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To study the role of the PI3K-AKT/mTor signalling pathway, mediated by the STAT3 gene, in the epigenetic pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia.HTR8/Svneo, JEG-3, JAR, and Bewo trophoblast cell lines were divided into a PE group and a control group. STAT3 gene overexpression and interference silencing, immunofluorescence, Real Time-PCR and Western blot, GST-pull down, CHIP, Dual-Luciferase reporter gene test, Rescue experiment, LC-MS/MS analysis. Methods and materials also comprised CCK-8, transwell invasion, MSP and BSP, flow cytometry and wound-healing assay.Compared with the control group, the expression of DNMT1 mRNA and protein was increased, while the expression of STAT3, PTEN, TSC2 mRNA and protein was decreased. There was improvement after 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA-DC) intervention.GST-pull down confirms that STAT3 interacts with PTEN and TSC2. CHIP verifies that STAT3 binds directly to PTEN, and double luciferase reporter experiments verify that STAT3 regulates PTEN promoter activity. STAT3 expression of PTEN is, meanwhile, saved by knock down of PTEN in HTR8/SVneo cells. LC-MS/MS analysis showed upregulation of STAT3, PTEN, TSC2 and TSC2. MSP and BSP analysis screened out the significant difference genes of STAT3, PTEN and TSC2. Following 5-AZA-DC intervention, apoptosis downregulation, invasion upregulation and cell-proliferation upregulation were evinced.Trophoblast STAT3 was an important gene mediating the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia induced by the PI3K-AKT/mTor signal axis. In the context of epigenetic therapy for pre-eclampsia, STAT3 may be deployed as a potential target.

Objective Femoral hernias constantly present as incarceration or strangulation and require emergency surgery. Incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia repair remains challenging and controversial. The aim of our study was to analyze the efficacy of preperitoneal tension-free hernioplasty via lower abdominal midline incision for incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia. Methods Data of 47 patients who underwent emergency surgery for incarcerated or strangulated femoral hernias from January 2009 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the surgical incisions, they were divided into two groups: the observation group (21 cases) had a lower abdominal midline incision, and the control group (26 cases) had a traditional inguinal incision. General data of patients, intraoperative findings, operative time and postoperative complications were compared. Results Patient characteristics showed that the two groups were comparable.15 cases (31.9%) underwent intestinal resection, and 32 cases (68.1%) underwent first-stage tension-free repair in total. The rate of first-stage tension-free hernioplasty was significantly higher in the observation group (18/21, 85.7% vs 14/26 53.8%, P = 0.020). No additional incision was required in the observation group, while six cases of the control group (23.1%) had an additional incision for intestinal resection and anastomosis (P = 0.026). Mean operative time (53.6 ± 24.7 min vs 77.9 ± 36.5 min, P = 0.012) and the length of hospital stay (6.3 ± 4.2 days vs 10.3 ± 6.9 days, P = 0.020) were significantly shorter in the observation group. The time of return to normal physical activity resulted significantly reduced compared to the control group (9.2 ± 4.1 days vs 13.3 ± 6.6 days, P = 0.017). The total incidence of postoperative complication (including chronic pain, foreign body sensation, hernia recurrence, wound infection and seroma/hematomas) in the observation group was lower (14.3% vs 42.3% P = 0.037). There were two recurrences in the control group. No mesh-related infection and no mortalities in two groups. Conclusions Midline preperitoneal approach for incarcerated and strangulated femoral hernia is a convenient and effective technique. It can improve the rate of first-stage tension-free repair of incarcerated femoral hernia and allow intestinal resection through the same incision, and with lower rate of postoperative complications.

长链非编码RNA（long non-coding RNAs, lncRNA）是一类长度超过200个核苷酸且因缺乏开放性阅读框架而丧失蛋白编码能力的转录本，但是lncRNA能够在转录以及转录后等不同水平以诸多方式调控肿瘤的发生发展。GAPLINC（gastric adenocarcinoma associated, positive CD44 regulator, long intergenic non-coding RNA）定位于人类染色体18p11.31，在多种恶性肿瘤（胃癌、结直肠癌、胆管癌等）中异常高表达并能够通过不同的作用机制调控肿瘤细胞的增殖、抗凋亡、侵袭和转移。此外，GAPLINC还可作为生物标志物在肿瘤的早期诊断、靶向治疗及患者的预后评估等方面具有重要的应用前景。该文就GAPLINC在恶性肿瘤中的调控作用及应用前景作一综述。.

From March 2015 to February 2018, 4 728 women aged 18 to 45 years old with single-pregnancy at the gestational age of 13 to 27 weeks in Hefei were recruited to analyze the trend of vitamin D status. The average levels of serum 25(OH)D in 2015, 2016 and 2017 were (43.22±18.41) nmol/L, (39.3±15.1) nmol/L and (36.6±17.0) nmol/L, and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency were 69.5%, 77.6% and 81.4%, respectively. Compared with 2015, the levels of serum 25(OH)D in pregnant women in 2016 and 2017 decreased by 5.23 (952015年3月至2018年2月，在合肥市招募孕13~27周、年龄为18~45岁的常住单胎妊娠孕妇4 728名，分析维生素D状态的变化趋势。2015—2017年的血清25（OH）D水平分别为（43.2±18.4）、（39.3±15.1）和（36.6±17.0）nmol/L，维生素D缺乏率分别为69.5%、77.6%和81.4%。与2015年相比，2016年和2017年孕妇的血清25（OH）D水平分别下降5.23（95

Nd (3 %) and Ti (2 %) codoped BiFeO3 (BNFTO) films with different layer and film thicknesses were deposited on LaNiO3(100)/Si substrates using a metal organic decomposition method. The BNFTO films show a highly (100)-preferred orientation. The hysteresis loops of both films are asymmetric with negatively imprinted polarizations, suggesting that both samples are self-polarized regardless of the layer and film thicknesses. More importantly, the P–E hysteresis loops for both films can recover to their asymmetric shapes after high-field measurements, indicating the self-polarizations are quite stable. These results are explained based on the stabilization of the defect complexes. The effects of the self-polarization on the leakage, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the BNFTO films are investigated.

The high-concentration precursor solution of Bi0.9La0.1FeO3 (BLFO) was fabricated and stored under the different temperatures (40, 20, 0 °C). After 10 days, the solution at the temperature of 40 °C generated both bismuth acetate precipitation and nitrogen dioxide gas and at the temperature of 20 °C generated nitrogen dioxide gas, while the solution still maintains stability and transparency at the temperature of 0 °C. These results show that low temperature is an important way to improve the stability of high-concentration precursor solution in sol–gel method. Furthermore, the stability precursor solution is adopted to prepare BLFO thick film on indium tin oxide/glass substrate by spin coating combined with sequential layer annealing. The film exhibits a perovskite structure without impurity phase; especially, a comparatively high remanent polarization (P r) of 42.85 μC/cm2 can be obtained, which may be related to lanthanum doping, preferred (110) orientation and relatively compact microstructure. XRD patterns and cross-sectional structure of Bi0.9La0.1FeO3 thick film, polarization–electric field (P–E) loops at various voltages.

Nd (3 %) and Ti (2 %) co-doped BiFeO3 (BNFTO) thin film was deposited on indium tin oxide-coated glass substrate by a metal organic decomposition process. The BNFTO film exhibits a single perovskite phase with random orientation and good insulating property with low leakage current. Asymmetrical polarization–electric field loops are observed in the BNFTO film: This is mainly attributed to the role of oxygen vacancy-related defect complexes in the film. Additionally, the capacitance of the sample is strongly dependent on both the applied voltage and measuring frequency. Furthermore, with the increase in applied voltages or decrease in frequencies, the dielectric tunability is gradually enhanced. The related physics mechanism for the enhanced performance is also discussed. High dielectric constant of 165, dielectric tunability of 27 % and figure of merit of 13.5 are achieved when a measuring frequency of 1 kHz is applied. These present results can be regarded as a base for further development of high-performance BiFeO3 films. Polarization–electric field (P–E) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) curves of the BNFTO film measured under various electric fields and applied bias voltages.

The Zn2+ doped non-stoichiometric [(Na0.7K0.2Li0.1)0.45Bi0.55](Ti1−x Zn x )O3+δ (NKLBTZn x , x = 0–4 at.%) thin films were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide/glass substrates via a metal organic decomposition method. The effect of Zn2+ doping content on microstructure, insulating characteristic and dielectric properties were mainly investigated. All the thin films exhibit similar single perovskite structures without detectable secondary phase and the grain size gradually decreases with the increase of Zn2+ doping content. Compared with other films, NKLBTZn0.01 thin film shows enhanced insulating characteristic with lower leakage current, and improved dielectric properties with a relatively higher dielectric tunability and lower dielectric loss. Moreover, with the increasing of electric field or decreasing of measuring frequency, the dielectric tunability is progressively increased. The tunability and figure of merit for the NKLBTZn0.01 thin film at 300 kV/cm and 1 kHz are 40.1 % and 7.0, respectively. These findings suggest that NKLBTZn thin film has potential applications in microwave dielectric devices.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary malignant hepatobiliary cancer worldwide. The circular RNA (circRNA) Cdr1as has been found to play critical roles in various cancers. However, the relationship between circRNA Cdr1as and CCA is still ambiguous. The aim of this study was to explore the expression level of Cdr1as in CCA and to further investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of Cdr1as.We investigated the circRNA Cdr1as expression in 54 paired tumor and adjacent normal tissues of CCA patients by using quantitative Real-time PCR, and evaluated the relevance between Cdr1as expression level and the clinicopathological features. We further assessed the association of Cdr1as expression with overall survival and its prognostic efficacy.The expression of circRNA Cdr1as in tumor tissues was higher than that in adjacent normal tissues. The overexpression of Cdr1as was closely associated with the advanced TNM stage, lymph node invasion, and postoperative recurrence. The overall survival of CCA patients with high Cdr1as expression was worse than that of the CCA patients with low Cdr1as expression. According to multivariate analysis, the Cdr1as expression could be considered as an independent prognostic biomarker for cholangiocarcinoma with acceptable sensitivity and specificity.Our finding suggested that circRNA Cdr1as may serve as a potential vicious molecular biomarker to predict the aggressive tumor progression and worse prognosis for CCA patients.

ICE1 genes play a very important role in plants in cold conditions. To improve the cold resistance of tomato, the ICE1 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana was used to construct the plant expression vector p3301-ICE1, and was overexpressed in tomato through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Five strains of resistant plants were obtained. PCR and half-quantitative results showed that the ICE1 gene was transferred to tomato; three strains tested positive. After low-temperature stress treatment, praline content and peroxide and catalase activities in the transgenic tomato plants were higher compared with non-transgenic controls, while malondialdehyde content was clearly lower.

The tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) is sensitive to cold, and low field temperatures can result in shortened growth periods and decreased crop yield. Transcription of CRT/DRE-binding factor (CBF) is regulated by INDUCER of CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1). CBF activates many downstream genes that confer cold tolerance on plants. ICE1 has been used in genetic engineering to improve cold-resistance in several plant species. Here, ICE1 in a plant expression vector was used to transform a tissue-cultured rhubarb tomato variety using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The transgenic and control plants were compared at 4°C for 0, 24, and 72 h. We measured leaf physiological indicators related to cold resistance, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (Pro) contents, and peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities. At 72 h, the MDA content in transgenic plants was significantly lower than in control plants, indicating a lower membrane lipid injury. The Pro contents and the CAT and POD activities in the transgenic plants increased significantly compared with those of the control plants. For Pro, the increase continued over the prolonged stress exposure, while CAT and POD activities reached peak levels at 24 h. These results are consistent with the roles of Pro, CAT, and POD in defending the integrity of plant cells. Our study not only improves the cold resistance of tomato, but also provides the foundation for further research on the role of ICE1 as a transcription factor in plant cold resistance.

To investigate the expression of long noncoding RNA CCAT1 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and to assess the CCAT1 expression as a prognostic biomarker for CCA.The CCAT1 expression in tumor tissues and paired adjacent normal tissues from 91 CCA patients was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The association of the CCAT1 expression with clinicopathological features of CCA patients and the prognostic value of the CCAT1 expression for overall survival was also evaluated by Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression model and ROC analysis.The CCAT1 expression was significantly upregulated in CCA tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. The CCAT1 expression was obviously associated with histological differentiation, lymph node invasion, and TNM stage. The overall survival of CCA patients with high CCAT1 expression was worse. Furthermore, the CCAT1 expression could be considered as an independent prognostic factor in predicting the overall survival for CCA patients.Our study showed that lncRNA CCAT1, which was upregulated and associated with aggressive malignant behavior, may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma.

The paper proposes a novel processing method of additional shielding gas for compensation to overcome welding defects, which often occur when high temperature solid and liquid phase welds are exposed to air. This method properly modifies the current pulsed MIG welding device by adding an airflow control branch of shielding gas for compensation, so that weld formation of the high-temperature, solid-liquid phase from the welding torch nozzle can be manually intervened and secondary gas protection of the weld surface can be implemented. This modified welding device with additional airflow is then used to conduct bead-on-plate pulsed MIG welding experiments using 18-8 type austenitic stainless steel as the base material. The study of microstructure and physical properties of the weld indicates that after introducing a certain amount of shielding gas for compensation, not only is weld formation significantly improved, but there is also timely track and protection of the weld surface. This largely inhibits the occurrence of welding defects during high-speed pulsed MIG single-wire welding and helps improve welding efficiency, and this study might demonstrate the necessity of further research and exploration.

Medulloblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumor in children. Despite a relatively high long-term survival rate, complications still represent great burden for the majority of patients receiving traditional therapy. Therefore, the development of new effective treatments and drugs is urgently needed. A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assay were used to evaluate medulloblastoma cell proliferation and colony formation, respectively. Cell cycles and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. A western blot was performed to determine the levels of protein expression. Axenograft model of medulloblastoma was established to evaluate the in vivo anticancer effects of icariin. The CCK-8 assay showed that icariin decreased cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The colony formation assay indicated that icariin potently inhibited the colony formation ability of Daoy and D341 cells. Icariin-induced proliferation inhibition may be due to S-phase arrest in medulloblastoma cells. In addition, icariin induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, as shown by the results of annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double staining and Hoechst 33342 staining. Icariin progressively inhibited tumor growth and induced apoptosis in a mouse model. Moreover, cell cycle regulators Cyclin A, CDK2, and Cyclin B1, and apoptosis-related proteins caspase-3, caspase-9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bcl-2 were modulated in response to treatment with icariin in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggest that icariin may exert anticancer effects. Thus, it is a promising drug for medulloblastoma treatment.

Oxidation of Ni∕Au (5nm∕10nm) contact to p-GaN layer was performed by O2 plasma in a reactive ion etching system. The structural characteristics of the Ni∕Au p-GaN for different oxidation time were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, using an intense synchrotron x-ray source. The XRD measurements indicated that the grains of nickel oxide polycrystalline in the contact were grown continually when the oxidation time increased in 10min. However, Au showed amorphouslike and the intensities of Bragg diffraction peaks were hardly changed when oxidation time increased to 10min. The nickel oxide formed by O2 plasma without sequent thermal annealing did not reduce the specific contact resistance (ρc) to p-GaN, but it took an important role in lowering ρc followed by thermal annealing in N2 at 500°C for 10min. Optical transmission spectra confirmed that the nickel was easy to be oxidized and few interdiffusions occurred at the metal interface in O2 plasma ambient. Finally, the mechanism of oxidati...

This study examined the intrinsic differences in various wood properties between juvenile wood and mature wood in 10 major reforestation species in China. Comparisons between juvenile wood and mature wood were made in both plantation- and naturally-grown trees. Considerable differences in most wood properties were found both between plantation-grown juvenile wood and mature wood, and between naturally-grown juvenile wood and mature wood. This suggests that wood properties of plantation-grown trees, to a large extent, depends on their juvenile wood contents, and can thus be manipulated effectively through rotation age. In general, the longer the rotation age, the lower the juvenile wood content, and the stronger the mechanical properties of the plantation-grown woods. However, the differences between juvenile wood and mature wood vary with wood properties and species. In general, juvenile wood and mature wood have less difference in chemical composition than in anatomical and physico-mechanical properties. Compared to the softwoods studied, the hardwoods appear to have less difference between juvenile wood and mature wood.

Synchrotron radiation x-ray reflectivity measurement is used to study the concentration profile of a delta-doped Er layer in Si epitaxial film grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The oscillation of the reflectivity amplitude as a function of reflection angle is observed in the experiment. By doing a theoretical simulation, the concentration profile of Er atoms could be derived. It is shown that the originally grown delta-doped Er layer changes into an exponentially decayed function due to the Er segregation. The temperature dependence of the 1/e decay length indicates that the segregation is a kinetically limited process. The activation energy is determined to be 0.044 +/- 0.005 eV. [S0163-1829(99)11515-7].

thin films have been prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition under reduced pressure. The formation of ferroelectric domains in films grown on SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates was investigated by synchrotron radiation and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Single-domain (3000-A thick) and multi-domain (4500-A thick) PbTiO3 films were produced on SrTiO3. For multi-domain PbTiO3 film, the c-domain presented epitaxial structure with its c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface, while a-domains aligned four-fold symmetrically with c-domains by 2.79° off the c-axis of c-domains. In the film, the measured lattice constants (a, b and c) of the a- and c-domains were different from each other, indicating that the films suffered a modulated strain during domain formation. In contrast, both the a and c domains of films on LaAlO3 were alternatively aligned on substrate with the a-axis of the a-domain and the c-axis of c-domains perpendicular to the substrate surface. Two-dimensional distribution of these domains is proposed and the formation of these kinds of domains is discussed. The surface morphology and phase transition process of single and multi domain PbTiO3 film on SrTiO3 were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM) and high temperature X-ray diffraction, respectively.

SiGe quantum rings (QRs) were grown by partially capping on Ge quantum dots (QDs) on Si(001). Atomic force microscopy images show the shape transformation from QDs to QRs. Initial capping, with a Si layer thickness less than 2 nm, will result in the decrease of height of QDs and increase of base diameter of QDs. Capped with a Si layer, QDs will change into QRs. The mechanism of transformation from QDs to QRs is discussed. The strain will redistribute after capping, thus the strain energy relief, together with high Ge surface diffusion and Ge surface segregation at a relative high temperature of 680 °C, play the dominant role.

The scattered far fields of an arbitrarily shaped 3D body can be expressed as a superposition of spherical waves. The distinctive coefficients contain the target's signatures and may be employed as a feature vector for target identification. This paper addresses the extraction method of the wave coefficients and the identification scheme by using the proposed feature vector.

Epitaxial growth of Ni thin films on GaAs(0 0 1) and their magnetic property have been investigated using reflection high energy electron diffraction and magneto-optical Kerr effect. The result shows that a body-centered-cubic (BCC) phase of Ni which does not exist in nature can grow epitaxially up to 2.5 nm on the GaAs(0 0 1) substrate, and it is determined to be ferromagnetic showing a four-fold in-plane magnetic anisotropy with the easy axes along the 〈1 0 0〉 directions.

The Time-Domain Integration Equation (TDIE) is used to solve the radiation and scattering problems of thin-wire antenna and array. To solve the integral equation by the method of moments, the triangle impulse function and quadratic spline function are respectively selected as basis functions in spatial domain and time domain. To characterize the effects of the load on the scattering fields, an equivalent circuit method and a loaded TDIE method are developed, and they are proved to be coincident. Numerical results for a dipole antenna and a Yagi-Uda antenna are presented.

X-ray diffraction measurements at different grazing angles for self-organized Ge dots grown on Si(001) are carried out by using synchrotron radiation as a light source. The lattice parameters parallel and perpendicular to the surface are determined from the grazing angle and ordinary x-ray diffraction spectra. A 1.2% lattice constant expansion parallel to the interface and a 3.1% lattice expansion along the growth direction, as compared with the Si lattice, are found within the Ge dots. Based on the Poisson equation and the Vegard law, the Ge dot should be a partially strain relaxed SiGe alloy with the Ge content of 55%. The composition change in Ge dots is suggested to be caused by the atomic intermixing during the islanding growth. In the small grazing angle x-ray diffraction spectrum, a peak located at the higher angle side of Si(220) is observed. The origin of this peak is attributed to the near surface compressive strain in the peripheral substrate regions surrounding the Ge dots. This compressive strain is induced by the formation of Ge dots and leads to a -0.8% lattice constant change parallel to the interface. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04123-1].

Cotton fabric was exposed to an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) ignited by high voltage and helium. Ultrasonic atomization of an aqueous sericin solution injected as an aerosol into the APGD zone gave rise to the rapid deposition of a functionalized plasma polymer film. Sericin coating onto the cotton surface was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, and the chemical composition was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the plasma power could affect the chemistry of the coating. The treated fabrics were tested for UV resistance, crease recovery angle, and water uptake. Results showed that these properties had been improved. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers

Ge epilayers of different thicknesses are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with Sb as a surfactant on Si(100) substrates. X-ray diffraction illustrates that these Ge thin films are partially strained, and the strains decrease gradually with increasing epilayer thickness. Raman spectra reveal a downward shift of the Ge–Ge mode peak as the epilayer thickness increases. In the regions of high strain, the relationship between the Raman shift of this mode and the strain in the partially relaxed samples is considerably different from the linear relationship reported before, which is mainly attributed to the spatial confinement effect of phonons in a nanocrystal.

SummaryMesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) is a disease of high incidence in humans. Rats with Thy-1 nephritis (Thy-1 N) are used as an animal model for studying MsPGN. Although several studies have demonstrated that many pathological factors could cause the injury of glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) in Thy-1 N, changes of profile and the molecular mechanism of the disease (i.e. the role of transcription factors) at intervals remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the changes in gene expression profile and to observe the role of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) on the pathological change of renal tissue in Thy-1 N rats. Our results showed that the pathological changes of GMCs in Thy-1 N included three phases: apoptosis (40 min), necrosis (24 h) and proliferation (7 days). Concomitantly, at 40 min and on day 7, the up-regulation of 341 genes and 250 genes were observed, while 392 genes and 119 genes were down-regulated in Thy-1 N. Expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, α-smooth muscle actin, collagen type IV and excretion of urinary protein was increased in rats with Thy-1 N and decreased in pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate-treated rats with Thy-1 N. These data indicated that the significant changes in the gene profile were coupled with the pathological changes of Thy-1 N, and activation of NF-κB may contribute to the pathogenesis of GMCs apoptosis, proliferation, extracelluar matrix accumulation and proteinuria in Thy-1 N.

The body-centered-cubic (bcc) phase of Ni, which does not exist in nature, has been achieved as a thin film on GaAs(001) at 170 K via molecular beam epitaxy. The bcc Ni is ferromagnetic with a Curie temperature of 456 K and possesses a magnetic moment of 0.52 +/- 0.08 mu(B)/atom. The cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy of bcc Ni is determined to be +4.0x10(5) ergs center dot cm(-3), as opposed to -5.7x10(4) ergs center dot cm(-3) for the naturally occurring face-centered-cubic (fcc) Ni. This sharp contrast in the magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the different electronic band structures between bcc Ni and fcc Ni, which are determined using angle-resolved photoemission with synchrotron radiation.

A series of synthetic beta-heterocyclic and beta-naphthyl alanine and aromatic substituted phenylalanine were separated by reversed-phase HPLC as diastereomeric derivatives obtained after derivatization with (1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl)-5-L-valinamide (FDNP-Val-NH2). The separation was performed with gradient elution. The mobile phase A was acetonitrile containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid and mobile phase B was 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. According to the hydrophobicity of the side chain of the amino acids, 6 different linear gradient programs were selected and all gradients completed in 20 minutes. Good resolution was obtained for neutral amino acids. All L-L diastereomer of neutral amino acids (the first letter refers to the configuration of amino acid) were eluted faster than the D-L diastereomer with retention times less than 16 minutes. In the same gradient eluting system, the hydrophobic parameter (pi value) and the position of the substituent in benzene ring of phenylalanine also influence the retention time of diastereomers. Usually the retention time of the phenylalanine with a large pi value was longer than that with a small one. Among the three phenylalanines containing the same substituent, compounds with the substituent in 2-postion gave the shortest retention time. In the case of basic amino acids, the D-L diastereomers eluted prior to the L-L diastereomers and showed rather poor resolution. The chiral purity (ee) of the optical active amino acids (synthetic DL-amino acids after resolution by different enzymes) were calculated with the equation as follows: ee = [[A(L- or D-) - A(D- or L-)]/[A(L-) + A(D-)]] x 100% (L- or D-), A: peak area; L-, D-: amino acid diastereomer.

Hotien prefecture, Xinjiang Province, China, in the Taklamakan Desert, is an area of severe iodine deficiency. Because usual methods of iodine supplementation failed here, we began supplementation in 1992 with potassium iodate, which was added to irrigation water (Lancet 1994; 334:107-110). We report 4 y experience with this method in 3 townships that contained a total treated population of 37,000. Potassium iodate was dripped into irrigation water (to a concentration 10-80 microg/l) during a 2- to 4-wk period. During the 3 y that followed, no further supplementation was made, and iodine concentrations increased several fold in crops and plants, sheep and chicken thyroid glands, and meat and in urine of children 2-6 y of age and of women who were of childbearing age. Infant mortality decreased 50%, and sheep production increased 43%. Iodine repletion of soil through irrigation water is an effective and cost-efficient way of providing iodine in appropriate situations.

The explanation why only a subset of patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) develop clinically apparent thromboses (HITT) remains uncertain. It has been proposed that platelet activation induced by cross-linking of Fc gamma RIIA by anti-heparin/platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies is central to the pathogenesis of thrombosis. The observation that a common functional polymorphism of Fc gamma RIIA, involving either an arginine (R) or histidine (H) at amino acid 131, may underlie disease susceptibility prompted us to investigate the prevalence of receptor isoforms in patients with HIT and HITT. Furthermore, because these isoforms reportedly differ in their avidity for immune complexes containing human IgG2, we also analyzed sera from patients with HIT and HITT for the prevalence of various subclass-specific IgG anti-heparin/PF4 antibodies. No difference in the allele frequency of Fc gamma RIIA-H131 or R131 was identified among 13 patients with HIT or 23 with HITT compared with 102 controls (chi 2 = 1.21, P = .8). Furthermore, although most patients had IgG2 antibodies (62%), IgG, was the predominant subclass in 30 of the 34 patients with IgG anti-heparin/PF4 antibodies and in 12 was the exclusive subclass found. Also, there was no association between the concordance of IgG2 anti-heparin/ PF4 antibodies and the expression of Fc gamma RIIA-H131 in patients with HITT compared with patients with thrombocytopenia alone. These results make it unlikely that the Fc gamma RIIA-H131 isoform or IgG2 anti-heparin/PF4 antibodies are required to develop HITT, suggesting that factors in addition to cross-linking of Fc gamma RIIA receptors contribute to the pathogenesis of thrombosis in patients with heparin-dependent antiplatelet: antibodies.

A polymorphism of the gene for Fc gamma RIIA, arginine (R) or histidine (H) at position 131, alters the ability of the receptor to bind certain IgG subclasses. Identification of the Fc gamma RIIA-H/R 131 genotype has assumed increasing importance in disorders of host defense, immunohematologic diseases and systemic autoimmune disorders. We report a new method for determination of this genotype in which an allele-specific restriction enzyme site is introduced into an Fc gamma RIIA PCR product from genomic DNA, and polymorphism assignment is determined by restriction enzyme digestion followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. This method is more rapid, more reliable and less expensive than currently available methods.

2% three-efficacious pyrogen deactivator (TEPD) was put into ultrasound washer for syringe washing. A total of 370 syringes were divided into three groups. Each group was washed by using a different program of sterilization, decontamination, and depyrogen. The results showed that the following program was not only effective for depyrogen but also convenient and inexpensive: (1)5 minutes' ultra-washing by using ultrasound washer with TEPD; (2)suspension over 1 hours; (3) another 5 minutes' ultra-washing; (4)ordinary washing and sterilization.

Manipulation of vitamin A intake has been associated with altered rates of cytochrome P450 (P450)-mediated microsomal drug oxidation. Dietary vitamin A deficiency reportedly results in decreased rates of P450-dependent substrate oxidation, but the mechanisms underlying these changes remain unclear. In this study, the effects of dietary vitamin A modulation, as well as dietary inclusion of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), on major constitutive P450s were defined. Total microsomal P450 in deficient male rats was decreased to 72% of control (0.63 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.88 +/- 0.08 nmol/mg of protein; P.05); this was prevented by inclusion of ATRA (12 micrograms/g) in the deficient diet. Dietary vitamin A deficiency decreased rates of P450 2C11-mediated testosterone 2 alpha- and 16 alpha-hydroxylation in rat liver to 44 and 47% of respective adequate control, whereas rates of 6 beta- and 7 alpha-hydroxylation of the steroid were unaltered; inclusion of ATRA into the deficient diet prevented the loss of 2C11 activities. Immunoblot and RNA analysis revealed decreases in P450 2C11 apoprotein and its corresponding mRNA in liver from deficient rats that was prevented by inclusion of ATRA in the deficient diet. Serum testosterone concentrations were reduced in deficient rats and this also was prevented by dietary ATRA. To discern whether this was a direct effect of vitamin A on P450 2C11 regulation, further experiments evaluated the effect of ATRA administration to male rats maintained on standard rat chow (vitamin A-adequate). Dose- and time-dependent decreases in P450 2C11 activity were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The evolution of resistance switching behaviour of an Ag/DyMnO3/Ag/DyMnO3/Pt memristor structure under repetitive voltage sweeping is investigated. It is observed that the current–voltage (I–V) characteristic evolves from simple bipolar switching behaviour to a complicated switching sequence, which is applicable in passive crossbar arrays. It is suggested that the filament morphology can be modulated by accumulation and release of the Joule heating and Ag ions/atoms residing inside the DyMnO3 layer during continuous switching. The filament growth/dissolution near the upper surface of the middle Ag layer plays a key role in the consequent I–V characteristics.

Endemic cretinism, caused by severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy, is the world's most common preventable cause of mental retardation. It can be prevented by iodine treatment before conception, but whether it can be prevented or ameliorated by treatment during pregnancy or after delivery is not known.In a severely iodine-deficient area of the Xinjiang region of China, we systematically administered iodine to groups of children from birth to three years of age (n = 689) and women at each trimester of pregnancy (n = 295); we then followed the treated children and the babies born to the treated women for two years. We used three independent measures of neural development: the results of the neurologic examination, the head circumference (which correlates with brain weight in the first postnatal year), and indexes of cognitive and motor development. Untreated children one to three years of age, who were studied when first seen, served as control subjects.The prevalence of moderate or severe neurologic abnormalities among the 120 infants whose mothers received iodine in the first or second trimester was 2 percent, as compared with 9 percent among the 752 infants who received iodine during the third trimester (through the treatment of their mothers) or after birth (P = 0.008). The prevalence of microcephaly (defined as a head circumference more than 3 SD below U.S. norms) decreased from 27 percent in the untreated children to 11 percent in the treated children (P = 0.006), and the mean (+/- SD) developmental quotient at two years of age increased (90 +/- 14, vs. 75 +/- 18 in the untreated children; P0.001). Treatment in the third trimester of pregnancy or after delivery did not improve neurologic status, but head growth and developmental quotients improved slightly. Treatment during the first trimester, which was technically problematic, improved the neurologic outcome.Up to the end of the second trimester, iodine treatment protects the fetal brain from the effects of iodine deficiency. Treatment later in pregnancy or after delivery may improve brain growth and developmental achievement slightly, but it does not improve neurologic status.