The sky brightness and transparency in i-band at Dome A, Antarctica

The i-band observing conditions at Dome A on the Antarctic plateau have been investigated using data acquired during 2008 with the Chinese Small Telescope ARray. The sky brightness, variations in atmospheric transparency, cloud cover, and the presence of aurorae are obtained from these images. The median sky brightness of moonless clear nights is 20.5 mag arcsec^{-2} in the SDSS $i$ band at the South Celestial Pole (which includes a contribution of about 0.06 mag from diffuse Galactic light). The median over all Moon phases in the Antarctic winter is about 19.8 mag arcsec^{-2}. There were no thick clouds in 2008. We model contributions of the Sun and the Moon to the sky background to obtain the relationship between the sky brightness and transparency. Aurorae are identified by comparing the observed sky brightness to the sky brightness expected from this model. About 2% of the images are affected by relatively strong aurorae.Comment: There are 1 Latex file and 14 figures accepted by A

The Balanced Insulating Performance and Mechanical Property of PP by Introducing PP‑<i>g</i>‑PS Graft Copolymer and SEBS Elastomer

The PP/PP-<i>g</i>-PS/SEBS blends are prepared by melt extrusion in order to improve both insulating properties and toughness of PP. SEBS is used to reduce the rigidity of PP, while the insulating properties are improved by adding PP-<i>g</i>-PS without decreasing mechanical properties. The microstructure of PP blends is carefully investigated by SEM, DMA, XRD, and DSC. It is interesting to find that a core–shell dispersion phase formed in the blend with the adding of PP-<i>g</i>-PS, and the size of core is decreased while the thickness of shell is increased with further increasing volume of PP-<i>g</i>-PS. Due to this special structure, the nucleation ability of SEBS is decreased. Meanwhile, the rigid segments and compatibilization effect of PP-<i>g</i>-PS not only increased the glass transition temperature of both PP and SEBS, but also enhanced their adhesion. Therefore, the electrical properties were increased without decreasing the mechanical properties of the blends. Consequently, an insulation material with excellent mechanical properties was obtained

Relationship between Gingival Crevicular Fluid Microbiota and Cytokine Profile in Periodontal Host Homeostasis

As potential biomarkers in periodontitis, microbiome, and cytokines have recently been extensively investigated, but combined analyses of the variations between the microbial structure and cytokine composition are rare. The present study aimed to investigate whether there are differences in the combined profile of microbiome and cytokines in individuals with or without periodontitis. The microbiome and cytokine composition in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) from 16 patients and 15 controls from Jishi Shan (Gansu, China) were analyzed using 454 pyrosequencing and RayBio Quantibody Arrays. The results showed that a higher co-occurrence of genera in periodontitis group compared with the healthy group, as evaluated by Schoener's abundance-based co-occurrence index. C-reactive protein (CRP) was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) higher in the GCF of the periodontitis group while interleukin (IL)-8 was significantly (P &lt; 0.01) higher in the GCF of the healthy group. The Mantel test revealed a significant concordance between cytokines and microbiota, in the healthy group (Mantel statistic r = 0.36, P ≤ 0.05) but not in the periodontitis group (Mantel statistic r = 0.013, P = 0.434). The results were further confirmed by the Procrustes test. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, osteoactivin, IL-8, and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a were significantly associated with bacterial composition at the phylum, class, order, family, and genus levels. CRP was also associated with bacterial composition at the species level. In conclusion, alterations in the polymicrobial community structure leads to disruption in the healthy correlation between cytokines and microbiomes. This dysbiosis between the microbiota and the immune response could be one of the major etiological mechanisms underlying periodontitis

Effects of the chinese herbal medicine prescription suanzaoren decoction on stress response of horses in transportation

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of Suanzaoren decoction on stress response of horses in transportation. A total of six male Ili horses were equally divided into Suanzaoren decoction treatment group (n = 3; basal diet supplemented with Suanzaoren decoction, three times/day) and control group (n = 3; basal diet, three times/day). After feeding for five days, all horses were transported for 8 h to simulate stress. Blood and serum samples were obtained before transport (BT), during transport (T), and after transport (AT). Results showed that there was significant interaction between road transport and dietary Suanzaoren decoction supplementation for the white blood cells (WBC), intermediate cell ratio (MID%), granulocyte ratio (GRAN%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glucose (GLU), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatine (CK), cortisol (COR), human growth hormone (HGH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and arginine vasopressin content, insulin (INS), and thyronine 4 (T4) in blood and serum. The highest WBC was found in T group. The highest GRAN%, ALT, GLU, AST, CK, T4, ACTH, and INS contents were observed in serum from AT groups, which was decreased by treatment. In conclusion, dietary Suanzaoren decoction supplementation did relieve horse transportation stress. This study provides a useful clinical therapy for relieving transportation stress of horses