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We aimed to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) model to identify parathyroid glands during endoscopic approaches and compare it with senior and junior surgeons' visual estimation.A total of 1,700 images of parathyroid glands from 166 endoscopic thyroidectomy videos were labeled. Data from 20 additional full-length videos were used as an independent external cohort. The YOLO V3, Faster R-CNN, and Cascade algorithms were used for deep learning, and the optimal algorithm was selected for independent external cohort analysis. Finally, the identification rate, initial recognition time, and tracking periods of PTAIR (Artificial Intelligence model for Parathyroid gland Recognition), junior surgeons, and senior surgeons were compared.The Faster R-CNN algorithm showed the best balance after optimizing the hyperparameters of each algorithm and was updated as PTAIR. The precision, recall rate, and F1 score of the PTAIR were 88.7%, 92.3%, and 90.5%, respectively. In the independent external cohort, the parathyroid identification rates of PTAIR, senior surgeons, and junior surgeons were 96.9%, 87.5%, and 71.9%, respectively. In addition, PTAIR recognized parathyroid glands 3.83 s ahead of the senior surgeons (p = 0.008), with a tracking period 62.82 s longer than the senior surgeons (p = 0.006).PTAIR can achieve earlier identification and full-time tracing under a particular training strategy. The identification rate of PTAIR is higher than that of junior surgeons and similar to that of senior surgeons. Such systems may have utility in improving surgical outcomes and also in accelerating the education of junior surgeons.3 Laryngoscope, 132:2516-2523, 2022.

Nine fluorine targets of various types were developed for the 19F( p , α )16O experiment to be performed at the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics Experiment (JUNA), China. Two targets were produced by evaporating CaF2 on Ta backings: one was produced by sputtering MgF2 on the Cr+Fe backings, and six were produced by implanting 20–80 keV 19F ions into pure Fe and Cu backings. Thin Cr protective layers were covered over these targets. We assessed each target’s stability by monitoring the γ -ray yields of the 19F( p , α γ )16O reaction over the well-known 340 keV resonance. Our results indicate that the traditional evaporated and sputtered targets exhibit 0.6%–6% deterioration (or 19F material loss) per Coulomb, while the implanted targets exhibit relatively small deterioration due to the proton beam bombardment. For the optimum target #8, the 19F target material loss is only approximately 0.05% per Coulomb proton beam bombardment, and such target is much more stable than the traditional targets. The fluorine depth distribution of the implanted target #8 was precisely analyzed by the atom probe tomography (APT) technique. The obtained depth distribution can well reproduce the experimental γ -ray yield curve. Furthermore, as test experiment, the 19F( p , α γ )16O cross section was measured with the implanted target #8 in a center-of-mass energy region of E c.m. = 174–358 keV, which is consistent with the previous results. In conclusion, traditional fluorine targets produced with the evaporation and sputtering techniques are not suitable for the high-current experiment even with a protective layer. For the upcoming high-current JUNA experiment, this work offers an optimum target scheme: first, implanting 19F ions into the pure Fe backings with an implantation energy of 40 keV, and then sputtering a 50 nm thick Cr layer to further prevent the fluorine material loss.

The neutron capture cross section of $$^{197}\hbox {Au}$$ was measured using the time-of-flight (TOF) technique at the Back-n facility of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) in the 1 eV to 100 keV range. Prompt $$\gamma $$ -rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected by four C $$_{6}$$ D $$_{6}$$ liquid scintillator detectors. Pulse height weighting technology (PHWT) was used to analyze the data. The results are in good agreement with ENDF/B-VIII.0, CENDL-3.1, and other evaluated libraries in the resonance region, and in agreement with both n $$\_$$ TOF and GELINA experimental data in the 5–100 keV range. Finally, the resonance peaks in the energy range from 1 eV to 1 keV were fitted by the SAMMY R-matrix code.

Background Autologous fat grafts have been widely in use for reconstruction, contour abnormalities, and cosmetic surgeries. However, the grafted fat one-year survival rate is unpredictable and always low (20%–80%). Standardizing the existing transplantation technology is difficult due to the limiting conditions. Scaffold materials or drugs are unsuitable to employ because of legal restrictions, complex production, and undetermined hazards. Therefore, a simpler and more effective approach to improve grafted fat survival rate is using commercial products as additives. Earlier studies proved that porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM), a biomaterial clinically used for wound repair, could work as a scaffold for lipo-implantation. This study aimed at investigating the hitherto unclear effect of PADM on transplanted fat survival. Methods Thirty-two 8-week-old female nude mice were divided into two groups. Control mice received a 300 μl fat injection, while the PADM group mice were injected with a 300 μl PADM-fat mixture. After a 4-week treatment, fat weight and liquefaction ratio were assessed. Histological changes were quantified via hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining. Macrophage infiltration and vascular regeneration were revealed using an anti-CD34 antibody. Mouse and human mRNA expression levels were gauged via RNA-sequencing. On the third day post implantation, the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory genes Mcp-1 and Tnf-α were measured by qRT-PCR. Results The weight of surviving grafted fat did not differ between the control and the PADM group. However, adding PADM significantly decreased fat liquefaction. H&E-stained sections showed that PADM decreased fat necrosis, increased fat tissue regeneration, and raised CD34 levels in the regenerated tissue. RNA-sequencing showed that, compared to controls, fats from PADM-added group expressed more mouse-related mRNA but less human-related mRNA. The following GO and KEGG analysis showed that added PADM increased extracellular matrix (ECM) genes expression levels. The qRT-PCR showed that adding PADM increased Mcp-1 and Tnf-α mRNA expression levels. Conclusions In summary, PADM addition increased fat survival rate by reducing fat liquefaction through an increased macrophage infiltration, ECM regeneration, and revascularization. Therefore, PADM addition is a workable application in autologous fat grafting. No Level Assigned This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

The 74Se is one of 35 p-nuclei, and 82Se is a r-process only nucleus, and their (n, γ) cross sections are vital input parameters for nuclear astrophysics reaction network calculations. The neutron capture cross section in the resonance range of isotopes and even natural selenium samples has not been measured. Prompt γ-rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected by four C6D6 liquid scintillator detectors at the Back-n facility of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). The pulse height weighting technique (PHWT) was used to analyze the data in the 1 eV to 100 keV region. The deduced neutron capture cross section was compared with ENDF/B-VIII.0, JEFF-3.2, and JENDL-4.0, and some differences were found. Resonance parameters were extracted by the R-matrix code SAMMY in the 1 eV–1 keV region. All the cross sections of natSe and resonance parameters are given in the datasets. The datasets are openly available at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00113.00019.

A new thermonuclear $^{17}$O($n$,$\gamma$)$^{18}$O rate is derived based on a complete calculation of the direct-capture (DC) and resonant-capture contributions, for a temperature region up to 2 GK of astrophysical interest. We have firstly calculated the DC and subthreshold contributions in the energy region up to 1 MeV, and estimated the associated uncertainties by a Monte-Carlo approach. It shows that the present rate is remarkably larger than that adopted in the JINA REACLIB in the temperature region of 0.01 $\sim$ 2 GK, by up to a factor of $\sim$80. The astrophysical impacts of our rate have been examined in both $s$-process and $r$-process models. In our main $s$-process model which simulates flash-driven convective mixing in metal deficient asymptotic giant branch stars, both $^{18}$O and $^{19}$F abundances in interpulse phases are enhanced dramatically by factors of $\sim 20$--$40$ due to the new larger $^{17}$O($n$,$\gamma$)$^{18}$O rate. It shows, however, that this reaction hardly affects the weak $s$-process in massive stars since the $^{17}$O abundance never becomes significantly large in the massive stars. For the $r$-process nucleosynthesis, we have studied impacts of our rate in both the collapsar and neutron burst models, and found that the effect can be neglected, although an interesting "loophole" effect is found owing to the enhanced new rate, which significantly changes the final nuclear abundances if fission recycling is not involved in the model, however, these significant differences are almost completely washed out if the fission recycling is considered., Comment: 27 pages, 28 figures

Silver indium cadmium (Ag–In–Cd) control rod is widely used in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants, and it is continuously consumed in a high neutron flux environment. The mass ratio of 107Ag in the Ag–In–Cd control rod is 41.44%. To accurately calculate the consumption value of the control rod, a reliable neutron reaction cross section of the 107Ag is required. Meanwhile, 107Ag is also an important weak r nucleus. Thus, the cross sections for neutron induced interactions with 107Ag are very important both in nuclear energy and nuclear astrophysics. The (n, γ) cross section of 107Ag has been measured in the energy range of 1–60 eV using a back streaming white neutron beam line at China spallation neutron source. The resonance parameters are extracted by an R-matrix code. All the cross section of 107Ag and resonance parameters are given in this paper as datasets. The datasets are openly available at http://www.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.j00113.00010.

To identify potential metabolic biomarkers for distinguishing malignant and benign thyroid nodules in children and adolescents using a metabolomics approach. A total of 96 consecutive patients (median age 14.29 ± 2.31 years, range 9–18 years) who underwent thyroidectomy and 40 healthy controls were enrolled. Patients were assigned to the papillary thyroid carcinoma and benign thyroid adenoma groups according to postoperative pathologic biopsy. Plasma samples were preoperatively collected, and multivariate analysis was performed to identify differential metabolites. Papillary thyroid carcinoma could be distinguished not only from healthy serum but also from benign thyroid adenoma according to the metabolic profiles. A total of 17 metabolites were identified. Compared with those from benign thyroid adenoma patients and healthy controls, the metabolites from papillary thyroid carcinoma patients, including leucine, lactate, alanine, glycine, acetate, lysine and choline, were increased, while glucose was decreased. The metabolomics method based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance has great potential for identifying papillary thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents. Lactate and glycine may be used as potential serum markers for the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

$$^{56}\hbox {Cu}$$ is close to the waiting-point nucleus $$^{56}\hbox {Ni}$$ and lies on the rapid proton capture (rp) process path in Type I X-ray bursts (XRBs). In this work, we obtained a revised thermonuclear reaction rate of $$^{55}\hbox {Ni}(\hbox {p},\gamma )^{56}\hbox {Cu}$$ in the temperature region relevant to XRBs. This rate was recalculated based on the recent experimental level structure in $$^{56}\hbox {Cu}$$ , the recently measured proton separation energy of $$S_\text {p}$$ = 579.8(7.1) keV, together with shell-model calculation, and the mirror nuclear structure in $$^{56}\hbox {Co}$$ . The associated uncertainties in the rates were estimated by a Monte Carlo method. Our revised rate is significantly different from the recent results, which were partially based on experimental results; in addition, we found that a result in a previous work was incorrect. We recommend our revised rate to be incorporated in the future astrophysical network calculations.

Improvement of crop drought resistance and water-use efficiency (WUE) has been a major endeavor in agriculture. Arabidopsis ENHANCED DROUGHT TOLERANCE1/HOMEODOMAIN GLABROUS11 (AtEDT1/HDG11), a homeodomain-START transcription factor we previously identified from the enhanced drought tolerance1 mutant (edt1), has been demonstrated to improve drought tolerance and WUE significantly in multiple plant species when constitutively overexpressed. Here, we report the genetic evidence suggesting a genetic pathway, which consists of EDT1/HDG11, ERECTA, and E2Fa loci, and regulates WUE by modulating stomatal density. AtEDT1/HDG11 transcriptionally activates ERECTA by binding to homeodomain-binding (HD) cis-elements in the ERECTA promoter. ERECTA, in turn, depends on E2Fa to modulate the expression of cell cycle-related genes. This modulation affects the transition from mitosis to endocycle, leading to increased ploidy levels in leaf cells, and therefore increased cell size and decreased stomatal density. Our results suggest a possible EDT1/HDG11-ERECTA-E2Fa genetic pathway that reduces stomatal density by increasing cell size and provide a new avenue to improve WUE of crops.

Partial discharge (PD) is one of the major reasons that leading to insulation destroyed of power equipment. PD measurement can help to find faults earlier and reduce the financial loss. An extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) sensor is presented to detect PD acoustic emission in the oil. The relationship between cavity length and parallel misalignment of FP cavity facets is theoretically analyzed. Silica diaphragm and signal mode fiber are used to form FP cavity. The sensing diaphragm will induce Fabry-Perot cavity length modulation when acoustic is detected. For high sensitivity, the resonant frequency of diaphragm is modeled by the finite element methods (FEM) in ANSYS. To prevent drifting of operation point, a quadrature intensity demodulation system using distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor laser is proposed for EFPI acoustic sensor. When operation point drift influenced by temperature and pressure, the center wavelength of DFB laser will be tuned to lock the operation point by method of feedback control. The performance of the EFPI sensor system is verified by preliminary test. EFPI sensor and piezoelectric (PZT) transducer are both used to detect acoustic emission signals generated by partial discharge from noodle-plate model. The experiment shows that the proposed EFPI sensor sensitively detects acoustics from partial discharge.

We report electric field induced magnetic switching behaviours of un-doped ZnO films grown on Pt and SrRuO3 (SRO) bottom electrodes. The coexistence of great resistive and magnetic switching was observed in both devices under an applied electric field, but the magnetic change is opposite in ZnO films grown on Pt and SRO electrodes. By fitting the current–voltage curves of the samples, we found that we could attribute the resistive switching behavior to filamentary conduction in the Ti/ZnO/Pt device and interfacial Schottky barrier effects in the Ti/ZnO/SRO device. The underlying mechanism for magnetic switching behavior of Ti/ZnO/Pt and Ti/ZnO/SRO devices is discussed based on their resistive switching mechanism. Our work suggests that the magnetic properties of un-doped ZnO films can be greatly altered by applying a small voltage.

The accelerometer is a sensitive inertial component of the inertial navigation system, and its output signal is proportional to the transporters acceleration. In system design and test, the dynamic characteristic of the closed-loop system is an important parameter. At present, the use of wire vibration or angular vibration to provide an input signal cannot meet the amplitude and phase of system testing requirements, and the test cost is high. Therefore, the study of how the dynamic characteristics of electrical simulation test system to give a precise mathematical accelerometer model is an important part of the analysis of the inertial navigation system,which is an effective method to acquire the dynamic characteristics and can be extended to mini inertia instruments. In this paper, we use the system identification method to identify the model of the system. Modeling of the system identification method is to determine the mathematical model of the system by observing the relationship between system inputs and outputs. The content of system identification generally includes four parts which are experimental design, model structure identification, parameter estimation and model test. Circuit simulation test of dynamic character of accelerometer system and model identification method have been applied in practical application. This paper has tested the accuracy of developed system designed by different system identifications.

In conventional centralized authorization models, the evaluation performance of policy decision point (PDP) decreases obviously with the growing numbers of rules embodied in a policy. Aiming to improve the evaluation performance of PDP, a distributed policy evaluation engine called XDPEE is presented. In this engine, the unicity of PDP in the centralized authorization model is changed by increasing the number of PDPs. A policy should be decomposed into multiple subpolicies each with fewer rules by using a decomposition method, which can have the advantage of balancing the cost of subpolicies deployed to each PDP. Policy decomposition is the key problem of the evaluation performance improvement of PDPs. A greedy algorithm withO(nlgn)time complexity for policy decomposition is constructed. In experiments, the policy of the LMS, VMS, and ASMS in real applications is decomposed separately into multiple subpolicies based on the greedy algorithm. Policy decomposition guarantees that the cost of subpolicies deployed to each PDP is equal or approximately equal. Experimental results show that (1) the method of policy decomposition improves the evaluation performance of PDPs effectively and that (2) the evaluation time of PDPs reduces with the growing numbers of PDPs.

6m arch board used as test object, this paper introduces the arch in different level of load board cracks, development and production of plastic hinge until the whole process for all the damage simulation numerical simulation analysis then compared with experimental results and analysis of increased with load crack distribution, which can be used to understand the similar in service work condition of the stone bridge.

With advantages of high efficiency and stable quality, UV-LIGA technology is regarded as an important developmental direction of micro forming technology. In the paper, the UV-LIGA production procedure and the processing parameters on fabrication of micro gear were determined through manufacturing experiments. The involute profile micro gear samples and the cases were fabricated based on UV-LIGA technology. The micro gears with parameters of modular m=0.04mm, tooth number z =18 were made of Nickel. The size, elastic modulus and the indentation hardness of the micro gear were measured. The results indicate that the structure of the micro gear is clear, the surface and the curve of tooth profile are smooth, and the sidewall is vertical. Micro gear transmission device was assembled by micro gear and micro case, and it can transmit continuously. The work provided some reference for the fabrication of micro gear transmission device.

Profiles of non-circular gears and equivalent gears are compared in this paper, and profile differences are specifically investigated. Based on the cantilever beam theory, the calculating method of bending stress for non-circular gear is researched, and computational error by using equivalent gear instead of non-circular gear to calculate the bending stress is analyzed through the comparison of tooth form factors. Simultaneously, the numerical simulation of bending stress of non-circular gear is conducted on the basis of the FEM method. By the fitting curve comparison, the feasibility of using equivalent gear instead of non-circular gear to calculate the bending stress is testified.

This paper introduces an approach of novel principle to measure the directional emissivity of material surfaces direct. The value of the infrared directional emissivity is obtained by comparing the surface spectral emissivity of testing samples to a blackbody reference. Weak signals are measured with pyroelectric detector by optical modulation and phase-locked amplified technologies. Our experiment is implemented with stainless steel in circumstance of 20 - 300°C, the testing sample is 8µm- 14μm. Compare to the reference and the calibration value without a cooling process, combined uncertainty is less than 0.04, and the result is satisfied.

The discrete wavelet transform based on the orthogonal wavelet bases has the disadvantage of shift-variant. In this paper, using the compactly supported dyadic orthogonal real-valued wavelet bases to construct the compactly supported dyadic orthogonal linear phase complex wavelet (LCW) bases in terms of alternately lifting scheme. Linear phase complex wavelet can separate the envelope of the flicker signal. The core of the method is a pair of Hilbert transform including the flicker signal in wavelet field is come into being, i.e. a pair of quadrature components with the same amplitude and the same frequency can be used to realize the demodulation of an amplitude modulated voltage flicker signal. Simulation experiments show the method proposed has the characteristic of shift-invariant comparing with the traditional discrete wavelet transform, result of separating envelope of the flicker signal is independent of initial time recording signal.

Multi-axis winding machine can realize automatic winding of composite elbow, but its mechanical structure and control system is complex, which restricts its industrial application. In this paper, two-axis FRP elbow winding machine applied teaching and playback method is designed, which accomplish the winding of elbow by controlling the rotation motion of the mandrel and the reciprocating motion of the carriage along a semicircular track. In teaching mode, the positions of spindle and carriage are collected and stored as teaching document when the spindle rotates a certain angle, while in playback mode the control method of electronic cam is applied to realize the playback winding. The mechanical structure and the working principle of elbow winding machine are introduced, and the control system of winding machine is analyzed. It is proved that the system is stable, and it can wind certain type of composite elbows.

The liquid switch gyroscope is used as a reference of the original horizontal coordinate system in the inertial navigation system of ballistic rockets. The stability of gyro is significant for finding ground level when a missile enters the destination region. A damping is adapted to increase the tremor convergence rate which may be caused by vibrations of generators, crustal movement and others. This paper proposed several experiments of the liquid electrolyte in the gyro horizon. The damping rate is variational with the bubbles. As a result of that, small tremor can be eliminated and the gyrohorizon can achieve steady mode rapidly.

If there are lots of redundancies in the policies loaded on the policy decision point (PDP) in the authorization access control model, the system will occupy more resources in operation and consumes plenty of evaluation time and storage space. In order to detect and eliminate policy redundancies and then improve evaluation performance of the PDP, aredundancy related to combining algorithmsdetecting and eliminating engine is proposed in this paper. This engine cannot only detect and eliminate theredundancy related to combining algorithms, but also evaluate access requests. AResource Brick Wallis constructed by the engine according to the resource attribute of a policy’s target attributes. By theResource Brick Walland the policy/rule combining algorithms, three theorems for detectingredundancies related to combining algorithmsare proposed. A comparison of the evaluation performance of theredundancy related to combining algorithmsdetecting and eliminating engine with that of Sun PDP is made. Experimental results show that the evaluation performance of the PDP can be prominently improved by eliminating theredundancy related to combining algorithms.

Because the structure of the classical mathematical model of rolling load is simple, even with the self-adapting technology, it is difficult to accommodate the increasing dimensional accuracy. Motivated by this fact, an Innovations Feedback Neural Networks (IFNN) was presented based on the idea of Kalman prediction. The neural networks used the Back Propagation (BP) algorithm and applied it to the prediction of rolling load in hot strip mill. The theoretical results and the off-line simulation show that the prediction capability of IFNN is better than that of normal BP networks, namely, for the prediction of the rolling load in hot strip mill, the prediction precision of IFNN is higher than that of normal BP networks. Finally, a relative complete rolling load prediction system was developed on Windows 2003/XP platform using the OOP programming method and the SQL server2000 database. With this system, the rolling load of a 1700 strip mill was calculated, and the prediction results obtained correspond well with the field data. It shows that IFNN is valid for rolling load prediction.

In weighted fusion algorithm for multisensor, the weights are only determined by noise variance and the precision of the variance estimation will affect the performance of the fusion algorithm. An approach of variance estimation for multisensor is presented and proves unbiased in this paper. The recurrence formula for the algorithm is also proposed, and moreover, there is no need for initial values, for which the approach is adaptive and can be used in real-time estimation. A numerical example is given to show the usefulness of the approach.

Although there have been great advances in the treatment of electrical injuries in the last 20 years, the extremity loss ratio in electrical injuries remains at an unacceptably high level. The primary cause is due to the progressive tissue necrosis which results in the continuous extension of necrosis in the wound, leading to loss of the whole injured extremity. This study reports attempts to break the dangerous tissue necrosis circle and save the form and function of damaged extremities. After 14 years of systematic experimental and clinical studies a successful comprehensive urgent reconstruction alternative (CURA) for electrical injuries is proposed. CURA includes: debriding the wound as early as possible after injury; preserving the vital tissue structures as much as possible, such as nerves, vessels, joints, tendons, bone, even though they have undergone devitalization or local necrosis; repairing these vital tissues during the first surgery if functional reconstruction requires it; protecting the wound bed by covering with tissue flaps of rich blood supply; improving flap survival through moist dressings supported by continuous irrigation beneath the flaps for a 24-72h period after surgery with measures to control local infection; and last, giving general systemic treatment with vasoactive agents and antibiotics. Four hundred and fifty nine wounds in 155 patients suffering from electrical injuries have been successfully treated with this technique between 1986 and 2000 and are reported in this paper. Satisfactory results were obtained with the extremity loss proportion reduced to less than 9% compared with 41.5% during the 10 years before 1984 in the same hospital. The authors suggest that CURA is an effective and workable method for treatment of electrical injuries.

Most peripheral cells generate cholesterol-rich high-density lipoprotein (HDL) with exogenous apolipoprotein as one of the mechanisms for the maintenance of cellular cholesterol homeostasis. Astrocytes isolated from fetal rat brain showed a unique behavior in this reaction. Consistent with previous findings, the astrocytes synthesized apolipoprotein (apo) E and generated cholesterol-rich pre-β-HDL-like lipoprotein with this apoE, and cellular cholesterol and phospholipids. When exogenous apoA-I and E were added to the medium, they caused generation of additional HDL with cellular phospholipid. It is interesting that this additional part was very poor in cholesterol except for the generation of relatively cholesterol-rich HDL only in the initial few hours of the incubation. The mobilization of intracellular cholesterol for this reaction was also very limited, reflecting the poor cholesterol incorporation into the HDL. Thus, the results demonstrated a unique profile of HDL generation and cholesterol efflux by apolipoproteins in rat astrocytes, with endogenous apoE producing cholesterol-rich HDL and exogenous apolipoproteins producing cholesterol-poor HDL. These lipoproteins may play differential roles in cholesterol transport in the CNS.

Astrocytes play a key role in cholesterol metabolism in central nervous system. We have shown that fetal rat astrocytes in primary culture secrete cholesterol-rich HDL with the endogenous apolipoprotein (apo) E and generate cholesterol-poor HDL with exogenous apoE and apoA-I [Ito et al. (1999) J. Neurochem. 72, 2362]. In order to study these reactions in relation to the stage of cell differentiation, we examined generation of HDL by rat astrocytoma cells. Lack of apoE secretion was found in three astrocytoma cell lines, human T98G, rat C6, and GA-1 [Kano-Tanaka et al. (1986) Proc. Jpn. Acad. Ser. B 62, 109]. GA-1 produced apoE at very low level and therefore generated much less HDL by itself than the astrocytes in primary culture. In contrast, GA-1 interacted with exogenous apoE and apoA-I to produce cholesterol-rich HDL while the astrocytes produced cholesterol-poor HDL with these apolipoproteins. Cholesterol biosynthesis rate measured from mevalonate was higher and down-regulated more by LDL in the astrocytes than GA-1. On the other hand, the cellular cholesterol level, uptake of LDL, and cyclodextrin-mediated non-specific diffusion of cholesterol from cell surface were same between these two cells. Treatment of GA-1 with acidic fibroblast growth factor influenced neither the production of apoE nor the baseline lipid secretion, but increased the cholesterol synthesis from mevalonate and the magnitude of its down-regulation by LDL, and decreased cholesterol content in the HDL produced by exogenous apoA-I. In conclusion, suppression of apoE biosynthesis in the undifferentiated astrocytes GA-1 resulted in poor secretion of cholesterol-rich HDL and in turn more production of HDL with exogenous apolipoprotein. Cellular cholesterol homeostasis was altered accordingly.

In June 15-25, 2003, the first sluice discharge duration of the Three Gorges Dam, water samples were taken from a grid of survey stations around the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters to analyze the characteristics of phytoplankton assemblages. In the survey area, the major phytoplankton groups were diatoms and dinoflagellates, and a few species belonging to Chrysophyceae and Chlorophyceae were observed. The cell abundance of the assemblages ranged from 0.2 to 1504.2 cells ml(-1), with an average of 72.7 cells ml(-1), and the dominant species were Skeletonema spp., Prorocentrum dentatum, and Scrippsiella trochoidea. The highest cell abundance was appeared in north diluted waters and southwest inshore waters. The cell abundance was the maximum in mid (10 m) water layer, and the minimum in bottom layer. In diluted waters, Skeletonema spp. was the dominant species, and mainly presented in surface water layer; while in the waters with the diluted water of Yangtze River and the mixed water of Taiwan Warmer Current and Yellow Sea, Prorocentrum dentatum dominated, and mainly distributed in surface and mid water layers.

To evaluate and summarize the possibility and experience of reconstructive vascular operation for kinking of internal carotid artery.Reconstructive vascular operation was performed on 5 patients with symptomatic kinking of internal carotid artery between July 2008 and June 2009. There were 2 male and 3 female patients, age ranged from 53 to 68 years (mean 62 years). Cutting the internal carotid artery at the bifurcation, mobilizing and stretching the internal carotid artery, then anastomosing the internal and common carotid artery. Two of them underwent endarterectomy simultaneously.For the 5 patients, postoperative recovery went smoothly and symptoms were well improved. Except that mild high perfusion syndrome happened in 1 patient, no other obvious complications. Kinking of internal carotid artery had been stretched in the postoperative CT angiography. In the 5-16-month follow-up, no transient ischemic attack or cerebral infarction happened, and no restenosis appeared.Reconstructive vascular operation is an effective surgical approach to kinking and coiling of the internal carotid artery. For some risk exists, all-round evaluation should be performed before operation, and operative indication should be strictly controlled.

To study the expression of stomatin-like protein-2 (SLP-2) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and analyze the correlation between SLP-2 expression and clinicopathological features.The expression of SLP-2 protein in ESCC tissues (18 and 220 cases respectively) was detected by Western blot and IHC. The association between SLP-2 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed.Compared with normal epithelium, 13 cases of ESCC tissues showed a higher expression of SLP-2 on the protein level (72.2%, 13/18). IHC analysis on tissue microarray revealed that the expression rate of SLP-2 protein in ESCC was 54.1% and in normal esophageal mucosa was 3.6%, showing a significant difference (P0.001). SLP-2 high-level expression correlates with the extent of ESCC invasion (P = 0.033), but not with other clinicopathologic characteristics (P0.05).SLP-2 as a novel cancer-related gene may play an important role in tumorigenesis of ESCC. The overexpression of SLP-2 may be closely associated with the invasion of esophageal cancer.

In order to realize automatic trapezoidal thread manufacturing of large diameter fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) pipe, the numerical control machine tool, which can implement pre-taper manufacturing and thread grinding, is designed. This paper introduces the mechanical structure and the composition of the open numerical control system. A three-loop control model with friction effects is built for the radial axis servo platform which runs at low speed. The friction model of the motion platform is fitted by experiment data, and the friction dynamics simulation for low speed operation characteristics of speed loop and position loop is conducted. The influence of none-linear friction on dynamic characteristics of the servo platform is researched. The feedforward friction compensation control is applied to eliminating the phenomenon of “dead zone” and “flat top” caused by friction, and the low speed performance and the tracking accuracy are improved, which realizes the thread grinding of large diameter high-pressure FRP pipes with high accuracy.