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Modern low-altitude unmanned aircraft (UA) detection and surveillance systems mostly adopt the multi-sensor fusion technology scheme of radar, visible light, infrared, acoustic and radio detection. Firstly, this paper summarises the latest research progress of UA and bird target detection and recognition technology based on radar, and provides an effective way of detection and recognition from the aspects of echo modeling and micro motion characteristic cognition, manoeuver feature enhancement and extraction, motion trajectory difference, deep learning intelligent classification, etc. Furthermore, this paper also analyses the target feature extraction and recognition algorithms represented by deep learning for other kinds of sensor data. Finally, after a comparison of the detection ability of various detection technologies, a technical scheme for low-altitude UA surveillance system based on four types of sensors is proposed, with a detailed description of its main performance indicators.

To improve the ability of avian radar to process bird information, a statistical analysis method for the bird situation around airport is proposed based on avian radar data. By accumulating a large amount of avian radar data, hotspots of the activity area of bird targets can be determined and taken as a reference point to realise lifecycle management of each bird target from initiation to continuation and finally death. In the process of target tracking, combined with the particle filter method, the probability of several possible events is estimated, leading to completion of the data association and real-time statistics for the number of targets. The simulation results reveal that this method is superior to the traditional logic method regarding the timeliness of multi-target initiation. With the application of the proposed method to avian radar data, the bird population and its basic activity rules can be discovered by fixing the bird habitats around the airport.

The crashworthiness and structural responses of corrugated sandwich structures under lateral impact are simulated in the FE (finite element) analysis. The rectangular indenter is adopted for considering the bow of barge. The influence of dimension and shape of inner core on the structural and crashworthiness are discussed. The connect method between plate and inner core is also considered to understand their influence for finding a convenient manufacture that would not significantly reduce structural performance. It is found that the sandwich structure with triangular core can effectively reduce the peak value of impact force, and it also shows good ability of resistance deformation.

The extraordinary graphene material has brought about extensive attention in space engineering for outstanding characteristics. The reduced graphene oxide paper (rGOP) was irradiated by 500 keV proton in a ground-based irradiation simulator. The results show that the spacing of layer to layer was increased after irradiation, while the oxygen functional group was decreased. The result of XPS and Raman spectroscopy indicates that the sp3 carbon and defects increased, and the disorder structure in high fluence irradiated materials also increased. Furthermore, the performance degradation for thermal stability and electrical property of rGOP is contributed to the combination of defects and disordered structure.

Supplemental Material for Incidence and risk factors of osteomyelitis in adult and pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus: a nationwide, population-based cohort study by Y.F. Huang, Y.S. Chang, W.S. Chen, Y.P. Tsao, W.H. Wang, H.T. Liao, C.Y. Tsai and C.C. Lai in Lupus

We aimed to use microsatellite BM1258 loci of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) as an indicator of the influence of genetic diversity of immunity in goats (Dazu Black, Hechuan White, Meigu, and Tibetan goat). In total, 132 animals comprising 50 Dazu Black goats, 24 Hechuan White goats, 34 Meigu goats, and 24 Tibetan goats were examined. Collectively, 18 different alleles and 42 genotypes were found. The overall observed levels of heterozygosity showed large divergence from the expected levels in the four breeds, and an increase in the mean number of alleles of BM1258 accompanied decreasing altitude of the livestock's habitat. Our results indicate that low-altitude regions or plains were more conducive to genetic material exchange and gene flow between different populations. In addition, it seems that the breeds from low-altitude regions were less susceptible to problems introduced by commercial animals.

Cathelicidins are a major family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), an important component of innate immune system, playing a critical role in host defense and disease resistance in virtually all living species. Polymorphism and functional studies on cathelicidin of Tianzhu white yak contribute to understanding the specific innate immune mechanism in animals living at high altitudes in comparison to cattle and domesticated white yak. Thirty-six individuals of Tianzhu white yak, originating from the area of three ecotypes (Gansu in China), were investigated. The total length of the aligned Yak cathelicidin 6 (CATHL-6) sequences was 1923 bp, including six single nucleotide polymorphisms and one indel. Ten haplotypes were identified, and phylogenetic analyses resolved those 10 haplotypes in two clusters. The results indicate that the white yak originated from two domestication sites. In addition, lack of significant pairwise difference between sequences (Tajima's D = 0.92865, P > 0.10) in the CATHL-6 region indicates absence of population size expansion in current white yak population.

DRA encodes the alpha chain of the DR heterodimer, is closely linked to DRB and is considered almost monomorphic in major histocompatibility complex region. In this study, we identified the exon 2 of DRA to evaluate the immunogenetic diversity of Chinese south indigenous goat. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in an untranslated region and one synonymous substitution in coding region were identified. These data suggest that high immunodiversity in native Chinese population.

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility is one of several space astronomy payloads onboard China's Space Station, which is planned for operation starting around 2025 for about 10 ...

The mechanism of dominant follicle selection is unclear because of its physiological complexity. However, some studies have reported that the immune system plays an important role in reproductive physiology. The objective of the current study was to investigate the differential expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the dominant (DFs) and nondominant follicles (NFs), and to determine the correlation between the expression of TLRs and the related genes, such as WNT4 and FOXL2. In this comparative study, the expression levels of TLRs, WNT4, and FOXL2 genes of DFs and NFs were obtained from three Dazu black goats were estimated using the real-time PCR. Our results showed no significant difference in the expression of seven TLRs (excluding TLR2, TLR5, and TLR8), WNT4, and FOXL2 between the DFs and NFs. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of WNT4 significantly correlated with the relative expression of TLR6 (r = 0.949739, P < 0.01); however, no significant expression of the TLR genes was found to be associated with FOXL2 mRNA expression. Our results support the fact that TLRs are not involved in the process of dominant follicle selection; however, TLR6 might play a role in the development of follicles by interacting with WNT4.

Desmoglein 4 (DSG4) has an important role in the development of wool traits in domestic animals. The full-length DSG4 gene, which contains 3918 bp, a complete open-reading-frame, and encodes a 1040-amino acid protein, was amplified from Liaoning cashmere goat. The sequence was compared with that of DSG4 from other animals and the results show that the DSG4 coding region is consistent with interspecies conservation. Thirteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in a highly variable region of DSG4, and one SNP (M-1, G>T) was significantly correlated with white and black coat color in goat. Haplotype distribution of the highly variable region of DSG4 was assessed in 179 individuals from seven goat breeds to investigate its association with coat color and its differentiation among populations. However, the lack of a signature result indicates DGS4 haplotypes related with the color of goat coat.

Deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) provides a practical and inexpensive alternative for exploring genomic data in non-model organisms. The functional annotation of non-model mammalian genomes, such as that of goats, is still poor compared to that of humans and mice. In the current study, we performed a whole transcriptome analysis of an intestinal mucous membrane lymph node to comprehensively characterize the transcript catalogue of this tissue in a goat. Using an Illumina HiSeq 4000 sequencing platform, 9.692 GB of raw reads were acquired. A total of 57,526 lymph transcripts were obtained, and the majority of these were mapped to known transcriptional units (42.67%). A comparison of the mRNA expression of the mesenteric lymph nodes during the juvenile and post-adolescent stages revealed 8949 transcripts that were differentially expressed, including 6174 known genes. In addition, we functionally classified these transcripts using Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) terms. A total of 6174 known genes were assigned to 64 GO terms, and 3782 genes were assigned to 303 KEGG pathways, including some related to immunity. Our results reveal the complex transcriptome profile of the lymph node and suggest that the immune system is immature in the mesenteric lymph nodes of juvenile goats.

This study reports a novel strategy by using polyaniline nanofibers (PANFs) to modify membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) for improving direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance. First of all, a series of PANFs emeraldine salt was synthesized and characterized. Then, we investigated the effect of PANFs layout in MEA on DMFC performance. Three different placements to incorporate the as-synthesized PANFs in anodes include (1) placing a layer of PANFs between catalyst layer (CL) and proton exchange membrane (PEM), (2) mixing with catalyst slurry and coating onto gas diffusion layer (GDL), and (3) placing a layer of PANFs between CL and GDL. Polarization curves indicate that the third method is superior to the others and is adopted as the incorporation layout thereafter. Both methanol transport resistance and methanol crossover of the PANFs-modified MEA are studied further. The DMFC incorporated with H 2 SO 4 -doped PANFs obtained after the re-doping process with 2 mol L −1 H 2 SO 4 performs a power density as high as 53 mW cm −2 , about 20% higher than that of the pristine one without PANFs incorporation. However, an excessive doping level may result in a higher methanol transport resistance due to PANFs aggregation and thus deteriorate DMFC performance. This study provides a simple and effective way by placing a layer of PANFs between CL and GDL in anode to act as methanol transport regulator and improve DMFC performance consequently.

This study reports the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites with controllable morphologies through in-situ polymerization of aniline monomers in the presence of GO sheets. Specific reaction parameters including solution acidity, aniline concentration, and reaction temperature are used to control the final shape of the composite product. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images are used to explore the morphology of the composite. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT–IR and UV–vis spectrophotometers are utilized to characterize the intermediates and the final products of the GO/PANI composites. Experiment results reveal that the polymerization operated in low acidity and low temperature conditions inclines to form GO/PANI nanotubes. On the other hand, the polymerization operated in high acidity inclines to form either nanospheres or aligned nanofiber arrays. These different morphologies are resulted from different polymerization routes and the formation mechanisms of these different shapes of nanocomposites are explored. Among the various nanocomposites, the GO/PANI nanospheres exhibit a highest electrochemical surface area. This study provides a facile and effective strategy to control the morphology of GO/PANI nanocomposites with characteristic electrochemical property.

This study reports the preparation of graphene oxide (GO)/polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes through polymerizing aniline monomers in the presence of GO sheets. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the obtained GO/PANI nanotubes have an outer diameter of ∼120 nm and an inner diameter of 15 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curves verify the coexistence of GO and PANI in the produced nanotubes. X-ray diffraction patterns identify the intercalation of PANI chains between GO sheets. Specifically, SEM images reveal the formation of polyaniline-intercalated GO sheets in earlier stage. Subsequently, these initially-formed GO/PANI sheets would transform into nanotubes through a self-curling process. The changes of molecular structures and doping states of polyaniline molecules during the polymerization process are thought to be responsible for the self-curling behavior. Compared with the pristine PANI nanotubes, the GO/PANI nanotubes exhibit an even higher electrical conductivity and manifest their great potential in applications of various electrochemical devices.

The aim of this research was to identify the dynamic diversity of Small Tail Han sheep in its main producing areas between different years, and provide a basis for a breeding and genetic resources conservation strategy. For this purpose, 15 microsatellites were genotyped for Small Tail Han Sheep sampled in 2014 from Heze, China, and a comparative analysis of these data with those from a previous study was undertaken using meta-analysis. The results reveal that inbreeding has caused a reduction in diversity of Small Tail Han Sheep from 2008 to 2014. Overall, our results are helpful in understanding the dynamic change in diversity, as well as providing information for a conservation strategy for this population.

Immune-related miRNAs in breast milk are extracellular miRNAs that are related to immune organ development and regulation of the immune function in infants and young animals. The goal of this study was to compare the expression levels of five immune-related miRNAs in breast milk in black goats, humans, and dairy cattle. The miRNAs from milk were extracted and the expression levels were assessed using quantitive RT-PCR methods. MiR-146, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-223, and miR-150 were all detected in Dazu black goat milk, and these miRNAs were significantly more highly expressed in colostrum than in mature milk of goats (P < 0.01), except for miR-150. Further, all five miRNAs were expressed in human colostrum, but patterns differed from those in goats: miR-146 and miR-155 were highly expressed (P < 0.01) in human colostrum, whereas miR-223 was abundant in goat colostrum (P < 0.01). In addition, five miRNAs were significantly higher in bovine mature milk than in goat milk (P < 0.01). Taken together, these results confirm that immune-related miRNAs are rich in breast milk with different expression levels depending on the lactation phase and species.

We report on field-effect transistors using Mg 0.1 Zn 0.9 O thin film as channel layer. The effect of Mg is to increase the band gap and decrease the electron carrier concentration. The Mg 0.1 Zn 0.9 O film deposited by sol–gel method has a highly c-axis orientation and excellent optical properties. The devices display a channel mobility of 0.76 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 and an on/off ratio of 400.

Cholesteric liquid crystal displays (Ch-LCDs) have potential as screens in portable readers. In the present study, it is demonstrated that a Ch-LCD can be driven by a thermal process at a temperature of 90 °C. At a suitable temperature, the texture of the cholesteric liquid crystal will be transfrred from planar to focal conic. The experimental results show that the reflectance of a Ch-LCD is influenced by texture after the thermal process. After thermal treatment at 90 °C, the periodicity was reduced from 63 nm to 55 nm. A chain tilting angle of ∼29° was estimated.

In this study, a series of micro/nanostructured polyanilines were synthesized and their morphology-dependent electrochemical properties for acting as a catalyst supporter for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications were investigated. These micro/nanostructures include submicron spheres, hollow microspheres, nanotubes, and nanofibers. Among the four micro/nanostructures, polyaniline nanofibers (PANF) manifest their superiority in high electrochemical active surface. Accordingly, PANF is adopted as the catalyst supporter thereafter. To couple with the use of the alternative catalyst supporter, this study also investigates the effect of reductant type on morphology and electrocatalytic properties of the PANF-supported Pt particles through a chemical reduction reaction. TEM images indicate that formic acid as a reductant results in well-dispersed Pt particles on the PANF surface. On the other hand, aggregations of Pt are observable when NaBH 4 is selected as a reductant. Moreover, the methanol oxidation current density measured with the Pt/PANF electrode being prepared by using formic acid is double that by using NaBH 4 . Compared with Pt/XC-72, the Pt/PANF electrode possesses higher electrocatalytic activity and exhibits double power density. Moreover, Pt/PANF is superior to Pt/XC-72 in the aspect of operation stability based on a continuous discharge for 5 h.

A series of polyaniline nanofibers (PANFs) were synthesized and incorporated into gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) to improve their performances at low relative humidity (RH) conditions. Three different placements to incorporate the PANFs in the anodes include (1) placing a PANFs layer between catalyst layer (CL) and membrane, (2) coating the CL with PANFs and catalyst mixed slurry, and (3) placing a PANFs layer between the CL and gas diffusion layer (GDL). Fuel cell performance data indicates that the last method is superior to the others and is adopted as incorporation method thereafter. Extensive studies on single cell performances have been conducted to compare the membrane electrode assemblies with and without the incorporation of PANFs in both anode and cathode. Polarization curves show the incorporation of H 2 SO 4 -doped PANFs is highly effective in improving the hydrophilic characteristic of the electrodes and thus can promote the PEMFC performance at low RH conditions. For example, with a lowering of reactant RH from 100 to 70%, the electrode with H 2 SO 4 -doped PANFs layer exhibits an increase in power density from 0.57 to 0.7 W cm −2 . On the other hand, a traditional carbon-supported platinum electrode exhibits a decline of performance from 0.73 to 0.55 W cm −2 .

Optical reflection, or in other words the loss of reflection, from a surface becomes increasingly crucial in determining the extent of the light-matter interaction. The simplest example of using an anti-reflecting (AR) surface is possibly the solar cell that incorporates an AR coating to harvest sunlight more effectively. Researchers have now found ways to mimic biological structures, such as moth eyes or cicada wings, which have been used for the AR purpose by nature herself. These nanoscopic biomimetic structures lend valuable clues in fabricating and designing gradient refractive index materials that are efficient AR structures. The reflectance from a selected sub-wavelength or gradient index structures have come down to below 1% in the visible region of the spectrum and efforts are on to achieve broader bands of such enhanced AR regime. In addition to the challenge of broader bands, the performance of AR structures is also limited by factors such as omnidirectional properties and polarization of incident light. This review presents selected state-of-the-art AR techniques, reported over the last half a century, and their guiding principles to predict a logical trend for future research in this field.

This study shows that the polymerization of aniline monomers in 1.6-hexanediol aqueous and acid-free solutions can produce three-dimensional (3D) polyaniline submicron-spheres and one-dimensional (1D) nanofibers at different reaction stages through a morphology transition process. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that the aniline monomers form phenazine-like units in the initial reaction stage, producing polyaniline submicron-spheres with a diameter of ∼400 nm. The hydrogen bonds between 1.6-hexanediol molecules and polyaniline chains serve as the driving force for the polyaniline chains to construct submicron-spheres. However, as the reaction proceeds, the solution acidity increases and the initially formed phenazine-like segments function as the nucleate for the free aniline monomers to polymerize through para -coupling linkage. This process forms polyaniline samples with a structure consisting of a core of phenazine-like units and a shell of para -linked units. In this stage, the newly formed para -linked aniline units exhibit an intrinsic tendency to transit the polyaniline morphology from submicron-spheres into nanofibers. These results indicate that a change in polyaniline structure during the polymerization process can produce different micro/nanostructures at different reaction stages. This finding provides a practical route for the further design and synthesis of different polyaniline micro/nanostructures.

This study reports the polymerization of aniline monomers in different HCl concentrations to investigate the formation mechanisms of one-dimensional polyaniline (PANI) nanostructures. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra indicate that the products obtained in different acidic solutions have different molecular structures. In low-acidity conditions (HCl concentration ≤0.1 M), aniline monomers form phenazine-like aniline units in the initial reaction stage. As the reaction continues, a structure consisting of a head of phenazine-like aniline units and a tail of para -linked aniline units develops. By contrast, the reaction only produces para -linked aniline units as the concentration of HCl increases to 0.2 M. PANI products with different molecular structures exhibit different shapes, including nanotubes and nanofibers. For nanotubes, electron microscopy images reveal the flake-like intermediates formed in the initial reaction stage and then curl into nanotubes as the reaction proceeds. The phenazine-like aniline units serve as the axis for PANI nanotube curling. On the other hand, the para -linked aniline units act as a template for the formation of PANI nanofibers. This study demonstrates the formation mechanisms of PANI nanotubes and nanofibers. The acid concentration in the polymerization solution is the critical factor determining whether the aniline monomers form nanotubes or nanofibers.

This study reports the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI) nanotubes with the introduction of methanol in aqueous solutions. SEM images indicate that well-dispersed PANI nanotubes are produced when the concentration of methanol increases up to 1 M. On the other hand, polymers primarily form irregular agglomerates when only monomers and oxidant are used in the absence of methanol. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the resulting nanotubes have an outer diameter of about 200 nm and an inner diameter of 0–50 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra indicate that the intermediate samples obtained at a reaction time of around 60 min have a structure consisting of a head of phenazine-like units and a tail of para -linked aniline units. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectra indicate that emeraldine salt polyaniline (ES-PANI) appears in sequence as the reaction time reaches 75 min. At the time interval of 60–75 min, the self-curling behavior of the PANI intermediates first appears at 60 min, and PANI nanotubes can be observed starting at 75 min. This is the first study to observe this self-curling process and propose that it explains the formation of PANI nanotubes. Noteworthily, the nanotubes transform into irregular agglomerates after a de-doping process.

A series of hydrocarbon membranes consisting of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were synthesized and characterized for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra confirm a semi-interpenetrating (SIPN) structure based on a cross-linked PVA/SSA network and penetrating PVP molecular chains. A SIPN membrane with 20% PVP (SIPN-20) exhibits a proton conductivity value comparable to Nafion ® 115 (1.0 × 10 −2 S cm −1 for SIPN-20 and 1.4 × 10 −2 S cm −1 for Nafion ® 115). Specifically, SIPN membranes reveal excellent methanol resistance for both sorption and transport properties. The methanol self-diffusion coefficient through a SIPN-20 membrane conducted by pulsed field-gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) technology measures 7.67 × 10 −7 cm 2 s −1 , which is about one order of magnitude lower than that of Nafion ® 115. The methanol permeability of SIPN-20 membrane is 5.57 × 10 −8 cm 2 s −1 , which is about one and a half order of magnitude lower than Nafion ® 115. The methanol transport behaviors of SIPN-20 and Nafion ® 115 membranes correlate well with their sorption characteristics. Methanol uptake in a SIPN-20 membrane is only half that of Nafion ® 115. An extended study shows that a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) made of SIPN-20 membrane exhibits a power density comparable to Nafion ® 115 with a significantly higher open current voltage. Accordingly, SIPN membranes with a suitable PVP content are considered good methanol barriers, and suitable for DMFC applications.

A series of semi-interpenetrating network (SIPN) membranes was synthesized by using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) as a cross-linking agent and poly(styrene sulfonic acid- co -maleic acid) (PSSA-MA) as a proton source for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application. A bridge of SSA between PVA molecules not only reinforced the network but also provided extra proton-conducting paths. PSSA-MA chains trapped in the network were the major proton conduction path of the membrane. The SIPN membranes with 80% PSSA-MA (SIPN-80) exhibited a higher proton conductivity value of 2.59 × 10 −2 S cm −1 and very low methanol permeability (4.1 × 10 −7 cm 2 s −1 ). More specifically, the SIPN membranes exhibited very high selectivity (proton conductivity/methanol permeability). Membrane characteristics such as water uptake, proton conductivity and methanol permeability were evaluated to determine the effect of PVA molecular weights. The SIPN membranes with higher PVA molecular weight were also evaluated using methanol and oxygen gas in a single cell fuel cell at various temperatures. Power density value of over 100 mW cm −2 was obtained for SIPN membrane-based membrane electrode assembly at 80 °C and using commercial binary alloy anode catalysts and 2 M methanol.

A series of promising proton conducting membranes have been synthesized by using poly(vinyl alcohol), with sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) as a cross-linking agent and poly(styrene sulfonic acid- co -maleic acid) (PSSA-MA) as proton source, which form a semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) PVA/SSA/PSSA-MA membrane. A bridge of SSA between PVA molecules not only reinforces the network but also provides extra proton conducting paths. PSSA-MA chains trapped in the network were the major sources of protons in the membrane. FT-IR spectra confirmed the success of the cross-linking reaction and molecular interactions between PVA and PSSA-MA. Associated characteristics of a proton conducting membrane including ion-exchange capacity (IEC), proton conductivity and water uptake were investigated. The measured IECs of the membranes increased with increase of PSSA-MA content varying from 20 to 80% and correlated well with the measured uptake water and proton conductivity. The semi-IPN membranes with PSSA-MA over 60% exhibited a higher proton conductivity than Nafion-115 and also a reasonable level of water uptake. Fuel cell performance of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) was evaluated at various temperatures with H 2 /air as well as H 2 /O 2 gases under ambient pressure. A power density of 0.7 W cm −2 was obtained for the MEA using PVA/SSA20/PSSA-MA80 membrane using H 2 /O 2 at 50 °C.

Tumor necrosis factor-α is a cytokine with a wide range of effects on both lymphoid and non-lymphoid cells. In this study, we identified polymorphisms in major histocompatibility complex class III gene in the 4th exon and the 3' untranslated region of tumor necrosis factor-α to evaluate the immunogenetic diversity of Chinese south indigenous goat. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified and showed similar frequencies in different except MI loci. These data suggest that the high immunodiversity of the tumor necrosis factor-α region within these breeds can be used for strengthening variety improvement and promoting animal husbandry development in Chinese indigenous goats.

The role of lipoxygenase (LOX) in the elicitor-induced taxol production of Taxus chinensis cell cultures was studied. Fungal elicitor F 5 treatment effectively increased LOX activity and taxol production. The LOX activity inhibitor phenidone could inhibit induced LOX activity and taxol production, suggesting that LOX pathway might be involved in elicitor-induced taxol production. Methyl jasmonate (MJ) also activated LOX activity and taxol production. Phenidone could inhibit LOX activity and taxol production challenged by MJ, suggesting that exogenous MJ may induce taxol production via activating the intracellular LOX pathway. For better understanding the role of LOX in T. chinensis , some biochemical features of LOX were also investigated. Results showed that at least 49.18% LOX was associated with membrane and the molecular weight of LOX was 93 kDa.

The general objective for this paper is to reveal the dynamic relationships between the rapid economic development, water pollution and the subsequent waste-load allocation in different economic sectors through a case-study in Shenzhen City, South China. Two-objective analysis model was employed based on the input-output table for Shenzhen with the full consideration of various constraints in local area. The improved Tchebycheff procedure was used for obtaining the solutions. The predictions were made on economic development and pollutants from wastewater in different sectors and different planning years. The present study allows for the consideration of the economic structural adjustment. It is found that the current situation of economic structure is generally good and is subject to further adjustment in Shenzhen, although it has undergone the rapid development in the past 18 years. When the maximum Gross Domestic Production and the minimum Chemical Oxygen Demand are chosen as the two objectives subject to other constraints, the harmonized results indicated a scheme that claims substantial reduction of polluting effluences in Shenzhen while closely keeping the economic growth rate as planned.

Spherulitic polyethylene was annealed at various temperatures up to 125°C. Small-angle X-ray scattering indicated that the long-period increased with annealing temperature from 35 to 54 nm, and was much larger than those of the solution-grown polyethylene single crystals. Partial deuteration was successfully applied to decrease the melting point mismatch between labeled and unlabeled polyethylene to minimize phase separation upon co-crystallization or thermal annealing for neutron scattering study. Small-angle neutron scattering on the spherulitic polyethylene revealed that its radius of gyration increased with annealing temperature similarly to the long-period. This is the first molecular response detected for thermally annealed semi-crystalline polymers.

To investigate the occurrence of superconductivity in the geometrically frustrated system, the V and Mn doping effects on the structure, electrical resistivity and superconducting transition temperature Tc of LiTi2O4 are studied, where LiTi2O4 is the only Spinel oxide superconductor and its isostructural compounds LiV2O4 and LiMn2O4 are claimed to be a 3d heavy fermion and a high-voltage electrolyte, respectively. The rapid increase of resistivity is observed in the Mn-doping samples, but the Tc is not correspondingly suppressed from magnetization measurement. However, it shows different behavior in the V-doping samples. The significance of V and Mn doping effects on LiTi2O4 and the electronic role of 3d transition metals in Spinel oxides are discussed. r 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Summary form only given. A novel deterministic approach to the convergence of (stochastic) learning algorithms is presented. The link is the new concept of time-average invariance which is a property of deterministic signals but resembles the realizations of stochastic signals that are ergodic and stationary. An unsupervised learning algorithm is considered. Signals are viewed as deterministic functions, but satisfy a property called time-average invariance. As such, deterministic-based analysis can be applied to stochastic-like signals. Consequently, the complexity of the convergence analysis is significantly reduced. >

Background: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) outbreaks in oung children in recent years. A significant increase in the numer of HFMD cases in China over the last 4y has made the public revention and therapy of this disease a critical issue. Enterovirus 1 (EV71) was the major causative agent of the HFMD outbreak nTianjin.Our objective is to analyze the clinical characteristics of cute flaccid paralysis (AFP) caused by EV71 HFMD. Methods: 10 cases HFMD (6 male, 4 female) complicated with FP were enrolled. The clinical manifestations were observed eanwhile the etiological results, spinal cordMRI findings, clinical lectroneurophysiology findings cerebrospinal fluid were colected. The recoveries of their impairment in limb extremitieswere ollowed up for 2 or 3 months. Results:AFP associatedwith enterovirus 71 infected HFMDwas articularly prevalent in children less than 2 years old, all of whom ad skin rash and fever. 70% of the cases had acute paralysis with ingle limb. Muscle power was initially improved in a week. All ases got obvious recovery in hospital and mild paralysis could ecover in 1 or 3 months. Findings of MRI and electroneurophysilogy were in highly accordance with clinical symptoms, both can rovide the basis of focal neurological signs. Being followedup for 2 r 3months, all children′smyodynamia of paralysis limbs gradually ecovered, 7 cases (70%) return to V grade. Conclusion: CNS involvement is the serious complication aused by EV71 infection and EV71 may be the great virus of nonolio enterovirus (NPEV). MRI and electroneurophysiology have mportant value to evaluate patients′ condition and prognosis. In cute stage, mortality and disability rate can be reduced effectively y all-around and actively intreatment. It is effective in clinical bservation by combined treatmentwith intravenous immue globlin (IVIG) and glucocorticoid.

This paper proposes a vector quantization technique which is referred to here as the Principal Component Vector Quantization algorithm. It also proposes an artificial neural network with an on-line learning algorithm for codebook design, encoding, and decoding. For unknown distribution cases, the proposed technique can be implemented directly without calling for repeated use of training sequences. The main features of the proposed technique include (i) codebook design complexity is only linearly proportional to the codebook size; (ii) encoding complexity is in the order of that of typical tree structured schemes. (iii) The proposed scheme is suitable for coding video sequences which may involve nonstationary training sequences. Note that the same neural network structure can be used to implement general full-search vector quantization algorithms, featuring constant encoding time which is independent of the codebook size.

SUMMARY We have studied the effects of subconvulsive doses of lignocaine on circulatory function in five conscious, chronically instrumented sheep. In the absence of overt signs of central nervous system toxicity, 50–, 75– or 100-mg i.v. bolus doses of lignocaine induced reductions in myocardial contractility, as assessed by the maximum rate of increase in left ventricular pressure (L V dP/dtmax, of 17 (SD4)%, 25 (4)% and 33 (4)%, respectively. The durations of these reductions in myocardial contractility were 2–3.5 min. There were no significant changes in cardiac output, coronary artery blood flow, mean arterial pressure, heart rate or left ventricular systolic and diastolic pressures. It is concluded that the initial toxic effects of lignocaine are on the heart rather than the central nervous system, as is generally believed. This negative inotropic effect of lignocaine in vivo may be more deleterious to myocardial function when the heart is compromised by pre-existing disease, or the co-administration of other myocardial depressive drugs.

The detection of stochastic signals in non- but nearly-Gaussian noise with an unknown probability density function is investigated. The approach here is based on a Gram- Charlier series expansion on the noise pdf and the use of its statistical moments. A case study, which uses the e-contaminated mixture noise model, is presented to investigate some technical issues associated with the Gram-Charlier series including convergence and other irregularities. Examining the receiver operating curves, the proposed detector based on series expansion is found to be less sensitive to model deviations than the Neyman-Pearson optimal detectors.

The “straw man” analysis is based on the assumption that the accessible unit and locking unit are both a record occurrence (or a tuple); consequently the results cannot be applied when a locking unit is a large granule such as an area, a file, an index (or a data) block. In this study, the probabilities of a transaction's waits and deadlocks are derived when the accessible unit is a data object and the locking unit is a granule. The results can be used to explain a transaction's wait and deadlock situations for (1) various sizes of a granule and (2) different distributions of data objects accessed by a transaction. To determine the degree of consistency between a theoretical result and an experimental test, a simulation model is set, and the experimental results are nearly consistent with the probabilistic model.

A novel approach to solving the problem of signal separation under model uncertainties and unknown source signal characteristics is proposed. The approach features the incorporation of blind identification with clustering techniques. The approach is capable of estimating source locations and source signals under various uncertain conditions including unknown sensor gains, unknown combinations of near-field and far-field sources, unknown combinations of wideband and narrowband sources, unknown source spectral characteristics (their spectra may be overlapping or non-overlapping), and unknown number of signals. >