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To observe the effect of blistering moxibustion on the expression levels of 5-hydroxytyptamine (5-HT) and its receptors of the colon tissue in the mice with visceral hypersensitivity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), so as to explore the effect mechanism of blistering moxibustion in treatment of IBS.Forty SPF-grade newborn Kunming mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, an antagonist group and a blistering moxibustion group, 10 mice in each one. Before modeling, the injection with 0.2 mL parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) was given on the lateral ventricle in the antagonist group. The endorectal glacial acetic acid stimulation combined with tail clipping was used to prepare the model of visceral hypersensitivity of IBS in the model group, the antagonist group and the blistering moxibustion group. After modeling, in the blistering moxibustion group, the intervention with blistering moxibustion was exerted at "Zhongwan" (CV 12), "Tianshu" (ST 25) and "Zusanli" (ST 36), once herbal irritant plaster at each acupoint, for 2 h each time, once a week, consecutively for 3 weeks. Abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) score and electromyographic (EMG) amplitude of abdominal muscles were adopted to evaluate the visceral hypersensitivity. HE staining was applied to observe the morphological changes in colon tissue, and immunohistochemistry was to determine the expression levels of 5-HT and its receptors.Compared with the normal group, EMG amplitude of abdominal muscles was increased under 20, 40 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) in the model group (Blistering moxibustion can relieve the visceral hypersensitivity of the mice with visceral hypersensitive IBS and the underlying mechanism is related to the regulation of the gut-brain axis mediated by 5-HT signaling pathway.

The statistical inference of the Vasicek model driven by small Levy process has a long history. In this paper, we consider the problem of parameter estimation for Vasicek model dXt = (μ-θXt)dt + edLdt, t ∈ [0,1], X0 = x0, driven by small fractional Levy noise with the known parameter d less than one half, based on discrete high-frequency observations at regularly spaced time points $$\{ {t_i} = \frac{i}{n},i = 1,2,...,n\} $$. For the general case and the null recurrent case, the consistency as well as the asymptotic behavior of least squares estimation of unknown parameters μ and θ have been established as small dispersion coefficient e → 0 and large sample size n → − simultaneously.

Cable domes achieve structural stiffness and loading capacity through tension cables and compression struts. Friction from cable-strut joints contributes a major prestress loss during tensioning. This paper presents a novel hemispheric rolling cable-strut joint which provides smooth load transmission and high prestress efficiency. It comprises a hemispheric cover plate, a bottom plate, a roller, and top and bottom bearings. The bearings embedded in the roller reduce friction transmission from the tensioned cable; thus, prestress loss is minimized. A theoretical analysis of load transmission and prestress loss is conducted for the cable-strut joint, followed by an experimental study. The experiments test cable-strut joints with different types of bearings, using a fixed-roller joint as a reference, and are shown to validate the theoretical approach. A potential method to improve the prestress efficiency during tensioning is discussed. Prestress loss rates are compared for the test joints and an optimum bearing type is recommended in consideration of both friction coefficients and service time. The hemispheric rolling cable-strut joint accommodates complex cable and strut configurations with clear load path and minimal prestress loss. Our results show that it provides a high-performance solution that can be used to improve the structural stability and stiffness of next generation long-span spatial structures.

Five new secoiridoid glycosides, cornusphenosides E-I (

In certain special scenarios, there will be a mixed radiation field formed by a variety of nuclides or rays. The monitoring system for such radiation fields requires the capacity of comprehensive and automatic analysis. In this paper, a specific mixed radiation field is given, which contains gamma ray, neutron ray, α aerosol and tritium in a high radon concentration environment. An intelligent monitoring system is developed to measure and evaluate the complex radiation field rapidly and accurately. The radiation performance of the system is verified by experiments, which achieves the expected index requirements.

With the wide application of nuclear technology, the radiation field shows more and more characteristics of hybrid, complexity and versatility. In order to ensure the safety and data transparency of radiation field, online radiation monitoring system is usually established for all important radiation fields. Its purpose is to monitor the parameters of radiation field in real-time and accurately, and evaluate the status of radiation safety scientifically and reliably. Therefore, a basic model of online monitoring system for mixed radiation field is established, which can be carried out proper expansion in accordance with the different scales and styles of radiation field.

In this work, the functional requirements of the integrated management of physical protection system has been studied, by analyzing the composition of the physical protection system, as well as the development status and trend of the integrated management system. The design scheme is studied from two aspects of the composition of the physical protection integrated management system and the software architecture, so as to provide reference for the construction of the integrated management system of nuclear facilities.

Gymnadenia conopsea R. Br. is a traditional Tibetan medicinal plant that grows at altitudes above 3000 m, which is used to treat neurasthenia, asthma, coughs, and chronic hepatitis. However, a comprehensive configuration of the chemical profile of this plant has not been reported because of the complexity of its chemical constituents. In this study, a rapid and precise method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) combined with an Orbitrap mass spectrometer (UPLC&ndash, Orbitrap&ndash, MS/MS) was established in both positive- and negative-ion modes to rapidly identify various chemical components in the tubers of G. conopsea for the first time. Finally, a total of 91 compounds, including 17 succinic acid ester glycosides, 9 stilbenes, 6 phenanthrenes, 19 alkaloids, 11 terpenoids and steroids, 20 phenolic acid derivatives, and 9 others, were identified in the tubers of G. conopsea based on the accurate mass within 3 ppm error. Furthermore, many alkaloids, phenolic acid derivates, and terpenes were reported from G. conopsea for the first time. This rapid method provides an important scientific basis for further study on the cultivation, clinical application, and functional food of G. conopsea.

Five new secoiridoid glycosides, cornusphenosides E-I (1–5), were isolated and characterized from an active fraction of ethanol extract of the fruits of Cornus officinalis. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic data analysis, including 2 D NMR and HRESIMS experiments. In the preliminary assay, compound 5 (when evaluated at 10 μM) showed the neuroprotective effect against H2O2-induced SH-SY5Y cell damage.

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression and clinical significance of early growth response protein 1 (EGR-1) and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in the pituitary tumors of elderly patients. From January 2014 to December 2015, we collected 25 patient cases with non-invasive pituitary tumors, 10 cases with invasive pituitary tumors and 35 cases with healthy pituitary tissues (the healthy control group). Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of EGR-1 and PTEN, and analyze specific differences. The expression of EGR-1 and PTEN in patients with invasive and non-invasive pituitary tumors increased significantly, when compared with the healthy control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p

// Chun-Hua Xu 1, 2 , Wei Wang 1, 2 , Yong Lin 3 , Li-Hua Qian 4 , Xiu-Wei Zhang 5 , Qing-Bo Wang 6 , Li-Ke Yu 1 1 Endoscopic Center of Nanjing Chest Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China 2 Clinical Center of Nanjing Respiratory Diseases and Imaging, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China 3 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Chest Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China 4 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nanjing Pukou Central Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211800, China 5 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211100, China 6 Department of Geriatrics Medicine, Nanjing Second Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210003, China Correspondence to: Like Yu, email: lkyu54@126.com Keywords: periostin, non-small cell lung cancer, prognosis, diagnosis, biomarker Received: June 20, 2016 Accepted: October 26, 2016 Published: November 01, 2016 ABSTRACT The periostin protein is expressed in a variety of human malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum periostin levels in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We measured serum periostin levels by ELISA in 296 NSCLC patients, 120 benign lung diseases (BLD) patients and 160 healthy controls. The levels of serum periostin in NSCLC patients were significantly elevated compared with those in healthy controls ( P < 0.001) and BLD patients ( P < 0.001). Using a cutoff value of 30.87 ng/ml, the sensitivity and specificity of periostin in differentiating between NSCLC patients and BLD patients, and between NSCLC patients and healthy controls was, 48.6 and 91.7%, and 51.4 and 97.5%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier log rank analysis revealed that the higher serum periostin levels group had a poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with lower periostin group ( P = 0.024, P = 0.015, respectively). Further univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that serum periostin was an independent risk factor of prognosis of NSCLC patients. In conclusion, our study suggests that serum periostin could be considered as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.

Introduction Cripto-1 (CR-1) is highly expressed in several different types of human tumors. However, the clinical significance of CR-1 expression in serum specimens from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has not yet been determined. Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum CR-1 levels in patients with NSCLC. Methods Serum specimens from 592 NSCLC patients, 180 benign lung disease patients and 240 healthy controls were collected. The concentrations of CR-1 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Patients with NSCLC had higher serum CR-1 levels than the controls (P

As we know radon is harmful to people because of its radioactivity. Focusing on the technical requirements of radon mitigation by adsorption, the radon adsorption behavior of carbon nanotube bundles was studied under different diameter tube bundles and different tube spacing using the grand cononical ensemble Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation method. The results show that the (10:10) type nanotubes have the strongest ability to adsorb radon with a tube spacing of 1 nm, followed by (7:7) type nanotubes with a tube spacing of 1 nm. The bundle of carbon nanotubes of the (8:8) type has the worst adsorption capacity. Moreover, the nanotube bundles of each type of tube have an increased ability to adsorb radon as the tube spacing increases.

Multiferroic BiFeO 3 thin films were prepared on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si and ITO/glass substrates by sol–gel preparation method. Pure perovskite phase and uniform surface topography have been verified by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. In addition, optical property measured by spectroscopic ellipsometer indicated that the absorptivity of both BiFeO 3 thin films was enhanced with increasing photo energy after an illumination among 250–1000 nm. Tauc calculation indicated that the direct band gap was 2.92 eV for the film on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si, which is about 0.4 eV lower than that of the film on ITO/glass.

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) plays a key role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression through epigenetic gene silencing and chromatin remodeling. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between EZH2 expression and platinum-based chemotherapy response as well as survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).We identified 360 consecutive stage IIIB and IV NSCLC patients who underwent first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Immunohistochemical analysis of EZH2 on the paraffin-embedded pre-treatment tumor samples was performed and correlated with chemotherapy response and survival.EZH2 was positive in 204 of 360 patients (56.7%). Of the 204 positive EZH2 patients, 72 (35.3%) responded to chemotherapy with either complete response, or partial remission. Of 156 negative EZH2 patients, 90 (57.7%) exhibited a response to chemotherapy. The difference in response to therapy between positive and negative EZH2 patients was statistically significant (p0.01). Univariate survival analysis indicated that patients with positive EZH2 had a significantly lower disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than those patients with negative EZH2 expression. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that positive EZH2 expression was an independent prognostic factor for both DFS and OS. Kaplan-Meier survival curves further confirmed that positive EZH2 expression correlates with poor survival in NSCLC patients.Our results indicate that advanced NSCLC patients with positive expression of EZH2 exhibited resistance to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. EZH2 may be a predictive and prognostic factor for cisplatin-based therapy response and disease survival in advanced NSCLC.

Human Cripto-1 (CR-1) plays an important oncogenic role during tumorigenesis and is overexpressed in a wide range of carcinomas, yet little is known about CR-1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aims of this study were to detect CR-1 expression in NSCLC and to analyze its association with prognosis of NSCLC patients. The expression of CR-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein in 35 cases of NSCLC and corresponding noncancerous tissue samples was examined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) and Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of CR-1 in 128 NSCLC tissues. The expression levels of CR-1 mRNA and protein in NSCLC tissues were significantly higher than those in corresponding noncancerous tissues (P

The CASTEP program was used to study the effects of Cu on the structure, magnetic moment and electronic properties of V-doped ZnO. The calculated enthalpies showed that the Cu atoms were inclined to stay near the V atoms. Cu neutralized the delocalized electrons in V-doped ZnO. Cu also suppressed the magnetic moments of Zn and O more than those of the V ions. The different amounts of suppression caused the moments to concentrate on the V atoms. The magnetic moments decreased in Cu and V co-doped ZnO. The suppressions of the magnetic moments and concentrations of the Cu atoms were verified with density of states calculations. The states showed that Cu increased the conduction in V-doped ZnO. The calculated spin isospheres showed that Cu improved the concentration of the magnetic moments on the V sites. The improved concentration enhanced the performance of diluted magnetic semiconductors based on V-doped ZnO. These results help in understanding the role of Cu in V-doped ZnO. They also provide a reference for preparing diluted magnetic semiconductors based on V-doped ZnO

Responding to the continuous development of power reform and power market, referred to research of the power market operation, this paper designs operational analysis tag library, which is carried out in four dimensions: market supply and demand analysis, market structure analysis, market behaviour analysis and market operation analysis, to display and track the trend of power market operations more intuitively, and describes the operation status of the power market more comprehensively. Besides, Power Market Operation Analysis Tag Library is designed to deal with power trading management from a macro perspective with decision support.

In order to study the impact on the roller abrasion resistance of the surface structure parameters such as stripes depth and number, roller abrasion model experiments were carried out with quartz sand as granular material and optimal design method was used to arrange testing program. Based on structural features of roller press, a model test bed was build and stripes roller were design and manufactured according to similar principles. Roller surface structure parameters were determined by orthogonal polynomial regression design method. By processing the test data, a regression equation was obtained with stripes depth, number and the amount of wear as parameters. The results showed that: Stripes structure grinding rollers have better abrasion resistance than the light roller; The depth and the number of stripes have a greater impact on the abrasion resistance and there was an interaction between them; In the same conditions, when the stripe depth is fixed, the wear amount increases with the number of stripes increasing; when a fixed number of stripes, the wear amount decreases with stripes depth increasing. (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

According to the different topographic and geologic conditions of mountain highwaytunnel project has been "It is difficult into the hole and out the hole " argument. The paper is WuGuanhigh-speed road asymmetric bias multi-arch tunnel, and the orthogonal hole separated tunnel, near themountain steep high slope of shallow buried tunnel into the hole as an example. Through theconstruction of practical engineering, analysis in special conditions is done and the mechanicalmechanism of hole program is correctly chosen. Importance and the experiences are summarized, toguide the engineering practice.

In this paper, we show some new generalizations of Nesbitt's inequality. As applica- tions of the generalizations, we obtain the minimum value related to the Riemann zeta function and the Hurwitz zeta function.

ADAM28 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 28) is over-expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with correlation to cancer proliferation, tumor size and lymph node metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the predictive and prognostic value of ADAM28 during chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC. 122 advanced NSCLC cases, 37 patients with benign lung disease and 40 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The serum levels of ADAM28 were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assays. Data were correlated with diagnosis, radiologic objective response and survival. Serum levels of ADAM28 in advanced NSCLC group were significantly elevated compared to benign lung disease group (P

We researched the effect of single intrinsic defect of the structure and electronic properties of V-doped ZnO. After vanadium (V) atom replaced one zinc atom, lattice constants and bulk modulus increased slightly 1.2% and as high as 8.9%, respectively. The total energy showed that oxygen defect inclined to stay at a position far from V atom but zinc defect likely to localize at a position near V atom. The electronic density state of pure ZnO was semiconductor behavior. Vanadium doping introduced a spin-polarization around Fermi-level. The 3d orbital of V split into triplet-state ta (antibonding state), dual-state e (nonbonding state) and triplet-state tb (bonding state) in the wurtzite ZnO crystal field. The ta state hybridized with O2p state above Fermi-level, which made Zn15VO16 underwent a semiconductor-halfmetal transition. Vanadium substitution moved the electronic density states to lower energy. Oxygen defect had little effects on V-doped ZnO while zinc defect moved the density of states to higher energy. Our paper provided a reference for the preparation and application of V-doped ZnO.

We researched the effect of single zinc or oxygen vacancy on the electronic and optical properties of V-doped ZnO. All calculations were performed by CASTEP in materials studio software. Total energy showed that an oxygen vacancy inclined to stay at the position far from vanadium (V). A zinc vacancy preferred to localize at the position near V. The V atom substitution for zinc (Zn) introduced spin-polarization at Fermi-level. Vanadium made electronic density of states moved to lower energy. Vanadium doping broadened the density of states peaks of pure ZnO. An oxygen or Zn vacancy also broadened the density of states peaks of V-doped ZnO. The V doping introduced optical properties at lower energy. An oxygen vacancy improved lower-energy optical properties much. Our calculation provided a reference for the preparation and applications of V-doped ZnO in optical fields.

The commercially available finite element program ANSYS was used to model the refrozen process of the bored pile. The effects of the refrozen process by casting temperature of concrete, heat of concrete hydration and air convention were analyzed. To estimate the time when the bearing capacity of the bored pile is formed, the finish time of refrozen process was determined by modeling the whole refrozen process of the bored pile. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental data. The analysis shows that the refrozen process is related with the casting temperature of concrete. The higher the casting temperature is, the more time the refrozen process takes.

Rab3A is a small GTPase associated with synaptic vesicles that is required for some forms of activity-dependent plasticity. It is thought to regulate the number of vesicles that fuse through an effect on docking, vesicle maturation, or mobilization. We recently showed that at the neuromuscular junction, loss of Rab3A led to an increase in the occurrence of miniature endplate currents (mepcs) with abnormally long half-widths (Wang et al., 2008). Here we show that such events are also increased after short-term activity blockade, and this process is not Rab3A-dependent. However, in the course of these experiments we discovered that the homeostatic increase in mepc amplitude after activity blockade is diminished in the Rab3A deletion mouse and abolished in the Rab3A Earlybird mouse which expresses a point mutant of Rab3A. We show that homeostatic plasticity at the neuromuscular junction does not depend on tumor necrosis factor α, is not accompanied by an increase in the levels of VAChT, the vesicular transporter for ACh, and confirm that there is no increase in ACh receptors at the junction, three characteristics distinct from that of CNS homeostatic plasticity. Activity blockade does not produce time course changes in mepcs that would be consistent with a fusion pore mechanism. We conclude that Rab3A is involved in a novel presynaptic mechanism to homeostatically regulate the amount of transmitter in a quantum.

In this paper,the electronic structure of rutile TiO_2 doped with double nitrogen atoms was studied by the plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential method based on the first-principles density functional theory.It has been used to analyze the effect of three doping positions of double N on the relevant band structure.The calculation demonstrates that there exist additional states in the band gap when doping of the rutile TiO_2 with N atoms,and the gap become narrowing.The results imply that the doped two N atoms in the adjacent position form a more intermediate stable level,and the total energy is the minimum.

The function of Rab3A, a small GTPase located on synaptic vesicles, is not well understood. Studies in the Rab3A−/− mouse support a role in activity-dependent plasticity, but have not reported any effects on spontaneously occurring miniature synaptic currents, except that there is a decrease in resting frequency at the neuromuscular junction. Therefore we were surprised to find an increase in the occurrence of mEPCs with abnormally long half-widths at the neuromuscular junctions of Rab3A−/− mice. The abnormal miniature endplate currents (mEPCs), which have significantly greater charge than the average mEPCs for the same fibres, could arise from larger vesicles. However, the type of mEPC most increased in Rab3A−/− mice has a slow rise, which suggests it is not the result of full collapse fusion. To test if the slow mEPCs increased after loss of Rab3A could be due to malfunctioning fusion pores, we used carbon fibre amperometry to record pre-spike feet, which have been shown to correspond to the initial opening of a narrow fusion pore, in adrenal chromaffin cells of wild-type and Rab3A−/− mice. We found that small amplitude pre-spike feet with abnormally long durations were increased in Rab3A−/− cells. The correspondence between mEPC and amperometric data supports our interpretation that slow rising, long half-width mEPCs are caused by reduced diameter fusion pores that remain open longer. These data could be explained by a direct action of Rab3A on the fusion pore, or by Rab3A-dependent control of vesicles with unusual fusion pore characteristics.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of sB7-H4 and CEA in both serum and pleural effusion of lung cancer patients.Methods: Levels of sB7-H4 and CEA in 90 patients with malignant pleural effusion due to lung cancer and 58 patients with benign pleural effusion were measured by ELISA.Results: The sB7-H4 and CEA levels in pleural effusion, serum and their ratio (F/S) were higher in lung cancer group than that in benign group (p

Cripto-1 (CR-1) is highly expressed in several different types of human tumors. However, the clinical significance of CR-1 expression in serum specimens from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has not yet been determined.The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum CR-1 levels in patients with NSCLC.Serum specimens from 592 NSCLC patients, 180 benign lung disease patients and 240 healthy controls were collected. The concentrations of CR-1 were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Patients with NSCLC had higher serum CR-1 levels than the controls (P 0.01) and patients with benign lung diseases (P 0.01). When a cutoff point of 1.8 ng/mL was selected (diagnostic specificity 95%), the diagnostic sensitivity for NSCLC is 56.8%. About 37.5% of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-negative lung cancer patients were CR-1 positive at 95% specificity. In patients with stage I/II lung cancer, use of these two markers in combination results in almost 21% increase in sensitivity, at 95% specificity, compared with CEA alone. Uni-variate analysis revealed that NSCLC patients with positive CR-1 had a shorter overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than those with negative CR-1 [hazard ratio (HR) of 2.93, P = 0.005; HR of 2.12, P = 0.005]. Cox multi-variate analysis indicated that CR-1 was an independent prognostic indicator of PFS and OS (HR of 1.91, P = 0.006; HR of 1.82, P = 0.007). Kaplan-Meier survival curves further confirmed that patients with negative CR-1 had longer PFS and OS (P = 0.026 and P = 0.011, respectively).In conclusion, measurement of serum CR-1 is a useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.

Long after a cut peripheral nerve reinnervates muscle and restores force production in adult cats, the muscle does not respond reflexively to stretch. Motivated by the likelihood that stretch areflexia is related to problems with sensing and controlling limb position after peripheral neuropathies, we sought to determine the underlying mechanism. Electrophysiological and morphological measurements were made in anesthetized rats having one of the nerves to the triceps surae muscles either untreated or cut and immediately rejoined surgically many months earlier. First, it was established that reinnervated muscles failed to generate stretch reflexes, extending observations of areflexia to a second species. Next, multiple elements in the sensorimotor circuit of the stretch reflex were examined in both the PNS and CNS. Encoding of muscle stretch by regenerated proprioceptive afferents was remarkably similar to normal, although we observed some expected abnormalities, e.g., increased length threshold. However, the robust stretch-evoked sensory response that arrived concurrently at the CNS in multiple proprioceptive afferents produced synaptic responses that were either smaller than normal or undetectable. Muscle stretch failed to evoke detectable synaptic responses in 13 of 22 motoneurons, although electrical stimulation generated monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials that were indistinguishable from normal. The ineffectiveness of muscle stretch was not attributable therefore to dysfunction at synapses made between regenerated Ia afferents and motoneurons. Among multiple candidate mechanisms, we suggest that centrally controlled neural circuits may actively suppress the sensory information encoded by regenerated proprioceptive afferents to prevent recovery of the stretch reflex.

To observe the effects of Xiaopiyishen Herbal Extract Granule (XPYS-HEG) on the quality of life in people with fatigue-predominant subhealth (FPSH) and liver-qi stagnation and spleen-qi deficiency syndrome, the participants were allocated randomly to the treatment group (XPYS,n=100) and the control group (placebo,n=100) in this study. The study period was 18 weeks (6 weeks for the intervention and 12 weeks for followup). The results show that there were no differences between the two groups for the scores of eight factors on the SF-36 (Chinese version of the SF-36 universal quality-of-life scale) at baseline. Compared with the baseline score, intervention with XPYS-HEG led to a significant increase in scores for the factor of bodily pain at the end of the 6th week. Compared with the score at the end of the 6th week, the score for the factor of mental health in the XPYS group significantly increased at the end of the 18th week. Therefore, XPYS-HEG could partially improve the quality of life for people with FPSH and liver-qi stagnation and spleen-qi deficiency syndrome, which can ease bodily pain, stimulate a positive mood, and ease a negative mood.

BACKGROUND The demand for effective intervention for subhealth conditions is growing with increasing numbers of people being in a state of subhealth with a poor quality of life. Future research and evaluation of the treatment methods for subhealth conditions from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may provide an important direction for developing effective management of these conditions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Xiaopi Yishen herbal extract granules (XPYS-HEG), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for relieving fatigue and promoting a cheerful spirit for the treatment of people with fatigue-predominant subhealth due to liver-qi stagnation and spleen-qi deficiency. DESIGN, SETTING PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: A multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study was undertaken. The study period was 18 weeks, including 6 weeks for intervention and 12 weeks for follow-up. Participants were recruited from medical center and outpatient clinics of three hospitals in China, i.e. Xiaotangshan Hospital of Beijing, the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of TCM and the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of TCM. Two hundred participants who met the criteria of fatigue-predominant subhealth and liver-qi stagnation and spleen-qi deficiency in TCM were allocated randomly to the treatment group (XPYS, n=100) and control group (placebo, n=100). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The total score of Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14) was used to evaluate the fatigue status of subjects and the extent of liver-qi stagnation and spleen-qi deficiency syndrome was also recorded. RESULTS Three cases in the XPYS group withdrew from the trial. There were 200 subjects who entered to full analysis set (FAS) analysis and 197 subjects fitted in the per-protocol set (PPS) analysis. (1) According to the score changes of FS-14, the effectiveness rates in the XPYS and placebo group were as follows: 14.0% vs 9.0% (FAS) and 14.4% vs 9.0% (PPS) for complete remission, 19.0% vs 15.0% (FAS) and 19.6% vs 15.0% (PPS) for obvious effects, 39.0% vs 26.0% (FAS) and 39.2% vs 26.0% (PPS) for effective, and 72.0% vs 50.0% (FAS) and 73.2% vs 50.0% (PPS) for complete efficacy. The efficacy of XPYS-HEG was superior to the placebo statistically (P

Nowadays, power consumption of data centers has huge impacts on environments. Researchers are seeking to find effective solutions to make data centers reduce power consumption while keep the desired quality of service or service level objectives. Virtual Machine (VM) technology has been widely applied in data center environments due to its seminal features, including reliability, flexibility, and the ease of management. We present the GreenCloud architecture, which aims to reduce data center power consumption, while guarantee the performance from users' perspective. GreenCloud architecture enables comprehensive online-monitoring, live virtual machine migration, and VM placement optimization. To verify the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed architecture, we take an online real-time game, Tremulous, as a VM application. Evaluation results show that we can save up to 27% of the energy when applying GreenCloud architecture.

To catch up with today's fast changing business markets, web services has never slowed down its paces for evolution. As a consequence, service consumers have to employ in-time upgrades to guarantee continuous business integrity and avoid unnecessary runtime errors in their IT systems. However, a new web service release can involve hundreds of changes, and thus it is non-trivial for the service consumer to rapidly track and adopt relevant changes. This paper proposes a framework for facilitating the service consumer to keep synchronized with the web service evolution. On the service side, a Service Invocation Monitor is installed to monitor the interaction history of the client, a Service Delta Analyzer exports the service delta into well-formatted document, and a Release Note Customizeris configured to customize the full release note produced using the monitored interaction history and exported service delta. On the client side, the Consumer Code Customizer is used by the consumer developer to highlight the code fragments to be changed and provide facilitation linkages between the code fragments and the customized release note. An example is shown to demonstrate the usefulness of our proposal.

Peripheral nerve crush initiates a robust increase in transmission strength at spinal synapses made by axotomized group IA primary sensory neurons. To study the injury signal that initiates synaptic enhancementin vivo, we designed experiments to manipulate the enlargement of EPSPs produced in spinal motoneurons (MNs) by IA afferents 3 d after nerve crush in anesthetized adult rats. If nerve crush initiates IA EPSP enlargement as proposed by reducing impulse-evoked transmission in crushed IA afferents, then restoring synaptic activity should eliminate enlargement. Daily electrical stimulation of the nerve proximal to the crush site did, in fact, eliminate enlargement but was, surprisingly, just as effective when the action potentials evoked in crushed afferents were prevented from propagating into the spinal cord. Consistent with its independence from altered synaptic activity, we found that IA EPSP enlargement was also eliminated by colchicine blockade of axon transport in the crushed nerve. Together with the observation that colchicine treatment of intact nerves had no short-term effect on IA EPSPs, we conclude that enhancement of IA-MN transmission is initiated by some yet to be identified positive injury signal generated independent of altered synaptic activity. The results establish a new set of criteria that constrain candidate signaling moleculesin vivoto ones that develop quickly at the peripheral injury site, move centrally by axon transport, and initiate enhanced transmission at the central synapses of crushed primary sensory afferents through a mechanism that can be modulated by action potential activity restricted to the axons of crushed afferents.

The role of neuronal activity in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease is largely unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of increasing motor neuron activity on the pathogenesis of a canine version of inherited motor neuron disease (hereditary canine spinal muscular atrophy). Activity of motor neurons innervating the ankle extensor muscle medial gastrocnemius (MG) was increased by denervating close synergist muscles. In affected animals, 4 wk of synergist denervation accelerated loss of motor-unit function relative to control muscles and decreased motor axon conduction velocities. Slowing of axon conduction was greatest in the most distal portions of motor axons. Morphological analysis of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) showed that these functional changes were associated with increased loss of intact innervation and with the appearance of significant motor axon and motor terminal sprouting. These effects were not observed in the MG muscles of age-matched, normal animals with synergist denervation for 5 wk. The results indicate that motor neuron action potential activity is a major contributing factor to the loss of motor-unit function and degeneration in inherited canine motor neuron disease.