•Fifth-instar codling moth was the most tolerant life stage in low pressure low temperature (LPLT) treatments.•Probit 9 security might be obtained with 20.5 days in a treatment of 1.33kPa, 10°C ...LPLT.•Apple quality was maintained after 15 days of the LPLT treatments.
A combination of low pressure (LP) and low temperature (LT) may serve as a phytosanitary disinfestation treatment for fresh fruit. In this study, different life stages of codling moth (eggs, 2nd to 3rd instar larvae, 5th instar larvae and pupae) were treated in hypobaric chambers maintained at 10°C and 1.33kPa with nearly saturated humidity (>98%). Weight loss, color, firmness, titratable acidity (TA), and soluble solids content (SSC) were selected as quality parameters to evaluate the quality changes of ‘Red Delicious’ apples before and after the LPLT treatment. Results showed that the 5th instar larvae were the most tolerant life stage for codling moth under LPLT treatment conditions. Insect mortality increased with increasing LPLT treatment time to >98% after 12 days of exposure to 10°C temperature and 1.33kPa pressure. Although stored in less than optimum conditions for apples, the measured quality variables of ‘Red Delicious’ were maintained relatively well after 15 days of LPLT treatment. The results suggest that LPLT technology has potential as an alternative, non-chemical disinfestation treatment for apples.
This review article introduces the preparation methodologies and the microstructural characteristics of semiconductor thin films, including SnO2 thin films, Au/Ge bilayer films, and Pd-Ge alloy thin ...films, and metal oxides, including SnO, SnO2, Mn2O3 and Mn3O4 nanocrystals which can be in the form of nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorods, and nanofractals. Firstly, the preparation methodologies and the microstructural characteristics of tin oxides have been investigated in detail and described in Section . Secondly, the crystallization of amorphous Ge, and the formation of nanocrystals and compounds developed with improved micro- and nanostructured features are described in Section . Thirdly, a novel selective synthesis route for various morphologies of manganese oxides nanocrystals, including nanoparticles, nanorods and nanofractals, and their unique microstructural characteristics are presented in Section . Intricate fundamental properties of manganese oxides nanocrystals are studied in detail. To sum up, it is expected that the fabrication methodologies developed and the knowledge of microstructural evolution gained in semiconductor thin films, including SnO2 thin films, Au/Ge bilayer films, and Pd-Ge alloy thin films, and metal oxides, including SnO, SnO2, Mn2O3 and Mn3O4 nanocrystals in the forms of nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorods, and nanofractals, will provide an important fundamental basis underpinning further interdisciplinary (physics, chemistry and materials science) research in this field leading to promising exciting opportunities for future technological applications involving these oxide and thin film materials.
Two trials were conducted to investigate the effect of corticosterone (CORT) on protein metabolism and the amino acid composition in muscle tissues of broiler chickens (
Gallus gallus domesticus). In ...Trial 1, two groups of 30 broiler chickens were subjected to control or CORT treatment (30 mg /kg diet) from 28 to 39 days of age. In Trial 2, three groups of chickens of 28 days of age were randomly subjected to one of the following treatments for 7 days: CORT (30 mg/kg diet), pair-fed (maintaining the same feed intake as CORT treatment) and control treatments. The body mass gain and feed efficiency was significantly decreased by CORT treatment, while the food intake was decreased. The breast and thigh masses (% body mass) were significantly suppressed by CORT treatment, while the abdominal fat and liver masses (%) were obviously increased. The plasma levels of glucose, urate and total amino acid were significantly elevated by CORT treatment. The capacity for protein synthesis, estimated by RNA:protein ratio, were significantly suppressed by CORT in
M. pectoralis major and
M. biceps femoris. The 3-methylhistidine concentrations were significantly increased in both
M. pectoralis major and
M. biceps femoris of CORT chickens, compared to control but not the pair-fed chickens. The amino acid composition of
M. pectoralis major and
M. biceps femoris was not significantly affected by CORT treatment. In conclusion, the arrested growth in skeletal muscles induced by CORT administration has tissue specificity. The CORT treatment retards the growth of skeletal muscle by suppressed protein synthesis and augmented protein catabolism.
This Letter reports an improved search for light sterile neutrino mixing in the electron antineutrino disappearance channel with the full configuration of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment. ...With an additional 404 days of data collected in eight antineutrino detectors, this search benefits from 3.6 times the statistics available to the previous publication, as well as from improvements in energy calibration and background reduction. A relative comparison of the rate and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos in the three experimental halls yields no evidence of sterile neutrino mixing in the 2×10^{-4}≲|Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.3 eV^{2} mass range. The resulting limits on sin^{2}2θ_{14} are improved by approx imately a factor of 2 over previous results and constitute the most stringent constraints to date in the |Δm_{41}^{2}|≲0.2 eV^{2} region.
Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP13) is a highly regulated zinc-dependent endopeptidase and has been reported to be associated with vascular invasion and lymph node metastasis and predicts poor ...outcome for relatively early stage in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. However, the role of the serum MMP-13 levels in ESCC is still unknown. In the present study, we investigate the clinical significance of MMP-13 levels in patients with ESCC.
The serum level of MMP-13 was measured with commercially available ELISA kit in 112 healthy controls and 141 ESCC patients prior to surgical resection. Statistical associations between clinicopathological observations and MMP-13 levels were determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. The clinical value of MMP-13 level as a prognostic parameter was evaluated using the Cox's proportional hazards model.
The results showed compared with the healthy control group (74.5±12.3 ng/ml), ESCC patients tended to have significantly higher serum MMP-13 concentrations (86.2 ± 14.6 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). Elevation of MMP-13 levels (≥ 76.4 ng/ml) was observed in 61.7% (87/141) of patients with ESCC, and 18.4% (26/141) in healthy controls. MMP-13 levels were associated with lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001), distant metastasis (p < 0.001), histological differentiation (p = 0.026), T classification (p < 0.005), but not with the tumor size, clinical stage, age and gender of the patients or tumor location. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with an elevated level of MMP-13 (≥ 76.4 ng/ml) had significantly lower 5 year survival rate than those with non-elevated MMP-13 (< 76.4 ng/ml, log-rank p < 0.001).
It is suggested that the elevated level of preoperative MMP-13 was found to associate with tumor progression and poor survival in patients with ESCC.
A niobium (Nb)-doped NiAl/Cr(Mo,W) hypoeutectic alloy was prepared by conventional and suction casting methods. Its microstructure and compression properties were studied to evaluate the effect of a ...manufacturing process. A coarse primary NiAl phase and NiAl/Cr(Mo) eutectic cell are demonstrated to be the main components of a NiAl/Cr(Mo,W)–Nb hypoeutectic alloy. The Nb addition promotes the formation of a Cr
2
Nb Laves phase along the eutectic cell boundary. The suction casting significantly refines a NiAl/Cr(Mo) eutectic cell, primary NiAl phase, eutectic lamella, intercellular region, and Cr
2
Nb Laves phase. This casting provides the uniform distribution of a Cr
2
Nb Laves phase and increases the solid solubility of the alloy. At room temperature, the suction casting alloy reaches its yield strength, compression strength, and ductility of 1495 MPa, 2030 MPa, and 36%, respectively, which are approximately 50, 30, and 100% higher than those of the conventional casting alloy. A significant improvement of the mechanical properties at room temperature may be ascribed to optimization of the microstructure by suction casting. At 1273 K, the above alloy exhibits almost similar mechanical properties, which is mainly associated with an enlarged intercellular region.
A picosecond laser with 1064nm wavelength was used to machine grooves in fused silica in this paper. A surface texturing method was applied to increase the laser absorption. The relationship between ...the width, the depth of the groove and the laser parameters such as laser power, scanning speed, number of scanning cycles was studied. The machining quality of the groove was detected by the laser scanning confocal microscopy. It showed that there were no micro-cracks on the grooving surface, and the surface roughness Ra<1.6um. The width, the depth and the shape of the groove could be controlled accurately by changing the laser parameters. And, a "V-shape" groove with 1mm width, 1mm depth was obtained with the as the frequency, the laser power, the scanning velocity and the number scanning cycle was fixed at 400KHz, 141W, 5000mm/s and 12, respectivity.
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