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Dendrothrips minowai Priesner (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is the main pest thrips in tea (Camellia sinensis) plantations in Guizhou Province, damaging tea shoots and leaves. In this study, we tested ...

Background The relationship between spinal sagittal subtypes and lumbar disc degeneration is unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and age in asymptomatic healthy individuals with different sagittal alignments. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we examined 209 asymptomatic young and middle-aged volunteers (123 women and 86 men) who were divided into the following three groups according to age: groups A (20–30 years), B (31–40 years), and C (41–50 years). The volunteers underwent full-spine standing lateral radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 3.0 T) of the lumbar spine. Based on panoramic radiography, two observers measured the spinopelvic parameters and classified the spine into Roussouly subtypes. The degree of disc degeneration was assessed based on T2-weighted images according to the Pfirrmann classification. Results There was a statistically significant difference in the degree of degeneration of type I spine between groups B and C at L4-L5 (P P P P P P P Conclusion The different spinal subtypes have characteristics of lumbar disc degeneration at specific levels with age. We considered that spinal classification could be used as a predictor of lumbar disc degeneration. Our data may be helpful to increase awareness of the relationship between spinal subtypes and lumbar disc degeneration. Level of evidence 3

Two different kinds of spin-orbit (SO) coupling are often investigated theoretically and experimentally in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), namely, Rashba and Dresselhaus SO couplings. We show that ground states for these two SO-coupled BECs share lots of similarities and it is impossible to distinguish them from the observation of ground states. We find that an Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic field can be utilized as a tool to distinguish them. In the presence of the Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic field, ground states manifest distinctively for the Rashba and Dresselhaus SO-coupled BECs.

The excessive use of antibiotics speeds up the dissemination and aggregation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. The ARGs have been regarded as a contaminant of serious environmental threats on a global scale. The constant increase in aquaculture production has led to extensive use of antibiotics as a means to prevent and treat bacterial infections; there is a universal concern about the environmental risk of ARGs in the aquaculture environment. In this study, a survey was conducted to evaluate the abundance and distributions of 10 ARGs, bacterial community, and environmental factors in sediment samples from aquatic farms distributed in Anhui (AP1, AP2, and AP3), Fujian (FP1, FP2, and FP3), Guangxi (GP1, GP2, and GP3), Hainan (HP1, HP2, and HP3), and Shaanxi (SP1, SP2, and SP3) Province in China. The results showed that the relative abundance of total ARGs was higher in AP1, AP2, AP3, FP3, GP3, HP1, HP2, and HP3 than that in FP1, FP2, GP1, GP2, SP1, SP2, and SP3. The sul1 and tetW genes of all sediment samples had the highest abundance. The class 1 integron (intl1) was detected in all samples, and the result of Pearson correlation analysis showed that the intl1 has a positive correlation with the sul1, sul2, sul3, blaOXA, qnrS, tetM, tetQ, and tetW genes. Correlation analysis of the bacterial community diversity and environmental factors showed that the Ca2+ concentration has a negative correlation with richness and diversity of the bacterial community in these samples. Of the identified bacterial community, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidota were the predominant phyla in these samples. Redundancy analysis showed that environmental factors (TN, TP, Cl–, and Ca2+) have a positive correlation with the bacterial community (AP1, GP1, GP2, GP3, SP1, SP2, and SP3), and the abundance of ARGs (sul1, tetW, qnrS, and intl1) has a positive correlation with the bacterial community (AP2, AP3, HP1, HP2, and HP3). Based on the network analysis, the ARGs (sul1, sul2, blaCMY, blaOXA, qnrS, tetW, tetQ, tetM, and intl1) were found to co-occur with bacterial taxa from the phyla Chloroflexi, Euryarchaeota, Firmicutes, Halobacterota, and Proteobacteria. In conclusion, this study provides an important reference for understanding the environmental risk associated with aquaculture activities in China.

C-type lectins (CTL) are a large group of pattern-recognition proteins and to play important roles in glycoprotein metabolism, multicellular integration, and immunity. Based on their overall domain structure, they can be classified as different groups that possess different physiological functions. A typical C-type lectin (named as OmLec1) was identified from the fish, Onychostoma macrolepis, an important cultured fish in China. Open reading frame of OmLec1 contains a 570 bp, encoding a protein of 189 amino acids that includes a signal peptide and a single carbohydrate-recognition domain. The phylogenetic analysis showed that OmLec1 could be grouped with C-type lectin from other fish. OmLec1 was expressed in all the tissues in our study, and the expression level was highest in liver. And its relative expression levels were significantly upregulated following infection with Aeromonas hydrophila. The recombinant OmLec1 protein (rOmLec1) could agglutinate some Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria in vitro in the presence of Ca2+, showing a typical Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-binding protein. Furthermore, rOmLec1 purified from E. coli BL21 (DE3), strongly bound to LPS and PGN, as well as all tested bacteria in a Ca2+-dependent manner. These results indicate that OmLec1 plays a central role in the innate immune response and as a pattern recognition receptor that recognizes diverse pathogens among O. macrolepis.

C-type lectins (CTLs) are calcium-dependent carbohydrate-binding proteins that mainly bind to carbohydrate-based or other ligands to mediate cell adhesion, recognize pathogens, and play important roles in the immune system. In the present study, a novel C-type lectin (OmCTL) isolated from Onychostoma macrolepis was investigated. The open reading frame of OmCTL comprises 468 bp, encoding a 155 amino acid polypeptide with an 18 amino acid putative signaling peptide. The predicted primary OmCTL structure contains a signal peptide, a single carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) and an EPN/WND motif required for carbohydrate-binding specificity. Using tissue expression pattern analysis, OmCTL has been shownto be highly expressed in the liver, and is also detected in other tissues. OmCTL was significantly upregulated in the liver and spleen following infection with Aeromonas hydrophila, suggesting its involvement in immune response. The recombinant OmCTL protein (rOmCTL) agglutinated two gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and A. hydrophila, in vitro in the presence of Ca2+, showing that it is a typical Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-binding protein.Furthermore, rOmCTL purified from E. coli BL21 (DE3) strongly bound to LPS and PGN, as well as all tested bacteria in a Ca2+-independent manner. These results indicate that OmCTL plays a central role in the innate immune response and as a pattern recognition receptor that recognizes diverse pathogens among O. macrolepis.

To gain a better understanding of the day-night variation characteristics of water-soluble ions, PM

The temporal variation and spatial distribution characteristics of aerosol optical depth (AOD), aerosol column mass concentration (AMC), and fine mode fraction (FMF) were analyzed based on the aerosol product information obtained from MODIS/Terra C6.1 from 2001 to 2018 in the Henan province. The spatial distribution of AOD and AMC in all seasons are high in the east and low in the west, and high in the north and low in the south, which was related to the special topography, population distribution, and number of enterprises in each region. Meanwhile, the spatial distribution of FMF is opposite to that of AOD and AMC. In spring, AMC was the highest, while FMF was the lowest, indicating that it was mainly affected by dust aerosol in spring. AOD and FMF were the highest in summer, while the AMC was lower, mainly because the high values of AOD in summer were caused by the hygroscopic growth of aerosol. The increase of rainwater scouring and secondary aerosol generation led to the domination of fine-mode aerosols in summer. In autumn and winter, the AOD and AMC were relatively low, and the FMF was slightly higher than in spring. The AOD and AMC in the Henan Province showed a decreasing annual trend, while the FMF exhibited an increasing trend. The average monthly peak-valley difference of AOD, AMC, and FMF decreased after 2011.

Background Ultrafast ultrasound imaging has been demonstrated to be an effective method to evaluate carotid stiffness through carotid pulse wave velocity (PWV) with high reproducibility, but lack of reference values has precluded its widespread use in clinical practice. This study aimed to establish reference values of PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging in a prospective, multicenter, population-based cohort study and to investigate the main determinants of carotid PWV. Methods A total of 1,544 healthy Han Chinese volunteers (581 [38%] men; age, 18–95 years) were enrolled from 32 collaborating laboratories in China. The participants were categorized by age, blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI). The basic clinical parameters and the carotid PWV at the beginning of systole (BS) and end of systole (ES) were measured via ultrafast ultrasound imaging techniques. Results The PWV at both BS and ES was significantly higher in the left carotid artery than in the right carotid artery. The PWV at BS was significantly higher in men than in women; however, no significant difference was noted in the PWV at ES between men and women. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that age, BP, and BMI were independently correlated with the PWV at both BS and ES. The PWV at BS and ES progressively increased with increase in age, BP, and BMI. Further, the age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging were established. Conclusions Reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, stratified by sex and age, were determined for the first time. Age, BP, and BMI were the dominant determinants of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, which should be considered in clinical practice for assessing arterial stiffness.

Based on the tunable intensity and waist of Gaussian laser, harmonic-like and toroidal potentials can be achieved and the ground-state properties of the dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in such potentials are investigated. It is found that, in the harmonic-like potential, the singly and doubly quantized vortices can exist in the scale condensate and translate respectively into vortex pairs and triangular vortex lattice with increasing dipole–dipole interaction (DDI). Especially, the sandwich-like structure can be observed in the ground-state density profiles by tuning the direction and strength of DDI for some rotating frequency. In the toroidal potential, the competition between the inter-component interaction and DDI can induce the transition between immiscible and miscible states, and results in the structures of a doubly quantized vortex surrounded by a vortex ring. It is worth emphasizing that, with the increasing of DDI, the doubly quantized vortex in the harmonic-like potential becomes two singly quantized vortices, while in the toroidal potential it is no happen due to the presence of Gaussian barrier.

// Yu-Ling Sun 1, 2 , Wen-Qi Li 1, 2 , Peng-Xu Ding 3 , Zhi-Wei Wang 3 , Chang-Hua Wei 4 , Xiu-Xian Ma 1, 2 , Rui-Fang Zhang 5 , Yan Wu 6 , Lin Zhou 7 , Ruo-Peng Liang 1, 2 , Yan-Peng Zhang 1, 2 , Yi-Pu Zhao 1, 2 , Rong-Tao Zhu 1, 2 and Jian Li 1, 2 1 Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 2 Institute of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 3 Department of Radioactive Intervention, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 4 Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, The People’s Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 5 Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 6 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 7 Department of Digestive Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China Correspondence to: Yu-Ling Sun, email: ylsun@zzu.edu.cn Keywords: Budd–Chiari syndrome; gut microbiota; prognosis Received: August 28, 2017 Accepted: November 14, 2017 Published: December 14, 2017 ABSTRACT Gut microbiota is associated with liver diseases. However, gut microbial characteristics of Budd-Chiari syndrome (B-CS) have not been reported. Here, by MiSeq sequencing, gut microbial alterations were characterized among 37 health controls, 20 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, 31 initial B-CS patients (B-CS group), 33 stability patients after BCS treatment (stability group) and 23 recurrent patients after BCS treatment (recurrence group). Gut microbial diversity was increased in B-CS versus LC. Bacterial community of B-CS clustered with controls but separated from LC. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) 421, 502 (Clostridium IV) and 141 (Megasphaera) were unique to B-CS. Genera Escherichia/Shigella and Clostridium XI were decreased in B-CS versus controls. Moreover, nine genera, mainly including Bacteroides and Megamonas, were enriched in B-CS versus LC. Notably, Megamonas could distinguish B-CS from LC with areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.7904. Microbial function prediction revealed that L-amino acid transport system activity was decreased in B-CS versus both LC and controls. Furthermore, OTUs 27 (Clostridium XI), 137 (Clostridium XIVb) and 40 (Bacteroides) were associated with B-CS stability. Importantly, genus Clostridium XI was enriched in stability group versus both recurrence group and B-CS group. Also, PRPP glutamine biosynthesis was reduced in stability group versus recurrence group, but was enriched in stability group versus B-CS group. In conclusion, specific microbial alterations associated with diagnosis and prognosis were detected in B-CS patients. Correction of gut microbial alterations may be a potential strategy for B-CS prevention and treatment.

Background Prenatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure causes hypertension in rat offspring through an unknown mechanism. Here, we investigated the role of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in hypertension induced by prenatal LPS exposure and also explored whether adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) can ameliorate the effects of prenatal LPS exposure in rat offspring. Methods Sixty-four pregnant rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 16 in each), namely, a control group and an LPS group, which were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle and 0.79 mg/kg LPS, respectively, on the 8th, 10th, and 12th days of gestation; an ADSCs group, which was intravenously injected with 1.8 × 107 ADSCs on the 8th, 10th, and 12th days of gestation; and an LPS + ADSCs group, which received a combination of the treatments administered to the LPS and ADSCs groups. Results Prenatal LPS exposure increased blood pressure, Ang II expression, Ang II-positive, monocyte and lymphocyte, apoptotic cells in the kidney, and induced renal histological changes in offspring; however, the LPS and control groups did not differ significantly with respect to plasma renin activity levels, Ang II levels, or renal function. ADSCs treatment attenuated the blood pressure and also ameliorated the other effects of LPS-treated adult offspring. Conclusions Prenatal exposure to LPS activates the intrarenal RAS but not the circulating RAS and thus induces increases in blood pressure in adult offspring; however, ADSCs treatment attenuates the blood pressure increases resulting from LPS exposure and also ameliorates the other phenotypic changes induced by LPS treatment by inhibiting intrarenal RAS activation.

This study aimed to investigate the reliability of ultrasound two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) for the evaluation of myocardial ischemia in familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients. We recruited 28 patients clinically diagnosed with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) and subjected them to 2D-STI, gated transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE), and 99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile myocardial perfusion imaging (99Tcm-MIBI MPI). The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accordance rate of TTDE and 2D-STI for myocardial ischemia in HoFH patients were compared with the 99Tcm-MIBI scores. According to the diagnosis of ischemia in the three main coronary arteries (LAD, LCX, and RCA) by MPI, patients were further divided into different groups for comparing segmental strain by 2D-STI. The total correlation between TTDE and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI for evaluation of myocardial ischemia was r=0.483 and between 2D-STI and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was 0.786. The total correlation index for ejection fraction (EF) between TTDE and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was r=0.606 and for 2D-STI and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was r=0.919. TTDE indicated that differences among LVDd, LVDs, IVS, LVPW, AO Vmax, PG, E/e', and DT were statistically significant. STI indicated that the total strain of the ischemia group was lower than that of the non-ischemia group. The total systolic strain and total early diastolic strain of the ischemia group were lower than that of the non-ischemia group. TTDE can be used for primary observation and evaluation of ventricular wall ischemia for HoFH patients. Ultrasound 2D-STI is better than TTDE in the evaluation of myocardial ischemia in HoFH patients. Ultrasound 2D-STI shows the same effectiveness as 99Tcm-MIBI MPI for the detection of myocardial ischemia, serving as good tool for prognosis and treatment evaluation in HoFH patients.

Accurately evaluating the extent of trunk imbalance in the coronal plane is significant for patients before and after treatment. We preliminarily practiced a new method, axis-line-angle technique (ALAT), for evaluating coronal trunk imbalance with excellent intra-observer and interobserver reliability. Radiologists and surgeons were encouraged to use this method in clinical practice. However, the optimal cutoff value of the ALAT for determination of the extent of coronal trunk imbalance has not been calculated up to now.The purpose of this study was to identify the cutoff value of the ALAT that best predicts a positive measurement point to assess coronal balance or imbalance.A retrospective study at a university affiliated hospital was carried out.A total of 130 patients with C7-central sacral vertical line (CSVL)0 mm and aged 10-18 years were recruited in this study from September 2013 to December 2014.Data were analyzed to determine the optimal cutoff value of the ALAT measurement.The C7-CSVL and ALAT measurements were conducted respectively twice on plain film within a 2-week interval by two radiologists. The optimal cutoff value of the ALAT was analyzed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Comparison variables were performed with chi-square test between the C7-CSVL and ALAT measurements for evaluating trunk imbalance. Kappa agreement coefficient method was used to test the intra-observer and interobserver agreement of C7-CSVL and ALAT.The ROC curve area for the ALAT was 0.82 (95% confidence interval: 0.753-0.894, p.001). The maximum Youden index was 0.51, and the corresponding cutoff point was 2.59°. No statistical difference was found between the C7-CSVL and ALAT measurements for evaluating trunk imbalance (p.05). Intra-observer agreement values for the C7-CSVL measurements by observers 1 and 2 were 0.79 and 0.91 (p.001), respectively, whereas intra-observer agreement values for the ALAT measurements were both 0.89 by observers 1 and 2 (p.001). The interobserver agreement values for the first and second measurements with the C7-CSVL were 0.78 and 0.85 (p.001), respectively, whereas the interobserver agreement values for the first and second measurements with the ALAT were 0.91 and 0.88 (p.001), respectively.The newly developed ALAT provided an acceptable optimal cutoff value for evaluating trunk imbalance in the coronal plane with a high level of intra-observer and interobserver agreement, which suggests that the ALAT is suitable for clinical use.

This study aimed to investigate the reliability of ultrasound two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) for the evaluation of myocardial ischemia in familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients. We recruited 28 patients clinically diagnosed with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) and subjected them to 2D-STI, gated transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE), and 99Tcm-methoxyisobutylisonitrile myocardial perfusion imaging (99Tcm-MIBI MPI). The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accordance rate of TTDE and 2D-STI for myocardial ischemia in HoFH patients were compared with the 99Tcm-MIBI scores. According to the diagnosis of ischemia in the three main coronary arteries (LAD, LCX, and RCA) by MPI, patients were further divided into different groups for comparing segmental strain by 2D-STI. The total correlation between TTDE and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI for evaluation of myocardial ischemia was r=0.483 and between 2D-STI and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was 0.786. The total correlation index for ejection fraction (EF) between TTDE and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was r=0.606 and for 2D-STI and 99Tcm-MIBI MPI was r=0.919. TTDE indicated that differences among LVDd, LVDs, IVS, LVPW, AO Vmax, PG, E/e', and DT were statistically significant. STI indicated that the total strain of the ischemia group was lower than that of the non-ischemia group. The total systolic strain and total early diastolic strain of the ischemia group were lower than that of the non-ischemia group. TTDE can be used for primary observation and evaluation of ventricular wall ischemia for HoFH patients. Ultrasound 2D-STI is better than TTDE in the evaluation of myocardial ischemia in HoFH patients. Ultrasound 2D-STI shows the same effectiveness as 99Tcm-MIBI MPI for the detection of myocardial ischemia, serving as good tool for prognosis and treatment evaluation in HoFH patients.

Background Context Accurate determination of the extent of trunk imbalance in the coronal plane plays a key role in an evaluation of patients with trunk imbalance, such as patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. An established, widely used practice in evaluating trunk imbalance is to drop a plumb line from the C7 vertebra to a key reference axis, the central sacral vertical line (CSVL) in full-spine standing anterioposterior radiographs, and measuring the distance between them, the C7–CSVL. However, measuring the CSVL is subject to intraobserver differences, is error-prone, and is of poor reliability. Therefore, the development of a different way to measure trunk imbalance is needed. Purpose This study aimed to describe a new method to measure coronal trunk imbalance, the axis-line-angle technique (ALAT), which measures the angle at the intersection between the C7 plumb line and an axis line drawn from the vertebral centroid of the C7 to the middle of the superior border of the symphysis pubis, and to compare the reliability of the ALAT with that of the C7–CSVL. Study Design/Setting A prospective study at a university hospital was used. Patient Sample The patient sample consisted of sixty-nine consecutively enrolled men and women patients, aged 10–18 years, who had trunk imbalance defined as C7–CSVL longer than 20 mm on computed full-spine standing anterioposterior radiographs. Outcome Measures Data were analyzed to determine the correlation between C7–CSVL and ALAT measurements and to determine intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities. Methods Using a picture archiving and communication system, three radiologists independently evaluated trunk imbalance on the 69 computed radiographs by measuring the C7–CSVL and by measuring the angle determined by the ALAT. Data were analyzed to determine the correlations between the two measures of trunk imbalance, and to determine intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities of each of them. Results Overall results from the measurements by the C7–CSVL and the ALAT were significantly moderately correlated. Intraobserver assessments by measuring the C7–CSVL and by doing the ALAT failed to find any significant differences between the findings from the first and second assessments by the same radiologist. Interobserver assessments significantly differed between radiologists 1 and 2 for the first assessment measuring the C7–CSVL, and between radiologists 2 and 3 for the second assessment measuring the C7–CSVL. Interobserver assessments by doing the ALAT failed to find any significant differences among the three radiologists for either of the two assessments. Conclusions Our results indicated that using the ALAT, which is simple and convenient, is of great value in measuring trunk imbalance. For measuring trunk imbalance, the ALAT has essential advantages compared with measuring the C7–CSVL. We encourage spine surgeons to consider using the ALAT in evaluating trunk imbalance.

Few studies have explored the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Evidence from non-Western areas is particularly lacking. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of GDM in a Chinese population. A total of 3063 pregnant Chinese women from an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Data on dietary intake were collected using a FFQ at 24–27 weeks of gestation. GDM was diagnosed using a 75 g, 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary patterns were determined by principal components factor analysis. A log-binomial regression model was used to examine the associations between dietary pattern and the risk of GDM. The analysis identified four dietary patterns: vegetable pattern; protein-rich pattern; prudent pattern; sweets and seafood pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that the highest tertile of the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM (relative risk (RR) 0·79, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·97), compared with the lowest tertile, whereas the highest tertile of the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM (RR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·49). No significant association was found for either the protein-rich or the prudent pattern. The protective effect of a high vegetable pattern score was more evident among women who had a family history of diabetes (P for interaction = 0·022). These findings suggest that the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM, while the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM. These findings may be useful in dietary counselling during pregnancy.

Using 3.5 G PAMAM as a stabilizing agent, CdS/Au nanocomposites have been prepared by reducing HAuCl4 with microwave irradiation. CdS/Au nanocomposites were characterized by UV-vis spectra, TEM and Fluorescence spectroscopy. The result shows that: the CdS / Au nanocomposites’ particle diameter which has been prepared by using 3.5 G PAMAM gradually become larger and fluorescence fade as the ratio of CdS to Au was decreased.

textabstractThe findings on the relationship between job demands and job performance have been inconsistent in previous studies. Drawing on social exchange theory, we examined the moderating effect of job security on the job demands-job performance relationship. Three studies with cross-sectional and time-lagged designs were conducted. The results of Studies 1 and 2 consistently demonstrated that job demands significantly improved employee performance in the context of higher job security, whereas job demands impaired performance to some extent when job security was lower. Study 3 replicated these findings and also showed that the positive moderating effect was stronger for employees with lower rather than higher levels of traditionality. The importance of job security to improving employees' performance in stressful workplaces was affirmed. These findings contribute to theories linking job demands to job performance and have practical implications for managers in high-stress environments, especially in developing countries. Practitioner points: Job demands may lead to good performance when employees' job security is high. Appropriate human resource practices should promise employees' perceived job security rather than only reducing job demands. Employers should pay more attention to maintaining the social exchange relationships with employees having lower traditional values.

This paper proposed a detection algorithm for copy-move in same image based on dyadic wavelet transform. First of all, four sub images could be got through the decomposition of detecting image by dyadic wavelet transform. Secondly, high-frequency and low-frequency sub image were decomposed into blocks without any overlap and two sub image’s dyadic wavelet coefficients were regarded as the eigenvalue of the image block. At Last, both the high similarity among the low-frequency sub image blocks and the low similarity among the high-frequency sub image blocks were selected as a distorted image block. A kind of image edge processing methods was used to improve the tampering region at the same time. Through the experiments, it shows that the algorithm got the higher detection rate and lower error rates.

The four-body model has been used to calculate the fully differential cross-sections (FDCS) for the single ionization of helium by 100 MeV/amu C6+ impact in geometries. By comparing with experimental data and other theories, we find the results of four-body model are in very good agreement in the scattering plane, but poor agreement out of the scattering plane. Accordingly, the contributions of different scattering amplitudes to FDCS are analyzed. It is found that the cross sections due to the interference of the scattering amplitudes between projectile-target nucleus interaction and projectile-ejected electron interaction almost tend to experimental results around the recoil region in geometries. In particular in the perpendicular plane, the cross section originating from interference of the scattering amplitudes between projectile-target nucleus and projectile-ejected electron interactions yields an experimental double-peak structure in the angular distribution. However, this feature could not be presented by the interference of the three amplitudes. Thus, the failure of the four-body model predicting the feature in this geometry may be attributed to an inappropriate weighting of the three amplitudes.

Porous mullite ceramics were prepared using an industrial grade mullite powder by foaming and starch consolidation method. The influence of solid loading of suspension and sintering temperature on the porosity of samples was evaluated. The sintered mullite ceramic with porosity from 73 to 86 vol% contained the microstructure with spherical pores and a larger mean pore size. Thermal conductivity measurements were carried out by the hot-disk technique at room temperature resulted in values as low as 0.09 W/(m·K).

Owing to harmful gas emissions and high accident rate of diesel engine in the coal mine trackless auxiliary transport, the spring of trackless rubber tyre electric vehicle powered by the battery pack comes. This paper considers the drive system to improve the performance of the electric vehicle. In order to adapt to the complex environment of coal mine, the analysis of basic structure for trackless rubber tyre electric vehicle was based on the three-phase AC induction motor. After elaborating the vector control theory of induction motor, the field-oriented vector control system model of trackless rubber tyre electric vehicle drive system with induction motor rotor was built in Matlab/Simulink. The simulation shows that the proposed control algorithm permits the drive system to achieve good steady and dynamic performance.

Several derivatives of 5-methyl-benzofuro [3,2-quinoline (O-isostere of cryptolepine) were synthesized. Spectrometric experiments and molecular modeling indicated that these derivatives interacted with duplex DNA by intercalation binding mode. The derivatives with aniline substituent exhibited superior DNA binding affinity to that of lead compound 5-methyl-benzofuro [3,2-quinoline.

We require high-precision measurement method in the modern industrial production. The method of measurement of industrial CT images is a good choice now. The face of some of the drawbacks of the current industrial CT images, this paper is starting from the study of industrial CT system structure and algorithm flowchart. We focus on the algorithm of Zernike moments, and on the basis of the algorithm itself, it carried out a number of improvements to improve the measurement accuracy of the industrial CT algorithm. Then design a set of industrial CT measurement method of intelligent software solutions, the specific design method and the structure model diagram will be given.

This Research was based on domestic and international pressure leak calibration technology, respectively, constant volume method and constant pressure(two model: saw-tooth variation constant pressure measurement mode and digital PID measurement mode) were both used on identical pressure leak calibration, 10-6 Pa•m3/s level, then, measurement uncertainty analysis of each method and the calibration results were compared.

On laboratory conditions，background leakage caused by temperature change was one of the most important factors for affecting calibration of pressure leak, consequently, the constant temperature water bath of the calibration apparatus has been used to reduce background leakage by means of keeping the apparatus temperature constant. The method of active and passiveness were combined to keep constant temperature. through the research on experimentation, it was found that background leakage was decreased to the grade of 1.36×10-9Pam3/s when constant temperature been used, and meanwhile the lower limiting of pressure leak was extended to 2.667×10-8Pam3/s.

This paper based on an equipment which measure the outgassing of vacuum material,adopt some method, constant volume, otiose flux and double channels and so on, testing the deflation of stainless steel(316、304)brass H62, aluminium2A12, and other representative material deflation.We adopt light eradiate to heat up, and the temperature control range is 23°C~300°C, we study the rule of outgassing rate at different temperature, and use QSM to analyze the component of gas.

To calibrate the helium mass-spectrometer leak detector in-site in the whole range, a series of leaks with helium-permeable membranes of different leakage rates were connected to a helium mass-spectrometer leak detector separately, then a set of readings of standard leaks were gained, and the relation curves were fitted mathematically between the standard leakage rates and leakage readings so as to give a fitting formula between the whole-range readings and leakage rates. As a result, the simplicity and efficiency method make it suitable for calibrations of helium mass-spectrometer leak detector.

A measurement apparatus for vacuum material outgassing rates was developed, which was mainly composed of four systems, including pumping system, switching between two pumping paths(SPP) measurement system, constant volume measurement system, bake heating and light irradiation heating system. The ultimate pressure, 10-9Pa, was thus obtained in the UHV chamber by combining the magnetically levitated turbo pump with mechanical pump. The test principles of constant volume method and SPP method were described, and several vacuum material outgassing rates such as copper were tested at room temperature. The lower measurement limiting value of apparatus can be extended to 10-12 Pam3s-1cm-2.

The energy bands of La -doped ZnO were studied systematically by the density functional theory (DFT). Based on the data of the band structure, DOS (Density of State) and PDOS( Partial Density of States), atomic populations and net charge, the influence on the energy band structure of the macrostructure of ZnO and La-doped ZnO was investigated. The results showed that the free electrons were produced by the doping of La on (or in) ZnO crystal. The Fermi energy was shifted up to the conduction band, making the ZnO particles having the characters of degenerated semiconductor. The excitation from impurity states to the conduction band may account for the blue shift of the absorption edge in the model of La-doped ZnO. Comparison with the different models of the La doped/loaded on the ZnO surface, La atoms loaded on the surface of ZnO and La atoms replaced of Zn atoms on the ZnO surface, the shift to the lower energy location were found after La doping/loading. The more shift and the large band gap was found for the model of La doped on the Zn position in the ZnO crystal.

Rare earth doped ZnO particles were synthesized by low temperature hydrothermal method. They showed fine pin-shaped growing along the C axial direction with the diameter about 9-48 nm. The structures of zinc oxide and La doped ZnO were characterized through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Uv-vis diffuse spectrum (UV – vis DRS). Our results indicated that the doping of La results in the crystal cell of ZnO inflating, the band gap shift up to the ultraviolet region with the increase of La doping concentration.

Mining classification rule of spare parts is very important for inventory management. In traditional classification work of spare parts, the attributes of spare parts were used as a standard to extract classification rules, but it was hard to know the influence of every attribute of spare parts, and which one should be considered, because the attributes of spare parts had many species. So it was necessary for inventory management to mine classification rules of spare parts. Because the values of many attributes of the spare parts are in form of the range of data, the grey rough set theory was borrowed to mine the classification rules in this paper. Firstly, the mining classification rules model of spare parts was built by the grey rough set theory. Then the attributes of spare parts were summarized, and the steps of mining data samples and the mining classification rules of spare parts were introduced respectively. Finally, case study from the classification management of the spare parts of a maintenance factory shows that the proposed mining classification rules model of spare parts based on grey rough set theory can reduce the unnecessary attributes of spare parts without affecting the results of classification.

To investigate the effect of selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).PBMCs isolated from 15 healthy volunteers (group A) and 20 patients with untreated active RA-ILD (group B) were cultured in vitro. PBMCs from healthy subjects were considered as normal control. PBMCs from RA-ILD patients were divided into four groups with different treatment: blank group (B1), theophylline group (B2), selective PDE4 inhibitor rolipram group (B3), and glucocorticoid group (B4) with dexamethasone. The expression of NF-κB was determined by immunocytochemical staining, and the levels of TNFα and IL-8 in the culture supernatant were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).(1) The activity of NF-κB and the levels of TNFα and IL-8 in group B1 were significant higher than that in group A (P0.01). Compared with group B1, three parameters above were similar to those in group B2 (P0.05), while group B3 and group B4 had significant decreased levels of three parameters (P0.01); IL-8 level in group B4 was significantly lower than that in group B3 (P0.05). (2) TNFα and IL-8 levels were positively correlated with NF-κB activity in group B (r = 0.902 and 0.735, P0.01 respectively). (3) The reduction of TNFα and IL-8 levels were positively correlated with reduction of NF-κB activity after intervention of rolipram in group B3 (r = 0.874, P0.01; r = 0.561, P0.05 respectively).NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokines were involved in the pathogenesis of RA-ILD. selective PDE4 inhibitors may inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting the activity of the transcription factor NF-κB in PBMC, thus inhibiting the inflammatory reaction of RA-ILD.

HMGB3 overexpression has been reported in a variety of human cancers. However, the role of HMGB3 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. In this study, the HMGB3 expression was examined at mRNA and protein levels by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry in NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Statistical analyses were applied to test the associations between HMGB3 expression, clinicopathologic factors, and prognosis. Western blotting and qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of HMGB3 mRNA and protein were both significantly higher in NSCLC tissues than those in non-cancerous tissues. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that HMGB3 expression was significantly correlated with tumor grade, tumor size, clinical stage, and lymph node metastases. The results of Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that a high expression level of HMGB3 resulted in a significantly poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Importantly, multivariate analysis showed that high HMGB3 expression was an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. In sum, our data suggest that HMGB3 plays an important role in NSCLC progression, and that overexpression of HMGB3 in tumor tissues could be used as a potential prognostic marker for patients with NSCLC.

There was limited evidence revealing the association of Chinese maternal dietary patterns with fetal growth. We aimed to examine the relationship of maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy to neonatal birth weight and birth weight for gestational age in a Chinese population. A total of 6954 mother-child pairs were included from the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study. Maternal diet during pregnancy was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Cluster analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. The following six dietary patterns were identified: "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" (n 1026, 14.8%), "Dairy" (n 1020, 14.7%), "Fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts" (n 799, 11.5%), "Meats" (n 1066, 15.3%), "Vegetables" (n 1383, 19.9%), and "Varied" (n 1224, 17.6%). The mean neonatal birth weight Z scores of women in the above patterns were 0.02, 0.07, 0.20, 0.01, 0.06, and 0.14, respectively. Women in the "Fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts" and "Varied" groups had significantly heavier infants compared with those in the "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" group. Compared with women in the "Cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups" group, those in the "Varied" group had marginally significantly lower odds of having a small-for-gestational age (SGA) infant after adjustment for other confounders (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.57, 1.04, p = 0.08). These findings suggest that compared to a traditional Cantonese diet high in cereals, eggs, and Cantonese soups, a diet high in fruits, nuts, and Cantonese desserts might be associated with a higher birth weight, while a varied diet might be associated with a greater birth weight and also a decreased risk of having a SGA baby.

To study whether alisol B could inhibit complement 3a (C3a) induced renal tubular epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).The in vitro cultured human renal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells were intervened with 5 ng/mL transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), 0.1 micromol C3a, and 0.1 micromol C3a + 10 micromol alisol B, respectively. The mRNA and protein expressions of alpha-SMA, E-cadherin, and C3 were detected using RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence, respectively.The mRNA and protein expressions of C3 in HK-2 cells were up-regulated after intervention of C3a (P0.01), the mRNA and protein expressions of alpha-SMA in HK-2 cells were obviously enhanced (P0.01), the mRNA and protein expressions of E-cadherin obviously decreased (P0.01). When compared with the group intervened by exogenous C3a, after intervention of alisol B, the mRNA and protein expressions of alpha-SMA in HK-2 cells were obviously reduced (P0.01), the mRNA and protein expressions of E-cadherin obviously increased (P0.05).Exogenous C3a could induce renal tubular EMT. Alisol B was capable of suppressing C3a induced EMT.

To investigate the effects of signal pathway inhibitors PD98059 and LY294002 on cell proliferation, apoptosis, expressions of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulared kinase (p-ERK) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt) in endometrial carcinoma xenografts.Human endometrial carcinoma Ishikawa cells were cultured in vitro. The effects of PD98059 and LY294002 on proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle distribution of endometrial cancer cells were detected by monotetrazolium (MTT) assay and fluorescence-activated cell sorting technique. The models of xenografted tumor were established by the subcutaneous inoculation in 24 nude mice, and then they were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6), normal saline group, PD98059 group (PD group), LY294002 group (LY group) or PD98059 + LY294002 group (PD + LY group) by intraperitoneal injections, respectively. The anti-tumor efficacy was evaluated by measuring tumor volume and tumor growth status. The histopathological change of tumor specimens was observed using HE staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigen in nick and labeling method (TUNEL) testing and the expression levels of p-ERK and p-Akt were detected by immunohistochemistry method.(1) The proliferation of Ishikawa cells were suppressed after treated by PD98059 and(or) Y294002, in which A(570) values of cells decreased showing both time-dependent and concentration-dependent manner (LY294002: F(group) = 9.801, P = 0.002; F(time) = 10.398, P = 0.001. PD98059: F(group) = 8.213, P = 0.015; F(time) = 6.839, P = 0.036). Cell cycle distribution analysis revealed that percentage of Ishikawa cells at G(0)/G(1) phase (F(time) = 35.049, P = 0.004; F(group) = 32.024, P0.01) increased and percentage of S phase cells (F(time) = 7.789, P = 0.049; F(group) = 30.132, P0.01) decreased significantly. The percentage of apoptotic cells increased significantly among PD group, LY group and PD + LY group, in which there were significant difference [(63.3 ± 0.5)% vs (30.7 ± 20.1)% vs (40.8 ± 1.3)%; F = 621.059, P0.01]. (2) Compared with the control group, the increasing of transplanting tumor volume in the treated groups were obviously (F = 23.545, P0.01), and the inhibited rate of the tumor was higher in PD + LY group than that in PD group or LY group [(68 ± 9)% vs (32 ± 16)% or (38 ± 17)%; F = 10.283, P0.05]. (3) HE staining shown that there were different degrees of necrosis for endometrial carcinoma cell in different groups. The apoptosis of tumor cells were significantly increased in treated groups by TUNEL testing [(13.7 ± 1.5)%, (14.1 ± 1.2)%, (29.0 ± 1.8)%; F = 320.344, P0.01]. Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that the expressions of p-ERK and p-Akt in treated groups were lower than that in control group, of which LY + PD group was the lowest one.The signal pathway inhibitors PD98059 and LY294002 could inhibit the growth of human endometrial carcinoma in vivo and in vitro, in which may induce cell apoptosis.

Taking Brassica juncea as a hyperaccumulator, a pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of Bacillusme gaterium - Bacillus mucilaginosus mixed agent and Aspergillus niger 30177 fermentation liquor on the phytoremediation of Cd, Pb, and Zn-contaminated soil. The B. gaterium - B. mucilaginosus mixed agent not only promoted the growth of B. juncea, but also increased the soil Cd, Pb, and Zn uptake by the hyperaccumulator, with the phytoremediation efficiency enhanced greatly. The enrichment amount of Cd, Pb and Zn in B. juncea on the soil added with soluble Cd, Pb and Zn increased by 1.18, 1.54 and 0.85 folds, while that on the soil added with Cd, Pb and Zn-contaminated sediment increased by 4.00, 0. 64 and 0. 65 folds, respectively, compared with the control. A. niger 30177 fermentation liquor increased the soil Cd, Pb, and Zn uptake by B. juncea. Comparing with the control, the enrichment amount of Cd, Pb and Zn in aboveground part of B. juncea on the soil added with soluble Cd, Pb and Zn increased by 88.82%, 129.04% and 16.80%, while that on the soil added with Cd, Pb and Zn-contaminated sediment increased by 78.95%, 113.63% and 33.85%, respectively. However, A. niger 30177 fermentation liquor decreased the B. juncea biomass greatly, having less effect in the enhancement of phytoremediation efficiency. The analysis of reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography showed that the fermentation liquor of B. gaterium and B. mucilaginosus contained some organic acids such as oxalic acid and citric acid. These acids could dissolve the heavy metals to some degree, and accordingly, enhance the bioavailability of the metals.

The neurotoxicity of aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta) has been implicated as a critical cause in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It can cause neurotoxicity in AD by evoking a cascade of oxidative damage-dependent apoptosis to neurons. In the present study, we for the first time investigated the protective effect of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), an anionic, water soluble compound that acts as a redox cofactor of bacterial dehydrogenases, on Abeta-induced SH-SY5Y cytotoxicity. Abeta(25-35) significantly reduced cell viability, increased the number of apoptotic-like cells, and increased ROS production. All of these phenotypes induced by Abeta(25-35) were markedly reversed by PQQ. PQQ pretreatment recovered cells from Abeta(25-35)-induced cell death, prevented Abeta(25-35)-induced apoptosis, and decreased ROS production. PQQ strikingly decreased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and suppressed the cleavage of caspase-3. These results indicated that PQQ could protect SH-SY5Y cells against beta-amyloid induced neurotoxicity.

To study the gene mutation in a patient with multiple exostoses, identify the disease-causing gene mutation.Polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing were used to screen the EXT1 or EXT2 gene mutation, while mismatch primer amplification and restriction endonuclease digestion were performed to confirm the mutation.By DNA sequencing, a mutation in the seventh intron was detected and located at 26 bp of 3' splice site upstream in EXT1 gene, which was unreported before. Mismatch primer amplification and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis suggested that this mutation was not detected in the normal control.The mutation 1633-26(C--A) may be the disease-causing mutation in this patient with multiple exostoses.

Fully differential cross sections (FDCS) are calculated within a four-body model for single ionization of helium by C6+ impact at the incident energy of 100 MeV/a.u. (atomic unit). The results are compared with experimental data and other theoretical predictions. It is shown that our results are in very good agreement with experiment for three small momentum transfers in the scattering plane; however, some significant discrepancies are still present at the largest momentum transfer in both the scattering plane and the perpendicular plane. In actuality, the problem has not been explained by the theory during the last decade. Accordingly, the contributions of different scattering amplitudes to FDCS are analyzed. It is found that for the largest momentum transfer the cross section arising from a destructive interference of the three amplitudes is much smaller than the experimental data. However, the cross section due to the constructive interference of two scattering amplitudes between projectile—ionized electron interaction and projectile—passive electron interaction almost approaches the experimental data.