Deep-Hole Inner Diameter Measuring System Based on Non-contact Capacitance Sensor

A precise aperture measuring system of small deep holes with capacitance sensors is presented. Based on the working principle of non-contact capacitance sensors, influence of the edge effect of gauge head is studied, and one capacitance sensor for measuring the aperture of the small blind holes or through holes is introduced. The system is composed of one positioning device, one aperture measuring capacitance sensor, one measuring circuit, and software. This system employs visual CCD and two-dimensional mic...

Identification and distribution of gonadotropin-releasing hormone-like peptides in the brain of horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone （GnRH） is a crucial peptide for the regulation of reproduction. Using immunological techniques, we investigated the presence of GnRH in horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus. Octopus GnRH-like immunoreactivity, tunicate GnRH-like immunoreactivity, and lamprey GnRH-I-like immunoreactivity were detected in the neurons and fibers of the protocerebrum. However, no mammal GnRH-like immunoreactivity or lamprey GnRH-LII-like immunoreactivity was observed. Our results suggest that a GnRH-like factor, an ancient peptide, existed in the brain of T. tridentatus and may be involved in the reproductive endocrine system.

Expression of 6 MicroRNAs in Prostate Cancer and Its Significance

OBJECTIVE Numerous microRNAs (miRNAs) are deregulatedin human cancers. The experimental evidence supports thatmiRNAs plays a role in the initiation and progression of humanmalignancies.The present study was undertaken to evaluatethe differential expression of 6 miRNAs as biomarker for earlydetection of prostate cancer, and then to determine whether theexpression profiling of these miRNAs could predict the prognosisof prostate cancer.METHODS The expression profilings of these 6 miRNAs wereinvestigated using the method of locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified oligonucleotide in situ hybridization (ISH). And thetechnology of tissue microarray (TMA) was employed using theformalin-fixed, paraffin-embedd (FFPE) specimens taken from52 patients with prostate carcinoma (PCa) and 38 patients withbenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).RESULTS The rates of positive expression for 6 miRNAs (miR-15b, miR-16, let-7g, miR- 96,miR-182 and miR-183) were 26.92%,15.38%, 15.38%, 67.31%, 61.54% and 71.15% in the specimens ofprostate cancer, and 57.89%, 76.32%, 68.42%, 44.74%, 31.58%,47.37% in the tissues of benign prostatic hyperplasia, respectively.The expressions of all 6 miRNAs between the prostate cancer andbenign prostatic hyperplasia tissues were significantly different(P < 0.05). The positive rate of these 6 miRNAs was significantlyrelated to the Gleason Grading of prostate cancer (P < 0.01). Therewas no significant correlation between the expression of thesemiRNAs and age and the concentration of serum PSA of thepatient (P >0.05). We also found that the expression of miR-15b,miR-96 and miR-182 correlated with clinical stages of tumor (P <0.05). The expression of miR-96 correlated with lobus prostatae oftumor invasion (P < 0.01), but the expressions of the remaining fivemiRNAs were not correlated with that (P >0.05). In addition, theexpression of miR-15b was negatively related to that of miR-96,miR-182 and miR-183, respectively (P < 0.01, r < 0.00).There wasa positive correlation among the expressions of miR-96, miR-182and miR-183 in prostate cancer (P < 0.01, r >0.00). The expressionof miR-16 was positively related to that of miR-let-7g (P < 0.01, r >0.00).CONCLUSION The results suggest that miRNA expressionprofiling could have relevance to the biological and clinicalbehavior of prostate cancer,and they might be importantbiomarkers for early detection and prognostic assessment ofprostate cancer.

The Ratio of Particle Flux of the Hydrogen to Carbon on Divertor Configuration in HL-2A Tokamak

Interactions of plasma with the walls lead to particle release by various mechanisms and the amount of impurities in the plasma core limits the performance of the device. It is very important to get the particle fluxes for understanding the releasing mechanisms of impurities. The spectroscopic measurements to determine the impurity influx from localized surfaces in tokamak plasma is described in detail in Ref. Determined the origin of the chromium influxes by this method in ASDEX during ICRF heating were reported in Ref.

Correlations between Mineral Nitrogen Contents and Vertical Distribution of N20 Emission Potentials in Tropical Peat Soils Transformed into Oil Palm Plantations in Sarawak, Malaysia

Tropical peat swamp forest beds that have been reclaimed for agricultural use are generally an active source of nitrous oxide （N2O） efflux, however, the mechanism by which reclaimed tropical peat soils promote the emergence of N2O emitters in soil microbial communities remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to reveal the vertical distribution of N2O emission potential and its correlation with mineral nitrogen contents in reclaimed soils. Using a culture-based N2O emission assay, the N2O emission potentials of soil at various depths （0-450 cm） were investigated in two oil palm plantations in Sarawak, Malaysia, which had elapsed times of two years （E2Y） and 10 years （El 0Y） after deforestation, respectively. On the basis of the relationship between the vertical profiles of N2O emission potentials and the contents of mineralized nitrogen in the peat soils at various depths, the impact of land management on soil microbial communities was discussed. The peat soil at plantation site E2Y showed a trend of high N2O production in deep layers （200-400 cm）, whereas the older plantation site E10Y showed considerably more active N2O emission in shallow soil （10-50 cm）. N2O emission potentials among the soil microbial communities at different soil depths at the E10Y site showed positive correlations with NO3- and NH4＋ contents, whereas, soils obtained from the E2Y site had N2O emission potentials that were inversely proportional to the contents of NO3-. This contrasting vertical correlation between N2O-emitting potentials and mineralized nitrogen contents in bulk soils suggests that active N2O emission in deep soil at the E2Y site has maintained the original carbon-nitrogen （C/N） ratio of the peat soil, whereas at EIOY, such a regulatory system has been lost due to advanced soil degradation, leading to dynamic changes in the nitrogen cycle in shallow soil.

The Relationship Between Exposure to Televised Violence and Malaysian Adolescents＇ Aggressive Behaviours＂ A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

Previous studies on the relationship between exPosure to televised violence and viewers＇ aggressive behaviours have produced mixed results. Some studies have found significant effect sizes while others have found low and non-significant effect sizes. Television effects scholars have postulated that these mixed results are caused by the inconsistencies of research methodology employed and the inability to control major mediating variables in the studies. The present study is designed with the objectives to overcome these shortcomings. The respondents for this study were 514 students aged between 13 and 18 from 10 schools in the State of Perak, Malaysia. Exploratory data analyses provided evidence that the employed instruments achieved sound psychometric properties. Hypotheses testing suggested that exposure to the Contents of Television Violence （TVCN） did not have a direct relationship with adolescents＇ aggressive behaviours; instead, Contextual Features of Television Violence （TVCX） totally mediated this relationship. Some other mediating variables then mediated totally and some mediated partially the relationship between TVCX and adolescents＇ aggressive behaviours. To conclude, this study provides valuable information for parents, the television industry, and the policy makers in recognizing pro-violent and anti-violent features of television violence programmes for Malaysian school-going adolescents. It also provides a new perspective for future studies of television violence in Malaysia.

Lowland pasture in Himalayan highland: edaphic properties and species composition

This study was carried out to investigate if on-farm cut vs. grazed pastures differed in soil fertility and species density in the temperate Himalayan highlands. Soil fertility and species relative density were measured from 30 cut and 30 grazed dairy pastures. In both types of pasture, soil pH, available phosphorus(P) and exchangeable potassium(K) were negatively correlated with pasture age and slope. In cut pasture, cocksfoot(Dactylis glomerata) and pasture age were positively correlated,whereas in grazed pasture, they were negatively correlated. In grazed pasture, unsown species and pasture age were positively correlated. Soil available P was significantly greater in cut pastures whereas soil exchangeable K was significantly greater in grazed pastures. In terms of species density, cut pasture had greater densities of cocksfoot and Italian ryegrass(Lolium multiflorum), whereas grazed pasture showed greater densities of white clover, sedge and local grass. Our study suggests that, if there are no improvements in the current method of pasture management, the cut pastures in the future are likely to have a simple pasture mixture constituting only cocksfoot and white clover(Trifolium repens).Whereas in grazed pasture, the pasture mixture is likely to be comprised of white clover and unsown species such as sedge, local grass and broadleaf weeds.

New perylene diimide derivatives: stable red emission, adjustable property from ACQ to AIE, and good device performance with an EQE value of 4.93%

Perylene diimide （PDI） derivatives, due to their special opto-electronic property, have been successfully utilized in organic field-effect transistor （OFET）, solar cells, and as non-fullerene acceptor and others, while few cases in organic light-emitting diodes （OLEDs）. In this work, six perylene bisimide-based red emitters, N＇N＇-bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1-（[1,1′：3′,1″-terphenyl]-5′-yl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide （STPH）, N＇N＇-bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1,7-bis（[1,1′：3′,1″-terphenyl]-5′-yl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide （DTPH）, N,N＇- bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1-（5′-phenyl-[1,1′：3′,1″-terphenyl]-4-yl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide （STRPH）, N,N′- bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1,7-bis（5′-phenyl-[ 1 ,1′：3′,1＂-terphenyll-4-yl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide （DTRPH）, N,N′-bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1-（4-（2,2-diphenylvinyl）phenyl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide/STTPE） and N,N＇- bis（2-decyltetradecyl）-1,7-bis（4-（2,2-diphenykvinyl）phenyl）perylene-3,4,9,10-diimide （DTTPE）, with the excellent chemical, thermal and photo-chemical stability, are synthesized through the convenient Suzuki coupling reaction, in which, the fluorescent properties can be modified easily from ACQ to AIE by just simply changing the bulky volume of the introduced aromatic substituents. After being fabricated into organic light-emitting diodes, STRPH exhibits the best performance with the maximum luminescence, power efficiency, current efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 1,948 cd m-2, 2.04lm W-1, 5.85 cd A-1, 4.93% at Commission Internationale de L＇Eclairage （CIE） coordinates of （0.56, 0.34）, as the result of the high efficient energy transfer and good energy match achieved in the device.

Reform and opening up are a powerful motive force for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics

The history of China＇s reform and opening up are at the same time the history of the theoretical exploration of the Sinicization of Marxism. The in-depth movement of emancipating the mind represents a great leap ahead for both the practice and the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The great practice of three decades of reform and opening up has given us a store of valuable historical experience and provided a practical and scientific foundation for the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Reform and opening up are a tremendous impetus to socialism with Chinese characteristics. To adhere to this theoretical system is in effect to adhere to the viewpoint of the emancipation of the mind, seeking truth from facts and the productive forces criterion, as well as to the scientific concept of development and the correct outlook on reform. Taking this theoretical system as our guide is of the utmost importance for further reform and opening up and the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a Masson Pine Forest Soil in Subtropical Central China

The forest ecosystem plays a pivotal role in contributing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.In order to characterize the temporal pattern of nitrous oxide(N_2O) emissions and identify the key factors affecting N_2O emissions from a Masson pine forest in a hilly red-soil region in subtropical central China,we measured the N_2O emissions in Jinjing of Hunan Province using the static chambergas chromatographic method for 3 years(2010-2012) and analyzed the relationships between the N_2O fluxes and the environmental variables.Our results revealed that the N_2O fluxes over the 3 years varied from-36.0 to 296.7 μg N m^(-2) h^(-1),averaging 18.4±5.6 μg N m^(-2) h^(-1)(n=3).The average annual N_2O emissions were estimated to be 1.6±0.3 kg N ha^(-1) year^(-1).The N_2O fluxes exhibited clear intra-annual(seasonal) variations as they were higher in summers and lower in winters.Compared with other forest observations in the subtropics,N_2O emissions at our site were relatively high,possibly due to the high local dry/wet N deposition,and were mostly sensitive to variations in precipitation and soil ammonium N content.In this work,a multiple linear regression model was developed to determine the influence of environmental factors on N_2O emissions,in which a category predictor of "Season" was intentionally used to account for the seasonal variation of the N_2O fluxes.Such a model explained almost 40%of the total variation in daily N_2O emissions from the Masson pine forest soil studied(P<0.001).

Signal-to-noise ratio gain of an adaptive neuron model with Gamma renewal synaptic input

We take an adaptive leaky integrate-and-fire neuron model to explore the effect of non-Poisson neurotransmitter on stochastic resonance and its signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)gain.Event triggered algorithm is adopted to speed up the simulating process.It is revealed that both the output SNR and the SNR gain can be monotonically improved when increasing the shape parameter for Gamma distribution.Particularly,for large signal coupling strength,the 1:1 stochastic phase locking induced by Gamma noise is responsible for the frequency matching stochastic resonance,and the output signal-to-noise ratio can surpass the input signal-to-noise ratio,which is significantly different with Poisson case,while for extremely weak signal coupling strength,the SNR gain peak,which is far larger than unity,is due to noise induced resonance.The observations are meaningful in understanding the neural processing mechanisms from a more realistic viewpoint of synaptic modeling.

Hysteretic Phenomenon of Shock Wave in a Supersonic Nozzle

In recent years, hysteretic phenomena in fluid flow systems drew attention for their great variety of industrial and engineering applications. When the high-pressure gas is exhausted to atmosphere from the nozzle exit, the expanded supersonic jet with the Mach disk is formed at a specific condition. In two-dimensional expanded supersonic jet, the hysteresis phenomenon for the reflection type of shock wave is occurred under the quasi-steady flow and the transitional pressure ratio between the regular reflection and Mach reflection is affected by this phe- nomenon. However, so far, there are very few researches for the hysteretic phenomenon of shock wave in a supersonic internal flow and the phenomenon has not been investigated satisfactorily. The present study was concemed with the experimental and numerical investigations of hysteretic phenomena of shock wave in a supersonic nozzle, and discussed the relationship between hysteresis phenomenon and rate of the change of pressure ratio with time.

Effect of Chaihushugan San on expression of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway in the hippocampi of perimenopausal rats induced by immobilization stress

OBJECTIVE: We wished to study the impact of Chaihushugan San(CSS) on the behavior of perimenopausal rats with liver-Qi stagnation(LQS) and to investigate the effect of CSS on signal transduction of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase(MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK) cascade in the hippocampi of rats induced by immobilization.METHODS: Twenty 52-week-old female rats were divided into two groups by the random number table method: model control group(MCG) and CSS group(CSSG), with 10 rats in each group.Ten-week-old female rats were used as the normal control group(NCG). CSS effects were assessed using rats exposed to immobilization stress by measuring body weight and sucrose consumption, serum hormone levels, and observing performance in the open field test(OFT). Molecular mechanisms were examined by measuring the effect of CSS on expression of Raf1, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 m RNA in hippocampi using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and by measuring levels of these proteins and related phospho-proteins using Western blotting.RESULTS: Perimenopausal rats with LQS had decreased locomotor activity; reduced sucrose consumption; and increased serum levels of corticotropin releasing hormone(CRH) and corticosterone(CORT). Activation of hippocampal Raf/MEK/ERK cascade was suppressed significantly in the MCG,and activation was increased after 21 days of CSS treatment.CONCLUSION: CSS has significant effects upon relief of the symptoms of LQS in immobilization-induced rats. The mechanism underlying this action might(at least in part) be mediated by reversal of disruption of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway.

Non-Markovianity and Indivisible Quantum dynamics of a Apin-S System

Using a measure for the divisibility of a dynamical map, we study the non-Markovian character of a quantum evolution of a spin-S system, which is in an external field and weakly coupled to a bosonic bath with a certain temperature. The finite-temperature dynamics of the open system is obtained by the time-convolutionless master equation in the secular approximation. Besides the influence of the environmental spectral density function, the external field and low temperatures can affect the quantum non-Markovianity. It is found out that the non-Markovian feature of a dynamical map of a high-dimensional spin system is noticeable in contrast to that of a low-dimension spin system.