EFFECT OF “TAI CHI” EXERCISE ONANTIOXIDANT ENZYMESACTIVITIESAND IMMUNITYFUNCTION IN MIDDLE-AGED PARTICIPANTS

Background: “Tai Chi” is a useful exercise that increases physical strength and relax the mind. Materials and Methods: The study investigates effect of “tai chi” exercise on antioxidant enzymes activities and immunity function in participants. These participants were randomly divided into two groups: “tai chi” exercise group (n=25) and control group (n=25). The participants in the “tai chi” group performed “tai chi” exercise for 1 h every day. The participants in the control group didn’t perform “tai chi”. The exercise lasts for half a year. Results: “tai chi” exercise increased antioxidant enzymes activities and improve immunity function in participants. Conclusion: “tai chi” exercise is useful for health-keep of participants

Uterine cytokine profiles after low-molecular-weight heparin administration are associated with pregnancy outcomes of patients with repeated implantation failure

IntroductionLow molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) plays a role in repeated implantation failure (RIF), but outcomes are controversial. LMWH can potentially modulate local immune responses associated with the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The study aimed to explore the effects of LWMH in uterine inflammatory cytokine profiles and pregnancy outcomes of patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF) but without thrombophilia.MethodsWe compared clinical characteristics and reproductive outcomes among 326 patients with RIF, but not thrombophilia, undergoing frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle with or without LMWH treatment. Endometrium secretions were aspirated from both groups after 3 days of progesterone administration before and after LMWH treatment. Cytokine mRNA expression was analyzed in primary endometrial cells in vitro.ResultsThe clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates did not significantly differ between the groups (31.5% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.15; 29.6% vs. 20.7%, p = 0.06). Concentrations of IL-6 and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in uterine secretions were significantly increased in the LWMH group, regardless of pregnancy outcomes (P < 0.05). And, in all patients treated with LWMH, those of secreted IL-6, IL-15 and G-CSF were significantly increased in pregnant group (P < 0.05). The expression of mRNA for G-CSF and IL-6 was significantly increased in human endometrial stromal cells in vitro (P < 0.05) after stimulation with LWMH (10 IU/mL).ConclusionsUterine cytokine profiles after LMWH administration are associated with pregnancy outcomes and LMWH may be beneficial for patients with three implantation failures who do not have coagulation disorders

Heat shock transcription factor 1 preserves cardiac angiogenesis and adaptation during pressure overload

To examine how heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) protects against maladaptive hypertrophy during pressure overload, we subjected HSF1 transgenic (TG), knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice to a constriction of transverse aorta (TAC), and found that cardiac hypertrophy, functions and angiogenesis were well preserved in TG mice but were decreased in KO mice compared to WT ones at 4 weeks, which was related to HIF-1 and p53 expression. Inhibition of angiogenesis suppressed cardiac adaptation in TG mice while overexpression of angiogenesis factors improved maladaptive hypertrophy in KO mice. In vitro formation of vasculatures by microvascular endothelial cells was higher in TG mice but lower in KO mice than in WT ones. A siRNA of p53 but not a HIF-1 gene significantly reversed maladaptive hypertrophy in KO mice whereas a siRNA of HIF-1 but not a p53 gene induced maladaptive hypertrophy in TG mice. Heart microRNA analysis showed that miR-378 and miR-379 were differently changed among the three mice after TAC, and miR-378 or siRNA of miR-379 could maintain cardiac adaptation in WT mice. These results indicate that HSF1 preserves cardiac adaptation during pressure overload through p53-HIF-1-associated angiogenesis, which is controlled by miR-378 and miR-379

Robust dynamic output feedback control for switched polytopic systems under asynchronous switching

The robust controller design problem for switched polytopic systems under asynchronous switching is addressed. These systems exist in many aviation applications, such as dynamical systems involving rapid variations. A switched polytopic system is established to describe the highly maneuverable technology vehicle within the full flight envelope and a robust dynamic output feedback control method is designed for the switched polytopic system. Combining the Lyapunov-like function method and the average dwell time method, a sufficient condition is derived for the switched polytopic system with asynchronous switching and data dropout to be globally, uniformly and asymptotically stable in terms of linear matrix inequality. The robust dynamic output feedback controller is then applied to the highly maneuverable technology vehicle to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The simulation results show that the angle of attack tracking performance is acceptable over the time history and the control surface responses are all satisfying along the full flight trajectory

Development of X90 submerged-arc helical welded pipe with diameter of 1 524 mm

The use of high pressure, large diameter and high steel grade pipelines for long-distance natural gas transportation have become an important development tendency in the pipeline industry. The application of X90 pipeline steel pipe can raise the pipeline transmission capacity, lower the effective wall thickness of the steel pipe and save the pipeline construction cost. The X90 hot rolled coil, with a wall thickness of 20.3 mm and mainly composed of granular bainite, has been developed by adopting the design of alloying components with low C, high [Mn+Nb] and high [Mo+Cr], as well as technologies such as pure steel smelting and controlled rolling and cooling. The welding technology for X90 pipeline steel pipe with a wall thickness of 20.3 mm was optimized through experimental research on welding technology, and the low residual stress of high strength and large diameter submerged-arc helical welded pipe was controlled by optimizing design of pipe forming parameters. The test results show that all performance indexes of the trial-manufactured X90 submerged-arc helical welded pipe with a wall thickness of 20.3 mm and the diameter of 1 524 mm meet the requirements of relevant technical specifications, and it would make technical reserves for the construction and application of X90 high strength and large diameter steel pipes in China

High Extinction Ratio 4 × 2 Encoder Based on Electro-Optical Graphene Plasma Structure

In this paper, a plasmonic electro-optical encoder based on graphene at THz frequency is proposed. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the graphene–insulator–metal structure are excited by an incident TM wave with a wavelength of 9.3 μm. Graphene plasma waveguides have extremely high confinement, relatively low losses, and high tunability. The switching mechanism is based on the application of an external voltage to locally change the chemical potential of the graphene for encoding. Setting the chemical potential to 1 eV allows SPPs to propagate while lowering the chemical potential to 0.1 eV prevents the SPPs from propagating. A 4 × 2 encoder with a minimum encoding extinction ratio (ER) of 37 dB, a maximum modulation depth (MD) of 99.99%, and a structure area of 0.8 μm2 is proposed based on the design rules and simulations using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In terms of the obtained results, the proposed structure can be used in optical integrated circuits

Utility and necessity of repeat testing of critical values in the clinical chemistry laboratory.

CONTEXT: Routine repeat testing of critical values is a long-standing practice in many clinical laboratories; however, its usefulness and necessity remain to be empirically established and no regulatory requirements yet exist for verification of the critical value results obtained by repeat analysis. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether repeat testing of critical values is useful and necessary in a clinical chemistry laboratory. METHODS: A total of 601 chemistry critical values (potassium, n = 255; sodium, n = 132; calcium, n = 108; glucose, n = 106) obtained from 72,259 routine clinical chemistry specimens were repeat tested. The absolute value and the percentage of difference between the two testing runs were calculated for each of the four critical values and then compared with the allowable error limit put forth in the College of American Pathologists (CAP). RESULTS: Among the repeat data for the 601 critical values, a total of 24 showed large differences between the initial result and the repeated result which exceeded the CAP limits for allowable error. The number and rates (%) of large differences for within and outside the analytical measurement range (AMR) were 12 (2.1%) and 12 (41.4%), respectively. For the 572 critical values within the AMR for each test category, the mean absolute difference (mmol/L) and difference(%) between the two testing runs were: potassium, 0.1 mmol/L (2.7%); sodium, 2.1 mmol/L (1.7%); calcium, 0.05 mmol/L (3.0%); glucose, 0.18 mmol/L (2.6%). CONCLUSIONS: When the initial chemistry critical values are within the AMR, repeated testing does not improve accuracy and is therefore unnecessary. When the initial chemistry critical values are outside the AMR, however, the benefit of repeated testing justifies its performance and makes it necessary. Performing repeat clinical testing on a case-by-case, rather than routine, basis can improve patient care by delivering critical values more rapidly while providing savings on reagent costs associated with unnecessary repeat testing