Acupuncture at the Taixi(KI3) acupoint activates cerebral neurons in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

Our previous ifndings have demonstrated that acupuncture at the Taixi （KI3） acupoint in healthy youths can activate neurons in cognitive-related cerebral cortex. Here, we investigated whether acupuncture at this acupoint in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment can also activate neurons in these regions. Resting state and task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that the pinprick senstation of acupuncture at the Taixi acupoint differed signiifcantly between elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment and healthy elderly controls. Results showed that 20 brain regions were activated in both groups of participants, including the bi-lateral anterior cingulate gyrus （Brodmann areas [BA] 32, 24）, left medial frontal cortex （BA 9, 10, 11）, left cuneus （BA 19）, left middle frontal gyrus （BA 11）, left lingual gyrus （BA 18）, right medial frontal gyrus （BA 11）, bilateral inferior frontal gyrus （BA 47）, left superior frontal gyrus （BA11）, right cuneus （BA 19, 18）, right superior temporal gyrus （BA 38）, left subcallosal gyrus （BA 47）, bilateral precuneus （BA 19）, right medial frontal gyrus （BA 10）, right superior frontal （BA 11）, left cingulate gyrus （BA 32）, left precentral gyrus （BA 6）, and right fusiform gyrus （BA 19）. These results suggest that acupuncture at the Taixi acupoint in elderly patients with mild cogni-tive impairment can also activate some brain regions.

Advertisement Call Variability in the Black-spined Toad Bufo melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) during the Breeding Season in Lishui, Zhejiang, China

Advertisement calls play an important role in influencing female mate choice and are regarded as one of the key characters responsible for reproductive isolation and speciation events in frogs and toads. The black-spined toad, Bufo melanostictus, is one of the most common amphibians in Southeast Asia and is frequently observed in human habitations throughout its distributional range. The advertisement calls of the toad have not been well described. Here, we report the advertisement calls of this species from Lishui, Zhejiang, China during its breeding season. The advertisement calls of B. melanostictus are composed of single notes with a single harmonic frequency emitted sporadically. The call parameters recorded in this study were highly variable across recording times and with different body sizes. Dominant frequency was negatively correlated with body size. Comparing the calls of the B. melanostictus population from Lishui with the populations from five other localities(Bangkok, Thailand; Coorg, India; Burma, Myanmar; Bali, Indonesia; Halimun-Salak National Park, Indonesia), we found that call structure was similar among five different populations with no harmonics, while the Halimun-Salak National Park population contained two clear harmonics. Dominant frequency was similar between Bali(1.56 kHz) and Coorg(1.6 kHz) populations, while it was highly variable among other populations. Besides call duration, call interval and pulse/call rate may also be significantly different among the comparing populations. Pooling the available data, we observed some similarities and differences in call parameters among the six populations.

Effects of carbon anhydrase on utilization of bicarbonate in microalgae:a case study in Lake Hongfeng

A bidirectional labeling method was established to distinguish the proportions of HCO_3^- and CO_2 utilization pathways of microalgae in Lake Hongfeng. The method was based on microalgae cultured in a medium by adding equal concentrations of NaH^(13)CO_3 with different δ^(13)C values simultaneously. The inorganic carbon sources were quantified according to the stable carbon isotope composition in the treated microalgae. The effects of extracellular carbonic anhydrase(CAex) on the HCO^-_3 and CO_2 utilization pathways were distinguished using acetazolamide, a potent membrane-impermeable carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. The results show utilization of the added HCO^-_3 was only 8% of the total carbon sources in karst lake. The proportion of the HCO^-_3 utilization pathway was 52% of total inorganic carbon assimilation. Therefore, in the natural water of the karst area, the microalgae used less bicarbonate that preexisted in the aqueous medium than CO_2 derived from the atmosphere. CAex increased the utilization of inorganic carbon from the atmosphere. The microalgae with CAex had greater carbon sequestration capacity in this karst area.

A New Multi-Resource Allocation Mechanism： A Tradeoff between Fairness and Efficiency in Cloud Computing

This paper addresses multi-resource fair allocation: a fundamental research topic in cloud computing. To improve resource utilization under well-studied fairness constraints, we propose a new allocation mechanism called Dominant Resource with Bottlenecked Fairness(DRBF), which generalizes Bottleneck-aware Allocation(BAA) to the settings of Dominant Resource Fairness(DRF). We classify users into different queues by their dominant resources. The goals are to ensure that users in the same queue receive allocations in proportion to their fair shares while users in different queues receive allocations that maximize resource utilization subject to well-studied fairness properties such as those in DRF. Under DRBF, no user 1) is worse off sharing resources than dividing resources equally among all users; 2) prefers the allocation of another user; 3) can improve their own allocation without reducing other users' allocations; and(4) can benefit by misreporting their resource demands. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed allocation policy performs better in terms of high resource utilization than does DRF.

Anti-aging effects of moxa cone moxibustion As a free radical scavenger complement

Therapies that complement free radical scavenging are an important approach for treating aging in the brain. In the present study, two formulations of moxa cone moxibustion were applied at acupoints Zusanfi （ST 36） and Xuanzhong （GB 39）, and at acupoints Baihui （DU 20） and Guanyuan （RN 4）, in D-galactose-induced senile mice. The results revealed that moxa cone moxibustion improved total superoxide dismutase and Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase activity in the homogenates of the cerebral tissue, as well as ameliorating deficits in neuronal morphology and neuronal density in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal CA3. Moxa cone moxibustion also enhanced learning and memory functions of senile mice. Moxa cone moxibustion at Zusanli, Xuanzhong, Baihuiand Guanyuan acupoints can thus be used to complement free radical scavengers, with efficacy that is equal to that of electroacupuncture at Zusanliand Xuanzhong, and superior to that of nimodipine treatment.

Influence of interlayer water molecules in Ni-based catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

Nickel-iron layered double hydroxides(NiFe LDHs) have been identified as one of the best promising electrocatalysts-candidates for oxygen evolution reaction(OER). However, the catalytic activity effected by interlayer water molecules is ignored and rarely reported. Herein, Ni(OH)_2, NiFe LDHs vertically aligned Ni foam are designed for OER. As a contrast, the corresponding electrocatalysts with the removal of the interlayer water molecules(Ni(OH)_2-AT, NiFe LDHs-AT) are developed to probe into the influence of the interlayer water molecules towards OER. As expected, NiFe LDH nanoplates exhibit excellent catalytic performance and durability for water electrolysis in alkaline conditions with lower overpotential and smaller Tafel slope compared to those of NiFe LDHs-AT, which are influenced mainly by stability of crystal structure due to the existence of interlayer water molecules. The discovery opens up a similar pathway by controlling the amount of water molecules to boost catalytic performance for studying other electrocatalysts with heteroatom dopant.

Characterization of germline development and identification of genes associated with germline specification in pineapple

Understanding germline specification in plants could be advantageous for agricultural applications.In recent decades,substantial efforts have been made to understand germline speci fication in several plant species,including Arabidopsis,rice,and maize.However,our knowledge of germline speci fication in many agronomically important plant species remains obscure.Here,we characterized the female germline speci fication and subsequent female gametophyte development in pineapple using callose staining,cytological,and whole-mount immunolocalization analyses.We also determined the male germline speci fication and gametophyte developmental timeline and observed male meiotic behavior using chromosome spreading assays.Furthermore,we identi fied 229 genes that are preferentially expressed at the megaspore mother cell(MMC)stage during ovule development and 478 genes that are preferentially expressed at the pollen mother cell(PMC)stage of anther development using comparative transcriptomic analysis.The biological functions,associated regulatory pathways and expression patterns of these genes were also analyzed.Our study provides a convenient cytological reference for exploring pineapple germline development and a molecular basis for the future functional analysis of germline speci fi cation in related plant species.

Analysis of results related to the percent free prostate specific antigen among men without prostate diseases in Xi'an area

To measure the percent of free prostate specific antigen （fPSA） among men without prostate diseases in Xi＇an area, and to study the relationship of percent fPSA with age and pathological grade, clinical stage of prostate cancer （PCa） with percent fPSA, and to analyze the difference between the data in China and the.overseas data to determine appropriate reference range for Chinese male. Methods： A total of 713 participants were enrolled into the study, with PSA, fPSA in serum measured and the percent fPSA calculated. Out of 713 cases, 679 without prostate diseases were divided into 5 groups by age, and then the relationships of PSA, fPSA and percent fPSA with age were studied, respectively. The relationship of pathological grade and clinical stage with percent fPSA of the 34 participants with PCa was also studied. With the help of the related data of men without prostate disease, the appropriate reference range for Chinese male was established. Results： The increases in PSA or fPSA were correlated with age, while there was no significant correlation between age and percent fPSA. The percent fPSA was also correlated with pathological grade and clinical stage of PCa. The percent fPSA of men without prostate disease in Xi＇an area was significandy lower than that in the related overseas data. The reference range of percent fPSA for Chinese male was≥ 15%. Conclusion： Percent fPSA might be more useful than PSA in the detection of prostate cancer. As the percent fPSA is decreased, the pathological grade is decreased, and the clinical stage is increased, the malignant degree is increased. The reference range of ≥15% is more appropriate for Chinese male.

Research Advances in Plant Golgi Apparatus

Golgi apparatus,together with endoplasmic reticula,vacuoles and plasma membrane,constitutes the endoplasmic system of plant cells.It plays an important role in the secretion pathway of eukaryotic cells and is responsible for various intracellular events,such as protein classification,protein modification and glycosylation.At present,much less is known about plant Golgi proteins.The research on its function is still insufficient.In order to provide a comprehensive research background and research ideas for related researchers,this paper systematically and comprehensively evaluated the structure of plant endoplasmic system,the common endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi transport pathway in plant cells,various possible transport models between endoplasmic reticula and Golgi bodies,Golgi-associated specific proteins and functions,and Golgi biogenesis pathway.The latest research progress in this field was reviewed and analyzed in detail.This paper will provide an important reference for related researchers to carry out the research of plant Golgi.

Theoretical D* Optimization of N+-p Pb_1-xSn_xSe Long-Wavelength (8 - 11 μm) Photovoltaic Detector at 77 K

In this work, the study of the influences of lifetime, doping concentration and absorption layer thickness to resistant- area product (R0A) and quantum efficiency of Pb1-xSnxSe photovoltaic detector are presented. Three fundamental current mechanisms including diffusion, generation-recombination, and tunneling models are considered. Using optimal doping concentration and absorption layer thickness parameters, the calculated detectivity (D*) of Pb1-xSnxSe photovoltaic detector is over 1012 cm Hz1/2/W.

Crystalline-amorphous interfaces of NiO-CrO_(x)electrocatalysts for boosting the urea oxidation reaction

The overall energy efficiency of electrochemical systems is severely hindered by the traditional anodic oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Utilizing urea oxidation reaction(UOR)with lower thermodynamic potential to replace OER provides a promising strategy to enhance the energy efficiency.Amorphous and heterojunctions electrocatalysts have been aroused extensive studies owing to their unique physicochemical properties and outperformed activity.Herein,we report a simple method to construct a novel crystalline-amorphous NiO-CrO_(x)heterojunction grown on Ni foam for UOR electrocatalyst.The NiO-CrO_(x)electrocatalyst displays excellent UOR performance with an ultralow working potential of 1.32 V at 10 mA·cm^(−2)and ultra-long stability about 5 days even at 100 mA·cm^(−2).In-situ Raman analysis and temperature-programmed desorption(TPD)measurement verify that the presence of the amorphous CrO_(x)phase can boost the reconstruction from NiO to active NiOOH species and enhance adsorption ability of urea molecule.Besides,the unique crystalline-amorphous interfaces are also benefit to improving the UOR performance.

Global model of plasma-activated water over long time scale:Pulsed discharge and afterglow

Plasma-activated water(PAW)has been utilised in various application fields,and a deep understanding on the plasma chemistry is the foundation of application-orientated optimisation.In this paper,a global model is built to study the chemical properties of PAW produced by a dielectric barrier discharge that is powered by nanosecond voltage pulses.The applied voltage is firstly repeated with 10 kHz frequency for 100 s,and then shut down for 200 s afterglow,providing a long-term evolution regarding the production and consumption of some typical reactive oxygen/nitrogen species(RONS)in PAW.The calculated results agree principally with experimental measurements from literature.During the pulsed discharge,the water gradually acidises,and the long-lived species accumulate;while in the afterglow,most of the aqueous RONS decay rapidly,except for O_(3aq),NO_(3aq)^(−),H_(2)O_(2aq)and N_(2)O_(aq),which might be the main sources to sustain long-term effects.Furthermore,the effects of applied voltage and gap distance on RONS are investigated.Correlation analyses from Pearson correlation coefficient indicate that gaseous RONS are more sensitive to the gap distance,while the aqueous ones are more sensitive to the voltage amplitude,suggesting the possibility to independently regulating the gaseous and aqueous chemistry.

Generation of B Cell-Deficient Pigs by Highly Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Targeting

Generating B cell-deficient mutant is the first step to produce human antibody repertoires in large animal models. In this study, we applied the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat （CRISPR）/CRISPR-associated （Cas） system to target the JH region of the pig IgM heavy chain gene which is crucial for B cell development and differentiation. Transfection of IgM-targeting Cas9 plasmid in primary porcine fetal fibroblasts （PFFs） enabled inducing gene knock out （KO） in up to 53.3% of colonies analyzed, a quarter of which harbored biallelic modification, which was much higher than that of the traditional homologous recombination （HR）. With the aid of somatic cell nuclear transfer （SCNT） technology, three piglets with the biallelic lgM heavy chain gene mutation were produced. The piglets showed no antibody-producing B cells which indicated that the biallelic mutation of the lgM heavy chain gene effectively knocked out the function of the IgM and resulted in a B cell-deficient phenotype. Our study suggests that the CRISPR/Cas9 system combined with SCNT technology is an efficient genome-editing approach in pigs.

H2A.Z Represses Gene Expression by Modulating Promoter Nucleosome Structure and Enhancer Histone Modifications in Arabidopsis

Deposition of the histone variant H2A.Z at gene bodies regulates transcription by modifying chromatin accessibility in plants. However, the role of H2A.Z enrichment at the promoter and enhancer regions is unclear, and how H2A.Z interacts with other mechanisms of chromatin modification to regulate gene expression remains obscure. Here, we mapped genome-wide H2A.Z, H3K4me3, H3K27me3, Pol II, and nucleosome occupancy in Arabidopsis inflorescence. We showed that H2A.Z preferentially associated with H3K4me3 at promoters, while it was found with H3K27me3 at enhancers, and that H2A.Z deposition negatively correlated with gene expression. In addition, we demonstrated that H2A.Z represses gene expression by establishing low gene accessibility at ＋1 nucleosome and maintaining high gene accessibility at -1 nucleosome. We further showed that the high measures of gene responsiveness correlate with the H2A.Z-associated closed ＋1 nucleosome structure. Moreover, we found that H2A.Z represses enhancer activity by promoting H3K27me3 and preventing H3K4me3 histone modifications. This study provides a framework for future studies of H2A.Z functions and opens up new aspects for decoding the interplay between chromatin modification and histone variants in transcrip- tional control.

Comparison of concentration methods for detection of hepatitis A virus in water samples

Hepatitis A virus is a pathogen associated with water pollution.Contaminated drinking water can cause hepatitis A outbreaks,lead to economic losses,and even threaten human lives.It is difficult to detect low levels of hepatitis A virus in water,so the virus must be concentrated in order to quantify it accurately.Here,we present a simple,rapid,efficient technique for the concentration and detection of hepatitis A virus in water.Our data showed that adding phosphate-buffered saline to the water,pre-filtering the water,and adding Trizol reagent directly to the filtration membrane can significantly improve concentration efficiency.Of three types of filtration membranes studied(mixed cellulose ester membrane,polyvinylidene fluoride membrane,and nylon membrane),the concentration efficiency using mixed cellulose ester membrane with a 0.1-μm pore size was the highest,reaching 92.62 ± 5.17%.This method was used to concentrate hepatitis A virus in water samples from Donghu Lake.Using SYBR Green real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis,the detection sensitivity of this method reached 10~1 copies/μL and its concentration efficiency reached 79.45 ± 9.88%.

A survey of decorative materials on the energy consumption of mid-rise residential buildings in Mashad,Iran

Polyvinylchloride(PVC)panel is one of the most favorite decorative materials that has been popularly applied as finishing of ceiling in residential buildings.It is about five years that the people incline to redecorate the ceiling of old buildings with PVC panel in big cities of Iran,such as Mashad.In this study,the influence of ceiling PVC panel on the cooling and heating loads of studied apartment were determined by software DeST-h.In addition,the summer natural ventilation of the mentioned apartment is investigated by determining the wind speed into the apartment through the computational fluid dynamics(CFD)software.The evaluation of environment indoor wind velocity showed that most of the apartment space is a comfortable zone.The results of studied building analyses demonstrated that using PVC panel on the ceiling can decline the energy consumption of the penthouse(fifth level)of the investigated building,which is about 3.7%and 7%for studied methods of without and with air layer,respectively.In addition,although the existence of air layer can decline the cooling and heating loads,the increase in air layer thickness did not show significant decrease on building energy consumption.However,the PVC panel is expensive and is not suitable to be used for ceiling thermal insulation,but adding a thin layer of air between ceiling and PVC panel can be a good step toward sustainable building,when the people are inclined to utilize it as a decorative ceiling.

Field measurements on microclimate in residential community in Guangzhou,China

Taking a certain housing in Guangzhou as an example,we conduct the field measurement of the microclimate at fixed points for air temperature,relative humidity,black globe temperature and wind speed,etc.We investigate the effects of manmade lake,shade of trees and ground surface character on outdoor thermal environment,and make a quantitative analysis on the weighting position of the landscape design factors in design behavior.The study intends to explore a method to improve the thermal environment of residential quarters by changing the corresponding factors.

Factors in?uencing the somatic cell nuclear transfer ef?ciency in pigs

Using a data set from our laboratory, we assessed the effects of several factors on pig cloning ef?ciency. The results demonstrated that cells at high con?uence( > 90%) used as donor cell resulted in higher pregnancy rate, delivery rate and overall cloning ef?ciency(number of live offspring born per reconstructed embryo transferred to recipients) compared with the cells at 60% to79% con?uence and 80% to 89% con?uence. Cells with four, ?ve and six passages compromised the pregnancy and delivery rates compared with ?rst passage cells. The number of blastocysts transferred by somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT) did not signi?cantly affect the cloning ef?ciency, but transfer of blastocyst derived from in vitro culture 5 d after SCNT achieved a signi?cantly higher pregnancy rate compared with one to two cell SCNT embryos from overnight culture. The highest pregnancy rate, delivery rate and the largest litter size were obtained when Bama Miniature pig ?broblasts were used as donor cells and Landrace/Yorkshire hybrid gilts were used as recipients. Recipients treated with chemicals for estrus synchronization had higher pregnancy rates compared with untreated recipients. Our data might be helpful for improving SCNT ef?ciency in pigs.