The Debate Between Liberalism and Neo-Leftism at the Turn of the Century

Taking as its basis the polemical texts of the adherents of liberalism and neo-leftism in China at the end of the last century, this article presents the main questions that the writers from these two camps address, and attempts to measure the impact of this intellectual debate on the recent evolution of Chinese society

Experimental investigation of cracking behaviors of ductile and brittle rock-like materials

The cracking characteristics of ductile rocks were studied by similar materials with sand, barite, epoxide resin, polyamide, silicone rubber and alcohol, while the cracking characteristics of brittle rocks were investigated by similar material with sand, barite, rosin and alcohol. In this paper, to enhance the application range of the rock-like materials in the field of geotechnical engineering model tests, the values of the elastic modulus and the compressive strength of the artificial rock-like materials are changed in a wide range by adjusting the amount of cementitious materials (epoxide resin, polyamide, rosin, etc). The elastic modulus, compressive strength and cracking characteristics were obtained from the complete axial stress–strain curves of the specimens made of similar materials, which were cast using the different mixture ratios. These experimental data can provide quantitative investigation on mixture ratios of similar materials of rocks to model the geotechnical engineering. Furthermore, the effect of mixture ratios on mechanical properties and crack propagation pattern of specimens were also investigated by the specimens with pre-existing flaws under uniaxial compressive test

Far-Infrared Emission Properties and Thermogravimetric Analysis of Ceramic-Embedded Polyurethane Films

The far-infrared ray (FIR) is one kind of electromagnetic wave employed for numerous bio-interactive applications such as body thermoregulation, infrared therapy, etc. Tuning the FIR-emitting property of the functional textile surface can initiate a new horizon to utilize this property in sportswear or even smart textiles. Ceramic particles were studied for their unique ability to constantly emit FIR rays. The purpose of this research is to characterize the FIR emis-sion properties and the thermogravimetric analysis of ceramic-embedded polyurethane films. For this purpose, ceramic particles such as aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, and titanium diox-ide were incorporated (individually) with water-based polyurethane (WPU) binder by a soni-cation technique to make a thin layer of film. Significant improvement in FIR emissive property of the films was found when using different ceramic particles into the polyurethane films. Re-flection and transmission at the FIR range were measured with a gold integrating sphere by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The samples were also characterized by ther-mogravimetric analysis (TGA). Different physical tests, such as tensile strength and contact angle measurements, were performed to illustrate the mechanical properties of the films. The study suggested that the mechanical properties of the polyurethane films were significantly influenced by the addition of ceramic particles

Comparison of BISAP, Ranson, MCTSI, and APACHE II in Predicting Severity and Prognoses of Hyperlipidemic Acute Pancreatitis in Chinese Patients

In recent years, with the developing of living standard, hyperlipidemia becomes the second major reason of acute pancreatitis. It is important to predict the severity and prognosis at early stage of hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP). We compared the BISAP, Ranson, MCTSI, and APACHE II scoring system in predicting MSAP and SAP, local complications, and mortality of HLAP. A total of 326 diagnosed hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis patients from August 2006 to July 2015 were studied retrospectively. Our result showed that all four scoring systems can be used to predict the severity, local complications, and mortality of HLAP. Ranson did not have significant advantage in predicting severity and prognosis of HLAP compared to other three scoring systems. APACHE II was the best in predicting severity of HLAP, but it had shortcoming in predicting local complications. MCTSI had outstanding performance in predicting local complications, but it was poor in predicting severity and mortality. BISAP score had high accuracy in assessment of severity, local complications, and mortality of HLAP, but the accuracy still needs to be improved in the future

Correlation of Body Mass Index and Waist-Hip Ratio with Severity and Complications of Hyperlipidemic Acute Pancreatitis in Chinese Patients

Hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP) is characterized by critical condition and high recurrence rate compared with non-HLAP. We conducted this study to investigate the value of body mass index and waist-hip ratio in predicting severity and local complications in HLAP. 96 patients with HLAP were categorized by body mass index and waist-hip ratio, respectively. According to the body mass index, they were divided into 3 groups, including normal weight, overweight, and obesity. According to the waist-hip ratio, they were divided into central obesity group and no central obesity group. The body mass index and waist-hip ratio were compared in severity, local complications, and systematic complications of HLAP, using chi-square test and Monte Carlo simulations. The body mass index and waist-hip ratio were correlated with the severity of acute pancreatitis (MAP, MSAP, and SAP), respiratory failure, and circulatory failure in HLAP (p<0.05), but not correlated with the local complications (walled-off necrosis, pancreatic abscess, and pancreatic pseudocyst), renal failure, and gastrointestinal bleeding.The body mass index and waist-hip ratio are valuable in predicting severity and complication in HLAP. We demonstrated that obese patients had an increased risk of developing more serious condition and more complications in HLAP

SAHA Enhances Synaptic Function and Plasticity In Vitro but Has Limited Brain Availability In Vivo and Does Not Impact Cognition

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is an inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs) used for the treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) and under consideration for other indications. In vivo studies suggest reducing HDAC function can enhance synaptic function and memory, raising the possibility that SAHA treatment could have neurological benefits. We first examined the impacts of SAHA on synaptic function in vitro using rat organotypic hippocampal brain slices. Following several days of SAHA treatment, basal excitatory but not inhibitory synaptic function was enhanced. Presynaptic release probability and intrinsic neuronal excitability were unaffected suggesting SAHA treatment selectively enhanced postsynaptic excitatory function. In addition, long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synapses was augmented, while long-term depression (LTD) was impaired in SAHA treated slices. Despite the in vitro synaptic enhancements, in vivo SAHA treatment did not rescue memory deficits in the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Along with the lack of behavioral impact, pharmacokinetic analysis indicated poor brain availability of SAHA. Broader assessment of in vivo SAHA treatment using high-content phenotypic characterization of C57Bl6 mice failed to demonstrate significant behavioral effects of up to 150 mg/kg SAHA following either acute or chronic injections. Potentially explaining the low brain exposure and lack of behavioral impacts, SAHA was found to be a substrate of the blood brain barrier (BBB) efflux transporters Pgp and Bcrp1. Thus while our in vitro data show that HDAC inhibition can enhance excitatory synaptic strength and potentiation, our in vivo data suggests limited brain availability may contribute to the lack of behavioral impact of SAHA following peripheral delivery. These results do not predict CNS effects of SAHA during clinical use and also emphasize the importance of analyzing brain drug levels when interpreting preclinical behavioral pharmacology

Electric-Field-Induced Connectivity Switching in Single-Molecule Junctions

Summary(#br)The manipulation of molecule-electrode interaction is essential for the fabrication of molecular devices and determines the connectivity from electrodes to molecular components. Although the connectivity of molecular devices could be controlled by molecular design to place anchor groups in different positions of molecule backbones, the reversible switching of such connectivities remains challenging. Here, we develop an electric-field-induced strategy to switch the connectivity of single-molecule junctions reversibly, leading to the manipulation of different connectivities in the same molecular backbone. Our results offer a new concept of single-molecule manipulation and provide a feasible strategy to regulate molecule-electrode interaction

Heteroatom-Induced Molecular Asymmetry Tunes Quantum Interference in Charge Transport through Single-Molecule Junctions

We studied the interplay between quantum interference (QI) and molecular asymmetry in charge transport through a single molecule. Eight compounds with five-membered core rings were synthesized, and their single-molecule conductances were characterized using the mechanically controllable break junction technique. It is found that the symmetric molecules are more conductive than their asymmetric isomers and that there is no statistically significant dependence on the aromaticity of the core. In contrast, we find experimental evidence of destructive QI in five-membered rings, which can be tuned by implanting different heteroatoms into the core ring. Our findings are rationalized by the presence of antiresonance features in the transmission curves calculated using nonequilibrium Green’s functions. This novel mechanism for modulating QI effects in charge transport via tuning of molecular asymmetry will lead to promising applications in the design of single-molecule devices