Fractional phenomena of the spontaneous emission of a two-level atom in photonic crystals

We suggest a better mathematical method, fractional calculus, for studying the behavior of the atom-field interaction in photonic crystals. By studying the spontaneous emission of an atom in a photonic crystal with one-band isotropic model, we found that the long-time inducing memory of the spontaneous emission is a fractional phenomenon. This behavior could be well described by the fractional calculus. And the results show no steady photon-atom bound state for the atomic resonant transition frequency lying in the proximity of allowed band edge which is encountered in the previous study [J. Opt. B: Quantum Semiclass. Opt. {\bf 5}, R43 (2003)]. The correctness of this result is validated by the ``cut-off smoothing'' density of photon states (DOS) with fractional calculus. By obtaining a rigorous solution without the multiple-valued problem for the system, we show the method of fractional calculus has logically concise property.Comment: 12 Pages, 3 figure

Antioksidativna i citotoksična aktivnost ekstrakata mlijeka proizvedenog iz fermentirane crne soje

In this study, ethanol extracts from 2-day fermented black soybean milk (FBE) by immobilized Rhizopus oligosporus NTU5 have been evaluated for both antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The results reveal that a 2-day FBE had strong 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging effect (76 %). The extracts were further fractionated by silica gel column chromatography and an unknown compound, FBE5-A, was obtained, which exhibited strong antioxidant activity. IC50 of the DPPH scavenging effect of FBE5-A was 7.5 μg/mL, which is stronger than a commonly used antioxidant, vitamin E (α-tocopherol; 17.4 μg/mL), and similar to vitamin C (ascorbic acid; 7.6 μg/mL). The cytotoxic test demonstrated that extracts of 2-day fermented broth exhibited selective cytotoxic activity towards human carcinoma cells, Hep 3B (IC50=150.2 μg/mL), and did not affect normal human lung fibroblasts, MRC-5 (p<0.05). The results indicate the potential applications of fermented black soybean milk as functional food, pharmaceutical or cancer therapy formula.U radu je ispitana antioksidativna i citotoksična aktivnost etanolnih esktrakata mlijeka dobivenog nakon 2 dana fermentacije crne soje pomoću imobiliziranoga soja Rhizopus oligosporus NTU5. Rezultati su pokazali da takvo mlijeko ima izraženu sposobnost uklanjanja slobodnih DPPH radikala (76 %). Ekstrakti su mlijeka zatim frakcionirani kromatografijom na silikagelu i izdvojen je nepoznati sastojak, nazvan FBE5-A, izraženog antioksidativnog svojstva. Sposobnost toga sastojka da uklanja slobodne DPPH radikale kudikamo je veća (IC50=7,5 μg/mL) nego vitamina E, koji se obično koristi kao antioksidans (α-tokoferol, IC50=17,4 μg/mL) i približno jednaka vitaminu C (askorbinska kiselina, IC50=7,6 μg/mL). Ispitivanje citotoksičnog učinka FBE5-A pokazalo je da selektivno djeluje na ljudske stanice raka Hep 3B (IC50=150,2 μg/mL), a pritom ne utječe na normalne fibroblaste iz pluća MRC-5 (p<0,05). Rezultati upućuju na to da se mlijeko dobiveno fermentacijom crne soje može upotrijebiti kao funkcionalna hrana i za liječenje raznih bolesti, uključujući i rak

XRCC1, but not APE1 and hOGG1 gene polymorphisms is a risk factor for pterygium.

PurposeEpidemiological evidence suggests that UV irradiation plays an important role in pterygium pathogenesis. UV irradiation can produce a wide range of DNA damage. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is considered the most important pathway involved in the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage. Based on previous studies, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8-oxoguanine glycosylase-1 (OGG1), X-ray repair cross-complementing-1 (XRCC1), and AP-endonuclease-1 (APE1) genes in the BER pathway have been found to affect the individual sensitivity to radiation exposure and induction of DNA damage. Therefore, we hypothesize that the genetic polymorphisms of these repair genes increase the risk of pterygium.MethodsXRCC1, APE1, and hOGG1 polymorphisms were studied using fluorescence-labeled Taq Man probes on 83 pterygial specimens and 206 normal controls.ResultsThere was a significant difference between the case and control groups in the XRCC1 genotype (p=0.038) but not in hOGG1 (p=0.383) and APE1 (p=0.898). The odds ratio of the XRCC1 A/G polymorphism was 2.592 (95% CI=1.225-5.484, p=0.013) and the G/G polymorphism was 1.212 (95% CI=0.914-1.607), compared to the A/A wild-type genotype. Moreover, individuals who carried at least one C-allele (A/G and G/G) had a 1.710 fold increased risk of developing pterygium compared to those who carried the A/A wild type genotype (OR=1.710; 95% CI: 1.015-2.882, p=0.044). The hOGG1 and APE1 polymorphisms did not have an increased odds ratio compared with the wild type.ConclusionsXRCC1 (Arg399 Glu) is correlated with pterygium and might become a potential marker for the prediction of pterygium susceptibility

An Extended Analytic Solution of Combined Refraction and Diffraction of Long Waves Propagating over Circular Island

An analytic solution of long waves scattering by a cylindrical island mounted on a permeable circular shoal was obtained by solving the linear long wave equation (LWE). The solution is in terms of the Bessel function expressed by complex variables. The present solution is suitable for arbitrary bottom configurations described by a power function with two independent parameters. For the case of the paraboloidal shoal, there exists a singular point (α=2) which can be removed using Frobenius series, where α is a real constant. The present solution is reduced to Yu and Zhang’s (2003) solution for impermeable circular shoal. The numerical results show some special features of the combined effect of wave refraction and diffraction caused by a porous circular island. The effect of key parameters of the island dimension, the shoal slope, and permeability on wave scattering was discussed based on the analytic solution

The significance of seizures and other predictive factors during the acute illness for the long-term outcome after bacterial meningitis

SummaryBackgroundSeizures are important neurological complications of bacterial meningitis, but no information about its epidemiology and the outcomes of seizures after community-acquired bacterial meningitis (CABM) in an adult population have been reported.AimsTo determine the frequency, clinical relevance, subtypes of seizures during the acute phase of bacterial meningitis, and the long-term outcomes of seizure complicating adult CABM.MethodsIn this 12-year retrospective study, 117 adult patients were identified with culture-proven CABM. A comparison was made between the clinical data of the patients with and without seizures during hospitalization.ResultsThirty-one patients had seizures during CABM, accounting for 27% (31/117) of the episodes. The time interval between the onset of bacterial meningitis and the seizures was 1–21 days (mean, 4 days). Furthermore, 80% (25/31) of the episodes occurred within 24h of presentation. Ten patients who had seizures progressed to status epilepticus. At follow-up after completing treatment, 10 patients completely recovered and were seizure-free, 19 died of meningitis during the acute stage and the other two progressed to chronic epilepsy.ConclusionA log-rank test demonstrated that the long-term outcome of adult CABM with acute seizures produced worse outcomes than for those who had no seizures, though no difference was noted between focal and generalized seizures. None of our patients without seizures in the acute phase of bacterial meningitis developed late seizures during the follow-up periods. Poor outcome in this study may attribute to neurological complications such as seizure, hydrocephalus, infection itself, or a combination of complications

The flow and turbulence structure at a rectangular bridge pier with a low angle of attack

River hydrodynamicsInteraction with structure

Neuroprotective Effect of Paeonol Mediates Anti-Inflammation via Suppressing Toll-Like Receptor 2 and Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling Pathways in Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injured Rats

Paeonol is a phenolic compound derived from Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews (MC) and P. lactiflora Pall (PL). Paeonol can reduce cerebral infarction volume and improve neurological deficits through antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the anti-inflammatory pathway of paeonol remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between anti-inflammatory responses of paeonol and signaling pathways of TLR2 and TLR4 in cerebral infarct. We established the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model in Sprague Dawley rats by occluding right middle cerebral artery for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 24 h. The neurological deficit score was examined, and the brains of the rats were removed for cerebral infarction volume and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis. The infarction volume and neurological deficits were lower in the paeonol group (pretreatment with paeonol; 20 mg/kg i.p.) than in the control group (without paeonol treatment). The IHC analysis revealed that the number of TLR2-, TLR4-, Iba1-, NF-κB- (P50-), and IL-1β-immunoreactive cells and TUNEL-positive cells was significantly lower in the paeonol group; however, the number of TNF-α-immunoreactive cells did not differ between the paeonol and control groups. The paeonol reveals some neuroprotective effects in the model of ischemia, which could be due to the reduction of many proinflammatory receptors/mediators, although the mechanisms are not clear