Experimental Study on Carbonation of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete

With the steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) used more and more widely in some large-span structures, large tunnel linings, dam structures, military engineering, and some other major projects, its durability arouses more and more concerns. In this paper carbonation test of SFRC was conducted. The rule for the mixing amount of steel fiber (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%) to affect the carbonation depth of concrete and the strength developing rule of SFRC after carbonation test were researched. To analyze the property change rules from micro perspective of SFRC after carbonation, the pore structure of SFRC after carbonation was tested. The results show that appropriate amount of steel fiber can retard the speed of concrete carbonation; the concrete carbonation speed is the slowest when the fiber content is 1.5%, and the carbonation speed is accelerated when the fiber content is increased to 2%. Carbonation can change the pore structure of SFRC, total porosity, total pore volume, and total pore areas reduced and makes the pore structure of concrete going more reasonable. Carbonation can improve the splitting tensile strength of SFRC to certain extent

Impact of drug-eluting stents with different coating strategies on stent thrombosis: A meta-analysis of 19 randomized trials

Background: Whether drug-eluting stents with biodegradable polymers (BP-DES) improve safety, especially with respect to stent thrombosis (ST) compared with permanent polymers DES (PP-DES), remains uncertain. We aimed to compare the short- and long-term outcomes and the ST risk in patients treated with BP-DES vs. PP-DES.Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Web of science, CENTRAL databases, and conferenceproceedings/abstracts for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing BP-DES with PP-DES. The primary endpoint was to compare the risks of overall and different temporalc ategories of definite/probable ST. Other clinical outcomes were target lesion revascularization (TLR), myocardial infarction (MI), and all-cause death in short-term (≤ 1 year) and long-term follow-up. The meta-analyses were performed by computing odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a random-effects model.Results: Nineteen RCTs including 20,229 patients were analyzed. Overall, BP-DES significantly decreased the risks of very late definite/probable ST (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.16–0.70), and TLR in long-term follow-up (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.52–0.95) compared with PP-DES. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding MI incidence and mortality during both short and long follow-up periods. In stratified analyses, the long-term superiority of BP-DES was maintained only by using first-generation DES as the comparators.Conclusions: The present meta-analysis indicated that BP-DES were more efficacious than PP-DES at reducing the risks of very late ST and long-term TLR, but it could vary by heterogeneities in the use of PP-DES comparators. Additional rigorous RCTs with longer follow-up periods are warranted to verify these very promising long-term endpoints.

Dependence of the decoherence of polarization states in phase-damping channels on the frequency spectrum envelope of photons

We consider the decoherence of photons suffering in phase-damping channels. By exploring the evolutions of single-photon polarization states and two-photon polarization-entangled states, we find that different frequency spectrum envelopes of photons induce different decoherence processes. A white frequency spectrum can lead the decoherence to an ideal Markovian process. Some color frequency spectrums can induce asymptotical decoherence, while, some other color frequency spectrums can make coherence vanish periodically with variable revival amplitudes. These behaviors result from the non-Markovian effects on the decoherence process, which may give rise to a revival of coherence after complete decoherence.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, new results added, replaced by accepted versio

Diethyl 2,6-dimethyl-4-phenyl-1,4-dihydro­pyridine-3,5-dicarboxyl­ate

The title mol­ecule, C19H23NO4, was synthesized by the reaction of benzaldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate and NH4HCO3. The dihydro­pyridine ring adopts a flattened boat conformation and the plane of the base of the boat forms a dihedral angle of 88.78 (9)° with the phenyl ring. The packing is stabilized by strong inter­molecular N—H⋯O and weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Expression of Robo4 in the fibrovascular membranes from patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and its role in RF/6A and RPE cells

Purpose: Robo4, a member of the roundabout (Robo) family, acts as a neuronal guidance receptor and plays some role in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. This study investigated the effect of Robo4 on the formation of fibrovascular membranes (FVMs) from patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and its roles in choroid-retina endothelial (RF/6A) and human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Methods: RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to determine the levels of mRNA and the presence and distribution of Robo4 in FVMs. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology was used to knock down Robo4 expression and to study its effects on RF/6A and RPE cells in vitro. Cell proliferation, migration, spreading, cycling, and apoptosis were assessed with MTT assay, Boyden chamber assay, immunocytochemistry, and flow cytometry. Tube formation by RF/6A on Matrigel was also analyzed. Results: The level of Robo4 mRNA was high in FVMs. Robo4 was expressed in the vessels and fibrous-like tissue co-immunostained for CD31 and GFAP, respectively. Robo4 siRNA knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and migration. Tube formation by RF/6A cells was also disturbed. Under hypoxic conditions, more apoptotic cells were evident among the knockdown cells than among the control cells (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Robo4 may play a role in the formation of FVMs. Silencing the expression of Robo4 in RF/6A and RPE cells inhibited their proliferation and reduced their tolerance of hypoxic conditions, suggesting physiologic functions of Robo4 in the cells of the retina.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000267136400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyOphthalmologySCI(E)PubMed15ARTICLE112-131057-10691

Analysis of miRNAs and their target genes associated with lipid metabolism in duck liver

Citation: He, J. et al. Analysis of miRNAs and their target genes associated with lipid metabolism in duck liver. Sci. Rep. 6, 27418; doi: 10.1038/srep27418 (2016).Fat character is an important index in duck culture that linked to local flavor, feed cost and fat intake for costumers. Since the regulation networks in duck lipid metabolism had not been reported very clearly, we aimed to explore the potential miRNA-mRNA pairs and their regulatory roles in duck lipid metabolism. Here, Cherry-Valley ducks were selected and treated with/without 5% oil added in feed for 2 weeks, and then fat content determination was performed on. The data showed that the fat contents and the fatty acid ratios of C17:1 and C18:2 were up-regulated in livers of oil-added ducks, while the C12:0 ratio was down-regulated. Then 21 differential miRNAs, including 10 novel miRNAs, were obtain from the livers by sequencing, and 73 target genes involved in lipid metabolic processes of these miRNAs were found, which constituted 316 miRNA-mRNA pairs. Two miRNA-mRNA pairs including one novel miRNA and one known miRNA, N-miR-16020-FASN and gga-miR-144-ELOVL6, were selected to validate the miRNA-mRNA negative relation. And the results showed that N-mir-16020 and gga-miR-144 could respectively bind the 3?-UTRs of FASN and ELOVL6 to control their expressions. This study provides new sights and useful information for future research on regulation network in duck lipid metabolism

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Two Novel Promising Candidate Genes Affecting Escherichia coli F4ab/F4ac Susceptibility in Swine

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) expressing F4 fimbria is the major pathogenic bacteria causing diarrhoea in neonatal and post-weaning piglets. Previous studies have revealed that the susceptibility to ETEC F4ab/F4ac is an autosomal Mendelian dominant trait and the loci controlling the F4ab/F4ac receptor are located on SSC13q41, between markers SW207 and S0283. To pinpoint these loci and further validate previous findings, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a two generation family-based population, consisting of 301 piglets with phenotypes of susceptibility to ETEC F4ab/F4ac by the vitro adhesion test. The DNA of all piglets and their parents was genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip, and 50,972 and 50,483 SNPs were available for F4ab and F4ac susceptibility, respectively, in the association analysis after quality control. In summary, 28 and 18 significant SNPs (p<0.05) were detected associated with F4ab and F4ac susceptibility respectively at genome-wide significance level. From these significant findings, two novel candidate genes, HEG1 and ITGB5, were firstly identified as the most promising genes underlying F4ab/F4ac susceptibility in swine according to their functions and positions. Our findings herein provide a novel evidence for unravelling genetic mechanism of diarrhoea risk in piglets

Middle-Late Jurassic magmatism in the west central Lhasa subterrane, Tibet: Petrology, zircon chronology, elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-Mg isotopic geochemistry

Mesozoic magmatic rocks are widespread in the Lhasa terrane, but most of them are of cretaceous age. Because Jurassic rocks are relatively rare and our knowledge on such earlier magmatism in the context of the tectonic setting and evolution is limited. In this study, we focus on the mid-late Jurassic granitoids that occur in the west central Lhasa subterrane. We present the results of a systematic study of these granitoid rocks of tonalite composition together with the hosted mafic magmatic enclaves. We dated 4 representative tonalite samples and 2 enclaves using zircon U-Pb method that gives the age range of 167–154 Ma. All these samples have Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr = 0.713941–0.718417, εNd(t) = −14 to −9.8, 206Pb/204Pb = 18.806–18.936, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.739–15.764, 208Pb/204Pb = 39.257–39.798) similar to the composition of gneisses from the basement of the Lhasa terrane, suggesting that magmas parental to these mid-late Jurassic granitoids of tonalitic composition are of largely crustal origin, which is also supported by the petrographic observations. Both of the tonalite samples and the mafic enclaves have a wide span of zircon εHf(t) of −15.9 to −0.2 and − 13.8 to −7.4, respectively. These samples also show varying δ26Mg ranging from −0.40 to −0.18, with an average δ26Mg = −0.27 ± 0.06‰ (2SD) that is best understood as representing the Mg composition of the continental crust of the Lhasa terrane. All these observations allow us to conclude that basaltic melts derived from metasomatized mantle were involved in the petrogenesis of these granitoids. Specifically, southward subduction of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean lithosphere and subsequent slab rollback metasomatized the mantle wedge and the lithospheric mantle above, whose melting produced basaltic magmas. Underplating and intrusion of these basaltic magmas caused crustal melting and generation of granitoid magmas parental to the tonalite and enclaves we study