The Low Temperature Specific Heat of Pr 0.65

The low temperature specific heat of polycrystalline perovskite-type Pr0.65Ca0.35MnO3 manganese oxide has been investigated experimentally. It is found that the low temperature electron specific heat in zero magnetic field is obviously larger than that of ordinary rare-earth manganites oxide. To get the contribution of phonon to the specific heat precisely, the lattice specific heat is calculated by Debye model fitting. Results confirm that the low temperature specific heat of Pr0.65Ca0.35MnO3 is related to the itinerant electrons in ferromagnetic clusters and the disorder in the sample

Surface Microstructure of Nanoaluminized CoCrAlY Coating Irradiated by HCPEB

A thermal sprayed CoCrAlY coating was prepared by air plasma spray on the surface of Ni-based superalloy GH4169; then, a nanoscale aluminum film was deposited with electron beam vacuum deposition on it. The coatings irradiated by high-current pulsed electron beam were investigated. After HCPEB treatment, the Al film was remelted into the bond coat. XRD result shows that Al and Al2O3 phase were recorded in the irradiated and aluminized coatings, while Co-based oxides which originally existed in the initial samples disappeared. Microstructure observations reveal that the original coating with porosity, cavities, and inclusions was significantly changed after HCPEB treatment as compact appearance of interconnected bulged nodules. Moreover, the grains on the irradiated coating were very refined and homogeneously dispersed on the surface, which could effectively inhibit the corrosive gases and improve the coating oxidation resistance

Low Virologic Failure and Drug Resistance among HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Hospital-Based ART While Care and Outreach through Community in Guangxi, China

Objectives: To investigate HIV virologic suppression and drug resistance among HIV-infected patients receiving first-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) in hospitals while community care and outreach through local health workers in Guangxi, China.Design: This was a series of cross-sectional surveys from 2004 to 2012 in Guangxi, supported by the Chinese National HIVDR Surveillance and Monitoring Network Working Group.Settings: Guangxi, ChinaMethods: Demographic, ART and laboratory data (CD4+ cell count, viral load, and drug resistance) were analyzed. Factors associated with virologic suppression were identified by logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 780 patients were included in this study. The median treatment duration was 20.6 months (IQR 6.6-35.9). Of 780 study participants, 95.4% of patients (744/780) had HIV virologic suppression. Among these, of the 143 patients who were infected through drug injection, only 10(7.0%) experienced virologic failure. and the overall prevalence of HIVDR was 2.8% (22/789). Factors associated with virologic suppression in the final multivariate models included: self-reported missing doses in the past month (compared to not missing doses in the past month, AOR=0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.6) and initial ART regimen without 3TC (compared to initial ART regimen with 3TC, AOR=0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.4). Moreover, the trend chi-square test showed that the proportion of virologic suppression increased over time from 2004 to 2012 (P=0.002).Conclusions: This study first demonstrated that HIV patients infected through various transmission routes can achieve an excellent treatment outcome in hospitals at or above the county level for free first-line ART in Guangxi. It is a important of ART education and adherence to intervention for achieving better treatment outcomes

Systematic Identification of the Light-quality Responding Anthocyanin Synthesis-related Transcripts in Petunia Petals

Previous studies have shown that high light intensity can induce anthocyanin synthesis (AS) in petunia plants. To identify which kind of light quality plays a role in inducing such metabolic process, and what transcripts participate in controlling it, we carried out whole-transcriptome sequencing and analysis of petunia petals treated with different light-quality conditions. Among the red and white light treatments, a total of 2 205 differentially expressed genes and 15, 22, and 20 differentially expressed circRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs, were identified respectively. The AS-related genes, including the structural genes CHSj, F3'H, F3'5'H, DFR, and ANS , and the regulatory genes AN4, DPL, PHZ and MYBx were found to be downregulated under red light condition compared with their levels under white light condition. Furthermore, the light photoreceptor Cryptochrome 3 (CRY3) and a series of light-dependent genes, such as PIF, HY5, and BBXs, were also determined to respond to the light treatments. The anthocyanin contents in early petunia petals under red light were significantly lower than that under white and blue light. The results of qRT-PCR further confirmed the expression pattern of some AS-related and light-response genes in response to different light quality. Yeast two-hybrid results showed that the key elements in the light signal pathway, HY5 can interact with BBX19, BBX24 and BBX25. And PHZ, the important AS regulator can induce anthocyanin synthesis in response to blue light quality from transient expression analysis in petunia petals. These findings presented here not only deepen our understanding of how light quality controls anthocyanin synthesis, but also allow us to explore potential target genes for improving pigment production in petunia flower petals

Large-area synthesis of superclean graphene via selective etching of amorphous carbon with carbon dioxide

Contamination commonly observed on the graphene surface is detrimental to its excellent properties and strongly hinders its application. It is still a great challenge to produce large-area clean graphene film in a low-cost manner. Herein, we demonstrate a facile and scalable chemical vapor deposition approach to synthesize meter-sized samples of superclean graphene with an average cleanness of 99 %, relying on the weak oxidizing ability of CO to etch away the intrinsic contamination, i.e., amorphous carbon. Remarkably, the elimination of amorphous carbon enables a significant reduction of polymer residues in the transfer of graphene films and the fabrication of graphene-based devices and promises strongly enhanced electrical and optical properties of graphene. The facile synthesis of large-area superclean graphene would open the pathway for both fundamental research and industrial applications of graphene, where a clean surface is highly needed

Superior success rate of intracavitary electrocardiogram guidance for peripherally inserted central catheter placement in patients with cancer: A randomized open-label controlled multicenter study

<div><p>Background</p><p>Intracavitary electrocardiogram (IC ECG) guidance emerges as a new technique for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) placement and demonstrates many potential advantages in recent observational studies.</p><p>Aims</p><p>To determine whether IC ECG-guided PICCs provide more accurate positioning of catheter tips compared to conventional anatomical landmarks in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.</p><p>Methods</p><p>In this multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled study (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02409589), a total of 1,007 adult patients were assigned to receive either IC ECG guidance (n = 500) or anatomical landmark guidance (n = 507) for PICC positioning. The confirmative catheter tip positioning x-ray data were centrally interpreted by independent radiologists. All reported analyses in the overall population were performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Analyses of pre-specified subgroups and a selected large subpopulation were conducted to explore consistency and accuracy.</p><p>Results</p><p>In the IC ECG-guided group, the first-attempt success rate was 89.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86.5% to 91.9%), which was significantly higher than 77.4% (95% CI, 73.7% to 81.0%) in the anatomical landmark group (P < 0.0001). This trend of superiority of IC ECG guidance was consistently noted in almost all prespecified patient subgroups and two selected large subpopulations, even when using optimal target rates for measurement. In contrast, the superiority nearly disappeared when PICCs were used via the left instead of right arms (interaction P-value = 0.021). No catheter-related adverse events were reported during the PICC intra-procedures in either group.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Our findings indicated that the IC ECG-guided method had a more favorable positioning accuracy versus traditional anatomical landmarks for PICC placement in adult patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Furthermore, there were no significant safety concerns reported for catheterization using the two techniques.</p></div

G-Quadruplex DNAzyme Molecular Beacon for Amplified Colorimetric Biosensing of Pseudostellaria heterophylla

With an internal transcribed spacer of 18 S, 5.8 S and 26 S nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA ITS) as DNA marker, we report a colorimetric approach for authentication of Pseudostellaria heterophylla (PH) and its counterfeit species based on the differentiation of the nrDNA ITS sequence. The assay possesses an unlabelled G-quadruplex DNAzyme molecular beacon (MB) probe, employing complementary sequence as biorecognition element and 1:1:1:1 split G-quadruplex halves as reporter. In the absence of target DNA (T-DNA), the probe can shape intermolecular G-quadruplex structures capable of binding hemin to form G-quadruplex-hemin DNAzyme and catalyze the oxidation of ABTS2&amp;#8722; to blue-green ABTS&amp;#8226;&amp;#8722; by H2O2. In the presence of T-DNA, T-DNA can hybridize with the complementary sequence to form a duplex structure, hindering the formation of the G-quadruplex structure and resulting in the loss of the catalytic activity. Consequently, a UV-Vis absorption signal decrease is observed in the ABTS2&amp;#8722;-H2O2 system. The &amp;#8220;turn-off&amp;#8221; assay allows the detection of T-DNA from 1.0 &amp;#215; 10&amp;#8722;9 to 3.0 &amp;#215; 10&amp;#8722;7 mol&amp;#183;L&amp;#8722;1 (R2 = 0.9906), with a low detection limit of 3.1 &amp;#215; 10&amp;#8722;10 mol&amp;#183;L&amp;#8722;1. The present study provides a sensitive and selective method and may serve as a foundation of utilizing the DNAzyme MB sensor for identifying traditional Chinese medicines