5-(4-Nitro­benz­yl)-1H-1,2,3,4-tetra­zole

In the title compound, C8H7N5O2, the dihedral angle between the benzene and tetra­zole rings is 63.13 (8)°. The crystal structure exhibits inter­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds which lead to the formation of one-dimensional chains along the [010] direction

Generalized Two-Dimensional Quaternion Principal Component Analysis with Weighting for Color Image Recognition

A generalized two-dimensional quaternion principal component analysis (G2DQPCA) approach with weighting is presented for color image analysis. As a general framework of 2DQPCA, G2DQPCA is flexible to adapt different constraints or requirements by imposing $L_{p}$ norms both on the constraint function and the objective function. The gradient operator of quaternion vector functions is redefined by the structure-preserving gradient operator of real vector function. Under the framework of minorization-maximization (MM), an iterative algorithm is developed to obtain the optimal closed-form solution of G2DQPCA. The projection vectors generated by the deflating scheme are required to be orthogonal to each other. A weighting matrix is defined to magnify the effect of main features. The weighted projection bases remain the accuracy of face recognition unchanged or moving in a tight range as the number of features increases. The numerical results based on the real face databases validate that the newly proposed method performs better than the state-of-the-art algorithms.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figure

(E)-3,3′-(Diazene-1,2-di­yl)bis­(1-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetra­hydro­pyrrolo­[3,4-c]pyrazol-5-ium) dinitrate dihydrate

The title compound, C12H18N8 2+·2NO3 −·2H2O, was synthesized unexpectedly from 3-amino-1-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetra­hydro­pyrrolo­[3,4-c]pyrazol-5-ium chloride and cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate. The cation has a crystallographically imposed centre of symmetry. In the crystal, the ions and water mol­ecules are linked via O—H⋯N, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network

Antidiabetic effect of Tibetan medicine Tang-Kang-Fu-San on high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the antidiabetic effects of a Tibetan medicine, Tang-Kang-Fu-San (TKFS), on experimental type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Firstly two major chemical compositions of TKFS, gallic acid and curcumin, were characterized by HPLC fingerprint analysis. Next T2DM in rats was induced by high-fat diet and a low-dose streptozotocin (STZ 35 mg/kg). Then oral gavage administration of three different doses of TKFS (0.3 g/kg, 0.6 g/kg, and 1.2 g/kg) was given to T2DM rats. Experimental results showed that TKFS dramatically reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose, fasting blood insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol, even though it did not alter the animal body weight. The downregulation of phosphorylation-AKT (p-AKT) and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle of T2DM rats was restored and abnormal pathological changes in pancreas tissues were also improved. Our work showed that TKFS could alleviate diabetic syndromes, maintain the glucose homeostasis, and protect against insulin resistance in T2DM rats, and the improvement of AKT phosphorylation and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle would be one of its possible underlying mechanisms

Analysis of nonlinear suspension power harvest potential

Because the power consumption of a controlled suspension is huge, the power harvest potential of a nonlinear controlled suspension is analyzed. Instead of simplifying the suspension to a linear model or adopting some control strategies to solve the problem, this paper investigates the effect of the nonlinear characteristics on the power harvesting potential. A mathematic model is introduced to calculate the nonlinear vibration, and the amount of harvested power was obtained using the multi-scale method. A numerical validation is carried out at the end of this study. The results show that the investigated mechanical parameters affect both the vibration amplitude and the induced current, while the electric parameters only affect the induced current. The power harvesting potential of the nonlinear suspension is generally greater than the linear suspension because the frequency band of the actual pavement also contains bandwidth surrounding the body resonance point. The only exception occurs if the vehicle travels on a road with a particular profile, e.g. a sine curve. To optimize harvested power, it is better to consider the nonlinear characteristics rather than simplifying the suspension to a linear model

Elective caesarean section versus vaginal delivery for preventing mother to child transmission of hepatitis B virus – a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caesarean section before labor or before ruptured membranes ("elective caesarean section", or ECS) has been introduced as an intervention for preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Currently, no evidence that ECS versus vaginal delivery reduces the rate of MTCT of HBV has been generally provided. The aim of this review is to assess, from randomized control trails (RCTs), the efficacy and safety of ECS versus vaginal delivery in preventing mother-to-child HBV transmission.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (January, 2008), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (the Cochrane Library 2008, issue 1), PubMed (1950 to 2008), EMBASE (1974 to 2008), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) (1975 to 2008), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979 to 2008), VIP database (1989 to 2008), as well as reference lists of relevant studies. Finally, four randomized trails involving 789 people were included. Based on meta-analysis, There was strong evidence that ECS versus vaginal delivery could effectively reduce the rate of MTCT of HBV (ECS: 10.5%; vaginal delivery: 28.0%). The difference between the two groups (ECS <it>versus </it>vaginal delivery) had statistical significance (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.60, P < 0.000001). No data regarding maternal morbidity or infant morbidity according to mode of delivery were available.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ECS appears to be effective in preventing MTCT of HBV and no postpartum morbidity (PPM) was reported. However, the conclusions of this review must be considered with great caution due to high risk of bias in each included study (graded C).</p