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The link between winter sea ice cover in the Barents Sea (SICBS) and the frequency of spring dust weather over North China (DWFNC) is investigated. It is found that year-to-year variability of SICBS and DWFNC are strongly correlated for the period 1996–2014 with a correlation coefficient of −0.65, whereas the correlation between SICBS and DWFNC is not statistically significant for the periods 1980–2014 and 1980–1995. During 1996–2014, low winter SICBS is associated with decreased snow cover over western Siberia (SCWS) in both winter and spring, which is also supported by a strengthening relationship between winter SICBS and spring SCWS since the mid-1990s. This leads to changes in atmospheric circulation and climate conditions that are favorable for increased frequency of dust weather events over North China. Our further analysis suggests that the interannual variability of the standard deviation of SICBS has intensified and the center of actions has moved eastward to the north Barents Sea and Kara Sea since the mid-1990s. Such change may easily induce stronger and southward stationary Rossby wave train propagation, influencing the dust-related atmospheric circulation (strengthened East Asian subtropical jet, increased cyclogenesis, and larger atmospheric thermal instability). Thus interannual variation of winter SICBS plays an increasingly important role in dust-related climate conditions over North China, which might serve as a new precursor for the prediction of spring dust activity in North China.

We reconstructed the first genome-scale metabolic network of the plant pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum PC1 based on its genomic sequence, annotation, and physiological data. Metabolic characteristics were analyzed using flux balance analysis (FBA), and the results were afterwards validated by phenotype microarray (PM) experiments. The reconstructed genome-scale metabolic model, iPC1209, contains 2235 reactions, 1113 metabolites and 1209 genes. We identified 19 potential bactericide targets through a comprehensive in silico gene-deletion study. Next, we performed virtual screening to identify candidate inhibitors for an important potential drug target, alkaline phosphatase, and experimentally verified that three lead compounds were able to inhibit both bacterial cell viability and the activity of alkaline phosphatase in vitro. This study illustrates a new strategy for the discovery of agricultural bactericides.

Lauraceae is among the largest and floristically most important woody plant families in subtropical and tropical zones. However, the Cenozoic fossil records of Lauraceae are mostly from mid-latitude regions. Here we described eight lauraceous species from the Oligocene of Ningming, Guangxi, South China on the basis of leaf compressions with cuticular structure, providing new evidence for high diversity of Lauraceae in the low latitude region of the northern hemisphere during the late Paleogene. The extant genera to which the Ningming Oligocene fossils are possibly closely related include Cinnamomum , Neolitsea , Litsea , Alseodaphne , Laurus , and Beilschmiedia . All of these extant genera except Laurus still exist in Guangxi today, whereas Laurus is currently distributed in the Mediterranean and adjacent regions. A cladistic analysis based on leaf architectural and leaf cuticular characters for Paleogene Lauraceae species in the world indicated a possible relationship between European and East Asian Paleogene species.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cell therapy for solid carcinomas.We performed a computerized search of phase II/III clinical trial databases of CIK cell-based therapy using a combination of the terms 'cytokine-induced killer cells', 'tumor' and 'cancer'.Treatment with CIK cells was associated with a significantly improved half-year survival (P = 0.003), 1-year survival (P = 0.0005), 2-year survival (P0.01) and mean survival time (MST) (P0.001). Patients in the CIK group showed a prolonged half-year progression-free survival (PFS) (P0.01), 1-year PFS (P0.01) and median time to progression (MTTP) (P0.001). A favored disease control rate (DCR) was observed in patients receiving CIK cell therapy, while the objective response rate (ORR) was not altered (P = 0.05) compared with the non-CIK group (P = 0.007). CIK cell therapy could also reduce the adverse effects of grade III and IV leukopenia caused by chemotherapy (P = 0.002) and diminish hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA content (P0.01). However, the incidence of fever in the CIK therapy group was significantly higher than in the non-CIK group (P = 0.02). The percentage of CD3(+), CD4(+), CD4(+)CD8(+), CD3(-) CD56(+) and CD3(+) CD56(+) T-lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of cancer patients was significantly increased, whereas the percentage of CD8(+) T-lymphocyte cells was significantly decreased in the CIK group compared with the non-CIK group (P0.01).CIK cell therapy has demonstrated a significant superiority in prolonging the MST, PFS, DCR and quality of life (QoL) of patients.

This paper applies extension comprehensive evaluation method to evaluate resources value flow (RVF) efficiency of coal-fired power plant (CFPP) in the development of circular economy, analyzes the influence factors of resource value efficiency level, and establishes the matter-element evaluation model of RVF efficiency for CFPP. It also illustrates the application process of extension comprehensive evaluation method through case studies, simply reflecting the efficiency level of RVF in CFPP.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Calocedrus is among the genera with a typical eastern Asian-western North American disjunct distribution today. The origin of its modern distribution pattern can be better understood by examining its fossil record. METHODS The present article reports for the first time a new fossil species of this genus based on compressed material from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China, in its present major distribution area in eastern Asia. KEY RESULTS Calocedrus huashanensis sp. nov. is most similar to the two extant eastern Asian species, C. macrolepis and C. formosana, in gross morphology of foliage shoots and bears a close resemblance to the latter in cuticle structure. It shows a general similarity to the North American fossil representatives of the genus in alternately branched foliage shoots but is clearly different from the European Paleogene species characterized by oppositely branched leafy shoots. CONCLUSIONS This discovery provides new evidence for the floristic exchange of this genus between eastern Asia and North America before the Oligocene (most likely in the Eocene), presumably via the Bering land bridge. The flattened leafy shoots and dimorphic leaves with thin cuticle, open stomatal pits, and shallowly sunken guard cells of the present fossils suggest a rather humid climate during the Oligocene in the Ningming area, South China.

It is based on the monitoring result a motor of 1600KW start of petro-chemical oil refinery in Urumqi , the paper probe and analyze that high-capacity motor’s start exercise bad influence over the power quality of circuit: voltage sag and harmonics current, and take some improving actions based on its features.

A new soap-free water-borne coating (solid content ca. 35 wt %) has been obtained by adding the coordination-crosslinking agent M(NH3)42+ into the —COO−-containing polyacrylate hydrosol (P—COO−). The transmission electron microscope analysis has been used to investigate the coordination-crosslinking process of the polyacrylate hydrosol with Zn(NH3)42+ in the water-borne coating of low concentration (solid content ca. 0.05 wt %). The existence of the coordination-crosslinking polymer (P—COO−)nM2+) both in the water-borne coating of low concentration (solid content ca. 0.3 wt %) and in the coating film has been detected by the linear sweep voltammetry polarographic analysis, ultraviolet-visible spectrographic analysis, and IR spectrographic analysis. All the experimental results show that the polyacrylate hydrosol (P—COO−) can take the coordination-crosslinking reaction with metal ion M2+ to form the coordination polymer [(P—COO−)nM2+]. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2457–2463, 1997

The effect of the amount of triethanolamine zirconium isopropyloxide chelate in acrylate terpolymer soap-free hydrosol on the properties of hydrosol and its film was studied. The addition of the chelate increased the hydrosol viscosity to 20 mPas and improved the hydrosol film water resistance; the water uptake was reduced to 0.6%, and the hydrosol still retained good resolubility. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 2858–2860, 2003

To evaluate the feasibility and safety of the modified urethral pull-through procedure for the treatment of posterior urethral stricture or atresia.We retrospectively analyzed 212 cases of posterior urethral stricture or atresia treated by the modified urethral pull-through procedure. The length of the stricture or atresia was 1.5 - 12 cm, and 66 cases had experienced 1 - 4 previous unsuccessful urethral repairs. Simple transperineal approach was adopted in 208 cases and transperineal-inferiorpubic approach in the other 4. And 15 of the patients underwent urethral construction with grafts.Satisfactory voiding was achieved in 198 (93.4%) of the patients, of whom 16 received 3 - 15 urethral dilations. Of the 14 cases that failed, 10 succeeded after a second and 2 after a third operation. Of the 15 cases that underwent substitution urethroplasty, 14 achieved satisfactory voiding, and only 1 needed repeat dilation. No serious complications were observed in any of the patients.Modified urethral pull-through procedure, with its advantages of safety, mini-invasiveness, simple operation and high success rate, is feasible for the treatment of posterior urethral stricture or atresia, while for that with the length5 cm, substitution urethroplasty should be considered.

A hybrid inference framework is presented in which the aim is to select decision models through natural language in knowledge-based decision support system. In situations in which the rules that determine a system are uncertain and incomplete, the knowledge elicitation, maintenance and update of the rule-based system can be the problematic tasks. In such a situation, it has been found that a hybrid case-based and rule-based reasoning framework can provide a more effective and accurate means of performing such selection than other statistical methods and models. The hybrid framework results in capturing knowledge in context by storage of the case that prompted a new rule to be added, which aims at the unwanted side effects associated with typical rule reasoning system. This framework has been used to determine the inventory models in the decision support system. The results obtained from the experiment are presented with the both efficiency-improving and accuracy-improving.