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Aiming at the gap between theoretical research and practical application in the production bottleneck field, we apply five bottleneck identification methods in a serial production line in aerospace industry based on discrete event simulation and Plant Simulation software, meanwhile discuss the influence of the bottleneck machine quantity on the system performance. This paper evaluated the practicability, accuracy and limitation of various bottleneck identification methods at the practical level. The results of the bottleneck alleviation manifest that increasing the number of bottleneck machines can effectively improve the system performance, but the more machine quantity, the smaller performance improvement. More importantly, the paper studies the influence mechanism and function relationship of the bottleneck machine quantity on the maximum completion time from an interesting actual phenomenon for the first time. The function obtains the condition that the maximum completion time achieve the minimum. The research and conclusion of this paper have essential reference significance for production guidance and theoretical research, and can also contribute to narrow the gap between theory and application of the production bottleneck field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hybrid composite SiC foam/SiC particles/EP (denoted as SiCfoam/SiCp/EP), consisting of E‐51 epoxy resin as the matrix, SiC foam and SiC particles as the reinforcements, was prepared in this work. The slurry erosion properties of SiCfoam/SiCp/EP composite and SiCfoam/EP (SiC foam/epoxy resin) composite were investigated by using a rotating disc rig. It was found out that SiCfoam/SiCp/EP exhibited better mechanical and anti‐erosive performance as compared with SiCfoam/EP. SiC particle size had great influence on the mechanical and anti‐erosive properties of the hybrid composites. Smaller SiC particles were beneficial to improve the mechanical strength, but inclined to decrease the anti‐erosive performance of the composite. In general, the hybrid composite SiCfoam/SiCp/EP can be applied potentially with the excellent anti‐erosive performance under the solid particle erosion conditions. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:2277–2286, 2018. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li+ ions were introduced into a hydrothermal system as surfactants to tailor the growth of perovskite tetragonal PbTiO3 (PT) nanocrystals, giving rise to single-crystal octahedrons with {111} facets exposed. Systematic investigations reveal that single-crystal PT octahedrons were formed via a three-dimensional (3D) aggregation growth process. In the initial stage, the intermediate phase primary nanoparticles, with a size of 2–5 nm, aggregated to form an octahedral shaped particle agglomeration with a size of 20–50 nm; then, the particle crystallized via an oriented attachment (OA) mechanism, resulting in the observed single-crystal PT octahedrons. During this process, the interplay of Li+ ions and the electrostatic force of the primary nanoparticles are essential for octahedral aggregation and subsequent crystallization. Moreover, the concentration of Li+ ions has been demonstrated to significantly modify the growth of PT, leading to nanostructures with various shapes from hexahedral particles to cubic conglomerates to cuboids. These nanostructures demonstrate shape-dependent visible light photocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Fusarium toxin zearalenone (ZEA) and/ or deoxynivalenol (DON) on the serum IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels in mice. In our study, 360 healthy adult female mice were randomly assigned to 9 groups for a 12-day study. Mice of all groups were given a 4-day continuous intraperitoneal injection with different concentrations of ZEA alone, DON alone, and the mixture of ZEA and DON, individually. Blood samples were collected in days 0, 3, 5, 8, and 12 of the experiment. The experiment results showed that all of the experimental groups could cause the dysregulation of the IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels, thus affecting the immunity of mice. The mixture groups, especially in the group with higher concentrations of ZEA and DON (Group D2Z2), showed more obvious effect on the dysregulation of the IL-1, IL-4, and C3 levels. There was a synergistic effect between DON and ZEA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of early exploration of anterolateral thigh (ALT) free flap compromise in head and neck reconstruction and to correlate this with the salvage success rate. The perioperative data of 1051 patients with 1072 ALT flap reconstructions were reviewed retrospectively for the period January 2002 to December 2012. Outcome measures included ethnicity, defect type, incidence and timing of flap compromise, type of flap compromise, causes of vascular occlusion, and salvage rate. The success rate of free flap reconstruction was 97.3% (1043/1072). Of the 29 failures, 21 were complete and eight were partial failures (10-40% of the flap). Venous occlusions occurred in 39 flaps (83.0%) and arterial occlusions in five flaps (17.0%). Six cases were detected within 8h postoperatively, 13 at 8-16h postoperatively, seven at 16-24h postoperatively, and 18 at 24-48h postoperatively, with respective salvage rates of 66.7%, 61.5%, 28.6%, and 22.2%; three cases detected after 48h failed. The salvage rate at ↜16h (62.2%) was much higher than that at >16h (21.4%, P=0.0039). Early detection, re-exploration, and effective handling of the flap crisis increases the rate of flap salvage tremendously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An F2 and an equivalent F3 population derived from a cross between a high salt-tolerance indica variety, Nona Bokra, and a susceptible elite japonica variety, Koshihikari, were produced. We performed QTL mapping for physiological traits related to rice salt-tolerance. Three QTLs for survival days of seedlings (SDSs) under salt stress were detected on chromosomes 1, 6 and 7, respectively, and explained 13.9% to 18.0% of the total phenotypic variance. Based on the correlations between SDSs and other physiological traits, it was considered that damage of leaves was attributed to accumulation of Na+ in the shoot by transport of Na+ from the root to the shoot in external high concentration. We found eight QTLs including three for three traits of the shoots, and five for four traits of the roots at five chromosomal regions, controlled complex physiological traits related to rice salt-tolerance under salt stress. Of these QTLs, the two major QTLs with the very large effect, qSNC-7 for shoot Na+ concentration and qSKC-1 for shoot K+ concentration, explained 48.5% and 40.1% of the total phenotypic variance, respectively. The QTLs detected between the shoots and the roots almost did not share the same map locations, suggesting that the genes controlling the transport of Na+ and K+ between the shoots and the roots may be different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic my-cotoxin. It is produced by several Fusarium species and can contaminate food and feed. To investigate the role of calcium homeostasis in ZEA-induced toxicity of poultry and elucidate its cytotoxic mechanism, splenic lymphocytes isolated from chickens were exposed to ZEA (0-25 pg/mL) for 48 h. The intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca +]i), pH, calmodulin (CaM) mRNA levels, and Na+/K+-ATPase activities and Ca2+-ATPase activities were detected by the fluorescent dyes Fluo-3/AM and BCECF/AM, quantitative real-time PCR, and chromatometry. Supernatant CaM concentrations were simultaneously detected by ELISA. As the ZEA exposure concentration increased, the [Ca2+] i and CaM mRNA levels gradually increased, while in-tracellular pH, CaM concentrations of supernatants, and intracellular Na+/K+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase activities gradually decreased in a dose-dependent man-ner. There were significant differences (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) between the treatment groups and the control group. These results indicate that ZEA cytotoxicity arises by causing an imbalance in calcium homeostasis and intracellular acidification in lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With the rapid development of sleep medicine, there are various methods for detecting sleep diseases. This study compared the correlation between the lightweight watch-type sleep monitor (Actiwatch) and the "gold standard" polysomnography (PSG) in the Chinese population, in order to provide a basis for clinical application., Methods: From August 2018 to December 2019, 121 subjects who simultaneously performed sleep breathing monitoring (PSG) and wearing a watch-type sleep monitor (Actiwatch) in the Sleep Center of Peking University People's Hospital were enrolled. All subjects received PSG and Actiwatch at the same time, and filled out the sleep diary next morning. Monitoring indicators were collected for linear correlation analysis and paired t test to compare the differences., Results: Under low sensitivity conditions, the correlation coefficient of total sleep time (TST) between PSG and Actiwatch was 0.53 ( P < 0.05). Paired t test analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the TSTs of Actiwatch and PSG ( t =-0.890, P =0.36). According to age stratification, the smaller the age, the stronger the correlation between the TSTs of Actiwatch and PSG, and the coefficient could be up to 0.92 ( P < 0.05). Paired t test showed that there was no significant difference between them (t =-1.057, P =0.35). According to the stratification by diagnosis, the correlation coefficient between the TSTs of Actiwatch and PSG in normal PSG group could be as high as 0.79 ( P < 0.05), the results of paired t test showed that there was no significant difference between the TSTs of Actiwatch and PSG in normal PSG group ( t =-0.784, P =0.44)., Conclusion: As a wearable home recorder, when the analysis parameters of Actiwatch were set as low sensitivity, PSG and Actiwatch had the highest TST correlation. The younger the age, the stronger correlation between the TSTs of Actiwatch and PSG. The PSG and Actiwatch subjects with normal PSG presentation had a higher TST correlation.

Objective: To analyse the clinical application of thoracodorsal artery perforator flaps (TDAPF) in the repair of head and neck defects. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 38 patients with oral and maxillofacial head and neck malignant tumors who underwent radical resection of oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma and TDAPF repair in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Head and Neck Oncology of the Ninth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from June 2017 to November 2018. Among them, 32 were males and 6 were females, aged 30-74 years. Flap size, vessel pedicle length, diameter and number of perforators, and flap fat thickness were recorded and counted. Elasti Meter and Skin Fibro Meter were applied to measure the skin elasticity and hardness in the donor areas of 4 kinds of skin flaps before the flap preparation. SPSS 19.0 statistical software was used for statistical analysis of the data. Results: All the flaps survived (100%). The mean elasticity of TDAPF [(41.2±12.9) N/m] was significantly lower than that of anterolateral thigh [(77.6±23.3) N/m, χ²=88.89, P <0.05], anterolateral thigh [(62.6±17.7) N/m, χ²=59.99, P <0.05] and or forearm flap [(51.7±8.6) N/m, χ²=37.82, P <0.05]. The hardness of TDAPF [(0.037±0.016) N] was also significantly lower than that of anterolateral femoral [(0.088±0.019) N, F =93.27, P <0.05], anteromedial femoral [(0.059±0.020) N, F =25.71, P <0.05] or forearm flap [(0.062±0.016) N, F =29.11, P <0.05]. Follow-up period ranged from 2 to 14 months. The 38 patients treated with TDAPF had a good recovery of the functions in the recipient areas, and the scars of the donor areas were not obvious after surgery, without serious complications. Conclusion: TDAPF is suitable for reconstruction of head and neck defect, with ductile texture and good recovery of the morphology and function of head and neck.

The metabolic responses of cows undergo substantial changes during the transition from late pregnancy to early lactation. However, the molecular mechanisms associated with these changes in physiological metabolism have not been clearly elucidated. The objective of this study was to investigate metabolic changes in transition cows from the perspective of plasma metabolites. Plasma samples collected from 24 multiparous dairy cows on approximately d 21 prepartum and immediately postpartum were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry in positive and negative ion modes. In conjunction with multidimensional statistical methods (principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis), differences in plasma metabolites were identified using the t-test and fold change analysis. Sixty-seven differential metabolites were identified consisting of AA, lipids, saccharides, and nucleotides. The levels of 32 plasma metabolites were significantly higher and those of 35 metabolites significantly lower after parturition than on d 21 prepartum. Pathway analysis indicated that the metabolites that increased from late pregnancy to early lactation were primarily involved in lipid metabolism and energy metabolism, whereas decreased metabolites were related to AA metabolism., (Copyright © 2019 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to find effects of Fusarium toxins on brain injury in mice. We evaluated the individual and combined effect of the Fusarium toxins zearalenone and deoxynivalenol on the mouse brain. We examined brain weight, protein, antioxidant indicators, and apoptosis. After 3 and 5days of treatment, increased levels of nitric oxide, total nitric oxide synthase, hydroxyl radical scavenging, and malondialdehyde were observed in the treatment groups. This was accompanied by reduced levels of brain protein, superoxide dismutase (apart from the low-dose zearalenone groups), glutathione, glutathione peroxidase activity, and percentage of apoptotic cells. By day 12, most of these indicators had returned to control group levels. The effects of zearalenone and deoxynivalenol were dose-dependent, and were synergistic in combination. Our results suggest that brain function is affected by zearalenone and deoxynivalenol., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Fusarium toxin zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) on splenic antioxidant functions, IFN levels, and T-cell subsets in mice. Herein, 360 mice were assigned to nine groups for a 12-day study. Mice were administered an intraperitoneal injection for 4 consecutive days with different concentrations of ZEA alone, DON alone, or ZEA+DON. Spleen and blood samples were collected on days 0, 3, 5, 8, and 12. Mice in each of the experimental groups showed dysreglated splenic antioxidant functions, IFN levels, and T-cell subset frequencies, suggesting that the immune system had been affected. The ZEA+DON-treated groups, especially the group that received a higher concentration of ZEA+DON (Group D2Z2), showed more obvious effects on the dysregulation of splenic antioxidant functions, IFN levels, and T-cell subsets. This finding suggested that DON and ZEA exerted synergistic effects., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of cell death and disability among young adults and lacks a successful therapeutic strategy. The multiphasic injuries of TBI severely limit the success of conventional pharmacological approaches. Recent successes with transplantation of stem cells in bioactive scaffolds in other injury paradigms provide new hope for the treatment of TBI. In this study, we transplanted neural stem cells (0.5x10(5) cells/µl) cultured in a bioactive scaffold derived from porcine urinary bladder matrix (UBM; 4 injection sites, 2.5µl each) into the rat brain following controlled cortical impact (CCI, velocity, 4.0 m/sec; duration, 0.5 sec; depth, 3.2mm). We evaluated the effectiveness of this strategy to combat the loss of motor, memory and cognitive faculties. Before transplantation, compatibility experiments showed that UBM was able to support extended proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Together with its reported anti-inflammatory properties and rapid degradation characteristics in vivo, UBM emerged to be an ideal scaffold. The transplants reduced neuron/tissue loss and white matter injury, and also significantly ameliorated motor, memory, and cognitive impairments. Furthermore, exposure to UBM alone was sufficient to decrease the loss of sensorimotor skills from TBI (examined 3-28 days post-CCI). However, only UBMs that contained proliferating neural stem cells helped attenuate memory and cognitive impairments (examined 26-28 days post-CCI). In summary, these results demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in bioactive scaffolds against TBI and show promise for translation into future clinical use.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogenic mycotoxin produced by several Fusarium species, which can contaminate food and feed. These compounds elicit a wide spectrum of toxic effects, including the capacity to alter normal immune function. In this study, the in vitro effects of the treatment of ConA-stimulated splenic lymphocytes with ZEN (0-25 μg/mL) were examined. ZEN modulates the expression of IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-γ. The IL-2 levels were up to fourfold higher (P < 0.05) compared with the levels in the control at toxin concentrations of 25 μg/mL after 48 h of treatment. The IL-6 levels were critically suppressed at this concentration; these changes were very statistically significant (P < 0.05). At lower ZEN concentrations (0.1, 0.4 and 1.6 μg/mL), the IFN-γ levels changed slightly; however at 6.25 and 25 μg/mL, the IFN-γ results reached statistical significance compared with the control levels (P < 0.05). These data suggest that ZEN has potent effects on the expression of chicken splenic lymphocytes cytokines at the mRNA level.

The root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, has been used effectively for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases for a long time. The mechanisms underlying this therapeutic effect are not, however, fully understood. Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is one of the major active components of this Chinese medicine. Therefore, the present study was performed to investigate whether Tan IIA, which has shown a cardio-protective capacity in myocardial ischemia, has an inhibitory effect on the inflammatory responses following myocardial infarction (MI) and its potential mechanisms. In an in vivo study, rat MI model was induced by permanent left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) ligation. After the operation rats were divided into three groups (sham, MI and Tan IIA). Tan IIA was administered intragastrically at a dose of 60mg/kg body wt./day. One week later, rats were sacrificed and the hemodynamic, pathological and molecular biological indices were examined. In an in vitro study, the inflammatory model was established by TNF-alpha stimuli on cardiacmyocyte and cardiac fibroblasts. Tan IIA attenuates the MI pathological changes and improves heart function, and reduces expression of MCP-1, TGF-beta(1) and macrophage infiltration. Furthermore, Tan IIA could also decrease the expression of TNF-alpha and activation of nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB). In vitro, Tan IIA could reduce MCP-1 and TGF-beta(1)secretion of cardiac fibroblasts. The present study demonstrated that the cardioprotective effects of Tan IIA might be attributed to its capacity for inhibiting inflammatory responses., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To assess the drug dependence and abuse liability of tramadol., Methods: Subjects of opiate addicts with history of tramadol abuse were 219. Physical dependence of tramadol was assessed using opiate withdrawal scale (OWS), psychic dependence was assessed by association test of Addiction Research Center Inventory-Chinese Version (ARCI-CV); the degrees of craving experienced for tramadol was self-reported on visual analogue scale (VAS)., Results: The scores of OWS of tramadol were 0.05-1.07; 3 scores on scales in particular being used the identify euphoric effects--MBG, sedative effects--PCAG, and psychotomimetic effects--LSD of ARCI were 7.3, 6.1, and 3.4, respectively (F = 38.1, P < 0.01); 57.1% of tramadol abuse subjects had craving for tramadol (chi 2 = 75.86, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Tramadol produced high abuse potential among opiate addicts.

A gas chromatography method using steam as the carrier gas was established for the determination of salicylic acid in plasma. A 0.5 mL plasma sample was mixed with 0.5 mL of 6N HCl and then extracted with 2 mL of dichloromethane. The dichloromethane was evaporated to dryness and the residue was redissolved in 0.5 mL of water and then analysed by gas chromatography using steam as the carrying gas. The result was calculated by external standardization.

Since the sixties, the emergence of malarial parasites resistant to the most potent anti-malarials has posed a serious problem to the therapy of malaria. Qinghaosu, a new sesquiterpene isolated from a Chinese medicinal herb Qing-hao (Artemisia annua Linn) is being used for the treatment of malaria in China with good results even in cases resistant to common anti-malarial agents. In this paper, a sensitive method of high specificity using TLC for the determination of Qinghaosu in biological specimens and in the study of the metabolism of the drug in rats is described. Qinghaosu was shown to be completely and rapidly absorbed after oral administration. However, a very low plasma level was obtained even after a dose of 300 mg/kg. Liver was found to be the chief site of its inactivation. When Qinghaisu was given intramuscularly, significant and more persistent plasma levels were detected. Qinghaosu was shown to pass the blood-brain and blood-placenta barriers after i.v. injection. Very little unchanged Qinghaosu was found in the urine and feces in 48 hours regardless of administration route (i.v., i.m. or p.o.).