Field Monitoring in the Yilan River Experimental Watershed

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

Tracking Methods to Study the Surface Regression of the Solid-Propellant Grain

In the work, we have successfully developed practical surface tracking methods to calculate the erosive volume and the associated burning areas which are the important parameters to solve a nonlinear, pressurization-rate dependent combustion ballistics. Three methodologies, namely the front tracking, the emanating ray and the least distance methods, are proposed. The front tracking method is based on the Lagrangian point of view; while both the emanating ray and the least distance methods are formulated from the Eulerian viewpoint. Two two-dimensional test problems have been examined to compare with the programming complexity, simulation accuracy and required CPU time of the proposed methods. It is found that the least distance method performs superior to the other two methods in numerical respects. The least distance method is implemented with tetrahedron grids to track the outward propagation of a three-dimensional cubic. Comparison between the predicted erosive volume and corresponding theoretical result yields satisfactory agreement

Prevalence and Correlates of Depression among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Taiwan

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that causes a permanent impairment of renal function and premature mortality. The associated prognosis may result in serious psychological distress to the affected individual. However, there are limited data on the psychological correlates, and in particular depression, in Chinese CKD patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression, as well as the influence of other psychosocial factors on depression, among Taiwanese CKD patients. Methods: We used a cross-sectional research design to recruit 270 CKD patients who were not undergoing dialysis treatment at a hospital in southern Taiwan during 2011. The structured questionnaire used in this study gathered information on respondent demographic and disease characteristics, and information obtained from the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire. Factors associated with depression were examined by a multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The crude and age-standardized prevalence of depression were 22.6% and 20.6%, respectively. Those who had sleep disturbances, reported having no religious beliefs, followed no regular exercise regimen, and were diagnosed with stage III or above CKD demonstrated a significantly higher risk of depression. Conclusion: Our findings are beneficial to healthcare providers, as they identify both the prevalence of depression and several of its correlates. By identifying CKD patients with a higher risk of depression, healthcare providers may be better able to ensure the provision of appropriate rehabilitation to this population

Label-free quantitative proteomics of CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells

Abstract Background CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells, which are characterized by their resistance to conventional chemotherapy and their tumor initiation ability at limited dilutions, have been recognized as a critical target in liver cancer therapeutics. In the current work, we developed a label-free quantitative method to investigate the proteome of CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells for the purpose of identifying unique biomarkers that can be utilized for targeting liver cancer stem cells. Label-free quantitation was performed in combination with ID-based Elution time Alignment by Linear regression Quantitation (IDEAL-Q) and MaxQuant. Results Initially, IDEAL-Q analysis revealed that 151 proteins were differentially expressed in the CD133-positive hepatoma cells when compared with CD133-negative cells. We then analyzed these 151 differentially expressed proteins by MaxQuant software and identified 10 significantly up-regulated proteins. The results were further validated by RT-PCR, western blot, flow cytometry or immunofluorescent staining which revealed that prominin-1, annexin A1, annexin A3, transgelin, creatine kinase B, vimentin, and EpCAM were indeed highly expressed in the CD133-positive hepatoma cells. Conclusions These findings confirmed that mass spectrometry-based label-free quantitative proteomics can be used to gain insights into liver cancer stem cells.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113089/1/12953_2012_Article_407.pd

Boson Peak in Deeply Cooled Confined Water: A Possible Way to Explore the Existence of the Liquid-to-Liquid Transition in Water

The boson peak in deeply cooled water confined in nanopores is studied with inelastic neutron scattering. We show that in the (P, T) plane, the locus of the emergence of the boson peak is nearly parallel to the Widom line below ∼1600  bar. Above 1600 bar, the situation is different and from this difference the end pressure of the Widom line is estimated. The frequency and width of the boson peak correlate with the density of water, which suggests a method to distinguish the hypothetical “low-density liquid” and “high-density liquid” phases in deeply cooled water.United States. Dept. of Energy (Grant DE-FG02-90ER45429

The dimer interface of the SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein adapts a porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus-like structure

AbstractWe have employed NMR to investigate the structure of SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein dimer. We found that the secondary structure of the dimerization domain consists of five α helices and a β-hairpin. The dimer interface consists of a continuous four-stranded β-sheet superposed by two long α helices, reminiscent of that found in the nucleocapsid protein of porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus. Extensive hydrogen bond formation between the two hairpins and hydrophobic interactions between the β-sheet and the α helices render the interface highly stable. Sequence alignment suggests that other coronavirus may share the same structural topology