165 research outputs found

    The Circulation of Bronze Mirrors in Late Prehistoric Xinjiang (2000–200 B.C.)

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    Decades of archaeological excavations have yielded a large number of bronze mirrors from late prehistoric sites in Xinjiang. Scholarly attention has been invested in fitting these specular discs into a singular origin story of the Chinese mirror. Repositioning them within the context of the eastern Eurasian steppe, this article instead takes Xingjiang mirrors as artifacts indexing both diverse local developments and transregional patterns of circulation. A typological framework is proposed based on shape and structure: knob mirror with a flat rim, knob mirror with a flanged rim, grip mirror with a long handle, tanged mirror with a short protrusion, and knobless and handleless mirror. The presence or absence of zoomorphic décor enables even finer distinctions. ArcGIS mapping is employed to investigate the geo-cultural distributions of the different mirror types across Xinjiang. As a result, this article argues that the circulation of bronze mirrors in late prehistoric Xinjiang entailed four aspects of creative processes of cultural exchange, including diversity, fluidity, connectivity, and adaptability. Diversity is manifest in the richness and variety of Xinjiang mirror types. Fluidity challenges the knob-versus-grip dichotomy long held in academia. Connectivity captures frequent and multiple exchanges across all parts of the steppe that generated pan-regional styles and facilitated transfer of mirror casting techniques and designs. Adaptability foregrounds the agency of local invention and adaptation. The combined local-global perspective brings into focus the intricacies of mirror circulation centered in Xinjiang, a pivotal geographic and cultural hub of East-West exchange long before the Han empire’s opening of the Silk Road in the second century B.C

    Complex fuzzy linear systems

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    In paper the complex fuzzy linear equation nbspnbspin which nbspis a crisp complex matrix and nbspis an arbitrary complex fuzzy numbers vector, is investigated. The complex fuzzy linear system is converted to a equivalent high order fuzzy linear system . Numerical procedure for calculating the complex fuzzy solution is designed and thenbsp sufficient condition for the existence of strong complex fuzzy solution is derived. A example is given to illustrate the proposed method.nbs

    Modeling the Perceptions and Preferences of Pedestrians on Crossing Facilities

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    Pedestrian’s street-crossing behaviour has a significant effect on traffic performance and safety. The crossing behaviour is determined by human factors and environmental factors. Aiming at examining the pedestrian perceptions toward crossing facilities and preferences for crossing locations, an observational study of pedestrian crossing behaviour at urban street is conducted. The perceptions and preferences of pedestrians are collected using stated preference technique. A specific questionnaire is designed to conduct the stated preference survey. A multinomial logit model is proposed to describe the perceptions and preferences of pedestrians on crossing facilities and locations. The sensitivity analysis is performed to discuss the influence of various factors on crossing behaviour. Then the relationship between crossing locations and crossing distances is analyzed by a new proposed method. With the theoretical analysis, the engineering solutions considering pedestrian behaviour are suggested. The results are helpful to design human-centered crossing facilities in urban traffic

    A Missing Key to Understand the Electrical Resonance and the Mechanical Property of Neurons: a Channel-Membrane Interaction Mechanism

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    The recent study of the interaction between the fatty acyl tails of lipids and the K+ channel establishes the connection between flexoelectricity and the ion channel's dynamics, named Channel-Membrane Interaction (CMI), that may solve the electrical resonance in neurons

    Synthesis of <i>N</i>-(4-chlorophenyl) substituted pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles enabling PKBβ/AKT2 inhibitory and <i>in vitro</i> anti-glioma activity

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    A series of N-(4-chlorophenyl) substituted pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles was synthesised and screened for their potential to inhibit kinases and exhibit anticancer activity against primary patient-derived glioblastoma 2D cells and 3D neurospheres. A collection of 10 compounds was evaluated against glioma cell lines, with compound 4j exhibiting promising glioma growth inhibitory properties. Compound 4j was screened against 139 purified kinases and exhibited low micromolar activity against kinase AKT2/PKBβ. AKT signalling is one of the main oncogenic pathways in glioma and is often targeted for novel therapeutics. Indeed, AKT2 levels correlated with glioma malignancy and poorer patient survival. Compound 4j inhibited the 3D neurosphere formation in primary patient-derived glioma stem cells and exhibited potent EC(50) against glioblastoma cell lines. Although exhibiting potency against glioma cells, 4j exhibited significantly less cytotoxicity against non-cancerous cells even at fourfold–fivefold the concentration. Herein we establish a novel biochemical kinase inhibitory function for N-(4-chlorophenyl) substituted pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles and further report their anti-glioma activity in vitro KEY MESSAGE: Anti-glioma pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole 4j inhibited the 3D neurosphere formation in primary patient-derived glioma stem cells. 4j also displayed PKBβ/AKT2 inhibitory activity. 4j is nontoxic towards non-cancerous cells

    PO-099 Effects of long-term high-intensity exercise training on renal local renin-angiotensin system in rats

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    Objective Exercise stimulation to the body of the first stress: blood changes, regulated by the renin-angiotensin system. Long-term high-intensity exercise training will lead to changes in kidney structure and function, resulting in renal injury. This will not only affect training and competition, but also affect the health of athletes, thus it is becoming an influential factor in the occurrence and development of excessive fatigue. At present, the mechanism of renal injury and proteinuria caused by exercise is not very clear. Therefore, this study conducted an in-depth study on the upstream mechanism of renal blood flow changes from the molecular level and explored the effects of 6-week high-intensity exercise training on the renal local renin-angiotensin system in rats. Methods 30 SD male rats (8 weeks old) were randomly divided into control group (10) and exercise group (20). Then according to different time, the exercise group (20) was divided into two groups on average, which are 0h group and 24h group. The rats in the control group did not do any exercise, and the rats in the exercise group were trained to run on the platform with high intensity for 6 weeks. At the beginning of the sixth week, the urine of rats from different group were selected randomly, and the urine NGAL, urinary microalbumin (mAlb), urinary creatinine (UCr) and total urine protein (TP) were tested, to determine the rat model of exercise-induced renal injury with proteinuria. After training on the 6th weekend, the renal tissue renin activity and angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ) content in right kidney were tested. At the same time, the left kidney of the rat was taken to make HE staining sections. Results (1) The mAlb, Alb/Cr and TP of the exercise group were higher than those of the control group, while the UCr content was lower than that of the control group. There was a significant difference between mAlb and TP in the exercise group and the control group(p&lt;0.05). UCr, mAlb/Cr were significantly different from the control group(p&lt;0.01). The urine NGAL concentration in the exercise group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was significant(p&lt;0.05). (2) The glomerulus of the rats in the 0h group showed obvious congestion, swelling and erythrocyte exudation. The tissue morphology of rats in the 24h group recovered slightly, but it was still different from the control group. (3) The renin activity and Ang Ⅱ were the lowest in the 0h group, and the renin activity and Ang Ⅱ were highest in the 24h group. There is a very significant difference between the groups(p&lt;0.01). Conclusions (1) The 6-week high-intensity training used in this study increased the levels of NGAL, TP, and mAlb in the urine of rats, and successfully established a rat model of exercise-induced renal injury with proteinuria. (2) Long-term high-intensity exercise training can cause obvious congestion, swelling, erythrocyte exudation in rat glomeruli, which can’t return to the quiet level 24 hours after exercise. (3) Renal injury caused by exercise decreased the expression of local renin activity and angiotensin II in the kidney, and the recovery of renal renin activity and angiotensin II was increased 24h after exercise

    PL-011 Astaxanthin Reduces High Intensity Training Induced Myocardial Cell Apoptosis Via Activating Nrf2 in Rats

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    Objective Long-term intensive training may led to ischemia oxygen reaction and increase the ROS. Astaxanthin, as the super antioxidant, was investigated to against anti-oxidative stress. By supplementing the astaxanthin, we wanted to observe if it can mediated Nrf2 reduces myocardial cell oxidative injury in rats after high intensity training of 6 weeks.&nbsp; Methods 7-week SD male rats were divided into 3 groups randomly: control group ( C group,n =10),high intensity training group ( HT group,n = 15),astaxanthin and high intensity training group (HTA group,n = 15) . The rats in HTA group were given with astaxanthin 20 mg /kg·d and in HT group were given with oil during the training day.The serum cTnI,myocardial apoptosis index,&nbsp; the expression of myocardial BAX, Bcl2, Nrf2, HO-1, myocardial MDA,SOD and T- AOC activity were measured 24 hours after the last training. Results After 6-week tranning of high intensity, compared with group C, the serum cTNI, myocardial apoptosis index, the expression of BAX and myocardial MDA were significantly higher in group HT(P&lt;0.01).The Bcl2/Bax, the expression of HO-1,&nbsp;SOD and T-AOC activity were significantly declined (P&lt;0.01).&nbsp;After the intervention of 6-week astaxanthin, compared with group HT, the serum cTNI, myocardial MDA, the myocardial apoptosis index, the expression of BAX were significantly lower in HTA group (cTNI(ng/ml): 1.16±0.27 VS 2.47±0.39, P&lt;0.05; myocardial apoptosis index: 164.27±3.98 VS 196.20±9.65, P&lt;0.01; BAX: 58.40±5.95 VS 78.03±3.80, P&lt;0.01 ). Finally, Bcl2/Bax, SOD, T-AOC activity, the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly higher &nbsp;(Bcl2/Bax : 1.92±0.10 VS 1.19±0.18, P&lt;0.01; SOD(U/mg): 52.38±6.15 VS 38.32±3.36, P&lt;0.01; T-AOC(U/mg): 30.22±4.07 VS 23.76±3.20, P&lt;0.01; Nrf2: 93.61±8.53 VS 74.26±6.69, P&lt;0.01; HO-1: 84.99±13.78 VS 64.22±11.39, P&lt;0.05).&nbsp; Conclusions The supplement of astaxanthin can mediate Nrf2 signaling pathway, and elevate the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1. Then it can increase the activity of SOD and T-AOC and reduce the myocardial oxidative level and myocardial apoptosis in rats caused by 6-week high intensity training. Finally, the structure and function of heart tissue are back to normal
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