Identification of Probable Type of Bituminous Mix Depending on Higher Combined Index of Stone Aggregates

The stone aggregates constitute over 90% of the mass of a pavement and hence its properties play a very vital role in design of satisfactory unbound as well as bituminous mixes. Also since the aggregates availability is continuously becoming scarce, attempts have to be made to identify use of some marginal as well as inferior aggregates without sacrificing the desirable qualities of resulting mixes. One of the most important properties therefore is the combined index of aggregates which deals with aggregates shape and is the sum of flakiness and elongation indices of aggregates measured related to their thickness and length respectively. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways （MoRTH） specifies an upper limit of 30% combined index for different types of bituminous mixes. In the field, many times the aggregates supplied have combined index of more than 30%. A pre determined mix such as bituminous concrete, dense or semi dense bituminous macadam etc. has to be designed using such aggregates. It may be easy to design the mix but to get the aggregates with desirable combined index is often very difficult. In order to overcome this, in many projects, secondary crushers are used to crush the aggregates for the second time just to bring down the combined index. This obviously increases the project cost. It is quite possible that the aggregates with higher combined index may be suitable for a particular type of mix. It is therefore appropriate to study what type of a bituminous mix can be satisfactorily prepared depending on the availability of aggregates with generally higher values of combined index. Hence, it was attempted to determine the usual Marshall test properties of two most commonly used types of bituminous mixes namely bituminous concrete and dense bituminous macadam using aggregates with combined index 30%, 40% and 50%. It was found that aggregates with higher combined index are more suitable to design dense bituminous macadam mix than bituminous concrete.

Risk factors and ankle brachial indexes in cerebral infarction combined with peripheral arterial disease

BACKGROUND: Ankle brachial index (ABI) is widely involved in researches and clinical application of peripheral vascular injury of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM); however, the application in cerebral infarction (CI) is rare. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible risk factor of cerebral infarction plus peripheral arterial disease (PAD), compare metabolic characteristics of patients who having CI plus PAD or only having CI, and understand the significance of ABI on screening and diagnosing CI plus PAD of lower limb. DESIGN: Contrast observation based on CI patients. SETTING: Department of Neurology, Nanxishan Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 124 CI patients were selected from Department of Neurology, Nanxishan Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from July 2005 to April 2006, including 72 males and 52 females aged from 45 to 88 years. All patients met the diagnostic criteria of cerebrovascular disease established by National Academic Conference of Cerebrovascular Diseases in 1995 and determined as cerebral infarction with MRI or CT examination. All patients provided informed consent. There were 46 cases (37.2%) with CI plus PAD and 78 cases (62.8%) only with CI. METHODS: Blood pressure of bilateral ankles and upper extremities was measured at plain clinostatism with DINAMAP blood pressure monitor (GE Company). The ratio between average systolic pressure of lateral ankle and average systolic pressure of both upper extremities was regarded as ABI. The normal ABI was equal to or more than 0.9. If ABI < 0.9 occurred at one side, patients were diagnosed as PAD. On the second morning after hospitalization, blood was collected to measure fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (PBG2h), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Among them, blood glucose, lipid and other biochemical markers were measured with enzyme chemistry assay and HbA1c was measured with HbA1c meter based on high liquid phase. Measurement data and enumeration data were compared with t test and Chi-square test, and multiple factors were dealt with Logistic regression analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results of correlation between ABI and metabolic markers with multivariate linear regression analysis; risk factors of CI plus PAD with Logistic regression analysis; comparisons of metabolic markers between PAD and non-PAD patients. RESULTS: All 124 patients with acute CI were involved in the final analysis. ① Comparisons of metabolic markers: Levels of serum LDL-C and uric acid (UA) were higher of PAD patients than those of non-PAD patients (t =2.051 9, 3.339 1, P < 0.05); however, there were no significant differences among other metabolic markers (P > 0.05). ② Results of multivariate linear regression analysis: PBG2h, LDL-C and UA were obvious correlation with ABI of posterior tibial artery of lower limb and dorsal pedis artery (partial regression coefficient = -0.231 to -1.010, P < 0.05). ③ Risk factors of CI plus PAD with Logistic regression analysis: Age, smoking history, sum of CI focus (≥3) and LDL-C were independent risk factor of CI plus PAD (OR =1.524-5.422, P < 0.05-0.01). CONCLUSION: ① Levels of serum LDL-C and UA of patients with CI plus PAD are high. ② ABI of lower limbs is correlation with PBG2h, LDL-C and UA. In addition, measuring ABI is beneficial for early diagnosing PAD of lower limbs of patients who have poorly controlled blood glucose, abnormal lipid and poor renal function. ③ Age, LDL-C and sum of CI focus (≥3) are independent risk factors of CI plus PAD. It is of significance for screening non-PAD patients to evaluate risk degrees and prognosis and select therapeutic methods based on ABI measurement.

Combined pollution of Cd and Zn in soil-rice systems and its indexes

Due to the mining,smelting,sewage irriga-tion,agricultural runoff,and development ofrural enterprises,combined pollution of Cd andZn in soil-rice systems has frequently oc-curred.This problem was studied by using thepot-culture imitative method combined withhemical analysis and mathematical models.

The interaction between cytarabine and vincristine on HL-60 cell line in vitro

Objective： To analyze the effect of cytarabine combined with vincristine on HL-60 cell line in vitro. Methods： The median-effect equation and MTr assay were used on HL-60. Results： The cytotoxic activity of cytarabine（Ara-C） and vincristine （VCR） used alone or in combination enhanced as drug concentration increased. The order of administration did not influence the cytotoxic activity of the combined antitumor drugs. The ratio of drug concentration was a factor to influence the killing effect. The interaction of the agents was synergistic at lower concentration, and antagonistic at higher concentration. Conclusion： The combined drugs interaction（CI 〈 1 ） was synergistic at lower concentration and antagonistic at higher concentration. The ratio of drug concentration is a significant factor that can influence the killing effect.

Soil Heavy Metal Pollution Around the Dabaoshan Mine,Guangdong Province,China

Soil contamination in the vicinity of the Dabaoshan Mine, Guangdong Province, China, was studied through determi- nation of total concentrations and chemical speciation of the toxic metals, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results showed that over the past decades, the environmental pollution was caused by a combination of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb, with tailings and acid mine drainage being the main pollution sources affecting soils. Significantly higher levels （P ≤ 0.05） of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb were found in the tailings as compared with paddy, garden, and control soils, with averages of 1486, 2516, 6.42, and 429 mg kg^-1, respectively. These metals were continuously dispersed downstream from the tallings and waste waters, and therefore their concentrations in the paddy soils were as high as 567, 1 140, 2.48, and 191 mg kg^-1, respectively, being significantly higher （P ≤ 0.05） as compared with those in the garden soils. The results of sequential extraction of the above metals from all the soil types showed that the residual fraction was the dominant form. However, the amounts of metals that were bound to Fe-Mn oxides and organic matter were relatively higher than those bound to carbonates or those that existed in exchangeable forms. As metals could be transformed from an inert state to an active state, the potential environmental risk due to these metals would increase with time.

APPLICATION OF MEDIAN-EFFECT IN QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTITUMOR DRUGS IN VITRO

Objective: To analyze quantitatively the synergistic and antagonistic effects of combined oxymatrine (OMT) and 5-fluorouracil (5-GU) on a cell line of human liver cancer (HepG2) with median-effect principle in vitro. Methods: The median-effect principle and MTT method were used in the quantitative analysis of effects of the two drugs. Results: Cytotoxic activity of the individual drugs enhanced as drug concentration increased. As fa=0.41, a CI equal to 1 indicated additivity; fa<0.41, a CI less than 1 indicated synergy; and fa>0.41, a CI greater than 1 indicated antagonism. The sequence of administration did not influence the cytotoxic activity of the combined antitumor drugs. The ratio of drug concentration was a factor that can influence the killing effect. Conclusion: The combined drugs interaction (CI<1) was synergistic at lower concentration and antagonistic at higher concentration. The ratio of drug concentration is a factor that can influence the killing effect.

A STUDY OF THE WINTER-WINTER RECURRENCE MECHANISM OF THE TEMPERATURES IN NORTHERN EAST ASIA

In this study, the winter-summer-winter seasonal variation characteristics of the atmospheric temperature in northern East Asia(NEA) during the past 60 years are analyzed. The results revealed a type of new seasonal variation mechanism of temperature: winter-winter recurrence(WWR). This study initially discussed the formation mechanism of WWR from the angle of the relationship between the WWR and the atmospheric internal factors and external forcing.The main conclusions are summarized as follows:(1) The winter-summer-winter continuous variation of the AO anomaly index has consistent characteristics with the atmospheric variation of the WWR in the NEA, and their 60-year correlation coefficient reaches 0.43, passing the 95% significance level. It is indicated that the seasonal anomaly of the AO has a certain influence on the WWR;(2) Overall, the PDO maintains a negative phase in the negative WWR years,while it displays the opposite feature in the positive WWR years. The negative(positive) anomaly of PDO is favourable to the occurrence of sustainable low(high) temperatures in the NEA, and may be the important external driving factor for motivating the WWR in the NEA;(3) The binary regression, based on the PDO and AO indexes successfully reproduces the curve of T_(WWR-HG), which is significantly correlated with the WWR index TWWR, and can reproduce the time-height profile of the WWR characteristics from 400 to 1,000 hPa. Therefore, it is concluded that the WWR of the atmospheric temperatures in the NEA is the result of the combined action of the PDO and AO.

Estimation of Potato Biomass and Yield Based on Machine Learning from Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data

The estimation of potato biomass and yield can optimize the planting pattern and tap the production potential.Based on partial least square(PLSR),multiple linear regression(MLR),support vector machine(SVM),random forest(RF),BP neural network and other machine learning algorithms,the biomass estimation model of potato in different growth stages is constructed by using single variables such as original spectrum,first-order differential spectrum,combined spectrum index and vegetation index(VI)and their coupled combination variables.The accuracy of the models is compared and analyzed,and the best modeling method of biomass in different growth stages is selected.Based on the optimized modeling method,the biomass of each growth stage is estimated,and the yield estimation model of different growth stages is constructed based on the estimation results and the linear regression analysis method,and the accuracy of the model is verified.The results showed that in tuber formation stage,starch accumulation stage and maturity stage,the biomass estimation accuracy based on combination variable was the highest,the best modeling method was MLR and SVM,in tuber growth stage,the best modeling method was MLR,the effect of yield estimation is good.It provides a reference for the algorithm selection of crop biomass and yield models based on machine learning.

Toxic effects of three perfluorinated or polyfluorinated compounds(PFCs)on two strains of freshwater algae:Implications for ecological risk assessments

Perfluorinated or polyfluorinated compounds(PFCs)continue entering to the environmental as individuals or mixtures,but their toxicological information remains largely unknown.Here,we investigated the toxic effects and ecological risks of Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid(PFOS)and its substitutes on prokaryotes(Chlorella vulgaris)and eukaryotes(Microcystis aeruginosa).Based on the calculated EC50 values,the results showed that PFOS was significantly more toxic to both algae than its alternatives including Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid(PFBS)and 6:2 Fluoromodulated sulfonates(6:2 FTS),and the PFOS-PFBS mixture was more toxic to both algae than the other two PFC mixtures.The action mode of binary PFC mixtures on Chlorella vulgaris was mainly shown as antagonistic and on Microcystis aeruginosa as synergistic,by using Combination index(CI)model coupled with Monte Carlo simulation.The mean risk quotient(RQ)value of three individual PFCs and their mixtures were all below the threshold of 10^(−1),but the risk of those binary mixtures were higher than that of PFCs individually because of their synergistic effect.Our findings contribute to enhance the understanding of the toxicological information and ecological risks of emerging PFCs and provide a scientific basis for their pollution control.

Screening the Synergistic Components of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition from Phellodendron Bark Based on Fingerprint-Activity Relationship Modeling

Objective:Phellodendron chinense(PC)bark and Phellodendron amurense(PA)bark are two herbal medicines recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition)that are easily mistaken for one another.In this study,the chemical constituents of PC and PA were compared using chromatographic fingerprints,and the potential synergistic acetylcholinesterase(ACh E)inhibitor components were screened based on the correlation of fingerprint activity.Materials and Methods:Chromatographic fingerprints based on high-performance liquid chromatography were developed for the analysis and comparison of chemical compounds in PC and PA samples.The ACh E inhibitory activity of PC and PA was determined using the Ellman method.Subsequently,the contribution of the characterized alkaloids in PC and PA to the overall ACh E inhibition was modeled using partial least squares regression(PLSR).Results:The total alkaloid content in PC was higher than that in PA,which causes PC to have stronger anti-ACh E activity.Overall,13 and 20 common peaks were identified in the PC and PA samples,respectively.Among them,berberine(BER)was the dominant alkaloid in PC,which covered more than 65%of the total peak area in PC,but only approximately 25%of that in PA,indicating that the chemical composition is different between PC and PA.The spectrum–effect analysis based on PLSR and the correlation analysis showed that the BER-palmatine(PAL)and BER-jatrorrhizine(JAT)pairs have a synergistic inhibitory effect on ACh E activity.Conclusions:A high-performance chromatographic fingerprint was established to distinguish PC and PA.The efficacy-associated markers were screened,including the pairs of BER-PAL and BER-JAT with anti-ACh E activity,and the findings may assist with the quality control of PA and PC.

Risk associated with toxic blooms of marine phytoplankton functional groups on Artemia franciscana

Objective:To study mortality of copepod Artemia franciscana against the occurrence of harmful marine algae and possible toxicological changes exhibited by binary and tertiary combinations of these harmful algae toxins.Methods:Tweenty four hours acute toxicity assays were performed with selected concentrations of Alexandrium minutum,Prorocentrum lima and Nitzschia N1c1 living cells.Additionally,the results were analyzed using the median-effect/combination index(CI)-isobologram equation to assess possible changes in the toxic effect induced by phytoplankton functional groups.Results:Biotoxin equivalent values obtained by immunodetection were(2.12±0.10),(8.60±1.30)and(4.32±1.67)pg/cell for saxitoxin,okadaic acid and domoic acid,respectively.The 24-h LC_(50) values estimated to saxitoxin and okadaic acid equivalents were 4.06 and 6.27μg/L,significantly below the value obtained for Nitzschia N1c1,which was established at 467.33μg/L.CI analysis applied on phytoplankton assemblages showed that both ternary mixture as the binary combinations exhibited antagonic action on toxic effects in Artemia nauplii,which were significantly lower than the toxic effect exhibited by each species studied.Conclusions:These results show that,although these harmful algae represent a serious risk to estuarine zooplankton community,the presence of phytoplankton functional groups within the same bloom can reduce the potential risk compared to the expected risk when each of the phytoplankton groups are evaluated individually.

Parentage testing anomalies in Hong Kong SAR of China

Objective To determine if there are any differences in the number of exclusions from paternity of men using an anonymous parentage testing service compared with that of men using an in-person parentage testing service provided by the same company in Hong Kong SAR of China. Methods Comparable numbers of consecutive anonymous and in-person parentage tests conducted by the same company were analyzed. Results Men using an anonymous parentage testing service were excluded from paternity at a significantly greater rate (P<0.001), compared with men using an in-person parentage test service. Conclusions The results obtained from anonymous parentage testing indicate that the number of families containing children of doubtful parentage is much greater than expected previously. As illegitimate children are known to suffer greater degrees of abuse and neglect, this finding poses serious social questions regarding the welfare of families, which the relevant authorities should acknowledge and address.