Exposure of the Hidden Anti-Ferromagnetism in Paramagnetic CdSe:Mn Nanocrystals

We present theoretical and experimental investigations of the magnetism of paramagnetic semiconductor CdSe:Mn nanocrystals and propose an efficient approach to the exposure and analysis of the underlying anti-ferromagnetic interactions between magnetic ions therein. A key advance made here is the build-up of an analysis method with the exploitation of group theory technique that allows us to distinguish the anti-ferromagnetic interactions between aggregative Mn2+ ions from the overall pronounced paramagnetism of magnetic ion doped semiconductor nanocrystals. By using the method, we clearly reveal and identify the signatures of anti-ferromagnetism from the measured temperature dependent magnetisms, and furthermore determine the average number of Mn2+ ions and the fraction of aggregative ones in the measured CdSe:Mn nanocrystals.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Effects of Trehalose, Bovine Serum Albumin, and Sucrose, on the Integrity of the Plasma Membrane of Pseudosciaena crocea Semen after Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation and the effect of additives on the plasma membrane stability, motility, enzyme activity, membrane lipid composition, and ultrastructural injury of sperm of Pseudosciaena crocea, were examined in this study. Results indicated that the addition of trehalose (TH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) provided significantly better results in the motility test compared to sucrose. Some BSA groups, showed significantly increased semen motility and effective enzyme activity. There were no significant differences between the cholesterol (CHO) composition for fresh sperm and cryopreserved sperm stored in 3 g/L BSA or 8.56 g/L TH+3 g/L BSA. Ultrastructural injury included damaged membrane, lost mitochondria, or broken flagella, whereas the majority of the freeze-thawed sperm remained morphologically normal. In conclusion, the addition of 3 g/L BSA and 8.56 g/L TH+3 g/L BSA significantly increased semen quality

Species and sex comparisons of karyotype and genome size in two <em>Kurixalus tree</em> frogs (Anura, Rhacophoridae)

Kurixalus is a rhacophorid genus of tree frogs that are similar in morphology but vary in reproductive behavior. We investigated the cytogenetic features and genome size using conventional G-banding, C-banding and silver-staining techniques, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and flow cytometry in two representatives of Kurixalus (K. eiffingeri Boettger, 1895 and K. idiootocus Kuramoto and Wang, 1987) and compared the data between species and sex. The two Kurixalus species share a diploid chromosome number 2n = 26 and fundamental number FN = 52. Prominent differences between species were noted in the distribution of secondary constriction (SC)/nucleolus organizer region (NOR) and dense heterochromatin. Other interspecies differences including variations in the number of metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes and staining intensity of heterochromatin were also found. The cytogenetic results are consistent with the observed differences in their genome sizes. FISH with telomeric motif (TTAGGG)n for both species detected signals in the terminal regions. Intersex comparisons revealed no differences in terms of cytogenetic features and genome size in the two species. Despite the apparent highly conserved diploid chromosome number, data on the karyotype microstructure characterize the cytogenetic profile of the two Kurixalus species that contribute to clarification of the chromosomal homologies and the rearrangement mechanisms occurring during the karyotype evolution of Kurixalus. No heteromorphic chromosome pair in both species is consistent with the view that homomorphic sex chromosome is common in amphibians

Consecutive Tumor Lysis Syndrome and Hepatic Failure after Transarterial Chemoembolization for Treatment of Hepatocellular Aarcinoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction: Acute tumor lysis syndrome (ATLS) and hepatic failure are fatal complications that can occur in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).Presentation of Case: We report the case of a 78-year-old man with HCC who had successive ATLS and hepatic failure after the first course of TACE. He succumbed due to rapid deterioration of his condition.Conclusion: We therefore concluded that awareness of the risks of ATLS and hepatic failure before administration of TACE is crucial in patients with HCC

Computationally Improved Optimal Control Methodology for Linear Programming Problems of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Deadlock prevention policies are used to solve the deadlock problems of FMSs. It is well known that the theory of regions is the efficient method for obtaining optimal (i.e., maximally permissive) controllers. All legal and live maximal behaviors of Petri net models can be preserved by using marking/transition-separation instances (MTSIs) or event-state-separation-problem (ESSP) methods. However, they encountered great difficulties in solving all sets of inequalities that is an extremely time consuming problem. Moreover, the number of linear programming problems (LPPs) of legal markings is also exponential with net size when a plant net grows exponentially. This paper proposes a novel methodology to reduce the number of MTSIs/ESSPs and LPPs. In this paper, we used the well-known reduction approach Murata (1989) to simply the construct of system such that the problem of LPPs can then be reduced. Additionally, critical ones of crucial marking/transition-separation instances (COCMTSI) are developed and used in our deadlock prevention policy that allows designers to employ few MTSIs to deal with deadlocks. Experimental results indicate that the computational cost can be reduced. To our knowledge, this deadlock prevention policy is the most efficient policy to obtain maximal permissive behavior of Petri net models than past approaches

Epidemiology and Clinical Peculiarities of Norovirus and Rotavirus Infection in Hospitalized Young Children with Acute Diarrhea in Taiwan, 2009

Background/PurposeAcute diarrhea is one of the most common morbidities in pediatrics worldwide. We conducted a study to investigate the incidence of norovirus in young children hospitalized with acute diarrhea in Taiwan and its clinical peculiarity compared with rotavirus gastroenteritis.MethodsBetween January and December, 2009, patients younger than 5 years and admitted to hospital with acute diarrhea were randomly selected; and their stool samples were collected and tested for presence of rotavirus and norovirus by enzyme immunoassay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The clinical manifestations and laboratory findings of the enrolled patients were analyzed.ResultsA total of 989 cases were enrolled with a mean age of 21.6 ± 13.7 months and a male proportion of 56.0%. Rotavirus and norovirus was detected in 20.2% and 14.6% of all patients, respectively. Genogroup II was the predominant strain of norovirus (80.6%). Children aged 6-36 months accounted for the majority of patients positive for rotavirus and norovirus (73.0% and 81.3%, respectively). The incidences of norovirus and rotavirus infection were higher during winter and early spring. Most patients with rotavirus and norovirus diarrhea experienced vomiting (74.9% vs. 74.8%, respectively) and fever (94.7% vs. 71.3%, respectively).ConclusionMost young diarrheal patients presenting with vomiting were likely to have norovirus or rotavirus infection. Patients with norovirus diarrhea experienced an absence of, or low-grade fever and longer duration of vomiting compared with those positive for rotavirus infection. A family history of current gastroenteritis may suggest the possibility of norovirus infection