selected and the feedback error algorithm was optimized as well. According to the results of experiments that were performed on the hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform, the designed closed-loop control system is reasonable and it is able to effectively improve the laser frequency stability during the actual work of the magnetometer.

A new 3D shape measurement method based on non-integral twin-frequency grating projection is proposed. In this paper, the projected composite grating is composed of two sinusoidal gratings, and the quotient of whose frequencies is not an integer. By using appropriate phase-shifting algorithms, two wrapped phases can be obtained from sixteen frames of the distorted grating patterns. In aid of appropriate phase unwrapping method, the unwrapped phase of high frequency fringe is obtained only from the relation of the two wrapped phases by a pixel-to-pixel phase unwrapping technique. Therefore the unwrapped phase of high frequency fringe pattern is independent of the low frequency fringe pattern, different from traditional integral twin-frequency grating projection methods in which the phase unwrapping error of low frequency fringe pattern may be propagated onto the unwrapped phase of high frequency fringe pattern. The new theory proves that the proposed method is applicable to measure discontinuous object, and has considerable measurement accuracy.

A general formulation to obtain the analytical expression for the sensitivity of the acoustic power radiation by a vibrating closed structure to one its design variables is described. The formulation is based on finite elements and the theory of acoustic radiation modes. The sensitivity coefficients indicate the effect of changing various designs or modeling parameters on the acoustic power and can be used to optimize the structure for minimum sound radiation. Putting a rectangle case as an example and verifying the feasibility of this method.

We report the experimental observation of the effect of spontaneously generated coherence on absorption without the rigorous requirement of close-lying levels. The experiments are studied in both a four-level N-type and a four-level inverted-Y-type atomic system in a rubidium atomic beam. With the coupling and controlling field, the N-type system is equivalent to a system with three closely upper levels coupled to one lower level by the same vacuum modes. The quantum interference can induce two prominent and nearly transparent holes where the slope of the refractive index is very steep. This special situation could allow the simultaneous propagation of two weak pulses with different frequencies. When we tune the wavelength of the controlling field, the N-type system turns to be the inverted-Y atomic system. Under the two-photon resonance condition, the system is equivalent to a V-type system with two closely upper levels, and the interference can reduce one broad transparency window in the middle of the absorption spectrum. Besides we can control the number of the spontaneously decay channels by the detuning of the controlling field, thus the effect of spontaneously generated coherence can exist in three or two closely space levels.

The paper started from the most basic physical law ‘Yang-Laplace equation’, combined with the invariably characteristics of the droplet volume in the Wetting process, established a novel Gravity Model. By numerical simulated, we found that the different of the internal hydrostatic pressure of droplet affected the droplet morphology directly. Otherwise, the paper studied importantly that the droplet gravity generated the pressure on the solid-liquid interface. When the contact angle is more than 172°, the droplet is non-stability in the Cassie states. Only the droplet can keep stability in the Wenzel states.

The entanglement of a two-level atom with its spontaneously emitted photon embedded in double-band anisotropic photonic crystal has been investigated via the method of the quantum entropy. Different from the case in an isotropic crystal or in vacuum, the entanglement has symmetrical properties and much slower entanglement rate near the two band edges. Moreover, as a result of the atom-photon bound states by the virtue of the localization around the emitting atom, the degree of the entanglement gradually increases, achieves the maximum and then sharply reduces to zero on the boundary of forbidden band gap as the atomic frequency moves from the center of the band gap to either of the band edges.

In an N-type atomic system with double electromagnetically induced transparency, when the traveling-wave coupling field is replaced by a standing-wave, double fully developed photonic band gaps open up due to space-modulated refractive index within the two electromagnetically induced transparency widows. The dynamically induced band gaps can be tuned coherently, and have applications in manipulating the propagation dynamics of light pulses.

The electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and its dispersion properties in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system are investigated. The absorption spectrum of a weak probe field shows two EIT windows (dark resonances) whose location, width, and depth can be controlled by manipulating the parameters of the coupling fields; the corresponding dispersion properties are also measured by using a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. The experimental measurements agree well with the theoretical calculations. This kind of system can find important applications in two-channel quantum communication and information storage.

A scheme for two-dimensional (2D) subwavelength atom localization is proposed, in which the atom is in an inverted-Y configuration and driven by two orthogonal standing-wave lasers. Due to the spatial dependence of atom–field interaction, the quantities of system, including the frequency of spontaneously emitted photon, the population in the excited state, and the probe absorption, carry information about the position of atom in standing-wave fields. We exploit this fact to 2D atom localization, and obtain a high precision and resolution in the position probability distribution.

The spontaneous emission and radiation properties of a three-level atom driven by a phase-sensitive laser field in the anisotropic photonic crystal have been investigated. Due to the modified density in PC and the dynamical coherence induced by the coupling field, the population becomes oscillated and a fractionalized steady-state inversion appears in the two upper levels under certain initial conditions. And the spontaneous spectra are influenced not only by the photonic band edge but also by the phase and the detuning of the coherent field. In addition, the phase dependent quantum interference leads to fluorescence quenching and enhancement in the spectra. Meanwhile, the radiation fields are greatly dependent on the intensity of the coherent field and the relative position of the resonant frequency to the band edge. Different kinds of fields within the regions we plotted are clearly calculated. When the resonant frequency moves from deep in the band gap to the band, localized field, diffusion field and propagating field regularly vary and the energy of them is exchanged to each other.

Nanosecond time-resolved evolution of coherence between two nondegenerate ground levels has been investigated in Rb atomic vapor. Using STIRAP and fractional STIRAP, a time-dependent coherence is prepared and indirectly monitored by the generated coherent Raman scattering signal proportional to the coherence. The experimental data fit very well with numerical simulations. This technique have potential applications in nonlinear process based on atomic coherence.

Full field warpage profiles of the co-cured composite T section structure are measured using the digital speckle correlation method. Both the measurement principle and the optical calibration method are introduced in detail. The shape profile from the side view and the underneath view of the composite T structure are measured, respectively. Finally, the whole warpages of the T section are obtained using image linking technology. These results will play an important role in designing and manufacturing of composite T section structures.

The human gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of health, but how the microbiota interacts with the host at the colorectal mucosa is poorly understood. We proposed that confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) might help to untangle this relationship by providing in vivo physiological information of the mucosa. We used CLE to evaluate the in vivo physiology of human colorectal mucosa, and the mucosal microbiota was quantified using 16 s rDNA pyrosequencing. The human mucosal microbiota agglomerated to three major clusters dominated by Prevotella, Bacteroides and Lactococcus. The mucosal microbiota clusters did not significantly correlate with the disease status or biopsy sites but closely correlated with the mucosal niche physiology, which was non-invasively revealed by CLE. Inflammation tilted two subnetworks within the mucosal microbiota. Infiltration of inflammatory cells significantly correlated with multiple components in the predicted metagenome, such as the VirD2 component of the type IV secretory pathway. Our data suggest that a close correlation exists between the mucosal microbiota and the colorectal mucosal physiology, and CLE is a clinically available tool that can be used to facilitate the study of the in vivo correlation between colorectal mucosal physiology and the mucosal microbiota.

To explore the action mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Shenmen" (HT 7) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) on insomnia.Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group and an EA group, 10 cases in each group. The insomnia model was made by immobilization method in the model group and EA group. After model establishment, rats in the blank group and model group were treated with fixation and no treatment was given. Rats in the EA group were treated with EA at "Shenmen" (HT 7) and "San-yinjiao" (SP 6) for 15 min, once a day for 4 days. After treatment, the level of daytime and nighttime activity, open-arm entry percentage and open-arm time percentage of elevated plus-maze test were measured; the content of noradrenaline (NE), dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (EPI) in plasma and NE, DA in thalamus and brainstem were detected by using euzymelinked immunosorbent assay method.Compared with the blank group, the daytime activity was increased and nighttime activity was reduced in the model group (both P0. 05); the open-arm entry percentage and open-arm time percentage of elevated plus-maze test were both reduced in the model group (both P0. 05); the contents of NE, DA, EPI in the plasma and NE, DA in thalamus and brainstem were increased in the model group (all P0. 05). Compared with the model group, the daytime activity was reduced and nighttime activity was increased in the EA group (both P0. 05); the open-arm entry percentage and open-arm time percentage of elevated plus-maze test were both increased in the EA group (both P0. 05); the contents of NE, DA, EPI in the plasma and NE, DA in thalamus and brainstem were reduced in the EA group (all P0. 05).Electroacupuncture at "Shenmen" (HT 7) and "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) can restrain the over-activity of the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system to treat the insomnia.

The linear damage model (LDM) is widely applied in engineering calculation, but it does not consider the relationship between damage variable and load parameters. Therefore, the life prediction based on LDM is not satisfied for the aero-engine blades. Besides, it easily brings about error in predicting fatigue life by common nonlinear damage model which neglect the influence of torsional stress. Hence, a modified nonlinear continuum damage model (CDM) is put forward based on Chaboche nonlinear damage model in this research. And to determine the damage and fatigue life of TC4 material used in aero-engine blades, axial tension and compression fatigue test is conducted. Compared with LDM results, the fatigue life prediction results of the modified CDM in this work show a good agreement with the tests data. So the correctness of the modified model is verified. Finally, the fatigue life of a certain aero-engine high pressure compressor blade is predicted by the modified nonlinear continuum damage model.

The relationship between acupuncture and stress is discussed from three aspects, including is it possible for acupuncture stimulation to be a stressor, whether acupuncture will start stress reaction, and whether acupuncture effects contain some stress factors. It is believed that correct acupuncture manipulation will not cause stress response, however, under some circumstances, such as inaccurate manipulation, improper treatment or patients who are very nervous but do not receive effective intervention, acupuncture is likely to cause stress response. Acupuncture-induced stress response is totally different from acupuncture anti-stress. The possible stress factors in acupuncture effect are explored, which can provide a new angle for the research on action mechanism of acupuncture. From the view of stress to review acupuncture treatment, there are three enlightenments: emphasizing on communication between doctors and patients, avoiding over-pursuit of deqi and focusing on analysis of the body constitution.

Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) was applied widely to antiweight in China. The aim of this review is to estimate the effectiveness and safety of ACE on obesity. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, EBASE, CNKI, and so forth, using combination subject terms of obesity (or overweight, weight loss, etc.) and acupoint catgut embedding (or catgut implantation, catgut embedding). Improvement rate, reduction of body weight and body mass index (BMI), and so forth were analyzed. 43 studies were included for systematic review and meta-analysis. Although with poor methodological quality, ACE was superior to manual acupuncture (MA), sham, and cupping in improvement rate and presented a better tendency (OR>1) compared with drugs and electroacupuncture (EA). Mean values of weight loss by ACE were 1.14 kg, 1.26 kg, 1.79 kg, and 3.01 kg comparing with MA, drugs, EA, and sham, respectively. Mean of BMI reduced to 0.56 kg/m2, 0.83 kg/m2, 0.79 kg/m2, and 1.63 kg/m2comparing with MA, drugs, EA, and sham. Less adverse effects were reported. Pooled outcomes presented a tendency of equal or superior effects to other interventions and fewer side effects. Future high quality trials with rigorous design and positive FDA approved drug as control are urgent to assess the effect of ACE for obesity. PROSPERO registration number is as follows:CRD42015016006.

Background Detection and differentiation of esophageal squamous neoplasia (ESN) are of value in improving patient outcomes. Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) can serve in targeted biopsies in the diagnosis of GI neoplasia. However, its performance in ESN has not yet been reported. Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of pCLE for early ESN screened by high-definition virtual chromoendoscopy (I-Scan) and verified by Lugol chromoendoscopy and histopathology. Design Prospective and noninferiority trial. Setting Single center in China. Patients Patients were enrolled who (1) previously had histologically verified early ESN or (2) were about to undergo screening endoscopy and were 50 to 80 years of age between February 2013 and February 2014. Interventions The esophagus was investigated sequentially by white-light endoscopy, I-Scan, then pCLE and iodine chromoendoscopy. The results were interpreted and compared with histopathologic results. Main Outcome Measurements Diagnostic characteristics of pCLE and I-Scan. Results In total, 356 patients were enrolled. In all, 42 patients were histologically proven to have 47 neoplasias. The diagnostic value of pCLE for ESN during ongoing endoscopy has a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94.6%, 90.7%, and 92.3%, respectively. The interobserver and intraobserver agreement was good and excellent, with κ values of 0.699 and 0.895, respectively. The detection rate by using I-Scan and Lugol chromoendoscopy was 10.4% and 12.9%, respectively ( P Limitations Single center. Conclusions pCLE shows promise in diagnosing and differentiating ESN in vivo. The screening performance of I-Scan in the detection of ESN is noninferior to that of iodine chromoendoscopy.

Population parameter estimation and spatial distribution pattern are the main issues in animal ecology and conservation biology. In recent decades, camera trap as a non-invasive technique in field survey has been widely used in wildlife ecology and conservation research, and showed its great superiority under the conditions of traditional survey methods difficult to achieve. The animal presence data collected by camera trap can provide extremely valuable quantitative information on wildlife populations. In this review, the operational principles of camera trap were introduced to provide an intuitive understanding of this technique, and then, the applications of this technique in two main fields of population ecology, i. e. , population density and abundance estimation and spatial occupancy estimation for the species with or without natural unique individual markings, were discussed, with special attention to the logic of development, assumptions, limits in application, challenges, and future directions of model development. Finally, the important aspects which should be kept in mind when using camera trap in estimating wildlife population parameters as well as the potential capacities of camera trap in the researches of population dynamics and biodiversity, were comprehensively analyzed.

Study on sustainable development social influence elements of construction project is great significance to promote the implementation of the sustainable development strategy. Based on the current researchers are mainly concentrated on studying on the sustainable development social evaluation method of construction project. This paper use expert investigation method and reliability analysis method to design the sustainable development social influence elements frame system of construction project, provide the following researchers more clearly evaluation content.