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The compliance of the joint for exoskeleton is very important in adapting to the wearer's motions and human-machine compatibility. However，the conventional rigid or passive compliant mechanisms cannot achieve the purpose of active compliance due to the non-real-time feedback of the human-machine interaction forces. Therefore，an active compliant actuator of the knee joint is developed，using of the antagonistic driving principles and the force-position transformation of the slider-crank mechanism，which can not only implement the compliance of the traditional series elastic actuator，but also can obtain the real-time human-machine interaction forces. Finally，the feasibility and effectiveness of the compliant actuator are verified by tests.

The Taiwanese gray shrew (Crocidura tanakae) and Asian gray shrew (C. attenuata) are so similar in size and morphology that the taxonomic status of the former has changed several times since its description; C. tanakae has also been regarded as an endemic species of Taiwan Island. In recent years, molecular identification has led to several reports of C. tanakae being distributed in the mainland of China. In this study, we determine the geographical distribution of C. attenuata and C. tanakae based on more than one hundred specimens collected during 2000 to 2018 over a wide area covering the traditional ranges of the two species in the mainland of China, and show a substantial revision of their distributions. Among 110 individuals, 33 C. attenuata and 77 C. tanakae were identified by Cytb gene and morphologies. Our results show, (1) C. attenuata and C. tanakae are distributed sympatrically in the mainland of China; (2) contrary to the previous reports, the distribution range of C. attenuata is restricted and much smaller than that of C. tanakae in the mainland of China; (3) Hainan Island, like Taiwan Island, is inhabited by C. tanakae only according to the present data.

Skeletal diseases caused by excessive activation of osteoclasts seriously affect elderly’s health. Therefore, inhibiting excessive activation of osteoclasts become effective therapeutic strategy for osteoporosis. Celery, a traditional and popular Chinese vegetable with high nutritional value, is rich in flavonoids which have a variety of pharmacological activities. The present study aimed to determine the pharmacological effect of total flavonoids of celery (TFC) on osteoclastogenesis, and to explore the molecular mechanisms. Results showed that TFC inhibited osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption without significant toxic and side effect. Furthermore, the results of western blot analysis and qPCR indicated that TFC inhibited the degradation of IκBα, phosphorylation of NF-κB and p38, and subsequently attenuated the expression levels of osteoclast-specific genes. The results of this study may have a positive impact on the application of TFC as functional food ingredients, which has potential preventive and therapeutic effects on osteoclast-related diseases.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Southeast Asian shrew (Crocidura fuliginosa) was first sequenced and characterized. The genome was 16,967 base pairs (bp) in length containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. The composition and arrangement of genes were analogous to other vertebrates. All PCGs were used to construct phylogenetic tree for C. fuliginosa and other 12 Crocidura species available on GenBank. Phylogenetic result indicated that C. fuliginosa has a close relationship with C. lasiura and C. attenuate. Our results will provide information for further molecular studies about this genus.