Design of a large dynamic range readout unit for the PSD detector of DAMPE

A large dynamic range is required by the Plastic Scintillator Detector (PSD) of DArk Matter Paricle Explorer (DAMPE), and a double-dynode readout has been developed. To verify this design, a prototype detector module has been constructed and tested with cosmic rays and heavy ion beams. The results match with the estimation and the readout unit could easily cover the required dynamic range

Direct rosiglitazone action on steroidogenesis and proinflammatory factor production in human granulosa-lutein cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian granulosa cells are the predominant source of estradiol and progesterone biosynthesis in vivo. Rosiglitazone, a synthetic agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), is applied as the treatment of insulin resistance including women with PCOS. The aim of the study was to investigate the direct effects of rosiglitazone on steroidogenesis and proinflammatory factor production in human granulosa-lutein cells (GLCs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Primary human GLCs were separated during in vitro fertilization and cultured in the presence of rosiglitazone, GW9662 (an antagonist of PPAR gamma) and hCG. The mRNA expression of key steroidogenic factors including 3beta- hydroxysteriod dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD), cytochrome P-450 scc (CYP11A1), cytochrome P-450 aromatase (CYP19A1), and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Estradiol and progesterone levels in GLCs cultures were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay, and the proinflammtory factors (TNFalpha and IL-6) in conditioned culture media were measured by ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PPAR gamma mRNA levels increased up to 3.24 fold by rosiglitazone at the concentration of 30 microM compared to control (P < 0.05). hCG alone or hCG with rosiglitazone had no significant effects on PPAR gamma mRNA levels. The CYP19A1 mRNA level at exposure to rosiglitazone alone showed a drop, but was not significantly reduced comparing to control. The expression levels of enzymes 3beta-HSD and CYP11A1 in all treatments did not alter significantly. The StAR mRNA expression at exposure to rosiglitazone was significantly increased comparing to control (P < 0.05). The media concentrations of E2 and progesterone by rosiglitazone treatment showed a declining trend comparing to control or cotreatment with hCG, which did not reach significance. Most importantly, treatment with rosiglitazone decreased TNFalpha secretion in a statistically significant manner compared with control (P < 0.05). The concentration of IL-6 following rosiglitazone exposure did not significantly decrease comparing to control.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In cultured GLCs, rosiglitazone stimulated StAR expression, but did not significantly affect steroidogenic enzymes, as well as E2 and progesterone production. Moreover, rosiglitazone significantly decreased the production of TNFalpha in human GLCs, suggesting that PPAR gamma may play a role in the regulation of GLCs functions through inhibiting proinflammatory factors.</p

MicroRNA and mRNA expression profiling analysis revealed the regulation of plant height in Gossypium hirsutum

Novel miRNA identified in all libraries. (XLSX 12 kb

Clue-based Spatio-textual Query

Along with the proliferation of online digital map and location-based service, very large POI (point of interest) databases have been constructed where a record corresponds to a POI with information including name, category, address, geographical location and other features. A basic spatial query in POI database is POI retrieval. In many scenarios, a user cannot provide enough information to pinpoint the POI except some clue. For example, a user wants to identify a caf é in a city visited many years ago. SHe cannot remember the name and address but she still recalls that "the caf é is about 200 meters away from a restaurant; and turning left at the restaurant there is a bakery 500 meters away, etc.". Intuitively, the clue, even partial and approximate, describes the spatio-textual context around the targeted POI. Motivated by this observation, this work investigates clue-based spatio-textual query which allows user providing clue, i.e., some nearby POIs and the spatial relationships between them, in POI retrieval. The objective is to retrieve k POIs from a POI database with the highest spatio-textual context similarities against the clue. This work has deliberately designed data-quality-tolerant spatio-textual context similarity metric to cope with various data quality problems in both the clue and the POI database. Through crossing valuation, the query accuracy is further enhanced by ensemble method. Also, this work has developed an index called roll-out-star R-tree (RSR-tree) to dramatically improve the query processing efficiency. The extensive tests on data sets from the real world have verified the superiority of our methods in all aspects. </jats:p

Pretreatment with antiplatelet drugs improves the cardiac function after myocardial infarction without reperfusion in a mouse model

Background: Reperfusion therapy is known to improve prognosis and limit myocardial damage aftermyocardial infarction (MI). The administration of antiplatelet drugs prior to percutaneous coronaryintervention also proves beneficial to patients with acute MI (AMI). However, a good number of AMIpatients do not receive reperfusion therapy, and it is not clear if they would benefit from antiplateletpre-treatment.Methods: Experimental C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated to five groups: the sham group,control, post-treatment, pre-treatment, and pre- and post-treatment groups. Acetylsalicylic acid (15 mg/kg), clopidogrel (11 mg/kg), ticagrelor (27 mg/kg), and prasugrel (1.5 mg/kg) were intragastrically administered in the treatment groups. On day 7 post MI, cardiac function and cardiac fibrosis were evaluated using echocardiography and Masson’s trichrome staining, respectively. Histopathological examinations were performed on tissue sections to grade inflammatory cell infiltration. Platelet inhibition was monitored by measuring thrombin-induced platelet aggregation.Results: Left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening improved significantly (p &lt; 0.01)in the pre-treatment groups when compared to the post-treatment and control groups. A significant(p &lt; 0.01) decrease in cardiac fibrosis was observed in the pre-treatment group, compared with the posttreatment and control groups. Inflammatory cell infiltration significantly decreased in the pre-treatment group compared with the control group (p &lt; 0.05). Thrombin-induced platelet aggregation was significantly inhibited by antiplatelet drugs, but increased with the exposure to H2O2.Conclusions: In the absence of reperfusion therapy, pre-treatment with antiplatelet drugs successfullyimproved cardiac function, reduced cardiac fibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration, and inhibited oxidative stress-induced platelet aggregation after MI in the mouse model

Oligorotaxane radicals under orders

A strategy for creating foldameric oligorotaxanes composed of only positively charged components is reported. Threadlike components-namely oligoviologens-in which different numbers of 4,4'-bipyridinium (BIPY(2+)) subunits are linked by p-xylylene bridges, are shown to be capable of being threaded by cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT(4+)) rings following the introduction of radical-pairing interactions under reducing conditions. UV/vis/NIR spectroscopic and electrochemical investigations suggest that the reduced oligopseudorotaxanes fold into highly ordered secondary structures as a result of the formation of BIPY(\u2022+) radical cation pairs. Furthermore, by installing bulky stoppers at each end of the oligopseudorotaxanes by means of Cu-free alkyne-azide cycloadditions, their analogous oligorotaxanes, which retain the same stoichiometries as their progenitors, can be prepared. Solution-state studies of the oligorotaxanes indicate that their mechanically interlocked structures lead to the enforced interactions between the dumbbell and ring components, allowing them to fold (contract) in their reduced states and unfold (expand) in their fully oxidized states as a result of Coulombic repulsions. This electrochemically controlled reversible folding and unfolding process, during which the oligorotaxanes experience length contractions and expansions, is reminiscent of the mechanisms of actuation associated with muscle fibers

A statistically self-consistent fatigue damage accumulation model including load sequence effects under spectrum loading

A probabilistic methodology is proposed to evaluate fatigue damage accumulation and fatigue lives of specimens under variable amplitude loading. With probabilistic modifications in the present model, the calculative consistency is achieved between fatigue damage and fatigue life. The load sequence effects on fatigue damage accumulation are properly accounted for variable amplitude loading. The developed damage model overcomes the inherent deficiencies in the linear damage accumulation rule, but still preserves its simplicity for engineering application. Based on the Monte Carlo sampling method, numerical verification of this model is conducted under two kinds of spectrum loading. The predicted probabilistic distributions of fatigue lives are validated by fatigue tests on Al-alloy straight lugs.&nbsp