Conceptual design of a high-speed electromagnetic switch for a modified flux-coupling-type SFCL and its application in renewable energy system.

The modified flux-coupling-type superconducting fault current (SFCL) is a high-efficient electrical auxiliary device, whose basic function is to suppress the short-circuit current by controlling the magnetic path through a high-speed switch. In this paper, the high-speed switch is based on electromagnetic repulsion mechanism, and its conceptual design is carried out to promote the application of the modified SFCL. Regarding that the switch which is consisting of a mobile copper disc, two fixed opening and closing coils, the computational method for the electromagnetic force is discussed, and also the dynamic mathematical model including circuit equation, magnetic field equation as well as mechanical motion equation is theoretically deduced.

Ginkgolide B Protects Against Ischemic Stroke Via Modulating Microglia Polarization in Mice.

Aim: Ginkgolide B (GB) has shown neuroprotective effect in treating ischemic stroke, related to its property of anti-inflammation. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether GB is able to modulate microglia/macrophage polarization, which has recently been proven to be vital in the pathology of ischemic stroke.

Methods: We performed transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) on C57BL/6J male mice and induced cultured BV2 microglia and primary bone marrow-derived macrophages to be M1/2 phenotype by LPS+ interferon-γ and IL-4, respectively.

Risk stratification of decompensated cirrhosis patients by Chronic Liver Failure Consortium scores: Classification and regression tree analysis.

Aim: Decompensated cirrhosis patients have greatly variable prognosis. The aim of the study was to carry out a risk stratification for those patients by Chronic Liver Failure (CLIF) Consortium scores.

Methods: The performance of CLIF Consortium acute-on-chronic liver failure scores (CLIF-C ACLFs) and CLIF Consortium Acute Decompensation scores (CLIF-C ADs) were validated in 209 patients with ACLF and 1245 patients without ACLF at admission from the Ningbo Cohort.

Pilot-scale UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process for municipal reuse water: Assessing micropollutant degradation and estrogenic impacts on goldfish (Carassius auratus L.).

Low concentrations (ng/L-μg/L) of emerging micropollutant contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents affect the possibility to reuse these waters. Many of those micropollutants elicit endocrine disrupting effects in aquatic organisms resulting in an alteration of the endocrine system. A potential candidate for tertiary municipal wastewater treatment of these micropollutants is ultraviolet (UV)/hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an advanced oxidation process (AOP) which was currently applied to treat the secondary effluent of the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant (GBWWTP) in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Cryopreservation of Human Mucosal Leukocytes.

Background: Understanding how leukocytes in the cervicovaginal and colorectal mucosae respond to pathogens, and how medical interventions affect these responses, is important for developing better tools to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. An effective cryopreservation protocol for these cells following their isolation will make studying them more feasible.

Methods And Findings: To find an optimal cryopreservation protocol for mucosal mononuclear leukocytes, we compared cryopreservation media and procedures using human vaginal leukocytes and confirmed our results with endocervical and colorectal leukocytes.

Combined Cytological and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals a Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway Involved in Cold-Inhibited Camellia sinensis Pollen Tube Growth.

Nitric oxide (NO) as a signaling molecule plays crucial roles in many abiotic stresses in plant development processes, including pollen tube growth. Here, the signaling networks dominated by NO during cold stress that inhibited Camellia sinensis pollen tube growth are investigated in vitro. Cytological analysis show that cold-induced NO is involved in the inhibition of pollen tube growth along with disruption of the cytoplasmic Ca(2+) gradient, increase in ROS content, acidification of cytoplasmic pH and abnormalities in organelle ultrastructure and cell wall component distribution in the pollen tube tip.

[Expression and function of T-type α1H Ca(2)(+) channels in the rat model of Hirschsprung disease].

Objective: To investigate the role of T-type α1H Ca(2+) channels(Cav 3.2) in the pathogenesis of Hirschsprung disease(HD).

Method: Eighty neonatal SD rats 6 to 8 days of age were randomly divided into 2 groups, 40 in each.

Cell-bound lipases from Burkholderia sp. ZYB002: gene sequence analysis, expression, enzymatic characterization, and 3D structural model.

Background: The whole-cell lipase from Burkholderia cepacia has been used as a biocatalyst in organic synthesis. However, there is no report in the literature on the component or the gene sequence of the cell-bound lipase from this species. Qualitative analysis of the cell-bound lipase would help to illuminate the regulation mechanism of gene expression and further improve the yield of the cell-bound lipase by gene engineering.

Alisma orientale: Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of an Important Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Alisma orientale (Sam.) Juzep. (Alismataceae) is a traditional and famous Chinese medicinal herb.

Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Physalis Alkekengi var. franchetii and Its Main Constituents.

This study was designed to determine whether the 50% EtOH fraction from AB-8 macroporous resin fractionation of a 70% EtOH extract of P. Alkekengi (50-EFP) has antibacterial and/or anti-inflammatory activity both in vivo and in vitro and to investigate the mechanism of 50-EFP anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, this study sought to define the chemical composition of 50-EFP.

Dose-Dependent Associations between Wine Drinking and Breast Cancer Risk - Meta-Analysis Findings.

Purpose: To investigate any potential association between wine and breast cancer risk.

Materials And Methods: We quantitatively assessed associations by conducting a meta-analysis based on evidence from observational studies. In May 2014, we performed electronic searches in PubMed, EmBase and the Cochrane Library to identify studies examining the effect of wine drinking on breast cancer incidence.

[Screening of different AFLP fragments between near-isogenic lines of male sterile and fertile Salvia miltiorrhiza and their comparison analysis].

There is distinctive advantage of using male sterile lines to breed new cultivar and produce hybrids, when compared with general breeding method on yield and quality. In our previous work, near-isogenic lines (NILs) of male sterile and fertile Salvia miltiorrhiza have been obtained through continuous hybridization in many years. In this investigation, 378 primer combination were screened by using AFLP and BSA technique, in which 26 markers amplified from seven primers were found to tightly link to male sterile gene.

Effects of short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase on cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD), a key enzyme of fatty acid β-oxidation, plays an important role in cardiac hypertrophy. However, its effect on the cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains unknown. We aimed to determine the role of SCAD in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP)-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Phoma glomerata D14: An Endophytic Fungus from Salvia miltiorrhiza That Produces Salvianolic Acid C.

In recent years, more and more researches focus on endophytic fungi derived from important medicinal plants, which can produce the same bioactive metabolites as their host plants. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a traditional medicinal plant with versatile pharmacological effects. But the wild plant resource has been in short supply due to the overcollection for bioactive metabolites.

Determination of the Membrane Permeability to Water of Human Vaginal Mucosal Immune Cells at Subzero Temperatures Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry.

To study mucosal immunity and conduct HIV vaccine trials, it is important to be able to cryopreserve mucosal specimens and recover them in functional viable form. Obtaining a good recovery depends, in part, on cooling the cells at the appropriate rate, which is determined by the rate of water transport across the cell membrane during the cooling process. In this study, the cell membrane permeabilities to water at subzero temperatures of human vaginal mucosal T cells and macrophages were measured using the differential scanning calorimetry method proposed by Devireddy et al.

Fluoxetine protects against IL-1β-induced neuronal apoptosis via downregulation of p53.

Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, exerts neuroprotective effects in a variety of neurological diseases including stroke, but the underlying mechanism remains obscure. In the present study, we addressed the molecular events in fluoxetine against ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute neuronal injury and inflammation-induced neuronal apoptosis. We showed that treatment of fluoxetine (40 mg/kg, i.

A study of the osmotic characteristics, water permeability, and cryoprotectant permeability of human vaginal immune cells.

Cryopreservation of specimens taken from the genital tract of women is important for studying mucosal immunity during HIV prevention trials. However, it is unclear whether the current, empirically developed cryopreservation procedures for peripheral blood cells are also ideal for genital specimens. The optimal cryopreservation protocol depends on the cryobiological features of the cells.

Hydrosilylation in Aryliminopyrrolide-Substituted Silanes.

A range of silanes was synthesized by the reaction of HSiCl3 with iminopyrrole derivatives in the presence of NEt3 . In certain cases, intramolecular hydrosilylation converts the imine ligand into an amino substituent. This reaction is inhibited by factors such as electron-donating substitution on Si and steric bulk.

β2-Adrenergic receptor ablation modulates hepatic lipid accumulation and glucose tolerance in aging mice.

Catecholamines acting through β-adrenergic receptors (β(1)-, β(2)-, β(3)-AR subtypes) modulate important biological responses in various tissues. Our previous studies suggest a role for increased hepatic β-AR-mediated signaling during aging as a mediator of hepatic steatosis, liver glucose output, and insulin resistance in rodents. In the current study, we have utilized β(2)-AR knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) control mice to define further the role of β(2)-AR signaling during aging on lipid and glucose metabolism.

[Active compounds from Baoyuan decoction with myocardial protection activities and their potential targets].

Baoyuan decoction (BYD) is a classical Chinese formula for coronary heart disease with Qi deficiency, blood stasis tonifying Qi and Yang deficiency. However, the chemical material basis and underlying action mechanisms of BYD still lack systemic study. In order to clarify the active compounds and the potential action mechanisms of BYD, the oxygen-glucose deprivation/recovery (OGD/R)-induced H9c2 cells injury models was used to screen the monomeric compounds of BYD with myocardial protection activity.

[Methodological bias and variation of systematic reviews on diagnostic test accuracy].

Objective: To analyze methodological bias and variation of systematic reviews on diagnostic test accuracy (DTA).

Methods: Meta-analyses on DTA were identified through an electronic search through databases as Medline, Embase and Cochrane between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012. Results from Meta-analyses on 10 primary studies were included.

A pure polysaccharide from Ephedra sinica treating on arthritis and inhibiting cytokines expression.

In our previous study, we found that the acidic polysaccharides of Ephedra sinica had immunosuppressive effect to treat rheumatoid arthritis and the pure polysaccharide ESP-B4 was the main composition of the acidic polysaccharides. At present, the exact molecular mechanism of ESP-B4 on treating arthritis is unclear. We are thus evaluating the properties of ESP-B4 on LPS-induced THP-1 pro-monocytic cells and adjuvant-induced arthritis in Wistar rats via TLR4.

A novel NF-κB/YY1/microRNA-10a regulatory circuit in fibroblast-like synoviocytes regulates inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.

The main etiopathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is overexpressed inflammatory cytokines and tissue injury mediated by persistent NF-κB activation. MicroRNAs widely participate in the regulation of target gene expression and play important roles in various diseases. Here, we explored the mechanisms of microRNAs in RA.

Effect of iron oxide nanoparticles on the permeability properties of Sf21 cells.

It was recently reported that nanoparticles could significantly modulate the thermal properties of solutions at subzero temperatures, and as a result, nanoparticles have been widely used in both cryopreservation and cryosurgery. In cryopreservation, the water permeability coefficient of cell membrane is an essential parameter for quantitative investigation of cell dehydration and intracellular ice formation. However, few studies were focused on the effects of nanoparticles on the permeability properties of cell membrane.