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The oxidation of six Cu-xNi alloys (x = 0.2, 0.6, 1, 2, 3, 4 at.%) was studied at 800 °C under 1 atm O2. All of the binary Cu-Ni alloys underwent an internal oxidation of Ni in the presence of an external scale of Cu2O and CuO, in agreement with the theoretical expectations for a finite range of Ni contents. However, the behavior of internal oxidation deviates significantly from the classical behavior of internal oxidation described by Wagner, in particular for the absence of a well-defined front of internal oxidation.

Accurate steady state speed prediction is one of the key indexes to improve vehicle safety. This paper presents a steady state speed prediction method for expressway vehicles under snow and ice conditions. Firstly, the torque balance equation of vehicle rollover time is established, and the critical state of vehicle stability is judged by the lateral acceleration of vehicle. Secondly, the steady-state speed prediction parameters, including friction coefficient, braking distance, driver reaction time and vehicle yaw Angle, were calculated according to the judgment results of stable critical state, and the steady-state speed prediction model was built according to the predicted parameters. Experimental results show that this method can accurately detect the critical state of vehicle stability, and the steady-state speed prediction results are basically consistent with the actual speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) represents a promising technique for noninvasive visualization of skin lesions. In the clinical daily practice, doctors want to know the relationship between the RCM images and the skin pathological changes. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the basic skin pathological changes under RCM, and use RCM terminology to describe these pathological changes. Methods: A total of 100 patients were recruited and were evaluated both by RCM and histopathologic examination. Ten healthy volunteers were also recruited as control. RCM examinations were done and biopsies of the lesions at the same site of RCM examination were performed for histopathology analysis. Results: The pathological changes including hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, acanthosis, papilloma, spongiosis, pustule, vacuolar degeneration, hyperpigmentation, changes of collagen fibers, and vascular changes can be imaged by RCM and corresponded well to their histopathology. RCM failed to find the atypical keratinocytes in two squamous cell carcinoma cases because of the hyperkeratosis and failed to find the vascular changes in one port wine stain cases because of the limitation of detecting depth. Conclusion: Features correlating well to histopathology are observed on RCM. RCM can be used as an auxiliary diagnosis tool for the clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The room-temperature weak ferromagnetism of amorphous HfAlOx thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition on various substrates in oxygen-defective ambient is demonstrated. The magnetization is independent of film thickness, but depends on substrates and deposition temperatures. A magnetic moment of ∼0.26μB per HfAlOx f.u. is recorded for HfAlOx films deposited under optimized conditions [deposited at 600 °C on (001) sapphire in high vacuum]. It is argued that interfacial defects are one of the possible sources of the weak ferromagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) is vital for bone formation, and its dysfunction is linked to osteoporosis (OP). In this work, we explored the function of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14) in regulating osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. In the present study, the expression of SNHG14 in hBMSCs obtained from OP patients was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). SNHG14 was over-expressed or knocked down in hBMSCs, and the expression levels of OP-related genes (ALP, OCN, and OPN) in hBMSCs were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. StarBase database and miRanda database were used to predict the binding sites between SNHG14 and miR-185-5p, and between miR-185-5p and 3'UTR of WNT1 inducible signaling pathway protein 2 (WISP2), respectively. Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to validate the binding relationship between SNHG14 and miR-185-5p, and miR-185-5p and 3'UTR of WISP2, respectively. Here, we report that SNHG14 was significantly down-regulated in hBMSCs obtained from patients with OP. Overexpression of SNHG14 promoted osteogenic differentiation, while knockdown of SNHG14 worked oppositely. Mechanistically, miR-185-5p was demonstrated to be a target of SNHG14, and could reverse the function of SNHG14. Additionally, WISP2 was identified as a target gene of miR-185-5p in hBMSCs and could be indirectly regulated by SNHG14. Taken together, down-regulation of SNHG14 in hBMSCs accelerated the progression of OP via regulating miR-185-5p/WISP2 axis., (Copyright 2020 Biolife Sas. www.biolifesas.org.)

To introduce a method of increasing the width of alveolar bone. The patient, who needed dental implantation and had narrow alveolar bone, was selected. The preparation of mucosa-periosteal bone flap included two surgeries. The first surgery was corticotomy, which made a square cortex cut on narrow alveolar bone region. The second surgery was performed four weeks after the first one, which split the alveolar bone and inserted implants. Artificial bone and/or autologous bone was filled between inner and outer bone plate, and collagen membrane and platelet-rich fibrin membrane were used to cover the wound. This technique maintained the blood supply of labial(buccal) alveolar bone completely. Artificial bone and/or autologous bone graft contacted with cancellous bone directly and led to better bone growth and bone formation. Alveolar bone mucosa-periosteal bone flap can maintain the labial(buccal) alveolar bone effectively and avoid bone resorption.

Aims: Rubber band ligation is an effective treatment for hemorrhoids. A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate its short and long-term efficacy., Patients and Methods: From 2000 to 2008, 254 outpatients with II- degree and 114 with III-degree hemorrhoids underwent rubber band ligation. Two or three hemorrhoids were ligated per session. Each haemorrhoid was ligated with two rubber bands through a ligator. All patients were visited after two months and followed up through a telephone after two and eleven years., Results: Twenty-four or forty-eight hours post treatment, 41% of patients had mild-moderate pain. Four patients showed severe pain and required for haemorrhoidectomy within a few days. Only 2% of patients experienced self-limiting rectal bleeding after one week and 6% of patients had an additional ligation within two months. Two months later, 92% of II-degree patients and 76% of III-degree patients showed no residual symptoms. After two and eleven years, the history of 314 patients (85%) were obtained, of them, 70% was asymptomatic, 27% had some residual symptoms of occasional bleeding and prolapse, and 3% needed further surgery., Conclusions: Rubber band ligation is an efficient, cost-effective and simple outpatient procedure for the second and third degree hemorrhoids with minimal complications.

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have increased susceptibility to infection by Pneumocystis carinii, but this condition has rarely been reported in Taiwan. Here, we describe two cases of patients with SLE who developed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). The first patient was a 39-year-old woman presenting with fever and dyspnea that had lasted 2 weeks. Chest roentgenography disclosed bilateral interstitial and alveolar infiltrates. The second patient was a 22-year-old woman presenting with a 4-day history of malaise, cough, dyspnea, and fever. She had concomitant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Both patients had been treated with varying doses of corticosteroids and/or cytotoxic drugs within 4 months before presentation. Diagnosis was established based on the findings of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB). Both patients received trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (20 mg.kg-1.d-1 trimethoprim), but finally died of nosocomial septicemia (Acinetobacter baumanni and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia in one, P. aeruginosa bacteremia in the other). These two cases demonstrate that PCP should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with SLE presenting with pneumonic processes. In addition, a second opportunistic pathogen should be suspected. Bronchoscopic examination should be performed if the diagnosis is not clear and should include TBLB and BAL.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy(ESWL) therapy for renal calculi., Methods: 126 patients were treated with Shanghai HX-902 lithotriptor on an inpatient basis. The stone size varied from 0.5 to 2.5 cm. Some patients had a double-J stent inserted prior to treatment., Results: The overall stone-free rate in 2 months was 45.6%, whereas it was 53.3%, 40.8% and 18.1% according to the stone size, < or = 0.8, 0.9-1.9 and > or = 2 cm, respectively. Complications were rare, including 1 subcapsular hematoma formation, 15 renal colics and 5 stone streets, which were managed by conservative treatment or ureteral stenting or additional ESWL and resulted in complete stone clearance., Conclusion: ESWL therapy is a reasonable and effective method for renal stone, percutaneous nephrolithotripsy(PCNL) or open surgery should be considered for stones larger than 2 cm.

Objective: To investigate the association of HLA class II alleles/haplotypes, type I C2 deficiency gene, and tumor necrosis factor a gene promoter allele (TNF2) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the Chinese population in Taiwan., Methods: The HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were studied in 105 SLE patients and 115 controls by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe method, the subtyping of DRB1*15/16 and DRB5 by PCR with sequence-specific primers, type I C2 deficiency gene by PCR, and TNF2 by PCR-Nco I restriction fragment length polymorphism., Results: The frequencies of the HLA class II alleles DRB1*02, DRB1*1502, DRB5*0102, DQB1*0501, and DQB1*0602 and DR2-associated haplotypes DRB1* 1501,DRB5*0101,DQB1*0602 and DRB1*1502,DRB5* 0102,DQB1*0501 were higher among SLE patients than among controls; however, only DQB1*0501 was statistically significantly associated with SLE. No specific allele/haplotype was significantly associated with lupus nephritis. No subject had type I C2 deficiency. SLE patients had a marginally higher percentage of TNF2, which was in linkage disequilibrium with DR3. Since DR3 was not associated with SLE in this Taiwanese Chinese population, TNF2 might play a role in the immunopathogenesis of SLE., Conclusion: Although no HLA-DRB1 allele was found to be significantly associated with SLE, the associations with DQB1*0501 and TNF2 suggest that DQB1 and tumor necrosis factor a may be important genetic factors in SLE susceptibility in the Chinese population in Taiwan.