Oxidized CaMKII promotes asthma through the activation of mast cells.

Oxidation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (ox-CaMKII) by ROS has been associated with asthma. However, the contribution of ox-CaMKII to the development of asthma remains to be fully characterized. Here, we tested the effect of ox-CaMKII on IgE-mediated mast cell activation in an allergen-induced mouse model of asthma using oxidant-resistant CaMKII MMVVδ knockin (MMVVδ) mice.

Formation of cell spheroids using Standing Surface Acoustic Wave (SSAW).

3D bioprinting becomes one of the popular approaches in the tissue engineering. In this emerging application, bioink is crucial for fabrication and functionality of constructed tissue. The use of cell spheroids as bioink can enhance the cell-cell interaction and subsequently the growth and differentiation of cells in the 3D printed construct with the minimum amount of other biomaterials.

Optimizing selective cutting strategies for maximum carbon stocks and yield of Moso bamboo forest using BIOME-BGC model.

The selective cutting method currently used in Moso bamboo forests has resulted in a reduction of stand productivity and carbon sequestration capacity. Given the time and labor expense involved in addressing this problem manually, simulation using an ecosystem model is the most suitable approach. The BIOME-BGC model was improved to suit managed Moso bamboo forests, which was adapted to include age structure, specific ecological processes and management measures of Moso bamboo forest.

Particle Accumulation in a Microchannel and Its Reduction by a Standing Surface Acoustic Wave (SSAW).

Accumulation of particles in a high concentration on a microchannel wall is a common phenomenon in a colloidal fluid. Gradual accumulation/deposition of particles can eventually obstruct the fluid flow and lead to clogging, which seriously affects the accuracy and reliability of nozzle-based printing and causes damage to the nozzle. Particle accumulation in a 100 μm microchannel was investigated by light microscopy, and its area growth in an exponential format was used to quantify this phenomenon.

The Correlation Between Serum Vitamin D Deficiency and Preterm Birth.

BACKGROUND Preterm birth is an important cause of death and developmental disorder in neonates. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to regulate body inflammatory factor levels that stimulate elevation of uterine contraction hormones, such as prostaglandin, thus causing preterm birth. However, current observations regarding the relationship between vitamin D and preterm birth are inconsistent.

Developing a tool for nurses to assess risk of infection in pediatric oncology patients in China: a modified Delphi study.

Infections are identified as the most common preventable cause of death in pediatric oncology patients. Assessing and stratifying risk of infections are essential to prevent infection in these patients. To date, no tool can fulfill this demand in China.

Green synthesis of near infrared core/shell quantum dots for photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Quantum dots (QDs) are attractive systems for potential applications in future solar energy technologies, due to their optical properties which are tunable as a function of size and composition. In this study, we synthesized PbS QDs with first excitonic peak in the range 1060 to 1300 nm using a PbCl/sulfur molar ratio of 10:1. The first excitonic absorption peak from 1300 to 950 nm of the PbS/CdS core/shell QDs can be further synthesized via the cation exchange approach.

Dose Assessment of Cefquinome by Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Modeling in Mouse Model of Mastitis.

This work aimed to characterize the mammary gland pharmacokinetics of cefquinome after an intramammary administration and integrate pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model. The pharmacokinetic profiles of cefquinome in gland tissue were measured using high performance liquid chromatograph. Therapeutic regimens covered various dosages ranging from 25 to 800 μg/gland and multiple dosing intervals of 8, 12, and 24 h.

SHP-2 phosphatase controls aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated ER stress response in mast cells.

Previously we reported that exposure of mouse and human mast cells to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands resulted in reactive oxygen species (ROS)- and calcium (Ca)-dependent activation of mast cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the mechanisms through which the AhR-ligand axis mediates stress response, Ca signaling and subsequent mast cell activation remain to be fully elucidated. Evidence is provided herein that SHP-2 is critical in regulating AhR-mediated ER stress response and intracellular Ca dynamics.

Effect of pulse repetition frequency of high-intensity focused ultrasound on in vitro thrombolysis.

Vascular occlusion by the thrombi is the main reason for ischemic stroke and deep vein thrombosis. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and histotripsy or microtripsy pulses can effectively dissolve the blood clot with no use of thrombolytic agent and ultrasound contrast agent (microbubbles). In this study, HIFU bursts at the same duty cycle (2%) but varied pulse repetition frequency (PRF) from 1Hz to 1000Hz were delivered to in vitro porcine blood clot for 30s.

Remediation of oil-contaminated sand with self-collapsing air microbubbles.

In this study, a novel chemical-free approach for cleaning oil-contaminated sand with self-collapsing air microbubbles (MBs) with diameter less than 50 μm was developed without the use of chemicals, such as surfactants and alkalis. Diesel and rotary-vane pump oil-contaminated fine and medium sands were treated with MBs to study the effect of oil viscosity and sand grain size on oil removal with MBs. About 95 % of diesel removal was achieved for 24 h old 10 % (w/w) diesel-contaminated medium sand in contrast to only 70 % removal from fine sand after 40-min treatment with MBs.

Effect of hydrodynamic cavitation in the tissue erosion by pulsed high-intensity focused ultrasound (pHIFU).

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is emerging as an effective therapeutic modality in clinics. Besides the thermal ablation, tissue disintegration is also possible because of the interaction between the distorted HIFU bursts and either bubble cloud or boiling bubble. Hydrodynamic cavitation is another type of cavitation and has been employed widely in industry, but its role in mechanical erosion to tissue is not clearly known.

Absorption Enhancement in "Giant" Core/Alloyed-Shell Quantum Dots for Luminescent Solar Concentrator.

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) can potentially reduce the cost of solar cells by decreasing the photoactive area of the device and boosting the photoconversion efficiency (PCE). This study demonstrates the application of "giant" CdSe/Cd Pb S core/shell quantum dots (QDs) as light harvesters in high performance LSCs with over 1.15% PCE.

Thermo Sensitivity of Polysiloxane/Silica Nanocomposites Affected by the Structure of Polymer-Filler Interface.

In this work thermo sensitivity was investigated with the bound rubber theory and thermoelasticity theory of the polymer-filler interface interaction between Polymethylvinylsiloxane (PMVS) and nanofillers (fumed and precipitated silica with the primary particle size of 10 nanometres). Bound rubber (the transition phase between PMVS and silica) content was measured by sol-gel analysis and swelling experiments. Results showed that the amount of bound rubber increases steadily with the increases of filler content.

Nondestructive Evaluation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Using Reflective Terahertz Imaging.

Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) imaging is considered a nondestructive evaluation method for composite materials used for examining various defects of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites and fire-retardant coatings in the reflective imaging modality. We demonstrate that hidden defects simulated by Teflon artificial inserts are imaged clearly in the perpendicular polarization mode. The THz TDS technique is also used to measure the thickness of thin fire-retardant coatings on CFRP composites with a typical accuracy of about 10 micrometers.

In Vivo Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics of Cefquinome in an Experimental Mouse Model of Staphylococcus Aureus Mastitis following Intramammary Infusion.

Staphylococcus aureus remains the major cause of morbidity of bovine mastitis worldwide leading to massive economic losses. Cefquinome is a fourth generation cephalosporin, which preserves susceptibility and antibacterial activity against S. aureus.

Shifting the Split Reflectors to Enhance Stone Fragmentation of Shock Wave Lithotripsy.

Shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) has been used widely in urology for about three decades to treat kidney calculi. Technical development to improve performance (i.e.

The Application of Ultrasound in 3D Bio-Printing.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging and promising technology in tissue engineering to construct tissues and organs for implantation. Alignment of self-assembly cell spheroids that are used as bioink could be very accurate after droplet ejection from bioprinter. Complex and heterogeneous tissue structures could be built using rapid additive manufacture technology and multiple cell lines.

Simulation of non-linear acoustic field and thermal pattern of phased-array high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Purpose: HIFU becomes an effective and non-invasive modality of solid tumour/cancer ablation. Simulation of the non-linear acoustic wave propagation using a phased-array transducer in multiple layered media using different focusing strategies and the consequent lesion formation are essential in HIFU planning in order to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of treatment.

Materials And Methods: An angular spectrum approach with marching fractional steps was applied in the wave propagation from phased-array HIFU transducer, and diffraction, attenuation, and non-linearity effects were accounted for by a second-order operator splitting scheme.

Ex vivo pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationship of valnemulin against Clostridium perfringens in plasma, the small intestinal and caecal contents of rabbits.

The pharmacokinetic (PK) and ex vivo pharmacodynamic (PD) of valnemulin against Clostridium perfringens were investigated in plasma, the small intestinal and caecal contents of rabbits following intravenous (IV) or oral administration at 3 mg/kg bodyweight (BW). The postantibiotic effect (PAE) and postantibiotic sub-MIC effect (PA-SME) of valnemulin against C. perfringens ATCC13124 were also determined.

A new sharpshooter genus for Sphinctogonia lingula Yang & Li (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Cicadellini) from China.

A new genus, Sphinctogoniella, is described to accommodate Sphinctogonia lingula Yang & Li, 2002, its type species from China. Sphinctogoniella lingula (Yang & Li, 2002), comb. n.

Development of the BIOME-BGC model for the simulation of managed Moso bamboo forest ecosystems.

Numerical models are the most appropriate instrument for the analysis of the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems and their interactions with changing environmental conditions. The process-based model BIOME-BGC is widely used in simulation of carbon balance within vegetation, litter and soil of unmanaged ecosystems. For Moso bamboo forests, however, simulations with BIOME-BGC are inaccurate in terms of the growing season and the carbon allocation, due to the oversimplified representation of phenology.

Novel loci and pathways significantly associated with longevity.

Only two genome-wide significant loci associated with longevity have been identified so far, probably because of insufficient sample sizes of centenarians, whose genomes may harbor genetic variants associated with health and longevity. Here we report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Han Chinese with a sample size 2.7 times the largest previously published GWAS on centenarians.

Improvement of Lesion Detection by Complete Angular Compound Ultrasonic Elastography.

Quasi-static ultrasound elastography is an emerging diagnostic imaging modality for determining the stiffness of pathologically changed soft tissues, which do not show significant differences in acoustic impedance for B-mode imaging. Although some methods were applied to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNRe) of the constructed elastogram, nonuniform strain distribution at the internal boundary of a hard inclusion, even with the uniform displacement on the surface, is an inherent mechanical effect and results in distortion at the detected lesion boundary. To overcome such stress concentrations, a new elastographic modality was proposed, where the elastograms from different angles throughout 360° were compounded.