Abstract To study the failure modes, bearing capacity, ductility, and sleeve strain of grouted sleeve lapping connectors, 36 specimens were tested under uniaxial tensile load. The test results show that the sleeves are under longitudinal tension at the beginning, which changes to longitudinal compression in the late stage of loading, and the changing load increases gradually with the lap length. The force transmission path and mechanical mechanism of the connectors are analyzed. The distribution and development process of longitudinal sleeve stress is analyzed based on the constitutive model stress, and it is found that the sleeve changes from longitudinal tension to longitudinal compression at the late loading stage, which is consistent with the test results. Based on the test, the calculation formulas of the ultimate bond strength and critical lap length of the grouted sleeve lapping connector are proposed. The research results lay a theoretical foundation for the application of grouted sleeve lapping connectors.

Abstract High fat diet may cause obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and other diseases, and even mortality. The recombinant rice based on mixing lotus seed starch and broken rice flour was used to feed high-fat diet rats, and its effects on body weight and organ index were determined. The changes of intestinal flora in rats were studied by macrogenomic technology, and the effects of lotus seed starch-broken rice flour recombinant rice (LSBR) on intestinal flora in rats were discussed. The results showed that adding enough LSBR could effectively inhibit the weight gain of rats, reduce the liver index from 0.3498 to 0.2836, and the kidney index from 0.0079 to 0.0072. The reduction of intestinal flora abundance and diversity caused by high-fat diet were improved, the relative abundance ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidete was reduced from 11.04 to 2.17, while the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria was increased.

Abstract Objective: To more precisely estimate the association between the tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 4 (TNFSF4) gene polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility, we performed a metaanalysis on the association of the following single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TNFSF4 with SLE: rs1234315, rs844648, rs2205960, rs704840, rs844644, rs10489265. Methods: A literature-based search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science databases, and Cochrane Library databases to identify all relevant studies. And the association of TNFSF4 gene polymorphisms and SLE susceptibility was evaluated by pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The meta-analysis produced overall OR of 1.42 (95% CI 1.36-1.49, P < 0.00001), 1.41 (95% CI 1.36-1.46, P < 0.00001) and 1.34 (95% CI 1.26-1.42, P < 0.00001) for the rs2205960, rs1234315 and rs704840 polymorphisms respectively, confirming these three SNPs confer a significant risk for the development of SLE. On the other hand, the meta-analysis produced overall OR of 0.92 (95% CI 0.70-1.21, P = 0.54) for the rs844644 polymorphism, suggesting no significant association. And no association was also found between either rs844648 1.11 (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.86-1.43, P = 0.41) or rs10489265 (OR 1.17,95% CI 0.94-1.47, P = 0.17) polymorphism with SLE susceptibility, respectively. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis demonstrated that the TNFSF4 rs2205960, rs1234315 and rs844840 SNPs was significantly associated with an increased risk of SLE.

Abstract Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was used to extract procyanidins (PC) from the perilla seed hull. Four independent variables, namely, liquid-to-solid ratio, ethanol concentration, UAE time, and UAE temperature were investigated. Response surface methodology was performed on the basis of results of single-factor tests. The optimal conditions for PC extraction were as follows: a liquid-to-solid ratio of 15:1, an ethanol concentration of 62%, a UAE time of 29 min, and a UAE temperature of 53 °C. Under these conditions, the experimental yield of PC was 2.185 mg/g (n = 3), which is correlated with the predicted value of 2.2 mg/g. The extracted and purified PC showed excellent antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl, and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals in vitro.

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether serum thymosin beta4 (Tβ4) can be a useful noninvasive biomarker to differentiate between nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). Methods: The study included 24 NAFL patients and 21 NASH patients. The levels of Tβ4, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine acid (8-OhdG), liver function parameters, blood lipid, and glucose were detected in the venous blood of all patients. The NAFLD histological activity score (NAS) was examined in biopsy specimens from all patients. Statistical analysis was performed in order to find differences between the two abovementioned groups. In addition, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Tβ4 levels were performed in NAFL and NASH patients and the cut-off value was determined. Associations between the variables were tested using correlation coefficient calculations. Statistical significance was set at a p value of < 0.05. Results: Serum Tβ4 content was 5.12 ± 1.87 mg/l in the NAFL group and 2.98 ± 1.35 mg/l in the NASH group (p < 0.001). Serum Tβ4 content and NAS, histological features of hepatic steatosis, lobular inflammation and ballooning, ALT, glucose and 8-OhdG levels were negatively correlated (p < 0.05 for all) in the NASH group. The correlation coefficient values were -0.530, -0.562, -0.574, -0.438, -0.446, -0.426 and -0.563, respectively. On the basis of ROC analysis, the best predictive Tβ4 cut-off value for detecting NASH was 3.94 mg/l (85.7% sensitivity and 79.2% specificity, which were higher than those of ALT). Conclusion: Serum Tβ4 level can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of NASH and was negatively correlated with the oxidation state of the liver.

Abstract: Reactivation of hypersaline aerobic granular sludge after low-temperature storage was studied by slowly increasing the organic loading. Results indicated that the basic external features of thawed hypersaline aerobic granules were still largely intact after a six-week low temperature storage, but the colors and internal structure changed greatly. Aerobic granules experienced a process of particle disintegration, fragmentary particles, filamentous bacteria-like particles, and dense granules during the recovery process. After more than one-month re-cultivation, the settling property, dehydrogenase activity, and nitrification properties of hypersaline aerobic granules returned to normal. During the re-cultivated process, the decentralized growth pattern of particles can be effectively controlled, and granules can grow compactly by controlling water alkalinity, aeration rate and reactor settling time.

Resumen: Se estudió la reactivación de lodo granular aerobio hipersalino, posteriormente a su almacenamiento a baja temperatura, mediante el incremento progresivo de la carga orgánica. Los resultados indicaron que las características externas básicas de los gránulos aerobios hipersalinos descongelados permanecieron prácticamente intactas después de su almacenamiento a baja temperatura durante seis semanas, pero el color y las características de la estructura interna habían cambiado significativamente. Los gránulos aerobios presentaron desintegración y fragmentación de partículas, partículas parecidas a bacterias filamentosas y gránulos densos durante el proceso de recuperación. Después de más de un mes de recultivo, la propiedad de asentamiento, la actividad de la deshidrogenasa y las propiedades de nitrificación de los gránulos aerobios hipersalinos regresaron a la normalidad. Durante el proceso de recultivo, el patrón de crecimiento descentralizado de las partículas puede controlarse eficazmente y los gránulos pueden crecer en forma compacta mediante el control de la alcalinidad del agua, del índice de aireación y del tiempo de asentamiento en el reactor.

Abstract Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of functional components from perilla leaves. The factors investigated were ethanol concentration, extraction temperature, and extraction time. The results revealed that ethanol concentration had significant effects on all extraction parameters. Based on the RSM results, the optimal conditions were an ethanol concentration of 56%, a UAE temperature of 54 °C, and a UAE time of 55 min. Under these conditions, the experimental TPC (total phenolic content), RA (rosmarinic acid), FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) values were 48.85 mg GAE/g DW (mg gallic acid equivalent /g of dry weight), 31.02 mg/g DW, 85.55 μmol Fe2+/g DW and 73.35%, respectively. The experimental values were in agreement with those predicted by RSM models, confirming suitability of the model employed and the success of RSM for optimization of the extraction conditions.

Carbon sequestration in grassland soil has been paid considerable attention in recent decades. However, the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) still need clarification under the effect of environmental factors in semi-arid area. Here, twenty sampling sites were selected to study the effects of plant community (plant cover, biomass, litter, composition and diversity) and environmental factors (i.e. mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature) on SOC sequestration in the semi-arid grasslands. The results showed that SOC was significant positively related to mean annual precipitation, soil water content and soil pH. The higher above- and below-ground biomass, species evenness and diversity presented the higher SOC. Specially, the species richness and proportion of gramineous species functional group significantly increased SOC. Below-ground biomass affected SOC mainly in the top 30 cm soil. Our results suggest that higher plant species richness and gramineous species proportion play a positive role in increasing the potential of soil carbon sequestration in semi-arid grassland.

Hot compression tests of as-cast Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy in a wide temperature range of 1073-1323 K and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s-1 were conducted by a servo-hydraulic and computer-controlled Gleeble-1500 machine. The hot flow behaviors of Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy show highly non-linear relationships with strain, strain rate and temperature. In order to accurately and effectively characterize the complex flow behaviors, support vector regression (SVR) which is a machine learning method was combined with Genetic Algorithm (GA) to characterize the flow behaviors, namely, the GA-SVR. The study abilities, generation abilities, and modeling efficiencies of the improved Arrhenius-type constitutive model, ANN, and GA-SVR for flow behaviors of as-cast Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V alloy were detailedly compared. Comparison results show that the study ability of the GA-SVR is as strong as the ANN. The generation abilities and modeling efficiencies of these models were shown as follows in ascending order: the improved Arrhenius-type constitutive model < ANN < GA-SVR. Based on the established GA-SVR, the continuously three-dimensional relationships among flow stress, temperature, strain, and strain rate were constructed, which improve the simulation accuracy and related research fields where stress-strain data play important roles.

Background: To identify the critical amino acid residues that contribute to the high enzyme activity and good thermostability of Yersinia enterocolitica subsp. palearctica (Y. NSN), 15 mutants of Y. NSN were obtained by site-directed mutagenesis in this study. And their enzyme activity and thermostability were assayed. Effect of several factors on the enzyme activity and thermostability of Y. NSN, was also investigated. Results: The results showed that the I203F and D264E mutants retained approximately 75% and 70% enzyme activity, respectively, compared to the wild-type enzyme. In addition to the I203F and D264E mutants, the mutant E202A had an obvious influence on the thermostability of Y. NSN. According to the analysis of enzyme activity and thermostability of Y. NSN, we found that Glu202, Ile203 and Asp264 might be the key residues for its high enzyme activity and good thermostability. Conclusions: Among all factors affecting enzyme activity and thermostability of Y. NSN, they failed to explain the experimental results well. One reason might be that the enzyme activity and thermostability of Y. NSN were affected not only by a single factor but also by the entire environment.

The electric upsetting process is an excellent electrically assisted preforming technique with electrical-thermal-mechanical multi-field coupling characteristic. The secondary upsetting defect in electric upsetting with inappropriate parameters combinations could result in folds in subsequent forging process. In order to analyze the formation process of the secondary upsetting defect, the finite element model of electric upsetting was constructed based on the multi-field coupling solver platform, MSC.Marc. It is concluded through the numerical simulation with inappropriate parameters combination that the main factor causing the secondary upsetting defect is the large temperature decrease of the deformed portion after the formation of drum-shape in the preliminary stage of electric upsetting. Subsequently, the secondary upsetting defect has been successfully avoided via a three-stage current mode. Finally, a novel optimization method based on close-cycle control of current in numerical simulation was established by developing a current subroutine in MSC.Marc, which was proved to be effective for the elimination of the secondary upsetting defect.

Hot compressions of as-cast AZ80 magnesium alloy in a wide temperature range of 523-673 K and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s–1 with a height reduction of 60% were conducted by a Gleeble-1500 thermo-mechanical test simulator. The hot flow behaviors show highly non-linear intrinsic relationships with temperature, strain and strain rate. In order to model the complicated flow behaviors, error back-propagation algorithm, a representative method to minimize the target error, was selected to train the artificial neural network. A comparative study was made on the predictabilities of the improved Arrhenius-type and BP-ANN model by using two standard statistical parameters including correlation coefficient (R) and average absolute relative error (AARE). Comparison results show that the well-trained BP-ANN has higher prediction accuracy. Three highlight applications were presented. Firstly, the strain-stress data volume was expanded by BP-ANN predictions above experimental conditions. Secondly, the expanded data were applied in the simulations of isothermal compressions, and high simulation accuracy for the load-stroke curve was achieved. Thirdly, a three-dimensional (3D) interaction space of stress, strain, temperature and strain rate was constructed based on the intensive data, which supplies the stress data to arbitrary temperature, strain rate, and strain.

Deer and sheep spines are often used as models of the human spine. A prerequisite for the use of animal models is information regarding the interspecies differences in the parameters of general interest. This would clarify the limitations of each animal model and substantiate the applicability of the obtained results to humans. Since sufficient data appear to be currently unavailable, we sought to investigate the feasibility of using deer and sheep as animal models for studies on the human spine. The objective of this study was a thorough comparison of the anatomical parameters of deer and sheep spines with those of the human spine. We employed three-dimensional reconstructions of computed tomography images, generated using figure analysis software, which facilitated quantitative analysis of the linear and curvature parameters and the geometric index of the vertebral bodies. Our findings represent a comprehensive database of the anatomical characteristics of the deer and sheep lumbar spines and their comparisons with those of the human lumbar spine. This study provides insight into the similarities and differences in the vertebral geometries between the human spine and the deer and sheep spines. We found that the differences are minimal and that they do not greatly compromise the utility of deer and sheep lumbar spines as models of the human lumbar spine.

La columna vertebral de ciervos y ovejas se utiliza frecuentemente como modelo de la columna vertebral humana. Un requisito previo para el uso de modelos animales es la información con respecto a las diferencias entre especies en los parámetros de interés general, lo que aclara las limitaciones de cada modelo animal y fundamenta la aplicabilidad de los resultados obtenidos para los seres humanos. Debido a que existen datos suficientes actualmente, hemos intentado investigar la viabilidad de utilizar ciervos y ovejas como modelos animales para los estudios sobre la columna vertebral humana. El objetivo fue realizar una comparación exhaustiva de los parámetros anatómicos de las columnas de ciervos y ovejas, con los de la columna vertebral humana. Empleamos reconstrucciones tridimensionales de imágenes de tomografía computadorizada, mediante un programa de análisis de la figura, lo que facilitó el análisis cuantitativo de los parámetros lineales y de la curvatura y el índice geométrico de las vértebras. Nuestros hallazgos representan una amplia base de datos de las características anatómicas de la columna lumbar de los ciervos y ovejas y sus comparaciones con las de la columna lumbar humana. Este estudio proporciona información sobre las similitudes y diferencias en las geometrías vertebrales entre la columna vertebral humana y las columnas de venado y oveja. Se encontró que las diferencias son mínimas y que no comprometen el uso de la columna de ciervos y ovejas como modelos de la columna lumbar humana.

Background Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important economic and oilseed crop. Long-term rainless conditions and seasonal droughts can limit peanut yields and were conducive to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which peanut responds and adapts to water limited conditions, we isolated and characterized several drought-induced genes from peanut roots using a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique. Results RNA was extracted from peanut roots subjected to a water stress treatment (45% field capacity) and from control plants (75% field capacity), and used to generate an SSH cDNA library. A total of 111 non-redundant sequences were obtained, with 80 unique transcripts showing homology to known genes and 31 clones with no similarity to either hypothetical or known proteins. GO and KEGG analyses of these differentially expressed ESTs indicated that drought-related responses in peanut could mainly be attributed to genes involved in cellular structure and metabolism. In addition, we examined the expression patterns of seven differentially expressed candidate genes using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and confirmed that all were up-regulated in roots in response to drought stress, but to differing extents. Conclusions We successfully constructed an SSH cDNA library in peanut roots and identified several drought-related genes. Our results serve as a foundation for future studies into the elucidation of the drought stress response mechanisms of peanut.

Primary isolated bone marrow disease as a presenting feature of lymphoma is very rare. We describe the case of a Chinese with isolated bone marrow small B-cell lymphoma as a first manifestation. A 55-year old woman was admitted to our hospital with fever. Her peripheral blood smear and laboratory findings were suggestive of bicytopenia. Bone marrow specimen showed diffusely distributed small-sized lymphocytes. Combined with immunophenotypic and chromosomal analysis, a diagnosis of primary bone marrow B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made. The patient was treated with R-CHOP (rituximab and cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vindesine, and prednisone) regimen for six cycles. She had complete remission and is still alive without relapse. We concluded that primary bone marrow mature small B-cell lymphoma is a rare but distinctive subtype of lymphoma. The prognosis for this entity is poor but rituximab-based treatment is promising for improving its outcomes.

La enfermedad aislada primaria de la médula ósea como rasgo de manifestación del linfoma es muy rara. Describimos el caso de una paciente china con linfoma aislado de células B pequeñas en la médula como una primera manifestación. Se trata de una mujer de 55 años que ingresara a nuestro hospital con fiebre. El frotis de sangre periférica y los hallazgos de laboratorio apuntaban a una bicitopenia. El espécimen de la médula ósea mostró la presencia de linfocitos de pequeño tamaño distribuidos de manera difusa. En combinación con un análisis inmunofenotípico y un análisis cromosómico, se realizó un diagnóstico de linfoma primario no Hodgkin de células B de la médula ósea. La paciente recibió como tratamiento un régimen de seis ciclos de R-CHOP (rituximab, ciclofosfamida, epirubicina, vindesina, y prednisona). Esto le permitió alcanzar una remisión completa, y todavía está viva sin que se haya producido recaída alguna. Concluimos que el linfoma primario de células B pequeñas maduras de la médula ósea es un subtipo raro pero particular de linfoma. La prognosis para esta entidad es pobre, pero el tratamiento a base de rituximab re-basado resulta promisorio en cuanto a mejorar su evolución clínica.