Rectifying properties and colossal magnetoresistance in La0.9Hf0.1MnO3 /Nb-0.7 wt%-doped SrTiO3 heterojunction

SPIE Proceedings v. 9068 entitled: Technology of Thin Film & Application of Thin FilmA heterojunction with good rectifying properties in a wide temperature range from 20 K to 300 K was fabricated simply by depositing an as-grown La0.9Hf0.1MnO3 (LHMO) film on a commercial 0.7 wt% Nb-doped SrTiO3 single crystal substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. The current-voltage behavior of the LHMO/STON is measured under applied magnetic fields varying between 0 and 5 T. The heterojunction shows a remarkable magnetoresistance which depends on both the temperature and bias voltages. The sign of the magnetoresistance as function of temperature at either forward or reverse bias voltage is extensively studied by the filling of electrons in the eg and t2g band. The good rectifying behaviors, the magnetic tunable properties and the maximum magnetoresistance obtained at room temperature make this simple heterojunction promising for practical applications. © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personalLink_to_subscribed_fulltex

Detection of mild to moderate influenza A/H7N9 infection by China's national sentinel surveillance system for influenza-like illness: case series

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Inhibition of Cardiac Sympathetic Afferent Reflex and Sympathetic Activity by Baroreceptor and Vagal Afferent Inputs in Chronic Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Cardiac sympathetic afferent reflex (CSAR) contributes to sympathetic activation and angiotensin II (Ang II) in paraventricular nucleus (PVN) augments the CSAR in vagotomized (VT) and baroreceptor denervated (BD) rats with chronic heart failure (CHF). This study was designed to determine whether it is true in intact (INT) rats with CHF and to determine the effects of cardiac and baroreceptor afferents on the CSAR and sympathetic activity in CHF. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sham-operated (Sham) or coronary ligation-induced CHF rats were respectively subjected to BD+VT, VT, cardiac sympathetic denervation (CSD) or INT. Under anesthesia, renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded, and the CSAR was evaluated by the RSNA and MAP responses to epicardial application of capsaicin. Either CSAR or the responses of RSNA, MAP and CSAR to Ang II in PVN were enhanced in CHF rats treated with BD+VT, VT or INT. Treatment with VT or BD+VT potentiated the CSAR and the CSAR responses to Ang II in both Sham and CHF rats. Treatment with CSD reversed the capsaicin-induced RSNA and MAP changes and the CSAR responses to Ang II in both Sham and CHF rats, and reduced the RSNA and MAP responses to Ang II only in CHF rats. CONCLUSIONS: The CSAR and the CSAR responses to Ang II in PVN are enhanced in intact CHF rats. Baroreceptor and vagal afferent activities inhibit CSAR and the CSAR responses to Ang II in intact Sham and CHF rats

The regulatory mechanism of fungal elicitor-induced secondary metabolite biosynthesis in medical plants.

A wide range of external stress stimuli trigger plant cells to undergo complex network of reactions that ultimately lead to the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites. Accumulation of such metabolites often occurs in plants subjected to stresses including various elicitors or signal molecules. Throughout evolution, endophytic fungi, an important constituent in the environment of medicinal plants, have known to form long-term stable and mutually beneficial symbiosis with medicinal plants. The endophytic fungal elicitor can rapidly and specifically induce the expression of specific genes in medicinal plants which can result in the activation of a series of specific secondary metabolic pathways resulting in the significant accumulation of active ingredients. Here we summarize the progress made on the mechanisms of fungal elicitor including elicitor signal recognition, signal transduction, gene expression and activation of the key enzymes and its application. This review provides guidance on studies which may be conducted to promote the efficient synthesis and accumulation of active ingredients by the endogenous fungal elicitor in medicinal plant cells, and provides new ideas and methods of studying the regulation of secondary metabolism in medicinal plants

The generalized Hamiltonian model for the shafting transient analysis of the hydro turbine generating sets.

yesTraditional rotor dynamics mainly focuses on the steady- state behavior of the rotor and shafting. However, for systems such as hydro turbine generating sets (HTGS) where the control and regulation is frequently applied, the shafting safety and stabilization in transient state is then a key factor. The shafting transient state inevitably involves multiparameter domain, multifield coupling, and coupling dynamics. In this paper, the relative value form of the Lagrange function and its equations have been established by defining the base value system of the shafting. Takingthe rotation angle and the angular speed of the shafting as a link, the shafting lateral vibration and generator equations are integrated into the framework of generalized Hamiltonian system. The generalized Hamiltonian control model is thus established. To make the model more general, additional forces of the shafting are taken as the input excitation in proposed model. The control system of the HTGS can be easily connected with the shafting model to form the whole simulation system of the HTGS. It is expected that this study will build a foundation for the coupling dynamics theory using the generalized Hamiltonian theory to investigate coupling dynamic mechanism among the shafting vibration, transient of hydro turbine generating sets, and additional forces of the shafting.National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 51179079 and 5083900

Synthesis and characterization of CuO nanowires by a simple wet chemical method

We report a successful synthesis of copper oxide nanowires with an average diameter of 90 nm and lengths of several micrometers by using a simple and inexpensive wet chemical method. The CuO nanowires prepared via this method are advantageous for industrial applications which require mass production and low thermal budget technique. It is found that the concentration and the quantity of precursors are the critical factors for obtaining the desired one-dimensional morphology. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images indicate the influence of thioglycerol on the dispersity of the prepared CuO nanowires possibly due to the stabilization effect of the surface caused by the organic molecule thioglycerol. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and X-ray photoemission spectrum analysis confirm clearly the formation of a pure phase high-quality CuO with monoclinic crystal structure

Facile solution-phase synthesis of γ-Mn3O4 hierarchical structures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A lot of effort has been focused on the integration of nanorods/nanowire as building blocks into three-dimensional (3D) complex superstructures. But, the development of simple and effective methods for creating novel assemblies of self-supported patterns of hierarchical architectures to designed materials using a suitable chemical method is important to technology and remains an attractive, but elusive goal.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The hierarchical structure of Mn₃O₄with radiated spherulitic nanorods was prepared via a simple solution-based coordinated route in the presence of macrocycle polyamine, hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene (CT) with the assistance of thiourea as an additive.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This approach opens a new and facile route for the morphogenesis of Mn₃O₄material and it might be extended as a novel synthetic method for the synthesis of other inorganic semiconducting nanomaterials such as metal chalcogenide semiconductors with novel morphology and complex form, since it has been shown that thiourea can be used as an effective additive and the number of such water-soluble macrocyclic polyamines also makes it possible to provide various kinds of ligands for different metals in homogeneous water system.</p

Alcohol drinking and risk of Parkinson's disease: a case-control study in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although some epidemiologic studies found inverse associations between alcohol drinking and Parkinson's disease (PD), the majority of studies found no such significant associations. Additionally, there is only limited research into the possible interactions of alcohol intake with aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 activity with respect to PD risk. We examined the relationship between alcohol intake and PD among Japanese subjects using data from a case-control study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From 214 cases within 6 years of PD onset and 327 controls without neurodegenerative disease, we collected information on "peak", as opposed to average, alcohol drinking frequency and peak drinking amounts during a subject's lifetime. Alcohol flushing status was evaluated via questions, as a means of detecting inactive ALHD2. The multivariate model included adjustments for sex, age, region of residence, smoking, years of education, body mass index, alcohol flushing status, presence of selected medication histories, and several dietary factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Alcohol intake during peak drinking periods, regardless of frequency or amount, was not associated with PD. However, when we assessed daily ethanol intake separately for each type of alcohol, only Japanese sake (rice wine) was significantly associated with PD (adjusted odds ratio of ≥66.0 g ethanol per day: 3.39, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-11.0, <it>P </it>for trend = 0.001). There was no significant interaction of alcohol intake with flushing status in relation to PD risk.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We did not find significant associations between alcohol intake and PD, except for the daily amount of Japanese sake. Effect modifications by alcohol flushing status were not observed.</p

Malignant B Cells Induce the Conversion of CD4+CD25− T Cells to Regulatory T Cells in B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Recent evidence has demonstrated that regulatory T cells (Treg) were enriched in the tumor sites of patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, the causes of enrichment and suppressive mechanisms need to be further elucidated. Here we demonstrated that CD4+CD25+FoxP3+CD127lo Treg were markedly increased and their phenotypes were different in peripheral blood (PB) as well as bone marrow (BM) from newly diagnosed patients with B-cell NHL compared with those from healthy volunteers (HVs). Involved lymphatic tissues also showed higher frequencies of Treg than benign lymph nodes. Moreover, the frequencies of Treg were significantly higher in involved lymphatic tissues than those from PB as well as BM in the same patients. Suppression mediated by CD4+CD25+ Treg co-cultured with allogeneic CFSE-labeled CD4+CD25− responder cells was also higher in involved lymphatic tissues from B-cell NHL than that mediated by Treg from HVs. In addition, we found that malignant B cells significantly induced FoxP3 expression and regulatory function in CD4+CD25− T cells in vitro. In contrast, normal B cells could not induce the conversion of CD4+CD25− T cells to Treg. We also showed that the PD-1/B7-H1 pathway might play an important role in Treg induction. Taken together, our results suggest that malignant B cells induce the conversion of CD4+CD25− T cells to Treg, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of B-cell NHL and represent a promising therapeutic target