Changzhi Suffix Tonal Reduplication

In this paper, a floating tonal reduplicant suffix is proposed to re-analyze Changzhi Chinese suffix tone sandhi (Hou 1983), which has been presented as major evidence for Contour Tone Units (CTU). All stem contour tones in Changzhi, except one stem level tone, overwrite the underlying tone (HMH) of the adjectival and diminutive suffixes. In Yip (1980, 1989), this process was analyzed as spreading contour tones as units. The stem level tone was assumed to be assigned by a Default Tone Rule ordered after the tonal spreading rule. However, this CTU-based analysis has a problem of ordering paradox that derives incorrect outputs of the general disyllabic patterns. Combining with the primary concept of ‘tonal copying’ process proposed by Duanmu (1990, 1994), the framework of Base-Reduplicant Correspondence (McCarthy and Prince 1994, 1995) of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993/2004) has a more plausible explanation to Changzhi suffix tone sandhi. The OT analysis suggests that a floating tonal reduplicant T-RED accompanies the suffixes in Changzhi. The correspondence between the stem tonemes and T-RED is faithful, and the latter docks onto the suffixes whose underlying tonemes are then overwritten by this process. The stem level tone is not an exception; it undergoes the same reduplication process, but covertly, with the unchanged surface tonal sequence

THE STUDY OF BATTING PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT MATERIAL BAT

The purpose of this study was to compare the velocity of sweet spot and batted-ball velocity during swing different material bat. Three collegiate baseball players randomly swung five different material bats. The high-speed video (2000 fps) was placed 7 meter above subject to capture swing image. The swing velocities of sweet spot before impact, after impact and batted-ball velocity were calculated. The results reveal that batted-ball velocity of bamboo bat and compound bat were between alloy bat and wood bat. There are significant correlations among bat velocity before impact and batted-ball velocity. We suggest that the bamboo or synthetic material of wood and bamboo were suitable to produce baseball bat. Moreover, it is very economy and safer than alloy bat

Regulation of CLC-1 chloride channel biosynthesis by FKBP8 and Hsp90β.

Mutations in human CLC-1 chloride channel are associated with the skeletal muscle disorder myotonia congenita. The disease-causing mutant A531V manifests enhanced proteasomal degradation of CLC-1. We recently found that CLC-1 degradation is mediated by cullin 4 ubiquitin ligase complex. It is currently unclear how quality control and protein degradation systems coordinate with each other to process the biosynthesis of CLC-1. Herein we aim to ascertain the molecular nature of the protein quality control system for CLC-1. We identified three CLC-1-interacting proteins that are well-known heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90)-associated co-chaperones: FK506-binding protein 8 (FKBP8), activator of Hsp90 ATPase homolog 1 (Aha1), and Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein (HOP). These co-chaperones promote both the protein level and the functional expression of CLC-1 wild-type and A531V mutant. CLC-1 biosynthesis is also facilitated by the molecular chaperones Hsc70 and Hsp90β. The protein stability of CLC-1 is notably increased by FKBP8 and the Hsp90β inhibitor 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) that substantially suppresses cullin 4 expression. We further confirmed that cullin 4 may interact with Hsp90β and FKBP8. Our data are consistent with the idea that FKBP8 and Hsp90β play an essential role in the late phase of CLC-1 quality control by dynamically coordinating protein folding and degradation

Differential regulation of morphine antinociceptive effects by endogenous enkephalinergic system in the forebrain of mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mice lacking the preproenkephalin (<it>ppENK</it>) gene are hyperalgesic and show more anxiety and aggression than wild-type (WT) mice. The marked behavioral changes in <it>ppENK </it>knock-out (KO) mice appeared to occur in supraspinal response to painful stimuli. However the functional role of enkephalins in the supraspinal nociceptive processing and their underlying mechanism is not clear. The aim of present study was to compare supraspinal nociceptive and morphine antinociceptive responses between WT and <it>ppENK </it>KO mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genotypes of bred KO mice were confirmed by PCR. Met-enkephalin immunoreactive neurons were labeled in the caudate-putamen, intermediated part of lateral septum, lateral globus pallidus, intermediated part of lateral septum, hypothalamus, and amygdala of WT mice. Met-enkephalin immunoreactive neurons were not found in the same brain areas in KO mice. Tail withdrawal and von Frey test results did not differ between WT and KO mice. KO mice had shorter latency to start paw licking than WT mice in the hot plate test. The maximal percent effect of morphine treatments (5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, i.p.) differed between WT and KO mice in hot plate test. The current source density (CSD) profiles evoked by peripheral noxious stimuli in the primary somatosenstory cortex (S1) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were similar in WT and KO mice. After morphine injection, the amplitude of the laser-evoked sink currents was decreased in S1 while the amplitude of electrical-evoked sink currents was increased in the ACC. These differential morphine effects in S1 and ACC were enhanced in KO mice. Facilitation of synaptic currents in the ACC is mediated by GABA inhibitory interneurons in the local circuitry. Percent increases in opioid receptor binding in S1 and ACC were 5.1% and 5.8%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present results indicate that the endogenous enkephalin system is not involved in acute nociceptive transmission in the spinal cord, S1, and ACC. However, morphine preferentially suppressed supraspinal related nociceptive behavior in KO mice. This effect was reflected in the potentiated differential effects of morphine in the S1 and ACC in KO mice. This potentiation may be due to an up-regulation of opioid receptors. Thus these findings strongly suggest an antagonistic interaction between the endogenous enkephalinergic system and exogenous opioid analgesic actions in the supraspinal brain structures.</p

Recurrent stress cardiomyopathy with different electrocardiographic abnormalities on each presentation in a depressed post-menopausal woman

AbstractStress cardiomyopathy (SCM) is a syndrome of transient cardiac abnormalities precipitated by intense emotional or physical stress. Differentiating SCM from acute myocardial infarction is often difficult but vital to avoid subjecting SCM patients to unnecessary reperfusion therapy and invasive coronary angiography. For accurate diagnosis, it is important that physicians be familiar with the current diagnostic criteria, most susceptible populations, and typical triggers for SCM. SCM occurs almost exclusively in post-menopausal women, a group with a high frequency of psychiatric disorders. Thus, in addition to typical trigger events, comorbid psychiatric disorders may contribute to SCM onset. We report a rare case of recurrent SCM with distinct electrocardiographic abnormalities during each presentation in a post-menopausal woman with depression.<Learning objective: Recurrence of SCM was thought to be infrequent before but it has been increasingly reported recently. Although the underlying mechanism remains unclear, comorbid psychiatric disorders may contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of SCM and its influence may have been underestimated. Routine mental health screening should be done accompanying therapy for SCM.

Perioperative Stroke Following General Surgery

AbstractPerioperative stroke is rare; however, patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery are considered to be at high risk for perioperative stroke. Here, we outline a case where perioperative stroke occurred following total hip replacement surgery. The risk factors and possible causes of the stroke in this patient are discussed. In addition, we reiterate the appropriate management approaches needed to prevent perioperative stroke. Briefly, the importance of precise preoperative evaluation and of proper intraoperative and postoperative management should not be overlooked. Finally, it is important to realize that decreasing perioperative strokes and the disabilities associated with them will lower the financial burden on families and the community

Gallic Acid Induces a Reactive Oxygen Species-Provoked c-Jun NH 2

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic lung disorder characterized by fibroblasts proliferation and extracellular matrix accumulation. Induction of fibroblast apoptosis therefore plays a crucial role in the resolution of this disease. Gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid), a common botanic phenolic compound, has been reported to induce apoptosis in tumor cell lines and renal fibroblasts. The present study was undertaken to examine the role of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in lung fibroblasts apoptosis induced by gallic acid. We found that treatment with gallic acid resulted in activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and protein kinase B (PKB, Akt), but not p38MAPK, in mouse lung fibroblasts. Inhibition of JNK using pharmacologic inhibitor (SP600125) and genetic knockdown (JNK specific siRNA) significantly inhibited p53 accumulation, reduced PUMA and Fas expression, and abolished apoptosis induced by gallic acid. Moreover, treatment with antioxidants (vitamin C, N-acetyl cysteine, and catalase) effectively diminished gallic acid-induced hydrogen peroxide production, JNK and p53 activation, and cell death. These observations imply that gallic acid-mediated hydrogen peroxide formation acts as an initiator of JNK signaling pathways, leading to p53 activation and apoptosis in mouse lung fibroblasts

THE PREDICTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY USING TREADMILL VIBRATION

A lot of treadmills detect physical activity by running speed which is only horizontal information, but vertical information is also important, such as impact and ground reaction force. This study tried to find out the relationship among the treadmill impact vibration, ground reaction force and human body impact vibration information on runner. Three college males were recruited to walk and run on treadmill at different speeds. Accelerometer on treadmill, accelerometer on human body and four load-cells were used to measure physical activity. The results showed that treadmill vibration was significantly correlated with body impact and ground reaction force. In the same speed, treadmill vibration at running was greater than walking. In order to predict whole physical activity more accurately, three-dimensional information should be used instead of speed only

Analysis of Agreement on Traditional Chinese Medical Diagnostics for Many Practitioners

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostics, it is an important issue to study the degree of agreement among several distinct practitioners. In order to study the reliability of TCM diagnostics, we have to design an experiment to simultaneously deal with both of the cases when the data is ordinal and when there are many TCM practitioners. In this study, we consider a reliability measure called “Krippendorff's alpha” to investigate the agreement of tongue diagnostics in TCM. Besides, since it is not easy to obtain a large data set with patients rated simultaneously by many TCM practitioners, we use the renowned “bootstrapping” to obtain a 95% confidence interval for the Krippendorff's alpha. The estimated Krippendorff's alpha for the agreement among ten physicians that discerned fifteen randomly chosen patients is 0.7343, and the 95% bootstrapping confidence interval for the true alpha coefficient is [0.6570, 0.7349]. The data was collected and analyzed at the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH) in Taiwan

Direction controllable linearly polarized laser from a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal

We demonstrate a direction controllable linearly polarized laser from a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) in a homogeneous cell coated with a metallic mirror on the inner side of a glass substrate. Due to coherent superposition of two orthogonal polarization states, the output laser light becomes linearly polarized and its output energy is greatly enhanced. Moreover, the linear polarization direction angle is proportional to the product of the CLC effective birefringence and cell gap. Hence direction tunable laser devices can be demonstrated by controlling the cell gap and the operating temperature