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Methotrexate (MTX) is the first-line medicine to treat psoriasis. So far, there has been less research on protein biomarkers to predict its efficacy by the proteomic technique.To evaluate differentially expressed proteins in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) between good responders (GRs) and non-responders (NRs) after MTX treatment, compared with normal controls (NCs).We quantified protein expression of PBMCs with four GRs and four NRs to MTX and four NCs by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), analysing and identifying proteins related to efficacy of MTX in 18 psoriatic patients.A total of 3177 proteins had quantitative information, and 403 differentially expressed proteins (fold change ≥1.2, P 0.05) were identified. Compared to NCs, upregulated proteins (ANXA6, RPS27A, EZR, XRCC6), participating in the activation of NF-κB, the JAK-STAT pathway and neutrophil degranulation were detected in GRs. The proteins (GPV, FN1, STOM), involving platelet activation, signalling and aggregation as well as neutrophil degranulation were significantly downregulated in GRs. These proteins returned to normal levels after MTX treatment. Furthermore, Western blotting identified the expression of ANXA6 and STAT1 in PBMCs, which were significantly downregulated in GRs, but not in NRs.We identified seven differentially expressed and regulated proteins (ANXA6, GPV, FN1, XRCC6, STOM, RPS27A and EZR) as biomarkers to predict MTX efficacy in NF-κB signalling, JAK-STAT pathways, neutrophil degranulation, platelet activation, signalling and aggregation.

SUMMARYSaline-sodic soils are widely distributed in the western Songnen Plain of Northeast China and planting rice has been found to be an effective and feasible approach for improving saline-sodic soil and increasing food production. Assessment of the effectiveness and sustainability of this method requires monitoring of the changes in soil salinity and nutrient content. The objective of the current study was to investigate the changes of soil salinity and nitrogen (N) contents over 1, 3, 6 and 9 years of cultivation, four application rates of N (N0: no N, N1: 100 kg N/ha, N2: 200 kg N/ha and N3: 300 kg N/ha) and two irrigation water types: ground water irrigation (GWI) and river water irrigation (RWI). Salinity and N contents of soil and water samples were analysed before planting and after harvest throughout the experiments. Soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC), especially in the surface layer of 0–40 cm depth, decreased with years of cultivation with both GWI and RWI, while soil inorganic N and total N contents increased. Moreover, with increasing N application rates, soil inorganic N and total N contents increased significantly in the 0–20 cm soil layer. Increasing N application had little effect on soil pH and EC. Reclaiming and planting rice promoted desalination of the surface and formation of a fertile tillage layer in saline-sodic paddy fields. In terms of irrigation and drainage in saline-sodic paddy fields, both soil salinity and N contents increased. Soil total salinity increased annually by 34 and 12·8 kg/ha, and inorganic N contents increased annually by 9 and 13·5 kg/ha with GWI and RWI, respectively. Therefore, comprehensive agricultural practices should be adopted for improving and cropping rice in saline-sodic paddy fields.

We investigated a possible association of collagen IX tryptophan (Trp) alleles (Trp2 and Trp3) and smoking with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) in 172 Chinese patients and 176 age- and gender-matched controls. The smoking status was evaluated by smoking index (SI). The CSM cases had a significantly higher prevalence of Trp2 alleles (Trp2+) than controls (19.8 vs 6.2%, P = 0.002), but the prevalence of Trp3 alleles (Trp3+) was similar between the two groups (23.3 vs 21.6%, P = 0.713). Logistic regression analyses showed that the subjects with Trp2+ had a higher risk for CSM. We thus analyzed whether smoking status influenced the association between Trp2 alleles and CSM risk. Among Trp2+ subjects with an SI less than 100, the smoking status did not influence the effect of risk for SCM [odds ratio (OR) = 1.34, 95% confidential interval (95%CI) = 0.85-2.18, P > 0.05]. When SI increased from 101 to 300, the OR for CSM reached 3.34 (95%CI = 2.11-5.67, P = 0.011); when SI was more than 300, the OR for CSM reached 5.56 (95%CI = 3.62-7.36, P < 0.001). Among Trp2- subjects with SI more than 300, the OR for CSM increased 2.14 (95%CI = 1.15-4.07, P = 0.024). We found a significant association between the Trp2 alleles and CSM risk and smoking amplifies this risk, suggesting that smoking abstinence is important for reducing CSM occurrence in subjects with high genetic risk.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Primary chordoma in the nasal cavity and nasopharynx is an extremely rare tumor in the extraosseous axial skeleton. Unlike intracranial chordomas, lesions in these sites primarily present as a soft tissue mass without involvement of the skull base bone (clivus), so the preoperative diagnosis of the tumor is possibly difficult. Here, we reviewed the imaging features of 5 cases of chordomas in the nasal cavity and nasopharynx that resulted in successful diagnosis and differential diagnosis of this rare tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied 5 patients with histologically proven chordomas in the nasal cavity and nasopharynx. The lesion features of CT and MR imaging were reviewed, with emphasis on the size, shape, location, margin, calcification, CT attenuation characteristics, signal intensity, and degree of MR imaging enhancement. RESULTS: Expansible and lobular soft tissue masses were mainly present, with irregular intratumor calcification in all 5 cases on CT examination. MR imaging revealed a well-defined tumor with heterogeneous signal intensity in 4 patients, whereas homogeneous signal intensity in 1 patient was present on all pulse sequences. Four cases of nasopharyngeal mass showed mild to moderate heterogenous enhancement. Intratumor septa could be seen in 2 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Although no imaging features are pathognomonic, primary chordomas without skull base (clivus) bony changes in the nasal cavity and nasopharynx have some CT and MR imaging findings that are suggestive of diagnosis. The differential diagnosis of the soft tissue mass should be limited to these sites.

A simplified one-dimensional model, accounting for thermal errors related to high speed spindle of 5-axis CNC machine tools, is developed, and the relationship between heat sources of rotating spindle and thermal deformation in axial direction is found with the help of Fourier’s law for heat transfer under two different boundary conditions. Based on the theory of homogeneous coordinate transformation in robotic, the transformation matrixes between the coordinate system of kinematic pairs and the relationship between errors and compensations are obtained, through which the compensation of thermal errors in high speed motorized spindle is obtainable.

Investigation has been performed on the interlayer coupling between two Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy separated by Cr spacers. As a function of the Cr spacer thickness, only ferromagnetic interlayer coupling has been observed between the two Co/Pt multilayers in contrast to the oscillatory interlayer coupling between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic observed in ferromagnetic layers with in-plane anisotropy separated by Cr spacers. It is the strength of the ferromagnetic interlayer coupling that has been observed to be oscillatory as a function of the Cr spacer thickness with a period of about 7 A.

The coercivity of a Co/Pt multilayer with out-of-plane anisotropy can be lowered greatly if it is grown onto an ultrathin NiO underlayer . By making use of this characteristic, a series of samples glass/NiO(10 A)/[Co(4 A)/Pt(5 A)]3/Pt(x A)/[Co(4 A)/Pt(5 A)]3 with different Pt spacer thickness have been prepared to determine the ferromagnetic (FM) coupling between Co layers across the Pt layer. The measurements of major and minor hysteresis loops have shown that the FM coupling between the top and bottom Co/Pt multilayers decreases monotonically with the Pt layer thickness and disappears above the Pt layer thickness of 40 A. This thickness of 40 A is much larger than that in the literature. In addition to the FM coupling between the top and bottom Co/Pt multilayers across the Pt spacer, there exists a weak biquadratic coupling, which induces the broad transition of the bottom Co/Pt multilayer.

The magnetic properties of nanocrystalline melt spun rare earth–iron–boron alloys based on Nd or Pr and on Nd–Pr mixtures are compared for a wide range of RE:Fe ratio. Their magnetic properties are compared with those of corresponding alloy ribbons based on Nd. The Pr containing alloys have generally higher coercivity than their Nd counterparts because of the higher anisotropy constant of the Pr2Fe14B phase. Co substitution for Fe increases the Curie temperature and thermal stability for the nanophase alloys. Excellent magnetic property combinations were achieved for single phase Pr12(Fe100−xCox)82B6 (x=0–20) alloys, processed by overquenching and devitrification annealing. In contrast, in the case of nanocomposite Pr10(Fe100−xCox)84B6 alloys, based on Pr2Fe14B/α-Fe mixtures, only for 30% substitution of Fe by Co could useful enhancement of (BH)max be achieved, due to generally rather coarse α-Fe crystallites.

The effects of various substitutions of M (M=Al, Ti, Hf) on the microstructure and magnetic properties of melt-spun nanocomposite Pr 8.5 (Fe 0.9 Co 0.1 ) 84.5 M 1 B 6 alloys have been investigated. The magnetic property improvement for Hf doping is discussed in terms of the grain refinement and of a more uniform nanostructure.

Saturation magnetostriction and coercivity of Fe78−xCoxNb6B16−yCuy (x=18,39,60; y=0,1) alloys annealed at different temperatures have been studied. Coercivity behaviour at the early stages of nanocrystallisation is described on the basis of the contribution to the overall magnetostriction of the residual amorphous and nanocrystalline phases.

Experiments have been conducted to investigate the possibility of producing aluminium aerospace-alloys, with properties similar to those of the powder metallurgical alloy AA5091, by the potentially cheaper route of spray-casting and severe deformation. Two alloys with compositions based on the commercial alloy AA5091 were spray-cast to obtain a large density of Al3(Zr,Ti) dispersoids as a substitute for the oxide and carbide particles present in AA5091. The materials were subsequently severely deformed using equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) to effective strains as high as ten. After deformation the grain sizes in both materials were as fine as 0.3–0.6 μm, while the fraction of high angle grain boundary area was >70%. The severely deformed alloys were stable up to 400 °C, but at higher temperatures abnormal grain growth was observed initiated by the heterogeneous distribution of dispersoid particles inherited from the spray-castings. Encouragingly, for similar heat-treatment conditions, the yield strengths of the experimental materials were found to be comparable to the values specified for the commercial alloy AA5091 while the ductilities were up to three times higher.

Guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP), as a second messenger, plays potential roles in ovarian functions. To elucidate the role of phosphodiesterase (PDE) in cGMP signaling during ovarian follicular development, the present study was conducted to investigate ovarian cGMP level and cGMP-PDE activity by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in postnatal rats, immature rats during gonadotropin-primed follicular development, ovulation and luteinization, adult rats during normal estrous cycle, and aged rats that spontaneously developed persistent estrus (PE). All four rat models were confirmed by histological examination of one ovary, and the other ovary was used for RIA. In postnatal rats, cGMP level was high at birth and decreased dramatically by Day 5, and then, it increased maximally at Day 10 and declined at Day 21. However, cGMP-PDE activity did not significantly change during Days 1 to 10, but increased significantly on Day 21. In immature female rats, cGMP level markedly decreased upon treatment with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), while cGMP-PDE activity did not show any significant changes; however, ovarian cGMP level and cGMP-PDE activity increased after injection of an ovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) for induction of ovulation and luteinization. In adult rats during normal estrous cycle, cGMP level was high on proestrus and metestrus days, while cGMP-PDE activity was high on estrus day. In PE rats, ovarian cGMP level was similar to that in adult rats on estrus and diestrus days but lower than that on proestrus and metestrus days; ovarian cGMP-PDE activity was lower than that on estrus days but similar as the other estrous cycle days. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between ovarian cGMP level and cGMP-PDE activity during normal estrous cycles in the adult rat (r = -0.7715, N = 16, P0.05), but not in the postnatal rat (r = -0.1055, N = 20, P0.05). Together, the results of our present study indicated that ovarian cGMP levels were not dependent on cGMP-PDE activity during early postnatal development, but highly dependent on cGMP-PDE activity in the adult rat. This implies that mechanisms of cGMP signaling involved in ovarian functions are stage-specific in the rat.

The magneto-impedance (MI) effect in the tensile stress-annealed Fe-based nanocrystalline Fe 73 Cu 1 Nb 1.5 V 2 Si 13.5 B 9 ribbons is investigated. The position and amplitude of the MI peak vary with the stress which was longitudinally applied during annealing. The maximum MI exists in the sample annealed under the optimal stress of 49 MPa, which is attributed to the good compromise of the well-defined transverse magnetic structure and superior magnetic softness.

Studies of cavitation in Y-TZP during superplastic flow have been made for both tensile and compressive deformation conditions. It was observed that the morphologies of cavities near the fracture faces of tensile specimens varied markedly with testing conditions and in most cases differed from those near the gauge heads. Two quite different forms of cavitation behaviour were observed leading to high and low strains to failure, respectively. For optimum conditions of superplastic flow, of high temperature/low strain rate (low stress), when large elongations were observed, cavities were either spherical or elongated parallel to the tensile axis. Those near the fracture face interlinked in a plastic (necking) mode to give transverse cavities and subsequent failure. At high strain rate/low temperature (high stress), transverse intergranular cracking played a dominant role in failure at low elongations. For intermediate conditions of temperature/strain rate, elongated cavities developed parallel to the tensile axis, but near the fracture face these usually interlinked by transverse cracking. These conditions were associated with intermediate elongations to failure. For the assessment of cavity growth mechanisms, artificial pores were introduced into fine grain Y-TZP specimens and changes in their shape and size during tensile or compressive deformation were investigated. Results show that the change of pore volume, in the superplastic regime, is controlled by plastic deformation of the matrix and can be described by the relationship of dR/dɛ = ;ηR, where ɛ is the true strain, η the cavity growth rate parameter and R is the radius of the pore.

In order to examine the quantum size effects on the heavy-fermion behavior in CeAl2, we have performed measurements of the low-temperature specific heats for CeAl2 nanoparticles with average particle size 80A for temperature down to 80mK. For 80A — nanoparticles the magnitude of γ of CeAl2 can be as high as 3600mJ/K2 f.u. at T = 80mK with TK ≈ 0.65K. Compared with the sharp anti-ferromagnetic order (TN = 3.8K) in bulk CeAl2 only a blurred peak at same temperatures is observed in CeAl2 nanoparticles. Due to the suppression of the long-range magnetic order by the limited geometric size and the less degeneracy of the density of states of conduction electrons D(ϵF) the enhanced heavy-fermion behavior (in terms of γ) and the disappearance of magnetic order in CeAl2 nanoparticles are attributed to the quantum size effects in nanoparticles.

The induced defects and their distribution in a-Si:H/a-SiN x :H multilayers are determined using an electromagnetic technique (EMT) and positron annihilation technique (PAT). It is found that the distributions of the induced defects in the interface regions on both sides of the a-Si:H sublayer are asymmetric and related to the growth direction of the film; a large number of induced defects are found only in the interface region away from the substrate.

Quantitative investigations on pore growth in a tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (TZP) and a doped alumina have been carried out under both tension and compression. Results show that the change of pore morphology during both tensile and compressive superplastic deformation is controlled by plastic deformation of the matrix material and can be described by the relationship of dR/dg3 = ηR, where e is the true strain and η is a coefficient and R is the radius of the pore. For compressive deformation, the pore shrinkage is controlled by superplastic deformation such that η c = −η t . Cracks associated with the artificial pores in the doped alumina are clearly caused by local stress concentrations at the pores. The absence of pore-induced cracks in the TZP may be due to the more “metallic” behaviour of TZP compared to the doped alumina.

The present work has demonstrated the ability of fine grained alumina containing small additions of copper oxide or nickel oxide to undergo superplastic tensile flow. The effect of small levels of porosity on superplastic behaviour has been examined using specimens subjected to HIP. This provides an effective way of controlling the density of ceramic materials while avoiding appreciable grain growth. Results showed that low density specimens tended to have higher superplastic elongations to failure than higher density specimens. In the latter case, long cracks developed during deformation and grew perpendicular to the tensile axis; this led to premature failure. The uniformly distributed pores in the lower density specimens provided sites for both crack initiation and crack arrest, leading to a large number of short cracks, and to higher failure strains. TEM observations gave evidence of significant dislocation activity in grain boundary regions of the deformed materials and this is tentatively interpreted in terms of the electronic contributions of the dopants to dislocation mobility.

Recent developments in the understanding of the mechanical behavior of ceramics assessed for superplastic deformation indicate that stoichiometric changes at interfaces and an associated “metallic” behaviour can account for the superplastic behaviour in the absence of a grain boundary glassy phase. Based on the experimental work carried out in Manchester and elsewhere, a “superplastic partition” is observed in ceramics which corresponds to a direct relationship with stoichiometric changes and a related “metallic” behaviour in ceramics. These changes in stoichiometry and the associated “metallic” behaviour can provide mechanisms for resistance to cavity nucleation and propagation, respectively. When this observation is linked with the Gifkins core-mantle concept and the findings of Mott, Cottrell and Gilman on insulator-metal transitions, this yields an improved appreciation of the superplastic partition in ceramics.

The stress state during “simple” superplastic bulge forming (without a back pressure) is different from that when a back pressure is applied. In the former procedure, specimens or components are deformed under a biaxial tensile stress state, while in the latter, the deformation is achieved under the combination of a biaxial tensile stress and a uniaxial compressive stress state. Both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that when a back pressure is present, the deformation cannot be treated as simply governed by the difference between the forming pressure and the back pressure. The analytical expressions for the forming relationships and the influence of back pressure on experimental m-log $$\dot \varepsilon _e $$ (where m is the strain-rate sensitivity and $$\dot \varepsilon _e $$ is the equivalent tensile strain rate for bulge forming) relationships for Zn-22 wt% Al and Zn-4 wt% Al-1% Cu are given. Results show that with increasing back pressure, the m-log $$\dot \varepsilon _e $$ curve shifted towards higher strain rates, but the maximum m values were not affected.

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field. © 2012 Landes Bioscience.

To evaluate the effect of porosity on superplasticity behavior, it is essential to use materials of similar initial grain sizes. This can be achieved by HIPing, which provides an effective way of reducing initial porosity while avoiding appreciable grain growth; various levels of porosity can be achieved for similar grain sizes. This note is concerned with the influence of porosity on superplasticity tensile deformation of a fine grained high-purity alumina doped with copper oxide and containing a grain growth inhibitor. Specimens were prepared by slip casting to net-shape and sintering; some presintered specimens were HIPed to reduce porosity. The subsequent superplasticity behavior is related to porosity in the material.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: MDCT has some specific scan parameters that may systematically increase or decrease radiation dose to patients. This study explored the scan protocol parameters that impact radiation dose in temporal bone MDCT and determined the optimal scan parameters that balance radiation dose with diagnostic image quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using exsomatized cadaveric heads, traditional axial scanning, and helical scanning were performed with different detector collimations. Helical scans of the same scan region were then acquired by using the determined optimal detector collimation and various tube voltages, whereas other scan parameters remained fixed. Next, the scans were repeated by using various tube current-time products by using the determined optimal tube voltage. Last, with fixed tube current-time product, the scans were repeated with various pitches. All thin-section, helically acquired scans were reformatted to axial and coronal images with respect to the relevant scanning baseline. In each of the image volumes, the mean and SD HU values in regions of interest were measured in the central section of the internal auditory canal, and CNR values were calculated. RESULTS: In agreement with theory, wider detector collimations such as 16 × 0.625 mm and 64 × 0.625 mm were associated with lower radiation doses than narrower collimations due to their lower overbeaming and higher geometric efficiency. In helical scanning, the detector collimation of 16 × 0.625 mm had higher image quality and the minimum DLP. Axial and coronal images acquired by using a 140-kVp tube voltage had significantly lower noise than scans acquired at 120 or 80 kVp with equivalent volume CT dose index. Diagnostic image quality was achieved when using a minimum tube current-time product of 120 mAs. Noise, CNR, and dose were jointly optimized with a pitch of 0.685. CONCLUSIONS: Temporal bone CT scanning parameters may be optimized by following a systematic procedure that allows for the optimization of diagnostic image quality and the minimization of radiation dose. One such procedure for a particular 64-section MDCT scanner has been presented.

Consider the following neutral delay differential equationwhere p ∈ R, τ ∈ (0, ∞), δ ∈ R+ = (0, ∞) and Q ∈ (C([t0, ∞), R). We show that ifthen Equation (*)has a nonoscillatory solution when p ≠ –1. We also deal in detail with a conjecture of Chuanxi, Kulenovic and Ladas, and Györi and Ladas.

An experimental method has been developed to study the effects of different forming procedures, including constant pressure, constant apex velocity, constant apex strain rate (and, indeed, any arbitrary forming operation), on the strain rate sensitivity index m–log (strain rate ɛ) curve for the bulge forming of domes. The materials examined were Zn–22Al and Zn–4Al–1Cu alloys (both wt-%) supplied in the form of crossrolled superplastic sheet. The results show that the optimum forming operation, which is defined as the procedure that maintains strain rate sensitivity at the highest level for a wide range of strain rate, involves deformation at a constant apex strain rate.MST/1580

Two-stage matrix converter (TSMC) is a kind of new matrix converter developed on the basis of the conventional nine-switch matrix converter and, by virtue of its advantages, more suitable for serving as the exciter of doubly-fed wind power generation system. This paper made a deep analysis to the topology structure of TSMC and took accordingly the PWM space vector and zero current commutation to research its control strategy and commutation strategy. A simulation model based on Matlab/ Simulink is built for the TSMC, and the simulation confirmed the feasibility and validity of control scheme.

SUMMARY: We observed 2 cases of malignant melanoma arising from the eustachian tube with MR imaging. In this region, we explored further characteristics of primary mucosal melanoma. We discuss the value of using MR imaging to diagnose and treat patients with melanoma in the eustachian tube. In addition, we introduce the key points to differentiate melanoma from some common diseases in the region.