Molecular Lines of 13 Galactic Infrared Bubble Regions

We investigated the physical properties of molecular clouds and star formation processes around infrared bubbles which are essentially expanding HII regions. We performed observations of 13 galactic infrared bubble fields containing 18 bubbles. Five molecular lines, 12CO (J=1-0), 13CO (J=1-0), C18O(J=1-0), HCN (J=1-0), and HCO+ (J=1-0), were observed, and several publicly available surveys, GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, ATLASGAL, BGPS, VGPS, MAGPIS, and NVSS, were used for comparison. We find that these bubbles are generally connected with molecular clouds, most of which are giant. Several bubble regions display velocity gradients and broad shifted profiles, which could be due to the expansion of bubbles. The masses of molecular clouds within bubbles range from 100 to 19,000 solar mass, and their dynamic ages are about 0.3-3.7 Myr, which takes into account the internal turbulence pressure of surrounding molecular clouds. Clumps are found in the vicinity of all 18 bubbles, and molecular clouds near four of these bubbles with larger angular sizes show shell-like morphologies, indicating that either collect-and-collapse or radiation-driven implosion processes may have occurred. Due to the contamination of adjacent molecular clouds, only six bubble regions are appropriate to search for outflows, and we find that four of them have outflow activities. Three bubbles display ultra-compact HII regions at their borders, and one of them is probably responsible for its outflow. In total, only six bubbles show star formation activities in the vicinity, and we suggest that star formation processes might have been triggered.Comment: 55 Pages, 32 figures. Accepted for publication in A

3,3,3′,3′-Tetra­methyl-6,6′-bis­[(pyridin-4-yl)meth­oxy]-1,1′-spiro­biindane ­monohydrate

The asymmetric unit in the title compound, C33H34N2O2·H2O, consists of a V-shaped mol­ecule and a water mol­ecule to which it is hydrogen bonded. The angle between the mean planes of the two spiro-connected indane groups is 77.06 (5)°. The two five-membered rings of the indane groups have envelope conformations with the methyl­ene atoms adjacent to the spiro C atom forming the flaps. They have deviations from the mean plane of the other four atoms in the rings of 0.374 (4) and 0.362 (4) Å. In the crystal, molecules are linked to form inversion dimers via O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds involving the pyridine N atoms and the solvent water mol­ecule. The dimers are linked into a chain along the b axis by π–π stacking inter­actions between a pyridine ring and its centrosymmetrically related ring in an adjacent dimer. The centroid–centroid distance between the planes is 3.7756 (17) Å, the perpendicular distance is 3.4478 (11) Å and the offset is 1.539 Å

Clinical application of the paraspinal erector approach for spinal canal decompression in upper lumber burst fractures

OBJECTIVE: Percutaneous pedicle screw fixation is commonly used for upper lumber burst fractures. The direct decompression remains challenging with this minimally invasive surgery. The objective was to evaluate a novel paraspinal erector approach for effective and direct decompression in patients with canal compromise and neurologic deficit. METHOD: Patients (n = 21) with neurological deficiency and Denis B type upper lumbar burst fracture were enrolled in the study, including 14 cases in the L1 and 7 cases in the L2. The patients underwent removal of bone fragments from the spinal canal through intervertebral foramen followed by short-segment fixation. Evaluations included surgery-related, such as duration of surgery and blood loss, and 12-month follow-up, such as the kyphotic angle, the height ratio of the anterior edge of the vertebra, the ratio of sagittal canal compromise, visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Frankel scores. RESULTS: All patients achieved direct spinal canal decompression using the paraspinal erector approach followed by percutaneous pedicle screw fixation. The mean operation time (SD) was 173 (23) min, and the mean (SD) blood loss was 301 (104) ml. Significant improvement was noted in the kyphotic angle, 26.2 ± 8.7 prior to operation versus 9.1 ± 4.7 at 12 months after operation (p <0.05); the height ratio of the anterior edge of the injured vertebra, 60 ± 16% versus 84 ± 9% (p <0.05); and the ratio of sagittal canal compromise, 46.5 ± 11.4% versus 4.3 ± 3.6% (p <0.05). Significant improvements in VAS (7.3 ± 1.2 vs. 1.9 ± 0.7, p <0.05), ODI (86.7 ± 5.8 vs. 16.7 ± 5.1, p <0.05), and Frankel scores were also noted. CONCLUSIONS: The paraspinal erector approach was effective for direct spinal canal decompression with minimal injury in the paraspinal muscles or spine. Significant improvements in spinal function and prognostics were achieved after the percutaneous pedicle screw fixation

Genetic Analysis of 15 STR Loci in Chinese Han Population from West China

Allele frequencies for 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, and FGA) were obtained from 7,636 unrelated individuals of Chinese Han population living in Qinghai and Chongqing, China. Totally 206 alleles were observed, with the corresponding allele frequencies ranging from 0.0001–0.4982. Chi-square test showed that all of the STR loci agreed with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We also compared our data with previously published population data of other ethnics or areas. The results are valuable for human identification and paternity testing in Chinese Han population

Abundance Analysis of Barium Stars

We obtain the chemical abundances of six barium stars and two CH subgiant stars based on the high signal-to-noise ratio and high resolution Echelle spectra. The neutron capture process elements Y, Zr, Ba, La, Eu show obvious overabundance relative to the Sun, for example, their [Ba/Fe] values are from 0.45 to 1.27. Other elements, including Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, show comparable abundances to the Solar ones, and their [Fe/H] cover a range from $-$0.40 to 0.21, which means they belong to Galactic disk. The predicts of the theoretical model of wind accretion for binary systems can explain the observed abundance patterns of the neutron capture process elements in these stars, which means that their overabundant heavy-elements could be caused by accreting the ejecta of AGB stars, the progenitors of the present white dwarf companions in the binary systems.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ChJA