Design and implementation of ethernet passive electronic network over coax

To increase the limit of ethernet over coax （EoC） technology in the bidirectional reform of the hybrid fiber coaxial （HFC） network, an ethernet passive electronic network （EPEN） system based on Coax is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in this paper. The proposed EPEN exploits the existing capabilities of the MAC layer in the ethernet passive optical network （EPON） for reduction of cost of the HFC network. As the MPCP （multi-point control protocol） is introduced in the EPEN, bandwidth control and higher efficiency can be achieved. The experimental results exhibit the throughput of system up to 100Mbps, which meet the requirements of HFC network. To improve the performance of EPEN, frequency division multiplexing （FDM） can be used for further increase of the throughput and more hardware processing modules in the future. can be implemented to enhance the capacity     

Differential generation of hydrogen peroxide upon exposure to zinc and cadmium in the hyperaccumulating plant specie （Sedum alfredii Hance）

Sedum alfredii Hance has been identified as zinc （Zn） and cadmium （Cd） co-hyperaccumulator. In this paper the relationships of Zn or Cd hyperaccumulation to the generation and the role of H2O2 in Sedum alfredii H. were examined. The results show that Zn and Cd contents in the shoots of Sedum alfredii H. treated with 1000 μmol/L Zn^2＋ and/or 200 μmol/L Cd^2＋ increased linearly within 15 d. Contents of total S, glutathione （GSH） and H2O2 in shoots also increased within 15 d, and then decreased. Total S and GSH contents in shoots were higher under Cd^2＋ treatment than under Zn^2＋ treatment. However, reverse trends of H2O2 content in shoots were obtained, in which much higher H2O2 content was observed in Zn^2＋ -treated shoots than in Cd^2＋-treated shoots. Similarly, the microscopic imaging of H2O2 accumulation in leaves using H2O2 probe technique showed that much higher H2O2 accumulation was observed in the Zn^2＋-treated leaf than in the Cd^2＋ -treated one. These results suggest that there are different responses in the generation of H2O2 upon exposure to Zn^2＋ and Cd^2＋ for the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii H. And this is the first report that the generation of H2O2 may play an important role in Zn hyperaccumulation in the leaves. Our results also imply that GSH may play an important role in the detoxification of dissociated Zn/Cd and the generation of H2O2.     

Relationship between alanine aminotransferase levels and metabolic syndrome in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective： To investigate the relationship between alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels and metabolic syndrome （MS） in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD）. Methods： A total of 26527 subjects who received medical health checkup in our hospital from January 2005 to July 2007 were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of fatty liver was based on ultrasound imaging. MS was defined according to the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel III. ALT, triglyceride （TG）, high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-c）, fasting plasma glucose （FPG）, height, weight, waist circumference （WC）, systolic blood pressure （SBP） and diastolic blood pressure （DBP） were measured in each subject to analyze the relationship between MS and ALT activity Results： （1） The prevalence of NAFLD in men （30.94%） was significantly higher than that in women （15.65%）; （2） The incidence of MS in NAFLD （33.83%） was significantly greater than that in non-NAFLD （10.62%）; （3） Of the 6470 subjects with NAFLD, in the age-adjusted partial correlation analysis, there were statistically significant correlations between the ALT levels and most metabolic risk factors in each sex （P〈0.01）, except that ALT levels multiple stepwise regression analysis, SBP lost its significance, and had no correlation with HDL-c in women. Moreover, in the WC, body mass index （BMI）, age, DBP, TG and FPG were independently associated with ALT levels in both sexes （P〈0.05）. HDL-c remained significant and was independently related to ALT levels in men; （4） ALT levels were significantly higher in subjects with MS compared to those without MS （P〈0.001）. Mean ALT levels increased with the number of MS components in each sex （P〈0.05 for trend）. Conclusion： We found a strong relationship between ALT levels and MS in NAFLD and revealed that the cluster of MS components might be the predictor for ALT elevations.     

Metabonomic analysis of hepatitis B virus-induced liver failure： identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers by fuzzy support vector machine

Hepatitis B virus （HBV）-induced liver failure is an emergent liver disease leading to high mortality. The severity of liver failure may be reflected by the profile of some metabolites. This study assessed the potential of using metabolites as biomarkers for liver failure by identifying metabolites with good discriminative performance for its phenotype. The serum samples from 24 HBV-indueed liver failure patients and 23 healthy volunteers were collected and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） to generate metabolite profiles. The 24 patients were further grouped into two classes according to the severity of liver failure. Twenty-five eommensal peaks in all metabolite profiles were extracted, and the relative area values of these peaks were used as features for each sample. Three algorithms, F-test, k-nearest neighbor （KNN） and fuzzy support vector machine （FSVM） combined with exhaustive search （ES）, were employed to identify a subset of metabolites （biomarkers） that best predict liver failure. Based on the achieved experimental dataset, 93.62% predictive accuracy by 6 features was selected with FSVM-ES and three key metabolites, glyeerie acid, cis-aeonitie acid and citric acid, are identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers.     

Suppression to the cross-channel interference based on the short time Fourier transform

A new cross-channel interference suppression method is proposed to decrease the cross-channel interference in beat signals based on the short time Fourier transform （STY3＂） and the inverse short time Fourier transform （ISTFT） when the dual-orthogonal polarimetric frequency-modulated continu- ous wave （FMCW） radar adopts the opposite-slope linear frequency modulation signal pair in the simultaneous measurement mode. The STFT is applied only on the signals in the cross-interference intervals in the four polarimetric channels to decrease the computation complexity. A mask matrix for suppressing the interference is constructed using the constant false alarm ratio （CFAR） detection on the spectrograms by the STFY. The simulative results show that the cross-channel interference is effi- ciently suppressed by the proposed method. The comparison between the proposed method and the rejection method verifies the improved performance of the proposed method.     

Comparison of an SMS text messaging and phone reminder to improve attendance at a health promotion center： A randomized controlled trial

Objective： To compare the efficacy of a short messaging service （SMS） text messaging and phone reminder to improve attendance rates at a health promotion center. Methods： A total of 1 859 participants who had scheduled appointments in the health promotion center of our hospital from April 2007 to May 2007 were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned into 3 groups： control （no reminder） group, SMS text messaging reminder group and telephone reminder group. Attendance rates and costs of interventions were collected. Results： A total of 1848 participants were eligible for analysis. Attendance rates of control, SMS and telephone groups were 80.5%, 87.5% and 88.3%, respectively. The attendance rates were significantly higher in SMS and telephone groups than that in the control group, with odds ratio 1.698, 95% confidence interval 1.224 to 2.316, P=0.001 in the SMS group, and odds ratio 1.829, 95% confidence interval 1.333 to 2.509, P〈0.001 in the telephone group. However, there was no difference between the SMS group and the telephone group （P=0.670）. The cost effectiveness analysis showed that the cost per attendance for the SMS group （0.31 Yuan） was significantly lower than that for the telephone group （0.48 Yuan）. Conclusion： SMS and telephone are effective reminders for improving attendance rate at a health promotion center. SMS reminder may be more cost-effective compared with the telephone reminder.     

Spatial distribution of Cd and Cu in soils in Shenyang Zhangshi Irrigation Area （SZIA）, China

Heavy metal contamination of soils, derived from sewage irrigation, mining and inappropriate utilization of various agrochemicals and pesticides, and so on, has been of wide concern in the last several decades. The Shenyang Zhangshi Irrigation Area （SZIA） in China is a representative area of heavy metal contamination of soils resulting from sewage irrigation for about 30 years. This study investigated the spatial distribution and temporal variation of soil cadmium （Cd） and copper （Cu） contamination in the SZIA. The soil samples were collected from the SZIA in 1990 and 2004; Cd and Cu in soils was analyzed and then the spatial distribution and temporal variation of Cd and Cu in soils were modeled using Kriging methods. The results show that long-term sewage irrigation had caused serious Cd and Cu contamination in soils. The mean and the maximum of soil Cd are markedly higher than the levels in second grade standard soil （LSGSS） in China, and the maximum of soil Cu is close to the LSGSS in China in 2004 and is more than the LSGSS in China in 1990. The contamination magnitude of soil Cd and the soil extent of Cd con- tamination had evidently increased since sewage irrigation ceased in 1992. The contamination magnitude of soil Cu and the soil extent of Cu contamination had evidently increased in topsoil, but obviously decresed in subsoil. The soil contamination of Cd and Cu was mainly related to Cd and Cu reactivation of contaminated sediments in Shenyang Xi River and the import of Cd and Cu during irrigation. The eluviation of Cd and Cu in contaminated topsoil with rainfall and irrigation water was another factor of temporal-spatial variability of Cd and Cu contamination in soils.     

MGB probe assay for rapid detection of mtDNAl1778 mutation in the Chinese LHON patients by real-time PCR

Objective： Leber＇s hereditary optic neuropathy （LHON） is a maternally inherited degeneration of the optic nerve caused by point mutations of mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA）. Many unsolved questions regarding the penetrance and pathophysiological mechanism of LHON demand efficient and reliable mutation testing. This study aims to develop a minor groove binder （MGB） probe assay for rapid detection of mtDNA11778 mutation and heteroplasmy in Chinese LHON patients by real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR）. Methods： Forty-eight patients suspected of having LHON and their maternal relatives underwent a molecular genetic evaluation, with 20 normal individuals as a control group at the same time. A real-time PCR involving two MGB probes was used to detect the mtDNA 1 1778 mutation and heteroplasmy. A linear standard curve was obtained by pUCmLHONG and pUCmLHONA clones. Results： All 48 LHON patients and their maternal relatives were positive for rntDNA11778 mutation in our assay, 27 heteroplasmic and 21 homoplasmic. Eighteen cases did not show an occurrence of the disease, while 9 developed the disease among the 27 heteroplasmic mutation cases. Eleven did not show an occurrence of the disease, while 10 cases developed the disease among 21 homoplasmic mutation cases. There was a significant difference in the incidence between the heteroplasmic and the homoplasmic mutation types. The time needed for running a real-time PCR assay was only 80 min. Conclusion： This real-time PCR assay is a rapid, reliable method for mtDNA mutation detection as well as heteroplasmy quantification. Detecting this ratio is very important for predicting phenotypic expression of unaffected carriers.     

Support vector machine with mixture of kernels for automatic image annotation

Automatic image annotation （AIA） has become an important and challenging problem in com- puter vision due to the existence of semantic gap. In this paper, a novel support vector machine with mixture of kernels （SVM-MK） for automatic image annotation is proposed. On one hand, the com- bined global and local block-based image features are extracted in order to reflect the intrinsic con- tent of images as complete as possible. On the other hand, SVM-MK is constructed to shoot for bet- ter annotating performance. Experimental results on Corel dataset show that the proposed image fea- ture representation method as well as automatic image annotation classifier, SVM-MK, can achieve higher annotating accuracy than SVM with any single kernel and mi-SVM for semantic image annota- tion.     

Effect of serum concentration on adhesion of monocytic THP-1 cells onto cultured EC monolayer and EC-SMC co-culture

Background： The adhesion of monocytes to the endothelium following accumulation of low-density lipoprotein （LDL） in subendothelial spaces is an important step in the development of intimal hyperplasia in arterially implanted vein grafts and atherosclerosis in both animals and humans. However, it is not well known how serum factors affect the adhesion of monocytes. Methods： We have studied the effect of fetal calf serum （FCS）, which we considered a source of LDL, on the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells （ECs） by using human monocytic THP-1 cells and both a monolayer of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells （EC monoculture） and a co-culture with bovine aortic smooth muscle cells （EC-SMC co-culture）. Results： It was found that the addition of FCS to the medium greatly affected the adhesion of THP-1 cells, and the higher the concentration of FCS in the medium, the greater the adhesion of THP-1 cells to endothelial cells. Adhesion of THP- 1 cells to an EC-SMC co-culture was approximately twofold greater than that to an EC monoculture, and after adhering to endothelial cells, many THP-1 cells transmigrated into the layer of smooth muscle cells. Conclusion： The results suggest that the elevation of the LDL （cholesterol） level in blood provides a favorable condition for the development of intimal hyperplasia and atherosclerosis by promoting the adhesion of monocytes to the endothelium and their subsequent migration into subendothelial spaces.     

Accumulation and distribution of arsenic and cadmium by tea plants

It is important to research the rules about accumulation and distribution of arsenic and cadmium by tea plants, which will give us some scientific ideas about how to control the contents of arsenic and cadmium in tea. In this study, by field investigation and pot trial, we found that mobility of arsenic and cadmium in tea plants was low. Most arsenic and cadmium absorbed were fixed in feeding roots and only small amount was transported to the above-ground parts. Distribution of arsenic and cadmium, based on their concentrations of unit dry matter, in tea plants grown on un-contaminated soil was in the order： feeding roots〉stems=main roots〉old leaves〉young leaves. When tea plants were grown on polluted soils simulated by adding salts of these two metals, feeding roots possibly acted as a buffer and defense, and arsenic and cadmium were transported less to the aboveground parts. The concentration of cadmium in soil significantly and negatively correlated with chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and biomass production of tea plants.     

Optimal time for mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in rats with myocardial infarction

Background： Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell （MSC） transplantation is a promising strategy in the treatment of myocardial infarction （MI）. However, the time for transplanting cells remains controversial. The aim of this study was to find an optimal time point for cell transplantation. Methods： MSCs were isolated and cultured from Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats. MI model was set up in SD rats by permanent ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery. MSCs were directly injected into the infarct border zone at 1 h, 1 week and 2 weeks after MI, respectively. Sham-operated and MI control groups received equal volume of phosphate buffered saline （PBS）. At 4 weeks after MI, cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography; vessel density was analyzed on hematoxylin-eosin stained slides by light microscopy; the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling （TUNEL） assay; the expressions of proteins were analyzed by Western blot. Results： MSC transplantation improved cardiac function, reduced the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and increased vessel density. These benefits were more obvious in 1-week group than in 1-h and 2-week groups. There are more obvious increases in the ratio of bcl-2/bax and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） and more obvious decreases in the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 in 1-week group than those in other two groups. Conclusion： MSC transplantation was beneficial for the recovery of cardiac function. MSC transplantation at 1 week post-MI exerted the best effects on increases of cardiac function, anti-apoptosis and angiogenesis.     

New insights into the activation mechanism of store-operated calcium channels： roles of STIM and Orai

The activation of Ca^2＋ entry through store-operated channels by agonists that deplete Ca^2＋ from the endoplasmic reticulum （ER） is a ubiquitous signaling mechanism, the molecular basis of which has remained elusive for the past two decades. Store-operated Ca^2＋-release-activated Ca^2＋ （CRAC） channels constitute the sole pathway for Ca^2＋ entry following antigen-receptor engagement. In a set of breakthrough studies over the past two years, stromal interaction molecule 1 （STIM 1, the ER Ca^2＋ sensor） and Orai 1 （a pore-forming subunit of the CRAC channel） have been identified. Here we review these recent studies and the insights they provide into the mechanism of store-operated Ca^2＋ channels （SOCCs）.     

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） for bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Objective： To review our experience of the treatment of bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax （PSP） by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS）. Materials and methods： Retrospective chart review was followed by an on-clinic or telephone interview. Patients were cared for by one thoracic surgeon in four medical centers or community hospitals in Northern and Central Taiwan. Thirteen patients with bilateral PSP underwent bilateral VATS simultaneously or sequentially from July 1994 to December 2005. Results： Twelve males and one female, with age ranging from 15 to 36 years （mean 23.1 years）, were treated with VATS for bilateral PSP, under the indications of bilateral pneumothoracis simultaneously （n=4） or sequentially （n=9）. The interval between the first and second contra-lateral VATS procedure for non-simultaneous PSP patients ranged from 7 d to 6 years. Eleven of 13 patients （84.6%） had prominent pulmonary bullae/blebs, and underwent bullae resection with mechanical or chemical pleurodesis. The mean operative time was （45.6±18.3） min （range 25-96 min） and （120.6±28.7） min （range 84-166 min） respectively for the non-simultaneous （second VATS for the recurrence of contralateral side after first VATS） and simultaneous （bilateral VATS in one operation） procedures. There was no postoperative mortality. However, prolonged air leakage （〉7 d） occurred in one patient （7.7%） who recovered after conservative treatment. The mean duration of chest tube drainage was 3.1 d and the median follow up period was 3.4 years. Conclusions： VATS is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of bilateral PSP. Bilateral VATS is only recommended for patients with simultaneously bilateral PSP, because the incidence of recurrence, even with visible bullae, was not so high in my group and in some previous literature. Bilateral VATS in a supine position should only be used in selective cases, because of possible pleural adhesion or hidden bullae on the posterior si     

Analysis and design of compact printed monopole UWB antennas with multiple notched bands

This paper presents three compact ultra-wideband （UWB） antennas fed by coplanar waveguide （CPW）. The proposed antennas consist of a planar circular patch monopole UWB antenna and mul- tiple etched slots on the feed line. Simulation by Ansoft high frequency structure simulator （HFSS） 10.0 shows that the in-band impedances are quite stable and satisfactory. Rejected narrow frequency bands are further obtained within the wideband width by inserting U-shaped slots into the fed line of the antennas. The antennas have a dimension of 50mm by 40mm by 1.5mm. The simulation and measurement results show that the proposed antennas have stable directional radiation patterns, very low profile and low fabrication cost, which are suitable for the UWB system.     

Accuracy of a combined score of zygote and embryo morphology for selecting the best embryos for IVF

Objective： To evaluate the accuracy of a scoring system combining zygote and embryo morphology in predicting the outcome of in vitro fertilization （IVF） treatment. Methods： In a study group, 117 consecutive IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection （ICSI） cycles with embryo transfer were carried out and 312 embryos were scored using a combined scoring system （CSS） of zygote and embryo morphology before transplantation. In a control group, a total of 420 IVF or ICSI cycles were carried out and 1176 embryos were scored using a cumulative embryo score （CES）. The effects of the combined scoring system on the embryo implantation rate and pregnancy rate per cycle were analyzed. Results： Using the combined scoring system, the embryo implantation rate （27.6%） and the clinical pregnancy rate （48.7%） were significantly higher than those in the control group （20.8% and 38.6%, respectively）. Also, the implantation rate of embryos scoring ≥70 （38.5%： 82 sacs/213 embryos） was significantly higher （P〈0.001） than that of embryos scoring 〈70 （4%： 4 sacs/99 embryos）. The pregnancy rate of patients with embryos scoring ≥70 using the combined scoring system （66.7%） was significantly higher （P〈0.001） than that of patients with embryos scoring ≥20 using the cumulative embryo score （59.0%）. Conclusion： The results suggest that selecting embryos with a high score （≥70） using the combined scoring system could increase the implantation rate and pregnancy rate, and that using a scoring system combining assessments of human zygotes and pre-implantation embryos might predict IVF outcomes more accurately than using a cumulative embryo score.